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Title: The Life and Labours of the Rev. Samuel Marsden

Author: Samuel Marsden

Editor: J. B. Marsden

Release Date: November 2, 2012 [EBook #41258]

Language: English

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  MEMOIRS

  OF

  _The Life and Labours_

  OF THE

  REV. SAMUEL MARSDEN,

  OF PARAMATTA,

  SENIOR CHAPLAIN OF NEW SOUTH WALES;

  AND OF HIS EARLY CONNEXION WITH THE MISSIONS
  TO NEW ZEALAND AND TAHITI.

  EDITED BY THE

  REV. J. B. MARSDEN, M.A.,

  AUTHOR OF "THE HISTORY OF THE EARLY AND LATER PURITANS," ETC. ETC.


  LONDON:
  THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY;
  56, PATERNOSTER ROW; 65, ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD;
  AND 164, PICCADILLY:
  AND SOLD BY THE BOOKSELLERS.




INTRODUCTORY NOTE.


The Editor would make his kind acknowledgments to the Church Missionary
and London Missionary Societies for the free use of the hitherto
unpublished correspondence of Mr. Samuel Marsden in their hands; and to
J. S. Nicholas, Esq., who accompanied Mr. Marsden on his first visit to
New Zealand, for the use of a valuable manuscript account of his
residence in New South Wales, containing much information respecting Mr.
Marsden. He has also had before him a manuscript life of Mr. Marsden by
Lieut. Sadleir of Paramatta, from which several extracts are made. And
lastly, he would acknowledge the courtesy of those surviving friends who
have placed in his hands Mr. Marsden's autograph letters to themselves
or deceased members of their families. From these several sources the
work has been chiefly compiled.

The Editor may be permitted to add, that the similarity of his name
having led to the general conclusion (which however is incorrect) that
he was related to Mr. Samuel Marsden, he has been repeatedly urged to
publish his life. At length this request being renewed by the Religious
Tract Society, into whose hands some valuable papers and documents had
fallen, he was induced to comply with their wishes, under the conviction
that the facts and incidents, as well as the moral grandeur, of Mr.
Marsden's life, were too important to be suffered to lie any longer in
comparative obscurity. There are ample materials for a much larger
volume; but of course the Editor has been obliged to select what
appeared to be most suitable for general usefulness.




CONTENTS.
                                                                  PAGE

  Introductory Note                                                iii

  CHAPTER I.
      Early life of Mr. Samuel Marsden--His appointment to New
      South Wales--Voyage, and arrival in the Colony                 1

  CHAPTER II.
      Discovery and early History of New South Wales--Becomes a
      Penal Settlement--Its state, moral and religions, on Mr.
      Marsden's arrival                                             11

  CHAPTER III.
      Mr. Marsden appointed to the Magistracy--Objections to
      this considered--Cultivates Land--Charge of Secularity
      considered--His connexion with the London Missionary
      Society, and care of its Polynesian Mission--Revisits
      England in 1807                                               26

  Distant view of Sydney (_Engraving_)                              27

  CHAPTER IV.
      Various measures devised for the benefit of New South
      Wales--The establishment of Missions in New
      Zealand--Friendship with Dr. Mason Good                       47

  CHAPTER V.
      Return to the Colony--Duaterra--His strange Adventures--Mr.
      Marsden's Labours in New South Wales--Aborigines--Their
      Habits--Plans for their Civilization                          63

  CHAPTER VI.
      Mr. Marsden's Correspondence with the London Missionary
      Society--Buys the brig Active--His First Voyage to New
      Zealand--Journal of Events                                    85

  CHAPTER VII.
      Death of Duaterra--Trials of Mr. Marsden in the
      Colony--Libel of Philo-free--Letter to the Rev. George
      Burder--To Dr. Mason Good--Sympathy of his Friends in
      England--Congratulations of the 46th Regiment, and Mr. M's
      acknowledgment--Letters of Lord Gambier, Rev. C. Simeon,
      and Mrs. Fry                                                 108

  CHAPTER VIII.
      Tooi and Teterree--Mr. Marsden's Second Voyage to New
      Zealand--Progress of the Gospel there--Shunghie--His
      ferocity--Mr. Marsden returns to New South Wales--Third
      Voyage to New Zealand--Malicious charges brought against
      him in his absence--A Commission of Inquiry--Its
      result--Letters, etc.--Approbation of the Government         129

  The Bay of Islands, New Zealand (_Engraving_)                    133

  CHAPTER IX.
      Fourth Visit to New Zealand--Trials and Successes of the
      various Missions--Shipwreck and Danger of Mr. Marsden and
      the Rev. S. Leigh--Returns home--Letter to Avison Terry,
      Esq.                                                         167

  CHAPTER X.
      Aborigines--South Sea Mission--Fresh Slanders on Mr.
      Marsden's character--His Pamphlet in self-defence--Letter
      of Messrs. Bennett and Tyerman--Libels and Action at
      Law--Verdict--Case of Ring--Pastoral Letters of Mr. Marsden:
      To a Lady; On the Divinity of Christ--Fifth Voyage to New
      Zealand--Letters, etc.                                       184

  CHAPTER XI.
      Death of Dr. Mason Good--Malicious charges brought against
      Mr. Marsden and confuted--Sixth Voyage to New Zealand--
      Frightful state of the Island--Battle of the Maories--Their
      Cannibalism--Progress of the Mission--Mr. Marsden's
      return--Death of Mrs. Marsden--Anticipation of his own
      decease                                                      212

  CHAPTER XII.
      State of New South Wales--The Aborigines--Cruelties
      practised upon them--Attempts to civilize and convert
      them--They fail--Mr. Marsden's Seventh Visit to New
      Zealand--His Daughter's Journal--Affection of the
      Natives--Progress of the Mission--Danger from European
      vices--Returns in H. M. S. Rattlesnake to Sydney             232

  Paramatta Church (_Engraving_)                                   233

  CHAPTER XIII.
      Mr. Marsden's ministerial pursuits and journeys--Love
      of the Country and of Patriarchal story--His Old Age--Its
      mental features--Anecdotes--Love of Children--Bishop
      Broughton--His reverence for Mr. Marsden's character--Mr.
      Marsden's views of Death, etc.--His Habits of Prayer--His
      Illness and Death                                            260

  CHAPTER XIV.
    Character of Mr. Marsden--His Life and Labours                 280

  APPENDIX I.

      Progress of the Gospel and of Civilization in New Zealand,
      since Mr. Marsden's Decease                                  295

  APPENDIX II.

      State and Prospects of the Protestant Mission at Tahiti,
      under the French Protectorate                                311




LIFE

OF

THE REVEREND SAMUEL MARSDEN.




CHAPTER I.

    Early Life of Mr. Samuel Marsden--His appointment to New South
    Wales--Voyage, and arrival in the Colony.


Samuel Marsden, whose life is sketched in the following pages, was not
ennobled by birth or rank, nor was he greatly distinguished by splendid
talents. Yet he was, in the true sense, a great man; and he was an
instance, one of the most striking of modern times, of the vast results
which may be accomplished when an honest heart, a clear head, and a
resolute mind and purpose, are directed, under the influence of the
grace of God, to the attainment of a noble object. While he lived he
shared the usual lot of those whose large philanthropy outruns the
narrow policy of those around them. His motives were seldom understood,
and in consequence he was thwarted and maligned. Nor was it till death
had removed him from the scene that either the grandeur of his projects
or the depth of his self-denying, unobtrusive piety was generally
appreciated. At length, however, his character has begun to be revered.
It is perceived that he was, at least, a far-sighted man; and that in
his own labours he was laying the foundations for the successes of
thousands; while in the church of Christ he is had in reverence as the
Apostle of New Zealand--a title of high distinction, yet by no means
misapplied to one who, in the simplicity of his faith as well as in zeal
and self-denying labours, was truly an apostolic man.

Of his early life the memorials are but scanty. His father was a
tradesman at Horsforth, a village in the neighbourhood of Leeds; and
both his parents are known in the traditions of his family as having
been persons of integrity and piety, attached to the ministry of the
Wesleyan Methodists. He was born on the 28th of July, 1764, and after
receiving the elements of learning at a village school, was placed in
the free grammar-school of Hull, of which the celebrated Dr. Joseph
Milner, the ecclesiastical historian, and brother to the no less eminent
Dr. Isaac Milner, dean of Carlisle, was then head master. Here he was on
the same form with Dr. Dealtry, the late rector of Clapham and
chancellor of Winchester. Of his early youth little more is known; for
his modesty, rather than any sentiment of false shame, to which indeed
his whole nature was opposed, seldom permitted him to speak of himself,
or to dwell upon the adventures or incidents of his early life. He was
removed from school to take his share in his father's business; but he
now had higher thoughts, and longed to be a minister of Christ. That he
was a young man of more than ordinary promise is at once evident from
the fact, that he was adopted by the Elland Society and placed at St.
John's college, Cambridge, to study for the ministry of the church of
England.

The Elland Society, so called from the parish in which its meetings are
held, is an institution to which the cause of evangelical truth in the
church of England has been much indebted for the last sixty or seventy
years. It is simply an association of pious members of the church of
England, who assist young men of enlightened zeal and suitable talents
with the means of obtaining an education with a view to the Christian
ministry. In its early days, the funds were supplied by Thornton,
Simeon, Wilberforce, and others like minded with themselves; and the
society was managed by a few devoted clergymen of Yorkshire and the
neighbouring counties; amongst whom were Venn of Huddersfield and Joseph
Milner. To this society Samuel Marsden was introduced by his friend the
Reverend Mr. Whittaker, a neighbouring clergyman; and not without some
apprehensions, it is said, on the part of the latter, lest his simple
and unassuming manner should create a prejudice against him. Such
anxieties were superfluous. The Milners themselves had fought their way
to eminence from the weaver's loom, and well knew how to distinguish
real worth, however unpretending. The piety, the manly sense, and the
modest bearing of the candidate, at once won the confidence of the
examiners; and he was sent to college at their expense.

Of his college life we are not aware that any memorials have been
preserved. He was, no doubt, a diligent student; and from the warm
friendship which grew up between himself and Mr. Simeon in after life,
we may infer that he profited from his ministry. He had not yet
completed his studies or taken his degree, when, to his great surprise,
an offer was made to him by the government, of a chaplaincy in what was
then designated "His Majesty's territory of New South Wales." That a
post of such importance should have been offered, unsolicited, to a
student hitherto quite unknown, is supposed to have been owing to the
influence of Mr. Wilberforce. He had already secured the appointment of
more than one pious chaplain to the colony, and from its commencement
had always been anxious to promote its moral and religious welfare. At
first, Mr. Marsden declined the tempting offer; for such it undoubtedly
was to a young man in his circumstances, although no human sagacity
could then foresee its vast importance. He was naturally anxious to
complete his studies, and he had a deep and unaffected sense of his own
incompetence, while yet so young and inexperienced. The offer, however,
was repeated and pressed upon him, when he modestly replied, that he was
"sensible of the importance of the post--so sensible, indeed, that he
hardly dared to accept it upon any terms, but if no more proper person
could be found, he would consent to undertake it." The choice reflects,
no doubt, great credit upon the sagacity and spiritual discernment of
those who made it. "Young as he was," says one who knew him well in
after life, Dr. Mason Good, "he was remarkable for a firmness of
principle, an intrepidity of spirit, a suavity of manner, a strong
judgment, and above all, a mind stored with knowledge and deeply
impressed with religious truth, which promised the happiest results."

He was accordingly appointed as second chaplain to the settlement in New
South Wales, by a royal commission, bearing date 1st January, 1793. He
was ordained shortly afterwards, and proceeded at once to Hull, from
whence he was to take his passage in a convict transport, the only
conveyance, at that period, for the far distant colony; a banishment of
half a world. On the 21st of April, he was married to Miss Elizabeth
Tristan, in whom, for upwards of thirty years, he found not only an
affectionate and faithful wife, but a companion singularly qualified to
share his labours and lighten his toils. Disinterested and generous as
he was, even to a fault, it was to her admirable management that not
only his domestic comfort, but even his means of assisting others so
profusely, was owing in no small degree. While at Hull, an incident
occurred which shows to what an extent, even thus early in life, he
possessed the art of gaining the respect and warm affection of those who
knew him however slightly. While waiting for the sailing of the ship, he
was frequently asked to officiate in various churches. One Sunday
morning, when he was just about to enter the pulpit, a signal-gun was
heard; his ship was about to sail, and it was of course impossible for
him to preach. Taking his bride under his arm, he immediately left the
church and walked down to the beach; but he was attended by the whole
congregation, who, as if by one movement, followed in a body. From the
boat into which he stepped he gave his parting benedictions, which they
returned with fervent prayers, and tender farewells. He now found
himself in a new world. What contrast could indeed be greater, or more
distressing? The calm, though vigorous pursuits of Cambridge, and the
pious circle of warm Christian friends, were at once exchanged for the
society of felons, and the doubly irksome confinement of a convict-ship.
From his journal, which has been fortunately preserved, we make the
following extracts, omitting much which our space does not permit us to
insert.

    "_Sunday, 28th August, 1793._--This morning we weighed anchor, with
    a fair wind, and have sailed well all the day. How different this
    sabbath to what I have been accustomed to! Once I could meet the
    people of God, and assemble with them in the house of prayer; but
    now am deprived of this valuable privilege; and instead of living
    among those who love and serve the Lord Jesus, spending the
    sabbath in prayer and praise, I hear nothing but oaths and
    blasphemies. Lord, keep me in the midst of them, and grant that I
    may neither in word or deed countenance their wicked practices."

It was not till the 30th of September that the fleet in which his ship
sailed finally left Cork. The war with France was then raging, and her
fleets were still formidable; so that our merchantmen only ventured to
put to sea in considerable numbers, and under the convoy of a ship of
war.

    "_Cork, 30th September._--This morning the signal was given by the
    commodore for all the ships under his convoy to weigh anchor and
    prepare for sea. About nine o'clock the whole fleet was under
    sail, which consisted of about forty ships. The wind was very
    fair, so that we were quickly in the main ocean. I was soon
    affected by the motion of the vessel; this rendered me quite unfit
    for any religious duties. Oh! how miserable must their state be
    who have all their religion to seek when sickness and death come
    upon them. Lord, grant that this may never be my case.

    "_Monday, 23rd October._--I have this day been reading a portion
    of Dr. Dodd's 'Prison Thoughts.' What an awful instance of human
    infirmity is here! What need of humility in every situation, but
    more especially in the ministerial office! How needful the
    apostle's caution, 'Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed
    lest he fall.'"

The two following entries will be read with pain. The mercantile marine
of England is still capable of great improvement in matters of religion,
but we hope the instances are few in which the commander of a first rate
merchant vessel would follow the examples they record.

    "_Sunday, 29th September._--How different is this sabbath from
    those I have formerly known, when I could meet with the great
    congregation! I long for those means and privileges again. 'Oh,
    when shall I come and appear before God?' Yet it is a great
    consolation to me to believe that I am in the way of my duty. I
    requested the captain to-day to give me permission to perform
    divine service to the ship's company; he rather hesitated, _said
    he had never seen a religious sailor_, but at length promised to
    have service the following Sunday.

    "_Sunday, 6th October._--The last sabbath the captain promised me
    I should have liberty to perform divine service to-day, but to my
    great mortification, he now declines. How unwilling are the
    unconverted to hear anything of divine truth!"

But Mr. Marsden was not one of those who are discouraged by a first
repulse. The next Sunday relates his triumph, and, from this time,
divine service, whenever the weather allowed, was statedly performed,
though the captain was a grossly immoral man, and Mr. M. was constantly
subject to annoyance.

    "_Sunday, 13th._--I arose this morning with a great desire to
    preach to the ship's company, yet did not know how I should be
    able to accomplish my wish. We were now four ships in company. Our
    captain had invited the captains belonging to the other three to
    dine with us to-day. As soon as they came on board I mentioned my
    design to one of them, who immediately complied with my wish, and
    said he would mention it to our captain, which he did, and
    preparations were made for me to preach. I read part of the church
    prayers, and afterwards preached from the 3rd chapter of St John,
    the 14th and 15th verses: 'As Moses lifted up the serpent in the
    wilderness,' etc. The sailors stood on the main deck, I and the
    four captains upon the quarter-deck; they were attentive, and the
    good effects were apparent during the remainder of the day.

    "_Thursday, 12th December._--I have been reading of the success of
    Mr. Brainerd among the Indians. How the Lord owned and blessed his
    labours to the conversion of the heathen! Nothing is too hard for
    the Lord. This gives me encouragement under my present difficult
    undertaking. The same power can also effect a change upon those
    hardened ungodly sinners to whom I am about to carry the words of
    eternal life.

    "_January 1st, 1794._--A new year. I wish this day to renew my
    covenant with God, and to give myself up to his service more than
    ever I have done heretofore. May my little love be increased, my
    weak faith strengthened, and hope confirmed."

In this humble yet trustful spirit, Mr. Marsden entered his new field of
labour. On board the ship there were a number of convicts, whose daring
wickedness--in which, indeed, they were countenanced by the whole
conduct of the captain and his crew--grieved his righteous soul from day
to day; while at the same time it prepared him, in some measure, for
scenes amidst which his life was to be spent. "I am surrounded," he
says, "with evil-disposed persons, thieves, adulterers, and blasphemers.
May God keep me from evil, that I may not be tainted by the evil
practices of those amongst whom I live." His last sermon was preached,
"notwithstanding the unwillingness there was in all on board to hear the
word of God," from the vision of dry bones (Ezekiel xxvxii.) "I found
some liberty, and afterwards more comfort in my own soul. I wish to be
found faithful at last, and to give up my account with joy to God." To
add to his anxieties, Mrs. Marsden was confined on shipboard, in stormy
weather, and under circumstances peculiarly distressing, "though both
the mother and daughter did well." But the same day the scene
brightened; the perils and privations of the voyage were drawing to a
close, and they were in sight of their future home--that magnificent
Australia--destined hereafter to assume, perhaps, a foremost place among
the nations of the earth, though scarcely known to Europe when Mr.
Marsden first stepped upon its shores; and valued only by the British
government as a settlement for the refuse of our jails. He thus gives
utterance to the feelings of a grateful heart:--

    "_March 2nd._--I shall ever retain a grateful sense of the mercies
    received this day, and the deliverances wrought. The Lord is good,
    and a stronghold in the day of trouble, and knows them that fear
    him.... As soon as I had the opportunity to go upon deck, I had
    the happiness again to behold the land: it was a very pleasing
    sight, as we had not seen it since the 3rd of December. We came up
    with the Cape about noon."

In a few days, Mr. Marsden had taken up his abode in the "barracks" of
Paramatta, a few miles from Port Jackson, and entered upon his arduous
and toilsome duties as chaplain to the colony. His first Sunday in
Australia is thus described:--"Saw several persons at work as I went
along, to whom I spoke, and warned them of the evil of sabbath-breaking.
My mind was deeply affected with the wickedness I beheld going on. I
spoke from the 6th chapter of Revelation.--'Behold the great day of his
wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?' As I was returning home,
a young man followed me into the wood, and told me how he was distressed
for the salvation of his soul. He seemed to manifest the strongest marks
of contrition, and to be truly awakened to a sense of his danger. I hope
the Lord will have many souls in this place." He had, for a short time,
a single associate, in the Rev. Mr. Johnson, the senior chaplain, a good
and useful minister, but unequal to the difficulties peculiar to his
situation. This gentleman soon relinquished his appointment, and
returned to England. And thus Mr. Marsden was left alone with a charge
which might have appalled the stoutest heart, and under which even his
would have given way, had he not learned to cast himself for help on One
who comforted the apostle, under circumstances of the keenest suffering,
with the assurance, "My grace is sufficient for thee." On that grace our
missionary chaplain trusted; and he found it all-sufficient.




CHAPTER II.

    Discovery and early History of New South Wales--Becomes a Penal
    Settlement--Its state, moral and religious, on Mr. Marsden's
    arrival.


The colony in which Mr. Marsden was now entering on his labours, and on
which he was to leave the impression both of his holy zeal, and his
far-sighted practical wisdom, is one of whose history our readers may
naturally wish to have some account. We shall therefore suspend our
narrative for a few pages, and lay before them a brief sketch of the
earlier days of the great Australian colony.

Europeans are indebted for their first knowledge of the existence of the
vast country which now bears the name of Australia, to the enterprise of
Spain and Holland, when these nations were at the head of the world's
commerce, two centuries and a half ago. In 1607, Luis de Torres, who was
sent out by the Spanish government on a voyage of discovery, passed
through the straits which still bear his name, and which separate New
Guinea from the greater continent of Australia; but he was not aware of
its vast extent, and merely concluded that the coasts along which he
sailed were those of a group of islands. Just about the same time, the
Dutch explored the eastern shores of what has since been termed the Gulf
of Carpentaria; and their knowledge of Australia was extended by
subsequent voyagers, of whom the chief was Abel Tasman. In 1642, he
discovered Van Diemen's Land, which was long supposed to be a part of
the great continent named by the Dutch New Holland--the Australia of
modern times. Known as Tasmania, Van Diemen's Land now immortalizes the
great sea-captain. But these discoveries led to no immediate results of
importance; and for upwards of a century New Holland was laid down, in
charts and maps, as a region whose coasts were not defined, and whose
interior was utterly unknown. Early in the reign of George the Third a
noble spirit of enterprise animated the British government. Voyages of
discovery were undertaken in the Southern Seas, under Captains Wallace,
Carteret, and others; and at length the celebrated Captain Cook may be
said to have retrieved a new world from romance and fable, and to have
made it over to England and to the best interests of mankind.

On the evening of the 19th of April, 1770, unknown land was descried
from the mast-head of the "Resolute," of which Cook was the commander.
The rugged coast of a vast continent seemed to extend far beyond the
sweep of the telescope; and as the sun went down, the vessel, after
soundings, dropped her anchor within a spacious bay. The smoke of
distant fires told that the land was not without inhabitants; and it was
determined, if possible, to open a communication with them. In the
morning, a boat was rowed on shore, and the first Englishman set his
foot upon Australia. A forest extended to the beach, and dipped its
branches into the sea; while an abundant variety of beautiful flowering
shrubs delighted the eye; and from this circumstance "Botany Bay"
received its European name. A dismal solitude prevailed; for the
natives, one or two of whom had been observed crouching behind the
rocks, fled in terror to the woods as the boat approached. After
spending a few hours on shore in search of water and fresh vegetables,
and in the vain attempt to communicate with the savages, the boat
returned at night. The bay was found to abound with fish; and the
sailors were glad to relieve the weary monotony of their many months at
sea, as well as to provide an agreeable change from their diet of salt
meat and mouldy biscuits, in fishing both with nets and lines. Fish too
was a wholesome diet for the sick; and at this period, even in the navy,
sickness, especially from the scurvy, almost invariably attended a long
voyage.

The natives, seeing the men thus employed, discovered in our sailors
some tastes common to themselves, and at length ventured towards the
fishermen in a couple of light canoes. After paddling about for some
time in evident suspense, they ventured to approach the boat, then came
still nearer and shouted, and having caught a few beads which were
thrown out to them, immediately retired. Gaining courage from the
peaceful conduct of our sailors, who were instructed to continue their
fishing without any attempt to follow them, the natives soon returned
with a canoe laden with fine fish, which they readily bartered for such
trifles as the boat was provided with. They were invited, by signs, to
come on board the ship lying in the offing, which they soon ventured to
do in considerable numbers. At first, they seemed harmless, scarcely
understanding the use of the various novelties on ship board, and not
much surprised by them; and honest, until the sight of ten or twelve
fine turtle crawling on the deck proved too great a temptation. First,
by signs they begged for some of these, and then, not succeeding, made a
childish attempt to carry them off by force. They set little value on
the beads and baubles which generally have so great a charm for savages.
Nothing tempted them to barter but turtle or iron tools and nails,
neither of which could well be spared. On shore it was found almost
impossible to approach them; such was the distrust and dismay with which
they evidently regarded the intrusion of their strange visitors. On
further acquaintance the savages were discovered to be a singularly
helpless and timid race. Their country appeared to be very thinly
peopled, and that chiefly along the coast, for fish were plentiful and
wild animals were few. Of the latter, the largest was scarcely bigger
than a greyhound, and the first sight of it caused great amazement to
the sailors, one of whom rushed into the tent which had been pitched on
the shore for the use of the sick, declaring, with horror depicted on
his countenance, that he had seen an evil spirit. He described it as
having assumed the colour of a mouse with two fore-paws, but that it sat
upon its hind quarters "like a Christian." An animal answering this
description was soon after shot, and the flesh, when roasted, proved
excellent food; it was called by the natives the kangaroo, and had
hitherto been quite unknown to Europeans. There were no beasts of prey;
unless wild dogs deserved that title, but the long grass concealed vast
numbers of snakes and scorpions. At night, the forests were disturbed by
the hideous flight of huge bats; by day, they echoed to the whooping of
cockatoos and the screaming of innumerable parrots. Crows and a few wild
pigeons were occasionally seen, and the rocks abounded with wild fowl,
while now and then an eagle might be seen soaring far above. Such were
the first impressions which Englishmen received, from their great
voyager, of that vast continent.

On the return of Captain Cook, the accounts he brought home of New South
Wales suggested to the government the idea of making it a vast
prison-house for convicted felons, who had now become a sore burden, as
well as a cause of grave uneasiness, to this country. Its distance and
its solitude recommended it to their choice. It would effectually rid
the mother country of a dangerous class--this was the argument of the
selfish; and it would afford the lost the opportunity of starting afresh
in life--this was the hope of the few benevolent and humane who cared
for the welfare of convicted felons. No one thought of the future
grandeur of Australia. None wrote or spoke at present of our duties to
the aboriginal savages, or probably wasted a thought on the subject of
their conversion.

In 1778, Botany Bay was selected by Sir Joseph Banks, who had sailed
with Captain Cook as a naturalist and scientific observer, as a most
eligible site for a penal settlement. But the project was no sooner
broached than it had to encounter the most determined opposition from
the public, to most of whom it seemed no doubt utterly chimerical and
absurd. The "Gentleman's Magazine," the great organ of literature and
science at that time, led the van. At first the editors affected to
treat the scheme as an extravagant hoax; afterwards they tell their
readers "with what alarm they read in the public prints that so wild a
project was actually to be carried into execution." However, "it could
never be countenanced by any professional man after a moment's
reflection. Not only the distance, but the utter impossibility of
carrying a number of male and female felons across the line, without
the ravages of putrid disorders sweeping them off by the score, must for
ever render such a plan abortive. The rains, the heats, tempests,
tornados, and mountainous seas to be encountered, were enough to deter
the most reckless of human life from such a hazardous enterprise. If any
such desperadoes could be found, they ventured to foretell that their
fate would for ever be a warning to others not to repeat the attempt."
The subject was not suffered to rest; a few months afterwards SYLVANUS
URBAN--for under this name the editors of that able journal have for
upwards of a century disguised themselves--returned to the charge. "The
ostensible design of the projector," they say, "to prepare a settlement
for the reception of felons on the most barren, least inhabited, and
worst cultivated country in the southern hemisphere, was beyond belief."
Moreover, "Botany Bay was beyond the reach of succour or assistance from
any European settlement."

Then again the lavish expense of such an establishment was another
serious objection. "It was said that it was to consist of a
post-captain, a governor, with a salary of 500_l._ a-year, a master, and
commander. A lieutenant-governor, with 300_l._ a-year, four captains,
twelve subalterns, twelve sergeants, and one hundred and sixty rank and
file from the marines; a surgeon, chaplain, and quartermaster. The whole
equipment, army, navy, and felons, were to be supplied with two years'
provisions, and all sorts of implements for the culture of the earth,
and hunting and fishing. Some slight buildings were to be run up until a
proper fort and a town could be erected. If such a report could be true,
the expense would equal that of an expedition to the South Seas against
an enemy." If such extravagance were repeated with every freight of
felons, "it would furthermore extinguish all hope of paying off the
national debt."

We leave the reader to smile while he muses on the short-sightedness
even of wise men, and the strange fluctuations of human opinion. The
government persevered in spite of these prophetic warnings; which
probably represented the general state of feeling on the subject among
educated men in England, with whom, in those days, _Sylvanus_ was no
mean authority. Accordingly, in March 1787, eleven sail, consisting of
the frigate Sirius, an armed tender, three store-ships, and six
transports, assembled at Portsmouth, having on board five hundred and
sixty-five male, and one hundred and ninety-two female convicts, under
Captain Arthur Phillip, an experienced officer, who was appointed
governor of the new colony. The fleet set sail from the Mother Bank, on
the 13th of May, 1787, and after a tedious voyage of eight months, the
whole convoy arrived safely in Botany Bay in the middle of January,
1788. But Captain Cook's description of the country surrounding the Bay
was found far too flattering--the harbour being exposed to tempestuous
gales, which often rolled a heavy sea upon the beach, while the land was
deformed with swamps and barren sand banks. On pressing forward to a
neighbouring creek, marked by Captain Cook as a mere boat harbour,
Governor Phillip had the satisfaction to find one of the finest havens
in the world, in which a thousand sail of the line might ride in safety.
It was then called Port Jackson. The different coves of this harbour
were examined with all possible expedition, and the preference was given
to one which had the finest spring of water, and in which ships might
anchor so close to the shore that, at a very small expense, quays could
be constructed where the largest vessels might unload. This cove is
about half a mile in length, and about a quarter of a mile across at the
entrance. In honour of Lord Sydney, the governor distinguished it by the
name of Sydney Cove. On the twenty-sixth of February, 1788, the British
colours were displayed on these shores; the plan of an encampment, the
first rude outline of the metropolitan city of SYDNEY, was formed. The
spot chosen was at the head of the cove, near a stream of fresh water,
which stole silently along by a thick wood now the site of crowded
streets, the stillness of which for the first time since the creation
was then broken by the rude sound of the labourer's axe, and the hum of
busy men. The anniversary of this great event has for some years been a
festival in New South Wales. Governor Phillip landed with a thousand and
thirty souls; his live stock consisted of six head of horned cattle and
seven horses. The town and district of Sydney has now a population of
three hundred thousand souls; every year the increase is enormous; and
the ratio of each year's increase exceeds the last.

These figures, however, make but a feeble impression upon us at a
distance. The colonists feel a warmth of enthusiasm such as only the
sight of the marvellous contrast can create. We copy the following
extract from the Sydney Herald on one of these anniversaries--"the
nativity of the city of Sydney and of the colony of New South Wales."

"When we compare the town and the country as they are now with what they
were then, we may well be proud of British enterprise, and of the local
resources which it has so rapidly and triumphantly developed. How
forcibly are we reminded of the miraculous transformation foretold by
the inspired son of Amoz--'The wilderness and the solitary place shall
be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.'
Let the imagination attempt this day to realize the enchanting contrast.
As we look upon the noble ships riding in our harbour, and the steamers,
yachts, wherries, and boats innumerable, gliding to and fro amid the
joyous excitements of the regatta, let us picture the three humble boats
which, this day fifty-seven years,[A] were slowly creeping up the
unknown waters of Port Jackson, in quest of a sure resting-place for our
first predecessors. As we cast our eye over the elegant buildings which
now skirt our shores on either side, and over the crowds of well-dressed
men, women and children, who are keeping holiday on this our national
festival, let us think of the dense woods which then frowned on Governor
Phillip, of the profound silence that reigned around him, of the awful
sense of solitude with which he and his little band must have been
impressed, and of the exultation they would have felt could they have
foreseen that, within so brief a term, the wilderness they were
approaching would have become 'replenished' with a teeming population,
and have been 'subdued' to the beauty and affluence of civilized life."

    [A] This was published in 1845.

But the dark side of this romantic picture must not be withheld. The
infant colony was chiefly composed of the worst class of felons; they
were the days of barbarous justice even in England, and it would often
be difficult to say why some convicts were sentenced to transportation,
while others for lighter causes were punished with death. There was, at
that time, a fearful indifference to human life in our penal code.
Punishment was its sole object; amendment was seldom if ever
contemplated. Amongst the convicts there was every shade of crime, but
scarcely any corresponding gradation of punishment. The truth is, true
religion was at its lowest ebb, and pure philanthropy, in consequence,
all but unknown; a formal, heartless religion prevailed; and, as one of
its fruits, a stern and iron code of law. The convict-ship, which has
now become a reformatory school, was rivalled in its horrors only by the
slave-ship; indeed if the physical suffering was greater in the latter,
in moral torture and mental defilement the hold of the convict-ship had,
beyond all doubt, the bad pre-eminence.

The prisoners consisted of the most abandoned persons of all nations;
British, Dutch, and Portuguese sailors, the polite swindler, and the
audacious highwayman, with their female accomplices. They were shipped
off in chains; during the passage outward a detachment of soldiers was
constantly on guard; and the voyage was seldom accomplished without
bloodshed. The secret plots, in which the prisoners were continually
engaged, broke out into open mutiny whenever circumstances offered a
chance of success; for this purpose a storm, a leak, or a feigned
sickness, was readily taken advantage of. When signs of such
disturbances showed themselves, the ringleaders were seized and tried in
a summary way by court martial; but the sailors often refused to enforce
the sentence, so that it became necessary to compel obedience with
loaded muskets.

The hold of a convict-ship presented a melancholy picture of human
depravity. In the course of the voyage most of the felons survived the
sense of shame: the sounds of ribaldry and boisterous mirth, mingled
with catches from the popular songs of the day, issued unceasingly from
the prisoners' deck; this uproar was ever and anon increased by more
riotous disturbances, blows and bloodshed followed; and occasionally the
monotony of the voyage was broken by mock trials among the prisoners, to
show that even in the most profligate and abandoned the principle of
justice was not altogether destroyed. When a prisoner committed an
offence against his fellows, a judge was appointed, advocates were
assigned to the prosecutor and the accused, a jury was sworn to try
according to the evidence, witnesses were examined, and the prisoner,
being found guilty, was sentenced to an immediate and brutal punishment.

From such elements the society of New South Wales was formed. Most of
the convicts, after a short servitude, obtained tickets-of-leave, and
settled upon the parcels of land allotted to them by government; and by
the improvement of such opportunities they easily drew a subsistence
from the soil; others devoted themselves to the care of cattle; while
many more, as the colony increased, betook themselves to trade, by which
means large fortunes were frequently acquired. Many of the convicts in
the course of a few years contrived to amass great wealth, which was
expended in the extension, or improvement of their property. The results
of such industry were to be seen in the cleared inclosures, the neat
orchard, and the trim garden that here and there surrounded a well-built
brick-house. Even here honest labour seems to have been crowned with
success.

Free settlers were at present few in number, and the convict on his
plot of land had many advantages over them. From acquaintance with the
climate and the modes of cultivation best suited to the soil, as well as
the easiest method of carrying on agricultural operations, he had
learned to avoid many fruitless experiments. He understood the habits
and character of the servants who assisted him, for the labourers were
all of them felons; and he himself had probably shared the same cell,
and worked in the same gang. He understood their principles of action;
and they were infected with his prejudices. They lived together, ate at
the same board and slept under the same roof. Thus a good understanding
was maintained between them by his connivance with their follies or
their vices. The men themselves always preferred a master who had been a
prisoner to a free settler of stricter virtue, and a disposition less
akin to their own; and for such an one they would make extraordinary
exertions, of great importance at seed time and harvest, which a better
master could not obtain at any cost.

A brotherhood and close fellowship, the fruit of old associations,
sprang up among the convict population. Many considered themselves as
martyrs to the vengeance rather than the justice of the law; others,
transported for political offences, regarded themselves in the light of
patriots. In short a unity of interest cemented them; and each newly
arrived convict ship was heartily welcomed. When it anchored in the
harbour boats swarmed around it, the decks were crowded, the new comers
were loaded with presents of fresh bread and other luxuries. They were
pressed with eager inquiries after absent friends, the comrades they had
left in English jails. They were greeted with the heartiness of old
companions, and without reluctance exchanged the close confinement of
the convict ship for the fellowship of their old acquaintance on shore.
The colony at this time abounded with Irish who had shared in the
rebellion of 1798, and who generally brought with them a fair knowledge
of agriculture without very industrious habits. They attached little
turpitude to their offences, considering themselves rather as sacrificed
to the cause of freedom. Indeed it is well ascertained that some of them
had been banished without even the formality of a trial, some without
any specific sentence as to the term of their transportation, victims to
the angry spirit of the times. They are described as, for the most part,
conducting themselves with great propriety in the hope of one day
regaining their freedom, and being restored to their long absent
friends. Such men as these proved excellent colonists, and successful
settlers.

The criminal history of the colony in its first years discloses a
dreadful list of both crimes and punishments. Small bodies of the
convicts occasionally broke loose, fled to the woods, and there, setting
all restraints at defiance, became reckless and ferocious. The dread of
punishment did not restrain them from robbery, murder, and the most
appalling crimes. The risks were well calculated, for the chances of
conviction were few, and punishment was uncertain. If they were
detected, a convict, being dead in law, could not be summoned as a
witness. The jury would probably be composed of men who had been sharers
in crimes of equal magnitude, perhaps old associates. The prisoners
would be defended by convict attorneys, a nefarious class with which the
colonial courts were filled. Ineffectual attempts were made to exclude
these men, but the influence they had been suffered already to attain,
made this impracticable. Amongst the most notorious of them was one who
obtained a large practice by dint of his ingenuity, and managed the most
important business in the colony. He had been some years previously
sentenced to transportation for life, for forging a will. He had
resorted to the ingenious device of putting a _fly_ into the mouth of a
dead man, and then guiding his hand to trace his signature to the
writing; and, upon the trial, he swore, with audacious assurance, that
he saw the testator sign the will while _life_ was in him. In passing
sentence, the late Lord Ellenborough took the opportunity of
congratulating the profession on getting rid of such a pest.

The records of the court are scarcely less painful than the history of
the criminals themselves. The punishments adjudged were frightfully
severe. If they did not reclaim the prisoner, they must have hardened
him beyond recovery, if indeed they did not in many instances torture
him to death. The men thus punished were already convicts it is true,
and more than usual severity may have been justified. But no penal code
emanating from a people professing the name of Christ may inflict savage
and barbarous penalties. They recoil with disgrace upon the legislation
which exacts them, and a whole nation is degraded in the person of its
own malefactors; while God's displeasure is evident both in the increase
and audacity of criminals on the one hand, and in the loss of humane and
virtuous sentiments throughout the community on the other. We have taken
three cases as a specimen of the method in which justice was dealt out
to criminals in the early days of the colony in New South Wales.

"John Allen, stealing in dwelling-house to the value of forty shillings.
Publicly whipped, hundred lashes, confined in solitary cell at Paramatta
on bread and water for six months, and hard labour at Newcastle three
years."

"Michael Hoare and James Gilchrist, feloniously and burglariously
breaking and entering Schoolhouse at Kissing Point, and stealing from
there divers articles of property. Twelve months solitary confinement at
Paramatta, two years hard labour in jail gang, then transported for life
to Newcastle."

"John Hale, Robert Holton, and Peter Allen, killing a bullock with
intent to steal the carcase. Solitary confinement on bread and water for
three years in Paramatta jail, afterwards two years labour in jail gang
there, and afterwards transportation for life to Newcastle."[B]

    [B] See Wentworth's Colony of New South Wales, second edition, 1820.

Such was the sphere of Mr. Marsden's labours, such the difficulties with
which he had to contend, and the system, too, which, as a magistrate, he
was even called upon to administer. A more hopeless task could scarcely
have been undertaken; but he set himself vigorously to work, looking to
the Strong One for strength, and the fruit was "seen after many days."




CHAPTER III.

    Mr. Marsden appointed to the Magistracy--Objections to this
    considered--Cultivates Land--Charge of Secularity considered--His
    connexion with the London Missionary Society, and care of its
    Polynesian Mission--Revisits England in 1807.


The retirement of the senior chaplain left Mr. Marsden in sole charge of
the spiritual concerns of the infant colony. He had now to officiate at
the three settlements of Sydney, Paramatta, and Hawkesbury without
assistance. The nature of the population, consisting as it did of a mass
of criminals, rendered his ministerial labours peculiarly distressing.
The state of morals was utterly depraved; oaths and ribaldry, and
audacious lying were universal; marriage, and the sacred ties of
domestic life, were almost unknown, and those who, from their station,
should have set an example to the convicts and settlers, encouraged sin
in others by the effrontery of their own transgressions. Under
discouragement such as would have subdued the spirit of most men, did
he, for the long period of fourteen years, continue at his post; cheered
it is true with occasional gleams of success, but upon the whole rather
a witness against abounding vice, than, at present, a successful
evangelist. Nor were domestic trials wanting to complete that process of
salutary discipline by which "the great Shepherd of the sheep" was
preparing his servant for other and wider scenes of labour, and for
triumphs greater than the church in these later days had known. His
firstborn son, a lovely and promising child scarcely two years old,
was thrown from its mother's arms by a sudden jerk of the gig in which
they were seated, and killed upon the spot. It would be impossible to
describe the agonized feelings of the mother under such a bereavement,
nor were the sorrows of the father less profound. He received the
tidings, together with the body of his lifeless boy, we are told, with
"calm, and even dignified submission," for "he was a man who said little
though he felt much." A second stroke, still more painful, was to
follow. Mrs. Marsden, determined not to hazard the safety of another
child, left her babe at home in charge of a domestic while she drove
out. But her very precaution was the occasion of his death: the little
creature strayed into the kitchen unobserved, fell backwards into a pan
of boiling water, and its death followed soon after. Thus early in his
ministerial career the iron entered his own soul, and taught him that
sympathy for the wounded spirit which marked his character through life.

[Illustration: DISTANT VIEW OF SYDNEY.]

But from these scenes of private suffering we must turn aside. The
public life and ministerial labours of Mr. Marsden require our
attention; and as we enter upon the review of them we must notice two
circumstances which from the very outset of his career exposed him to
frequent suspicion and obloquy, both in the colony and at home, and
formed in fact the chief materials, so to speak, out of which his
opponents wove the calumnies with which they harassed the greater
portion of his life.

He had scarcely arrived at his post when he was appointed a colonial
magistrate. Under ordinary circumstances, we should condemn in the
strongest manner the union of functions so obviously incompatible as
those of the Christian minister and the civil judge. To use the words of
a great living authority on judicial questions, a late lord
chancellor,[C] "it is the union of two noble offices to the detriment of
both." Yet it seems in the case before us, that the office was forced
upon Mr. Marsden, not as a complimentary distinction, but as one of the
stern duties of his position as a colonial chaplain, who was bound to
maintain the authority of the law amidst a population of lawless and
dangerous men. Port Jackson, or Botany Bay as it was generally called,
was then and long afterwards merely a penal settlement. The governor was
absolute, and the discipline he enforced was, perhaps of necessity,
harsh and rigid. Resistance to the law and its administrators was of
daily occurrence; life and property were always insecure, and even armed
rebellion sometimes broke out. If the government thought it necessary,
for the safety of this extraordinary community, to select a minister of
the gospel to fill the office of a magistrate, he had no alternative but
to submit, or else to resign his chaplaincy and return home. Mr. Marsden
chose to remain; moved by the hope of being able to infuse something of
the spirit of the gospel into the administration of justice, and to
introduce far higher principles than those which he saw prevailing
amongst the magistrates themselves. In both of these objects he
succeeded to an eminent extent, though not till after the lapse of
years, and a remonstrance carried by himself in person to the government
at home. Justice was dealt even to the greatest criminals more fairly,
and the bench of magistrates grew at length ashamed, in the presence of
the chaplain of Paramatta, of its own hitherto unabashed licentiousness.
But the cost was great. He was involved in secular business from day to
day, and that often of the most painful kind. His equal-handed justice
made him a host of personal enemies in those whose vices he punished;
and, still more, in those whose corrupt and partial administration of
the law was rebuked by the example of his integrity. In the share he was
obliged to take in the civil affairs of the colony differences of
opinion would naturally arise, and angry feelings would, as usual
follow. Of course he was not free from human infirmity, his own temper
was sometimes disturbed. Thus for years, especially during his early
residence in New South Wales, he was in frequent collision with the
magistrates, and occasionally even with the governor. Again and again he
would have resigned his commission, but was not allowed to do so;
meanwhile his mind was often distracted and his character maligned. To
these trials we shall be obliged to refer as we trace his steps through
life; but we mean to do so as seldom as we can, for the subject is
painful, and, since few men can ever be placed in his circumstances, to
most of us unprofitable.

    [C] Lord Brougham.

Another point on which Mr. Marsden's conduct has been severely, and yet
most unjustly blamed, is that he was engaged in the cultivation of a
considerable tract of land. Avarice and secularity were roundly charged
upon him in consequence; for it was his painful lot through life to be
incessantly accused not only of failings of which he was quite
guiltless, but of those which were the most opposite to his real
character. A more purely disinterested and unselfish man perhaps never
lived. One who under the constant disturbance of every kind of business
and employment, still "walked" more "humbly with his God," is not often
to be found. Yet the cry once raised against him was never hushed; until
at length, having rung in his ears through life, as a warning to him, no
doubt, even in his brightest moments of success, that he should "cease
from man," it was suddenly put to shame at last and buried with him in
his grave.

The circumstances were these: When he arrived in the colony, in the
beginning of 1794, it was yet but six years old. The cultivation of land
had scarcely begun; it was therefore dependent on supplies of food from
home, and was often reduced to the brink of famine. One cask of meat was
all that the king's stores contained when Mr. Marsden first landed on
those shores from which the produce of the most magnificent flocks and
herds the world has ever pastured was afterwards to be shipped. Governor
Phillip, as we have seen, had laid the foundation of the colony amid
scenes of difficulty and trial which it is fearful to contemplate. In
September, 1795, Captain Hunter arrived, and following in the steps of
his predecessor, exerted himself in clearing land and bringing it under
cultivation. To effect this he made a grant to every officer, civil and
military, of one hundred acres, and allowed each thirteen convicts as
servants to assist in bringing it into order. Mr. Marsden availed
himself of the grant, and his farm soon exhibited those marks of
superior management which might have been looked for by all who were
acquainted with the energy of his character and his love of rural
pursuits. Where land was to be had on such easy terms, it was not to be
desired or expected that he should be limited to the original grant. He
soon possessed an estate of several hundred acres--the model farm of
New South Wales;--and, let it not be forgotten, the source from whence
those supplies were drawn which fed the infant missions of the Southern
Seas, while at the same time they helped their generous owner to support
many a benevolent institution in his own parish and neighbourhood. Years
afterwards he was induced to print a pamphlet in justification of his
conduct in this as well as other particulars on which it was assailed;
and as we copy an extract from it, our feeling is one of shame and
sorrow that it should ever have been required. He says, "I did not
consider myself in the same situation, in a temporal point of view, in
this colony as a clergyman in England. My situation at that period would
bear no such comparison. A clergyman in England lives in the very bosom
of his friends; his comforts and conveniences are all within his reach,
and he has nothing to do but to feed his flock. On the contrary, I
entered a country which was in a state of nature, and was obliged to
plant and sow or starve. It was not from inclination that my colleague
and I took the axe, the spade, and the hoe: we could not, from our
situation, help ourselves by any other means, and we thought it no
disgrace to labour. St. Paul's own hands ministered to his necessities
in a cultivated nation, and our hands ministered to our wants in an
uncultivated one. If this be cast upon me as a shame and a reproach, I
cheerfully bear it, for the remembrance never gives me any cause of
reproach or remorse." Monsieur Perron, a commander sent out by the
French government to search for the unfortunate La Perouse (who had
recently perished in an exploratory voyage to the islands of the South
Pacific), visited Mr. Marsden's farm in 1802, and records, with the
generous admiration his countrymen have never withheld from English
enterprise and industry, his astonishment and delight. "No longer," he
exclaims, "than eight years ago, the whole of this spot was covered with
immense and useless forests; what pains, what exertions must have been
employed! These roads, these pastures, these fields, these harvests,
these orchards, these flocks, the work of eight years!" And his
admiration of the scene was not greater than his reverence for its
owner, "who," he adds, "while he thus laboured in his various important
avocations was not unmindful of the interests of others. He generously
interfered in behalf of the poorer settlers in their distresses,
established schools for their children, and often relieved their
necessities; and to the unhappy culprits, whom the justice of their
offended country had banished from their native soil, he administered
alternately exhortation and comfort."

Indeed, it would be no easy task to enumerate all the schemes of social,
moral, and spiritual enterprise upon which Mr. Marsden was now employed,
and into all of which he appears to have thrown a force and energy which
is generally reserved, even by the zealous philanthropist, for some one
favoured project. Thus the state of the female convicts, at a very early
period, especially attracted his attention. Their forlorn condition,
their frightful immoralities--the almost necessary consequence of the
gross neglect which exposed them to temptation, or rather thrust them
into sin--pressed heavily upon him, and formed the subject of many
solemn remonstrances, first to the authorities abroad, and when these
were unheeded, to the government at home. The wrongs of the aborigines,
their heathenism, and their savage state, with all its attendant
miseries and hopeless prospects in eternity, sank into his heart; and
under his care a school arose at Paramatta for their children. The
scheme, as we shall explain hereafter, was not successful; but at least
it will be admitted "he did well that it was in" his "heart." He was
often consulted by the successive governors on questions of difficulty
and importance, and gave his advice with respect, but at the same time
with honest courage. Amusing anecdotes are told of some of their
interviews. A misunderstanding had occurred between Governor King and
himself, which did not, however, prevent the governor from asking his
advice. Mr. Marsden was allowed to make his own terms, which were that
he should consider Governor King as a private individual, and as such
address him. Much to his credit, the governor consented. Mr. Marsden
then locked the door, and in plain and forcible terms explained to
_Captain_ King the faults, as he conceived, of _Governor_ King's
administration. They separated on the most friendly terms; and if we
admire the courage of the chaplain, we must not overlook the
self-command and forbearance of the governor. With a dash of
eccentricity the affair was honourable to both parties.

Another instance of Mr. Marsden's ready tact and self-possession may be
mentioned. Governor King, who possessed, by virtue of his office, the
most absolute power, was not only eccentric but somewhat choleric. On
one occasion, when Mr. Marsden was present, a violent dispute arose
between the governor and the commissary-general. Mr. Marsden not being
at liberty to leave the room, retired to a window, determined not to be
a witness of the coming storm. The governor, in his heat, pushed or
collared the commissary, who in return, pushed or struck the governor.
His excellency, indignant at the insult, called to the chaplain, "Do you
see that, sir!" "Indeed, sir," replied Mr. M., "_I see_ nothing,"
--dwelling with jocular emphasis on the word see. Thus good
humour was immediately restored, and the grave and even treasonable
offence of striking the representative of the sovereign was forgotten.
These trifling circumstances are worth relating, not only in
illustration of Mr. Marsden's character, but of the history of the
earlier days of the colony.

But graver duties had already devolved upon him. Amongst the unpublished
manuscripts of the London Missionary Society, there is one document of
singular interest, in connexion with the name of Samuel Marsden. It is a
memorandum of seventeen folio pages on the state and prospects of their
missions to Tahiti and the islands in the South Seas, dated "Paramatta,
30th January, 1801," and "read before the committee" in London--such was
the slow, uncertain communication fifty years ago with a colony now
brought within sixty days' sail of England--"on the 19th of April,
1802." Foremost in the literature of another generation will stand those
treasures which slumber, for the most part unvalued and undisturbed, on
the shelves of our missionary houses. For men will surely one day
inquire, with an interest similar to that with which we read of the
conversion of Britain in the dim light of Ingulphus and the Saxon
Chronicle, or the venerable Bede, how distant islands were first
evangelized, and through what sorrows, errors, and reverses, the first
missionary fought his way to victory in continents and islands of the
southern hemisphere. And of these, the document which now lies before
us will be esteemed as inferior to none in calm and practical wisdom, in
piety, or in ardent zeal tempered with discretion.

The circumstances which called it forth were these. The Tahitian
mission, the first great effort of the London Missionary Society, and
indeed the first Protestant mission, with perhaps one exception,[D] to
savage tribes, had hitherto disappointed the sanguine expectations of
its promoters. We trust we shall not be thought to make a display of
that cheap wisdom which consists in blaming the failures of which the
causes were not seen until the catastrophe had occurred, if we say that,
great and truly magnificent as the project was, it carried within itself
the elements of its own humiliation. The faith and zeal of its founders
were beyond all human praise; but in the wisdom which results from
experience, they were of course deficient. "To attempt great things, and
to expect great things," was their motto; but they did not appreciate
the difficulties of the enterprise; nor did they duly estimate the depth
of the depravity of the savage heart and mind. Dr. Haweis, a London
clergyman of great piety and note in those days, preached before the
Society when the first missionary ship, the Duff, was about to sail. He
described to his delighted audience the romantic beauty and grandeur of
the islands which lie like emeralds upon the calm bosom of the Southern
Ocean, and anticipated their immediate conversion as soon as they should
hear the first glad tidings of the gospel. The ship sailed from the
Tower wharf, with flags flying and banners streaming, as if returning
from a triumph, amidst the cheers of the spectators. Amongst the crowd
there stood a venerable minister of Christ, leaning upon the arm of one
who still survives--himself a veteran in the service of his Lord. As
they turned slowly away from the exciting scene, the aged minister
mournfully exclaimed, "I am afraid it will not succeed: there is too
much of man in it." His words were prophetic; for nearly twenty years no
success followed, but one sweeping tide of disappointment and
disaster;[E] till, at length, when, humbled and dejected, about the year
1814, the missionaries, as well as the Society at home, in despair had
almost resolved to abandon the station, the work of God appeared in the
conversion of the king of Tahiti; and with a rapidity to be compared
only to the long, cheerless, period in which they had "laboured in vain,
and spent their strength for nought," the missionaries beheld not only
Tahiti, but the adjacent islands transformed into Christian lands.

    [D] That of the Moravians to Labrador. The Wesleyans had a mission
    in the West Indies, and the Society for the Propagation of the
    Gospel had long had the care of the Danish missions at Malabar. But
    none of these were missions, in the strict sense, among savages.

    [E] This anecdote we relate on the authority of the younger
    minister, from whom we received it. The elder one was the Rev.
    Samuel Bradburn, the friend and associate of Wesley.--EDITOR.

It was in the midst of these disasters that Mr. Marsden was consulted,
and wrote the memorandum to which we have referred. If in some places he
seems to lay too great stress upon what may appear to the reader
prudential considerations of inferior importance, let us remind him that
on these very points the missionaries had betrayed their weakness. Their
own quarrels and even the gross misconduct of some few amongst them,
were not less painful to the church at home than their want of success.

We make a few extracts:

    "... The first and principal object for the consideration of the
    directors is to select men properly qualified for the mission;
    unless persons equal to the task are sent out nothing can be done.
    It may be asked, who are proper persons, and what are the
    requisite qualifications? To the question I would reply in general
    terms. A missionary should be a man of real sound piety, and well
    acquainted with the depravity of the human heart, as well as
    experimental religion; he should not be a novice; he should not
    only be a good man in the strictest sense of the word, but also
    well informed, not taken from the dregs of the common people, but
    possessed of some education, and liberal sentiments. He should
    rather be of a lively active turn of mind than gloomy and heavy. A
    gloomy ignorant clown will be disgusting even to savages, and
    excite their contempt. The more easy and affable a missionary is
    in his address, the more easily will he obtain the confidence and
    good opinion of the heathen.

    "In my opinion a man of a melancholy habit is altogether
    unqualified for a missionary; he will never be able to sustain the
    hardships attending his situation, nay, he will magnify his
    dangers and difficulties and make them greater than what in
    reality they may be. A missionary, were I to define his character,
    should be a pious good man, should be well acquainted with
    mankind, should possess some education, should be easy in address,
    and of an active turn. Some of the missionaries who have come to
    this colony, are the opposite character to the above. They are
    totally ignorant of mankind, they possess no education, they are
    clowns in their manners. If the directors are determined to
    establish a mission in these Islands there is another object to be
    attended to; they must send out a sufficient body and furnish
    them with the means of self-defence. Unless the missionaries are
    able to protect themselves from the violence of the natives, they
    will be in constant danger of being cut off by them. Their lives,
    if unprotected by their own strength, will hang sometimes perhaps
    upon the fate of a single battle between two contending chiefs.
    Can any idea be more distressing than for the lives of a few
    defenceless missionaries to depend upon the sudden whim or turn of
    an enraged savage, without the means of self-defence? See them
    driven, in order to escape the savage fury of the natives, into
    holes and caverns of the rocks, suffering every hardship that
    nature can bear from hunger, toil, and anxiety, without so much as
    the prospect of relief in time of danger from Europe, or
    accomplishing in the smallest degree the object of the mission.
    Yet this must and will be the case, unless the missionaries are
    furnished with the means of self-defence, and are able to convince
    the natives of their superiority in point of skill and
    protection."

Many will condemn this counsel. Nor do we feel bound to justify it to
the letter. A reasonable degree of caution in avoiding danger, and under
great emergency in preparing measures for self-defence, may be allowed
even to the missionary. Yet experience shows that his safety chiefly
lies in cultivating and exhibiting the spirit of Him who "suffered the
just for the unjust," and "when led as a lamb to the slaughter, yet
opened not his mouth."

Various prudential hints follow, on marriage and other delicate
subjects. The reader will smile to learn that fifty years ago it was a
question at missionary boards whether married men were not disqualified
for missionary work. It was argued that their wives would be exposed to
ill-usage from the natives, and that they themselves would be diverted
by the anxieties or the comforts of home from their proper calling. Mr.
Marsden combats both of these objections. "It appears to me that a
married woman, coming along with her husband in the mission, would have
no extraordinary dangers to apprehend from the natives, and would, if a
prudent woman, prove the greatest comfort and protection to her husband,
sweeten his toils and sustain his burdens." Beyond this even Mr.
Marsden's views did not yet extend. The time had not yet come when
experience should drive the friends of missions, in the failure of many
a plausible theory, to fall back simply on the New Testament, not merely
for their principles, for this they did, but for the best and safest
precedents in missionary work. They forgot how large a share of the
honours of the primitive church in its labours for Christ belong to the
weaker sex. That a missionary's wife might be no less, nay in some
instances far more, successful than her husband was a thought not yet
entertained in missionary counsels. They did not foresee that the
instruction of the native woman, and the Christian education of the
heathen child, would soon become the special province of the
missionary's wife. Mrs. Wilson had not yet arisen "a mother in Israel,"
nor Mrs. Judson, nor others whose fame is only less in missionary
annals, because their work has been carried on in places less
interesting, or at least less open to the world's gaze, than Calcutta
and Burmah. Nor can we give more than a hesitating and partial consent
to some of the following observations:

    "Civilization must pave the way for the conversion of the
    heathen. As the natives in these islands are totally unconnected
    with the commercial world, however friendly disposed they may be
    towards strangers, they are, nevertheless, in a state of gross
    ignorance and barbarity. They must, from their social situation,
    their great distance from the civilized part of the world, be less
    prepared to receive the gospel than the Esquimaux on the coast of
    Labrador or the negroes in the West Indian Islands, and other
    parts of the heathen world where the Moravians in general send
    their missionaries. The heathens in these islands are, in the
    strictest sense, in a state of nature. Hence it becomes the
    indispensable duty of the missionaries to use every means for
    their civilization, and not to imagine they are already prepared
    to receive the blessings of Divine revelation."

True, they were not prepared. But here we are at variance alike with Dr.
Haweis on the one hand, and Mr. Marsden on the other. "The preparation
of the heart," the wise man tells us, "is from the Lord;" and this is a
kind of preparation which civilization will not supply. It is easy, as
we have said, to find fault with men who, whatever their mistakes,
deserve the veneration of the church. Let it be borne in mind that of
savage life, its horrors, its ferocity, its cannibalism, England then
knew but little. Had they been favoured with the experience we now
possess, they would have felt more deeply how impotent a weapon is
civilization to hew down the strongholds of Satan in a heathen land;
their failures perhaps would have been fewer, and their successes more
speedy if not more complete. A true Christian missionary, amongst
savages, must be of necessity a civilizer. His own pure and quiet
homestead, adorned with the arts of life, his cultivated garden, his
neatly fenced paddock, the corn-field which soon follows, and then the
mill--all these, and, we may say, all the habits and circumstances of
his life, directly tend to civilize; and thus the process of outward
reformation goes on amongst the surrounding tribes, while the spiritual
seed is being sown in the native heart. And it will sometimes happen
that native tribes are civilized before they are converted, simply
because the carnal mind rejects the spiritual lesson, while selfishness,
or the mere love of imitation, (equally powerful in the breast of
children and of savages) induces them readily to adopt European habits.
But after all we question whether the native heathen thus outwardly
changed is one whit more likely to embrace the gospel than before.

There is, however, much truth in the following remarks; they show a
thoughtful mind, and they prove too, if we are not mistaken, that the
gospel of Jesus Christ has lost nothing of its pristine force after the
lapse of eighteen centuries; for the Christian missions of our own day
have triumphed amidst some difficulties against which even the apostles
had not to contend. "The conduct of the apostles cannot exactly apply as
a guide to the missionaries in these islands; St. Paul was sent to
preach a crucified Jesus, not to savage, but to civilized heathens; to
Greece and Rome, to nations noted for their politeness of manners and
human learning, the inhabitants both of Greece and Rome had obtained the
highest degree of civilization, they were"--intellectually, of course,
Mr. Marsden must be understood to mean--"prepared for the reception of
the gospel; their philosophers had for ages been making diligent
inquiries after the true God; they had erected altars and the most
magnificent temples for the worship of some superior being whom they
knew not. This is not the case with the natives of these islands.... It
is unnecessary for me to contrast the situations of the primitive
apostles and the present missionaries, and to point out their vast
difference. Sacred and profane history will furnish the missionaries
with this information, provided they will study their records."

Mr. Marsden continued to be through life the confidential adviser of the
London Missionary Society, and the warm friend and, as they passed to
and fro upon their voyages, the kind host of their missionaries.

His character was now established. The colony was rapidly increasing in
importance; and yet no change had been made in its government, which was
still committed to the absolute direction of a single mind, that of the
colonial governor. He too was a military officer, and not always one of
high position and large capacity, or even of the purest morals; for by
such men the governorship of his Majesty's territory in New South Wales
would have then been disdained. Mr. Marsden had done much, but much more
remained to be accomplished. There were mischiefs that lay far beyond
his reach, and spurned control. On the first establishment of the colony
all the military officers were forbidden to take their wives with
them--the governor and chaplains were the only exceptions--and there is
one instance of a lady whose love to her husband led her to steal across
the ocean in the disguise of a sailor, who was actually sent home again
by Governor Phillip without being permitted to land. Our readers may
anticipate the consequences which followed in an almost universal
licentiousness. The most abandoned females often appeared fearlessly
before the magistrates, well knowing that they would have impunity even
for the greatest crimes; and male offenders used their influence to
obtain a judgment in their favour. Expostulation, remonstrance, and
entreaty Mr. Marsden had tried in vain. "Of all existing spots in New
South Wales the court of judicature at Sydney," it was publicly
affirmed, "was the most iniquitous and abandoned;" and at length a
rebellious spirit broke out, and the authority of the governor, even in
his military capacity, was at an end. The efforts of the faithful
chaplain were now thwarted at the fountain head, and his life was not
unfrequently in danger. Mr. Marsden's sagacity fastened the conviction
on his mind that a crisis was at hand, which could only be averted by
the interference of the government at home. He therefore asked for, and
obtained, permission to revisit England. His fears were just; he had
already assisted in quelling one rebellion, and another of a more
serious nature broke out soon after he embarked, which drove the
governor from the colony, and ended in his recall, and the establishment
of a new order of things. The spiritual fruit of Mr. Marsden's labours
had not yet been great, but already the foundations had been laid for
extensive usefulness. On the eve of his departure, he was presented with
a gratifying address, bearing the signatures of three hundred and two
persons, "the holders of landed estates, public offices, and other
principal inhabitants of the large and extensive settlements of
Hawkesbury, Nepean, and Portland-Head, and adjacent parts of New South
Wales," conveying "their grateful thanks for his pious, humane, and
exemplary conduct throughout this whole colony, in the various and
arduous situations held by him as a minister of the gospel,
superintendent magistrate, inspector of public, orphan, and charity
schools, and in other offices." They thank him too for "his attention
and cares in the improvement of stock, agriculture, and in all other
beneficial and useful arts, for the general good of the colony, and for
his unremitting exertions for its prosperity," and conclude thus:--"Your
sanctity, philanthropy, and disinterestedness of character, will ever
remain an example to future ministers; and that God, whom we serve, may
pour down his blessings upon you and yours to the latest posterity, is
the sincere prayer of those who sign this address."




CHAPTER IV.

    Various measures devised for the benefit of New South Wales--The
    establishment of Missions in New Zealand--Friendship with Dr.
    Mason Good.


Mr. Marsden returned home in His Majesty's ship Buffalo, after an
absence of fourteen years. On the voyage he had one of those
hair-breadth deliverances in which devout Christians recognise the hand
of God. The Buffalo was leaky when she sailed, and a heavy gale
threatening, it was proposed that the passengers should quit the ship
and take refuge in a stauncher vessel which formed one of the fleet. Mr.
Marsden objected, Mrs. Marsden being unwilling to leave Mrs. King, the
wife of Governor King, who was returning in the same vessel, and who was
at the time an invalid. In the night, the expected storm came on. In the
morning, the eyes of all on board the crazy Buffalo were strained in
vain to discover their companion. She was never heard of more, and no
doubt had foundered in the hurricane.

On his arrival in London he waited on the under secretary of state to
report his return, and learned from him that his worst fears had been
realized, and that the colony was already in a state of open
insurrection, headed by the "New South Wales Corps," who were leagued
with several of the wealthier traders. The insurrection was, however,
suppressed, and Lieut.-colonel Macquarie was sent out with his regiment
to assume the government. Lord Castlereagh, the colonial minister, was
quick to perceive the value of such an adviser on the affairs of
Australia as Mr. Marsden, and encouraged him to lay before the
government a full statement of his views. Seldom has it happened to a
private individual to be charged with weightier or more various affairs,
never perhaps with schemes involving more magnificent results. As the
obscure chaplain from Botany Bay paced the Strand, from the colonial
office at Whitehall to the chambers in the city where a few pious men
were laying plans for Christian missions in the southern hemisphere, he
was in fact charged with projects upon which not only the civilization,
but the eternal welfare, of future nations were suspended. Nor was he
unconscious of the greatness of the task. With a total absence of
romance or enthusiasm--for his mind was wanting in the imaginative
faculty on which enthusiasm feeds--he was yet fully alive to the
possible consequences of his visit to his native shores, and intensely
interested in his work. He aimed at nothing less than to see Australia a
great country; and, with a yet firmer faith, he expected the conversion
of the cannibal tribes of New Zealand and the Society Islands; and this
at a time when even statesmen had only learned to think of New South
Wales as a national prison, and when the conversion of New Zealanders
was regarded as a hopeless task, even by the majority of Christian men,
and treated by the world with indifference or scorn. In fact, during
this short visit he may be said to have planned, perhaps unconsciously,
the labours of his whole life, and to have laid the foundation for all
the good of which he was to be the instrument.

Let us first turn to the efforts he made for the settlements in New
South Wales. The improvement of the convict population was his primary
object, and his more immediate duty. He had observed that by far the
greater number of reformed criminals consisted of those who had
intermarried, or whose wives had been able to purchase their passage
over, and he suggested that those of the convicts' wives who chose to do
so should be permitted to accompany their husbands even at the public
expense. This was refused, and it was almost the only point upon which
his representations failed; but, as a compromise, the wives of the
officers and soldiers were permitted to accompany their husbands, and
not less than three hundred immediately went with a single regiment. To
encourage honesty and industry he recommended not only remission of the
sentence to the well conducted convict, but a grant of land to a certain
extent; with which the government complied. But he had no weak and
foolish sympathy with crime, and long after the period at which we are
now writing, he continued to incur the hatred of a certain class by
protesting, as he never ceased to do, against the monstrous impropriety
of placing men, however wealthy, who had themselves been convicts, on
the magisterial bench. Amongst the convicts he had observed that the
greater number were acquainted with some branch of mechanics or
manufactures; at present, they were unemployed, or occupied in labour
for which they were unfit, and which was therefore irksome to themselves
and of no advantage to the colony. He therefore suggested that one or
two practical mechanics with small salaries, and one or two general
manufacturers, should be sent out to instruct the convicts. But here a
serious obstacle presented itself; for this was the age of commercial
prohibitions, and it was objected that the manufacturers of the mother
country would be injured by such a step. Mr. Marsden met the objection
at once. If the government would but accede to the proposal, "he would
undertake that the enormous expense at which the country was for
clothing the convicts should entirely cease within a certain period."
The wool of the government flocks and the flesh of the wild cattle was
already sufficient to provide both food and raiment for the convicts
without any expense to the parent state, and all he prayed for was, the
opportunity of turning those advantages to the best account. These
requests were granted, and on the same night, and at his own cost, he
set off by the mail for Warwickshire and Yorkshire in search of four
artisans and manufacturers, who were soon upon their way to the scene of
their future operations.

The vast importance of Australia as the source on which the English
manufacturer must at some future day depend for his supplies of wool,
had already occupied his thoughts. He found that within three years his
own stock without any care on his part, (for his farm was entirely
managed in his absence by a trusty bailiff who had been a convict,) had
upon an average been doubled in number and value. With the energy which
was natural to him, he carried some of his own wool to Leeds, where he
had it manufactured, and he had the satisfaction to learn that it was
considered equal, if not superior, to that of Saxony or France. His
private letters abound with intimations that ere long Australia must
become the great wool-producing country to which the English
manufacturer would look. He was introduced to king George the Third, and
took the liberty, through Sir Joseph Banks, of praying for a couple of
Merino sheep, His Majesty's property, to improve the breed; and his last
letter from England, dated from the Cowes Roads, mentions their
reception on board. We anticipate a little, but must quote the letter,
were it only to let the reader see how possible it is to be at once
diligent in business and fervent in spirit. "We are this moment getting
under weigh, and soon expect to be upon the ocean. I have received a
present of five Spanish sheep from the king's flock, which are all on
board; if I am so fortunate as to get them out they will be a most
valuable acquisition to the colony. I leave England with much
satisfaction, having obtained so fully the object of my mission. It is
the good hand of our God that hath done these things for us. I have the
prospect of getting another pious minister. I am writing to him on the
subject this morning, and I hope he will soon follow us.... On Sunday I
stood on the long boat and preached from Ezekiel xviii. 27: 'When the
wicked man turneth away,' etc. It was a solemn time, many of the
convicts were affected. We sang the Hundredth Psalm in the midst of a
large fleet. The number of souls on board is more than four hundred. God
may be gracious to some of them; though exiled from their country and
friends, they may cry unto him in a foreign land, when they come like
the Jews of old to hang their harps upon the willows, and weep when they
remember Zion, or rather when they remember England."[F]

    [F] To Avison Terry, Esq., Hull.

The spiritual wants of the colony were not forgotten. He induced the
government to send out three additional clergymen and three
schoolmasters; and happily the selection was intrusted to his own
judgment. A disciple in the school of Venn and Milner, he knew that the
ordinances of the church, though administered by a moral and virtuous
man, or by a zealous philanthropist, were not enough. He sought for men
who were "renewed in the spirit of their minds;" who uttered no mere
words of course when they said at their ordination that they "believed
themselves moved thereto by the Holy Ghost." But here again his task was
difficult; clergymen of such a stamp were but few; the spirit of
missionary enterprise was almost unfelt; and, to say the truth, there
was a missionary field at home, dark and barbarous, and far too wide for
the few such labourers of this class whom the Lord had yet "sent forth
into his harvest." Mr. Marsden, however, nothing daunted, went from
parish to parish till he met with two admirable men, the Rev. Mr. Cowper
and the Rev. Robert Cartwright, who, with their families, accompanied
him on his return. His choice was eminently successful. In a short
account of Mr. Marsden, published in Australia in 1844, they are spoken
of as still living, pious and exemplary clergymen, the fathers of
families occupying some of the most important posts in the colony, and,
"notwithstanding their advancing years and increasing infirmities," it
is added, "there are few young men in the colony so zealous in preaching
the gospel, and in promoting the interests of the church of England."
The schoolmasters too, we believe, did honour to his choice. He had
already established two public free-schools for children of both sexes,
and he was now able to impart the elements of a pious education, and to
train them in habits of industry and virtue. Into all these plans the
archbishop of Canterbury cordially entered, and wisely and liberally
left it to the able founder to select his agents and associates.

Mr. Marsden likewise urged upon the home administration the necessity of
a female Penitentiary; and obtained a promise that a building should be
provided. That he was deeply alive to the importance of an institution
of this kind, is manifest in his own description of the state of the
female prisoners in the earlier years of the colony, and the deplorable
picture he draws of their immorality and wretchedness. "When I returned
to England in 1807," he says, "there were upwards of fourteen hundred
women in the colony; more than one thousand were unmarried, and nearly
all convicts: many of them were exposed to the most dangerous
temptations, privations and sufferings; and no suitable asylum had been
provided for the female convicts since the establishment of the colony.
On my arrival in London in 1808, I drew up two memorials on their
behalf, stating how much they suffered from want of a proper barrack--a
building for their reception. One of these memorials I presented to the
under secretary of state, and the other to his grace the archbishop of
Canterbury. They both expressed their readiness to promote the object."
Years, however, passed before the consent of the colonial governor could
be gained; and Mr. Marsden's benevolent exertions on behalf of these
outcast women were for some time frustrated.

The variety of his engagements at this time was equal to their
importance. He had returned home charged with an almost infinite
multiplicity of business. He was the agent of almost every poor person
in the colony who had, or thought he had, important business at home.
Penny-postages lay in the same dim future with electric telegraphs and
steam-frigates, and he was often burdened with letters from Ireland and
other remote parts (so wrote a friend, who published at the time a
sketch of his proceedings in the "Eclectic Review,") the postage of
which, for a single day, has amounted to a guinea; which he cheerfully
paid, from the feeling that, although many of these letters were of no
use whatever, they were written with a good intention, and under a
belief that they were of real value. He had already been saluted, like
the Roman generals of old, with the title of common father of his
adopted country; and one of his last acts before he quitted England, was
to procure, by public contributions and donations of books, "what he
called a lending library" (so writes the reviewer,[G] and the expression
seems to have amused him from its novelty), "consisting of books on
religion, morals, mechanics, agriculture, and general history, to be
lent out under his own control and that of his colleagues, to soldiers,
free settlers, convicts, and others who had time to read." In this, too,
he succeeded, and took over with him a library of the value of between
three and four hundred pounds.

    [G] Eclectic Review, vol. v. pp. 988-995.

It was during this two-years'-visit to his native land, that Mr. Marsden
laid the foundation of the Church of England mission to New Zealand. In
its consequences, civil and religious, this has already proved one of
the most extraordinary and most successful of those achievements, which
are the glory of the churches in these later times. This was the great
enterprise of his life: he is known already, and will be remembered
while the church on earth endures, as the apostle of New Zealand. Not
that we claim for him the exclusive honour of being the only one
although we believe he was, in point of time, the first who began, about
this period, to project a mission to New Zealand. The Wesleyans were
early in the same field. The Rev. Samuel Leigh, a man whose history and
natural character bore a marked resemblance to those of Mr. Marsden, was
the pioneer of Methodism, and proved himself a worthy herald of the
cross amongst the New Zealanders. A warm friendship existed between the
two. On his passage homewards he was a guest at Paramatta; and no tinge
of jealousy ever appears to have shaded their intercourse, each
rejoicing in the triumphs of the other. Still, Mr. Marsden's position
afforded him peculiar facilities, and having once undertaken it, the
superintendence of the New Zealand mission became, without design on his
part, the great business of his life.

He had formed a high, we do not think an exaggerated, estimate of the
Maori or New Zealand tribes. "They are a noble race," he writes to his
friend John Terry, Esq., of Hull, "vastly superior in understanding to
anything you can imagine in a savage nation." This was before the
mission was begun. But he did not speak merely from hearsay: several of
their chieftains and enterprising warriors had visited Australia, and
they ever found a welcome at the hospitable parsonage at Paramatta.
Sometimes, it is true, they were but awkward guests, as the following
anecdote will show; which we present to the reader, as it has been
kindly furnished to us, in the words of one of Mr. Marsden's daughters.
"My father had sometimes as many as thirty New Zealanders staying at the
parsonage. He possessed extraordinary influence over them. On one
occasion, a young lad, the nephew of a chief, died, and his uncle
immediately made preparations to sacrifice a slave to attend his spirit
into the other world. Mr. M. was from home at the moment, and his family
were only able to preserve the life of the young New Zealander by
hiding him in one of the rooms. Mr. M. no sooner returned and reasoned
with the chief, than he consented to spare his life. No further attempt
was made upon it, though the uncle frequently deplored that his nephew
had no attendant in the next world, and seemed afraid to return to New
Zealand, lest the father of the young man should reproach him for having
given up this, to them, important point."

The Church Missionary Society, which had now been established about
seven years, seemed fully disposed to co-operate with him; and at their
request he drew up a memorial on the subject of a New Zealand mission,
not less important than that we have already mentioned, to the London
Missionary Society, on the subject of their Polynesian missions. He
still lays great stress upon the necessity of civilization going first
as the pioneer of the gospel; "commerce and the arts having a natural
tendency to inculcate industrious and moral habits, open a way for the
introduction of the gospel, and lay the foundation for its continuance
when once received" "... Nothing, in my opinion, can pave the way for
the introduction of the gospel but civilization." ... "The
missionaries," he thought, "might employ a certain portion of their time
in manual labour, and that this neither would nor ought to prevent them
from constantly endeavouring to instruct the natives in the great
doctrines of the gospel." ... "The arts and religion should go together.
I do not mean a native should learn to build a hut or make an axe before
he should be told anything of man's fall and redemption, but that these
grand subjects should be introduced at every favourable opportunity,
while the natives are learning any of the simple arts." He adds that
"four qualifications are absolutely necessary for a missionary--piety,
industry, prudence, and patience. Without sound piety, nothing can be
expected. A man must feel a lively interest in the eternal welfare of
the heathen to spur him on to the discharge of his duty." On the three
other qualifications, he enlarges with great wisdom and practical good
sense; but the paper has been frequently printed, and we must not
transfer it to these pages.

It is no dishonour done to Mr. Marsden if we say that, in mature
spiritual wisdom, the venerable men who had founded the Church
Missionary Society, and still managed its affairs, were at this time his
superiors. Strange indeed it would have been had the case been
otherwise. They listened gratefully and with deep respect to the opinion
of one so well entitled to advise; they determined on the mission, and
they gave a high proof of their confidence, both in the practical wisdom
and sterling piety of their friend, in consulting him in the choice of
their first agents. But they did not adopt his views with regard to the
importance of civilization as the necessary pioneer to the gospel. So
long ago as the year 1815, they thought it necessary to publish a
statement of the principles upon which their mission was established.
"It has been stated," they say, "that the mission was originally
established, and for a long time systematically conducted, on the
principle of first civilizing and then christianizing the natives. This
is wholly a mistake. The agents employed in establishing the mission
were laymen, because clergymen could not be had; and the instructions
given to them necessarily correspond with their lay character. The
foremost object of the mission has, from the first, been to bring the
natives, by the use of all suitable means, under the saving influences
of the grace of the gospel, adding indeed the communication to them of
such useful arts and knowledge as might improve their social condition."
The committee's instructions to their first agents in the mission
abundantly sustain these assertions. Mr. William Hall and Mr. John King
were the two single-hearted laymen to whom, in the providence of God,
the distinguished honour was committed of first making known the gospel
in New Zealand. They bore with them these instructions, ere they
embarked in the same vessel in which their friend and guide Mr. Marsden
himself returned to Australia:--"Ever bear in mind that the only object
of the Society, in sending you to New Zealand, is to introduce the
knowledge of Christ among the natives, and in order to this, the arts of
civilized life."

Then after directing Messrs. Hall and King "to respect the sabbath day,"
to "establish family worship," at any favourable opportunity to
"converse with the natives on the great subject of religion," and to
"instruct their children in the knowledge of Christianity," the
instructions add--"Thus in your religious conduct you must observe the
sabbath and keep it holy, attend regularly to family worship, talk to
the natives about religion when you walk by the way, when you labour in
the field, and on all occasions when you can gain their attention, and
lay yourselves out for the education of the young."

Mr. Thomas Kendall followed; a third layman, for no ordained clergyman
of the church of England could yet be found. The same instructions were
repeated, and in December, 1815, when the Rev. John Butler, their first
clerical missionary, entered on his labours in New Zealand, he and his
companions were exhorted thus--"The committee would observe that they
wish, in all the missions of the Society, that the missionaries should
give their time as much as possible, and wholly if practicable, first to
the acquisition of the native language, and then to the constant and
faithful preaching to the natives." It is subsequently added--"Do not
mistake civilization for conversion. Do not imagine when heathens are
raised in intellect, in the knowledge of the arts and outward decencies,
above their fellow-countrymen, that they are Christians, and therefore
rest content as if your proper work were accomplished. Our great aim is
far higher; it is to make them children of God and heirs of his glory.
Let this be your desire, and prayer, and labour among them. And while
you rejoice in communicating every other good, think little or nothing
done till you see those who were dead in trespasses and sins, quickened
together with Christ." These passages fully exhibit the views of the
committee of this evangelical Society with regard, not only to the New
Zealand, but to all their other missions. Nor do they stand alone; every
missionary association, taught in many instances by bitter
disappointment, has long since discovered that the arts and sciences do
not prepare the way of the Lord amongst the heathen abroad; just as they
leave unsanctified our civilized heathendom at home.

But we must return from our digression, which its great importance must
excuse.

Before he left England, Mr. Marsden formed or renewed an acquaintance
with many great and good men, Mr. Wilberforce, Sir George Grey, the Rev.
Daniel Wilson, late Bishop of Calcutta, the Rev. Charles Simeon, the
Rev. Josiah Pratt, Dr. Olinthus Gregory, and others whose names are dear
to the church of Christ. But we must particularly notice the friendship
which he formed with Dr. Mason Good as productive of the highest
blessings to his friend, and of much advantage to himself.

The life of this excellent and accomplished person was published by Dr.
Olinthus Gregory, soon after his death, in 1828. He tells us that Dr.
Mason Good, when he became acquainted with Mr. Marsden, had long
professed Socinian principles, but of these had recently begun to doubt,
while he had not yet embraced the gospel of Christ so as to derive
either comfort or strength from it. He was anxious and inquiring; his
father had been an orthodox dissenting minister, and he himself a
constant student and indeed a critical expositor of the Bible. He had
published a translation of the book of Job, with notes, and also a
translation of Solomon's Song of Songs. He saw in the latter a sublime
and mystic allegory, and in the former a poem, than which nothing can be
purer in its morality, nothing sublimer in its philosophy, nothing more
majestic in its creed. He had given beautiful translations of many of
the Psalms; but with all this he had not yet perceived that Christ is
the great theme of the Old Testament, nor did he understand the
salvation of which "David in the Psalms, and all the prophets," as well
as Job the patriarch "did speak." His introduction to Mr. Marsden, in
such a state of mind, was surely providential. He saw, and wondered at,
his self-denial; he admired the true sublimity of his humble,
unassuming, but unquestionable and active piety. "The first time I saw
Mr. Marsden," says his biographer, "was in January, 1808; he had just
returned from Hull, and had travelled nearly the whole journey on the
outside of a coach in a heavy fall of snow, being unable to secure an
inside place. He seemed scarcely conscious of the inclemency of the
season, and declared that he felt no inconvenience from the journey. He
had accomplished his object, and that was enough. And what was that
object, which could raise him above the exhaustion of fatigue and the
sense of severe cold? He had engaged a rope-maker who was willing, at
his (Mr. Marsden's) own expense, to go and teach his art to the New
Zealanders." So writes Dr. Olinthus Gregory.

As a philosopher who loved to trace phenomena to their causes, Dr. Mason
Good endeavoured to ascertain the principles from which these
unremitting exertions sprang; and, as he often assured his friend, Dr.
Gregory, he could trace them only to the elevating influence of Divine
grace. He could find no other clue; and he often repeated the wish that
his own motives were as pure, and his own conduct as exemplary as those
of Mr. Marsden. Thus light broke in, and at length he received the
gospel "as a little child," and began to adorn it by his conduct. For
several years he was an efficient member of the committee of the Bible
Society, and of that of the Church Missionary Society. To the latter
especially he devoted himself with the utmost activity and ardour, and
at his death, which occurred in 1827, the committee transmitted to Mrs.
Good a resolution expressive of the very high value they set on his
services, and of the heavy loss they were conscious they sustained by
that event. The resolution was accompanied by a letter of cordial
sympathy from the pen of the Rev. Edward Bickersteth, the secretary.
When dying he was, heard, without any suggestion or leading remark from
those around him, to repeat with quivering lips the text, "All the
promises of God in him (Christ Jesus) are Yea, and in him Amen." "What
words," said he, "for a dying man to rest upon!"[H]

    [H] See Life of Dr. Mason Good, by Dr. Olinthus Gregory.




CHAPTER V.

    Return to the Colony--Duaterra--His strange adventures--Mr.
    Marsden's Labours in New South Wales--Aborigines--Their
    Habits--Plans for their Civilization.


Mr. Marsden took what proved to be his last leave of his native land in
August 1809. Resolute as he was, and nerved for danger, a shade of
depression passed across him. "The ship, I understand," he writes to
Mrs. Mason Good, "is nearly ready. This land in which we live is
polluted, and cannot, on account of sin, give rest to any of its
inhabitants. Those who have (sought) and still do seek their happiness
in anything it can give, will meet nothing but disappointment, vexation,
and sorrow. If we have only a common share of human happiness, we cannot
have or hope for more." A few weeks afterwards he addresses the same
Christian lady thus:--

                                           "Cambridge, August 1, 1809.

    "Yesterday I assisted my much esteemed friend, Mr. Simeon, but
    here I shall have no continuing city. The signal will soon be
    given, the anchor weighed, and the sails spread, and the ship
    compelled to enter the mighty ocean to seek for distant lands. I
    was determined to take another peep at Cambridge, though conscious
    I could but enjoy those beautiful scenes for a moment. In a few
    days we shall set off for Portsmouth. All this turning and
    wheeling about from place, to place, and from nation to nation, I
    trust is our right way to the heavenly Canaan. I am happy in the
    conclusion, to inform you that I have got all my business settled
    in London much to my satisfaction, both with government and in
    other respects. The object of my mission has been answered, far
    beyond my expectations. I believe that God has gracious designs
    towards New South Wales, and that his gospel will take root there,
    and spread amongst the heathen nations to the glory of his grace.

      "I have the honour to be, dear madam,
        "Yours, in every Christian bond,
          "SAMUEL MARSDEN."

His prayers and devout aspirations for New Zealand had been heard on
high, and "the way of the Lord" was "preparing" in a manner far beyond
his expectations, ardent as they seem. The ship Ann, in which he sailed,
by order of the government, for New South Wales, carried with her one
whom Providence had raised up to act a part, only less important than
his own, in the conversion of that benighted land.

The ship had been some time at sea before Mr. Marsden observed on the
forecastle, amongst the common sailors, a man whose darker skin and
wretched appearance awakened his sympathy. He was wrapped in an old
great coat, very sick and weak, had a violent cough, accompanied with
profuse bleeding. He was much dejected, and appeared as though a few
days would close his life. This was Duaterra, a New Zealand chieftain,
whose story, as related by Mr. Marsden himself, is almost too strange
for fiction. And as "this young chief became," as he tells us, "one of
the principal instruments in preparing the way for the introduction of
the arts of civilization and the knowledge of Christianity into his
native country," a brief sketch of his marvellous adventures will not be
out of place.

When the existence of New Zealand was yet scarcely known to Europeans,
it was occasionally visited by a South Sea whaler distressed for
provisions, or in want of water. One of these, the Argo, put into the
Bay of Islands in 1805, and Duaterra, fired with the spirit of
adventure, embarked on board with two of his companions. The Argo
remained on the New Zealand coast for above five months, and then sailed
for Port Jackson, the modern Sydney of Australia, Duaterra sailing with
her. She then went to fish on the coast of New Holland for six months,
again returning to Port Jackson. Duaterra had been six months on board,
working in general as a common sailor, and passionately fond of this
roving life. He then experienced that unkindness and foul play of which
the New Zealander has always had sad reason to complain. He was left on
shore without a friend and without the slightest remuneration.

He now shipped himself on board the Albion whaler, Captain Richardson,
whose name deserves honourable mention; he behaved very kindly to
Duaterra, repaid him for his services in various European articles, and
after six months cruising on the fisheries, put him on shore in the Bay
of Islands, where his tribe dwelt. Here he remained six months, when the
Santa Anna anchored in the bay, on her way to Norfolk Island and other
islets of the South Sea in quest of seal skins. The restless Duaterra
again embarked; he was put on shore on Norfolk Island at the head of a
party of fourteen sailors, provided with a very scanty supply of water,
bread, and salt provisions, to kill seals, while the ship sailed,
intending to be absent but a short time, to procure potatoes and pork in
New Zealand. On her return she was blown off the coast in a storm, and
did not make the land for a month. The sealing party were now in the
greatest distress, and accustomed as he was to hardship, Duaterra often
spoke of the extreme suffering which he and his party had endured,
while, for upwards of three months, they existed on a desert island with
no other food than seals and sea fowls, and no water except when a
shower of rain happened to fall. Three of his companions, two Europeans
and one Tahitian, died under these distresses.

At length the Santa Anna returned, having procured a valuable cargo of
seal skins, and prepared to take her departure homewards. Duaterra had
now an opportunity of gratifying an ardent desire he had for some time
entertained of visiting that remote country from which so many vast
ships were sent, and to see with his own eyes the great chief of so
wonderful a people. He willingly risked the voyage, as a common sailor,
to visit England and see king George. The Santa Anna arrived in the
river Thames about July 1809, and Duaterra now requested that the
captain would make good his promise, and indulge him with at least a
sight of the king. Again he had a sad proof of the perfidiousness of
Europeans. Sometimes he was told that no one was allowed to see king
George; sometimes that his house could not be found. This distressed him
exceedingly; he saw little of London, was ill-used, and seldom permitted
to go on shore. In about fifteen days, the vessel had discharged her
cargo, when the captain told him that he should put him on board the
Ann, which had been taken up by government to convey convicts to New
South Wales. The Ann had already dropped down to Gravesend, and Duaterra
asked the master of the Santa Anna for some wages and clothing. He
refused to give him any, telling him that the owners at Port Jackson
would pay him in two muskets for his services on his arrival there; but
even these he never received.

Mr. Marsden was at this time in London, quite ignorant of the fact that
the son of a New Zealand chief, in circumstances so pitiable, lay on
board a South Sea whaler near London bridge. Their first meeting was on
board the Ann, as we have stated, when she had been some days at sea.
His sympathies were at once roused, and his indignation too; for it was
always ill for the oppressor when he fell within the power of his stern
rebuke. "I inquired," he says, "of the master where he met with him, and
also of Duaterra what had brought him to England, and how he came to be
so wretched and miserable. He told me that the hardships and wrongs
which he had endured on board the Santa Anna were exceedingly great, and
that the English sailors had beaten him very much, which was the cause
of his spitting blood, and that the master had defrauded him of all his
wages, and prevented his seeing the king. I should have been very happy,
if there had been time, to call the master of the Santa Anna to account
for his conduct, but it was too late. I endeavoured to soothe his
afflictions, and assured him that he should be protected from insults,
and that his wants should be supplied."

By the kindness of those on board, Duaterra recovered, and was ever
after truly grateful for the attention shown him. On their arrival at
Sydney, Mr. Marsden took him into his house for six months, during which
time he applied himself to agriculture; he then wished to return home,
and embarked for New Zealand; but further perils and adventures were in
prospect, and we shall have occasion to advert to them hereafter. For
the present we leave him on his voyage to his island home.

The Ann touched on her passage out at Rio Janeiro, and Mr. Marsden spent
a short time on shore, where his active mind, already, one would
suppose, burthened with cares and projects, discovered a new field of
labour. The ignorance and superstition of a popish city stirred his
spirit, like that of Paul at Athens. He wrote home to entreat the Church
Missionary Society, if possible, to send them teachers; but this lay not
within their province. From a letter of Sir George Grey's, addressed to
himself, it appears that he had interested some members of the English
government upon the subject, and that while at Rio he had been active in
distributing the Scriptures.

But he was now to resume his labours in Australia, where he arrived in
safety, fondly calculating upon a long season of peaceful toil in his
heavenly Master's service. His mind was occupied with various projects,
both for the good of the colony and of the heathen round about. His own
letters, simply and hastily thrown off in all the confidence of
friendship, will show how eagerly he plunged, and with what a total
absence of selfish considerations, into the work before him:

    "To John Terry, Esq.                 "Paramatta, October 26, 1810.

    "DEAR SIR.--I received your kind and affectionate letter, also a
    bottle of wheat, with the Hull papers, from your brother; for all
    of which I feel much indebted. We had a very fine passage, and I
    found my affairs much better than I had any reason to expect. The
    revolution had caused much distress to many families, and the
    settlement has been thrown much back by this event. My wishes for
    the general welfare of the colony have been more successful than I
    expected they would be. The rising generation are now under
    education in almost all parts of the country. The Catholic priests
    have all left us, so that we have now the whole field to
    ourselves. I trust much good will be done; some amongst us are
    turning to the Lord. Our churches are well attended, which is
    promising and encouraging to us. My colleagues are men of piety
    and four of the schoolmasters. This will become a great country in
    time, it is much favoured in its soil and climate. I am very
    anxious for the instruction of the New Zealanders; they are a
    noble race, vastly superior in understanding to anything you can
    imagine a savage nation could attain. Mr. Hall, who was in Hull,
    and came out with us with an intention to proceed to New Zealand
    as a missionary, has not yet proceeded, in consequence of a
    melancholy difference between the natives of that island and the
    crew of a ship called the 'Boyd.' The ship was burnt, and all the
    crew murdered; our people, it appears, were the first aggressors,
    and dearly paid for their conduct towards the natives by the loss
    of their lives and ship. I do not think that this awful event will
    prevent the establishment of a mission at New Zealand. Time must
    be allowed for the difference to be made up, and for confidence to
    be restored. I wrote a letter to Mr. Hardcastle, and another to
    Rev. J. Pratt, Secretary to the Society for Missions to Africa and
    the East, and have pointed out to them the necessity of having a
    ship constantly employed in visiting the islands in the South
    Seas, for the convenience, safety, and protection of the
    missionaries, either at Otaheite and New Zealand, or at any other
    island upon which they may reside....

      "Your's respectfully,
        "(Signed) SAMUEL MARSDEN."

Great projects are not to be accomplished without many disappointments.
The first attempt is seldom the successful one. In spiritual things,
this may be regarded as the established rule, or law, in accordance to
which the Head of the church controls while he purifies his servants'
zeal. They are made to feel their weakness. Where they expect honour
they meet with opposition, perhaps with scorn. Their favourite plans are
those which bring, for a time, the least success and the greatest
anxiety. Thus they are taught the great lesson of their own weakness,
and the only less important one of the insignificance of others in whom
they trusted. And thus, too, in the painful but salutary school of
adversity, they learn that the highest wisdom is, after all, simply to
accept the cross of Christ, and to cast themselves on the unerring
guidance of the Holy Spirit; and, in a word, "to cease from man."

The new governor, General Macquarie, had arrived out a few months before
Mr. Marsden. He was an able commander, and had the good of the colony
much at heart; and he had a task of no little difficulty to perform, in
reducing what was still a penal colony, just recovering from a state of
insurrection, into order and obedience. His powers were great; he
considered them absolute. Mr. Marsden, too, was justly tenacious of
public morality and virtue, and still more so of the spiritual
independence of the ministerial character. It seems that the rights of
the governor on the one side, and those of the ministers of religion on
the other, had not been accurately defined by the government at home,
and thus a collision between two minds so firm and so resolute as those
of the governor and Mr. Marsden, was inevitable. Occasions of difference
soon arose; the governor anxious, we doubt not, to raise their character
and elevate their position, with a view to the future welfare of the
colony, placed several of the convicts on the magisterial bench, treated
them with respect, and even invited them to his table. With these men,
Mr. Marsden refused, as a magistrate, to act, or to meet them in society
on equal terms. Some of them were notoriously persons of a bad and
vicious life; while none of them, he thought, could, without gross
impropriety, punish others judicially for the infraction of that law
which they themselves had broken. He would gladly have resigned his
magisterial office, but the governor knew the worth of his services, and
refused to accept his resignation, which was repeatedly tendered. The
new magistrates were of course offended, and became his bitter foes; and
some of them harassed him for twenty years with slanders and libellous
insults, until at length an appeal to the laws of his country vindicated
his reputation and silenced his opponents. Differences of opinion may
exist as to the wisdom of Governor Macquarie's conduct in these civil
affairs, and many will perhaps justify his proceedings; but every
right-minded man will condemn without hesitation the attempts which he
made to lord it over the consciences of the established clergy and other
Christian ministers in the colony, in the discharge of their purely
ministerial work. He wished to dictate even to the pulpit. Mr. Marsden
relates that he once sent for him to the Government-house, and commanded
him to produce the manuscript of a sermon which he had preached nearly a
year before: he did so; when the governor severely commented upon it,
and returned it with the remark that one sentence, which it is more than
probable he did not understand, was "almost downright blasphemy." The
junior clergy were of course still more exposed to the same despotic
interference. The governor wished to prescribe the hymns they should
sing, as well as the doctrines they should teach; and he repeatedly
insisted on their giving out, during divine service, secular notices of
so improper a character, that the military officers in attendance
expressed their disgust. Happy it was for the colony of New South Wales
that he met with an opponent firm and fearless, and at the same time
sound in the faith, such as the senior chaplain. On him menaces and
flattery were lost. The governor, at one time, even threatened him with
a court-martial; nor was the threat altogether an empty one, for he
actually brought one of the junior chaplains, Mr. Vale, before a
court-martial, and had him dismissed the colony. These are painful
facts, and such as, at this distance of time, we should gladly pass over
in silence; but, in that case, what could the reader know of the trials
through which Mr. Marsden passed?

Yet amidst all these distractions his letters testify that he possessed
his soul in peace, and that "no root of bitterness, troubled" him. He
speaks with respect of the governor, gives him credit for good
intentions, and acknowledges the many benefits he conferred upon the
colony; and when at length he was on the eve of returning home,
Governor Macquarie himself bore testimony to the piety, integrity, and
invaluable services of the only man who had dared patiently yet firmly
to contend with him during a long course of years.

The records of ministerial life offer little variety, but to pious minds
they are not without interest. Mr. Marsden rose early, generally at four
o'clock during the summer; and the morning hours were spent in his
study. To a Christian minister a few hours of retirement in the morning
are indispensable, or the mind is distracted and the day is lost. Very
early rising is a question of health and constitution as well as of
conscience, and we lay no burden upon those who cannot practise it. To
those who can, the habit is invaluable. Three friends of Mr. Marsden
present us with different examples in this matter. Simeon's twenty
volumes of Horæ Homilicæ, or outlines of sermons, were all written
between five and eight o'clock in the morning. Thomas Scott, the
commentator, seldom had more than three hours a-day in his study and
those three were early ones. Wilberforce on the other hand laments that
he could do nothing till he had had his "full dose of sleep." Those who
cannot rise early may still make the day long by turning to account the
fragments of time and vacant half-hours which are so recklessly
permitted by most men, especially strong men, to run to waste.

In the early days of the colony, Mr. Marsden used to officiate in the
morning at St. Philip's, Sydney. Roads were bad and conveyances scarce,
and he often walked a distance of fifteen miles to Paramatta, where he
conducted another service and preached again. His preaching is described
as very plain, full of good sense and manly thought, and treating
chiefly of the great foundation truths of the gospel. Man a lost sinner
and needing conversion, Christ an Almighty Saviour pardoning sin, the
Holy Ghost an all-sufficient sanctifier, guide, and comforter, carrying
on the work of grace within the soul. Those who came to hear a great
preacher went away disappointed; those who came to pass a listless hour
were sometimes grievously disturbed. The authenticity of the following
anecdote has been assured to us by Mr. Marsden's surviving friends.

He was one day walking by the banks of the river, when a convict as he
passed plunged into the water. Mr. Marsden threw off his coat, and in an
instant plunged in after him and endeavoured to bring the man to land.
He contrived however to get Mr. Marsden's head under the water, and a
desperate struggle for life ensued between them; till Mr. Marsden, being
the stronger of the two, not only succeeded in getting safe to shore but
in dragging the man with him. The poor fellow, struck with remorse,
confessed his intention. He had resolved to have his revenge on the
senior chaplain, whose offence was that he had preached a sermon which
had stung him to the quick; and he believed, as a sinner exasperated by
the reflection of his own vices does frequently believe, that the
preacher had meant to hold him up to the scorn of the congregation. He
knew too that the sight of a drowning fellow-creature would draw out the
instant help of one who never knew what fear was in the discharge of
duty; and he threw himself into the stream confident of drowning Mr.
Marsden, and then of making good his own escape. He became very
penitent, was a useful member of society, and greatly attached to his
deliverer, who afterwards took him into his own service, where he
remained for some years. We cannot give a more painful illustration of
the malignity with which he was pursued, than to state that the current
version of this story in the colony was, that the convict had been
unjustly punished by Mr. Marsden as a magistrate, and took this method
of revenge.

He made the most, too, of his opportunities. At a time when there were
very few churches or clergymen, and the settlers were widely scattered
over large tracts, he frequently made an itinerating ministerial visit
amongst them. He was everywhere received with the greatest cordiality
and respect. On arriving at a farm, a man on horseback was immediately
dispatched to all the neighbours within ten or twelve miles to collect
them for public worship. The settlers gladly availed themselves of these
opportunities, and assembled, in numbers varying from sixty to eighty,
when Divine service was conducted in a vacant barn or under the shade of
a verandah. The next day, he proceeded twenty or twenty-five miles
further on in the wilds, and again collected a congregation. These tours
would often extend over ten days or a fortnight, and were repeated as
his more settled duties permitted. Thus his name became a household
word, pronounced with love and gratitude far beyond the limits of his
parish, or even of the colony; and probably he found some of his most
willing hearers amongst those to whom he thus carried in their solitude
the glad tidings of a salvation which when offered to them week by week
at home they had neglected or despised.

Yet his duties as principal chaplain were not neglected. From a general
government order, dated September, 1810, it appears that amongst them
were those of an overseer, or chief pastor of the church. "The assistant
chaplains are directed to consider themselves at all times under the
immediate control and superintendence of the principal chaplain, and are
to make such occasional reports to him respecting their clerical duties
as he may think proper to require or call for." A high tribute to his
worth under the circumstances in which he was placed by his opposition
to the governor. The chaplains frequently sought his protection against
arbitrary power, and he willingly fought their battles and his own in
defence of liberty of conscience and the right of conducting God's
worship undisturbed. His connexion with his clerical brethren seems to
have been uniformly happy, and the same remark is true of the
missionaries of various denominations, not a few in number, who, during
a period of twenty years, were virtually under his control. He had
undoubtedly the rare power of governing others in a very high degree,
and it was done noiselessly and with a gentle hand; for the men who
govern well seldom obtrude their authority in an offensive manner, or
worry those they should control with a petty interference. He had the
same kind of influence, and probably from the same cause, over the very
horses in his carriage. He used, in driving from Sydney to Paramatta, to
throw the reins behind the dash-board, take up his book, and leave them
to themselves, his maxim being "that the horse that could not keep
itself up was not worth driving." One of the pair was almost
unmanageable in other hands, but it was remarked that "Captain" always
conducted himself well when his master drove, and never had an
accident.

Amongst his strictly pastoral cares, two schools for orphans had a
foremost place. A female orphan school was first proposed, and Mr.
Marsden undertook the direction of the work, and became treasurer to the
institution. From its formation in 1800 to the year 1821, two hundred
children were admitted. It may be a question whether the children of
living parents, however ignorant or even dissolute they may be, should
be totally withdrawn from parental sympathies. The presence of a child
may restrain, and its artless remonstrances are often known to touch, a
vicious father or mother whom no other influence can reach; and Dr.
Guthrie's recent experiment in Edinburgh seems to show us that the best
method of Christianizing both child and parent is to instruct the former
well by day, and to send him home at night a little missionary to his
parents, where other teaching would be scorned. But in the case of
orphans no such questions occur, and we must look upon an orphan school
with unmixed satisfaction. A male orphan school followed in due course,
in which the boys were instructed in some trade and then apprenticed. In
both schools the moral and religious training was the chief
consideration; yet Mr. Marsden's connexion with them was attributed by
his enemies to a sordid motive, and even those in power, who should have
known him better, gave public currency to these injurious reports.

The fact was that when the institutions were founded the treasurer was
allowed a small per centage upon the receipts, as a clerical fee or
stipend; this he allowed to accumulate until he resigned the office,
when he presented the whole sum to the institution. The committee
absolutely refusing to accept it, he purchased cattle from the
government to the full amount, and made a present of them to the orphan
schools. Soon after his return from England it became necessary to erect
new schools. The work was long and tedious, and owing to the want of
labour in the colony, and the idle and drunken habits of the labourers,
nearly ten years elapsed before they were completed, and the work too
was often at a stand for want of funds. These, however, Mr.
Marsden--whom no pecuniary obstacles could daunt--supplied, in a great
measure, out of his own purse, till his advances amounted to nearly
900_l._; and his disinterested conduct in the end occasioned him very
considerable loss. To the latest period he never ceased to take the
warmest interest in the prosperity of these institutions.

"I am sure," says his daughter, "my father's parish was not neglected.
He was well known to all his parishioners, as he was in the habit of
constantly calling upon them. He was very attentive to the sick, whether
at their own homes or at the government hospital. He also took great
interest in the education of the young. It was through his
instrumentality that many schools were established. His Sunday school,
at the time of which I speak, was in a more efficient state than any I
have since seen; but this my brother-in-law, the Rev. T. Hassell, had a
great deal to do with, as he was then acting as my father's curate. The
factory for the reception of female convicts was built entirely by his
suggestion, and to their religious and moral improvement he devoted a
good deal of his time. It was principally owing to his endeavours to get
this and other institutions in good order that much of his discomfort
with his fellow-magistrates and government officers arose."

The aborigines of Australia were, even when the colony was first
settled, comparatively few in number; and in painful conformity with
universal experience, they have wasted away before the white man, and
will probably disappear in time from the face of the earth. If the New
Zealander stands highest in the scale of savage nature, the native
Australian occupies perhaps the lowest place. So low, indeed, was their
intellect rated, that when the phrenological system of Drs. Gall and
Spurzheim began to occupy attention, some forty years ago, the skulls of
several of them were sent over to England to be submitted to the
manipulations of its professors, with a view of ascertaining whether the
Creator had not thrust into existence a whole race of idiots--men who
had neither reason to guide them on the one hand, nor well-developed
instinct on the other. They are supposed to be a mixture of the Malay
and negro races, but they have nothing of the muscular strength of the
negro, nor of his mental pliancy, and both in body and mind are far
below the pure Malay. In the infancy of the colony they rambled into the
town of Port Jackson in a state of nudity, and when blankets were
presented to them they were thrown aside as an incumbrance. They seemed
to have no wants beyond those which the dart or spear--never out of
their hands--could instantly supply. Their food was the opossum, but
when this was not to be found they were by no means delicate; grubs,
snakes, putrid whales, and even vermin were eagerly devoured, though
fish and oysters were preferred. They are a nomad or wandering people,
always moving from place to place in search of food, or from the mere
love of change. During the winter, they erect a hut, resembling a
beehive, of rude wicker-work besmeared with clay; but in general a mere
hurdle, such as we use in England for penning sheep, placed to windward
in the ground, is all their shelter; under this they lie with a fire
kindled in the front of it. Our English stragglers have made themselves
well acquainted with their habits, frequently living amongst them for
weeks together in the bush. These all agree in admiration of the skill
with which they throw the dart, which seldom misses, even from a child's
hand, to strike its prey. They are peaceable and inoffensive to
strangers, and kind to their "gins," or wives, and to their children,
unless their savage natures are aroused, when they become horribly
brutal and vindictive. Few savage tribes have been found whose ideas on
religion are less distinct. They believe in a good spirit, _Royan_, and
a bad one, _Potoyan_; but like all savages--like all men, we may say,
either savage or civilized, who know not God--they dread the evil spirit
far more than they love the good one. They offer no prayer, and have no
worship or sacrifices. Civil government is unknown; authority in the
tribe depends on personal strength or cunning. A wandering life with
abundance of provisions, amongst their native woods, shores, and
mountains, is the sum of all the little happiness they know or seek.

Some efforts were made in the early period of the colony on their
behalf. A district near Port Jackson was assigned them, and they were
encouraged to reside in it; but it was very soon deserted. The roving
habits of the aborigines made any settled residence irksome; and their
wants were so few that they would neither engage in trade, nor submit to
labour for the sake of wages. It retained the name of the Black Town for
many years; but the black men have long since deserted it. Governor
Macquarie, after consulting with Mr. Marsden, then attempted a farm,
and, in connexion with it, a kind of reformatory school at Paramatta,
where they were to be civilized and cured of their migratory habits, and
instructed in the Christian religion. Mr. Marsden took a warm interest
in the scheme, as he did in everything that concerned the welfare of the
aborigines. Still it failed; for it was founded, as experience has
shown, upon wrong principles. Mr. Marsden, however, is not to be blamed
for this; since Governor Macquarie, having now conceived a violent
prejudice against him, omitted his name from the committee of
management, although the institution was placed in his own parish,
introducing those of two junior chaplains; and it was not till the
governor's retirement that he took an active part in its affairs. But
the character of the institution was then fixed, and its approaching
failure was evident.

Two faults were interwoven with it, either of which must have proved
fatal. In the first place, the attempt to confine a nomad, wandering
tribe within the precincts of a farm, or to bring them to endure, except
it had been by force, the discipline of lads in an English workhouse,
was upon the very face of it absurd. These, we must remember, were the
early days of English philanthropy amongst wild black men. She had yet
to make her blunders and learn her first lessons. Why should a nomad
race be settled upon the workhouse plan, or even confined to an English
farm? Why should they not rather be encouraged to dwell in tents, carry
civilization with them into their own woods and mountains, and, roam,
free and fearless, over those vast regions which God had given them to
possess, until at last they themselves shall wish to adopt the settled
habits of European Christians? A roving life in the wilderness is not
of necessity an idle or a barbarous one. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were
highly civilized, and eminently devout. "Arabians" and "dwellers in
Mesopotamia," wanderers of the desert, heard the word with gladness, and
received the Holy Ghost upon the day of Pentecost. But we do not read
that they were required to live in cities, and abandon the
long-cherished wilderness, with all its solemn associations and grand
delights. And we have not so mean an opinion of Christianity as to
believe that it can thrive only in towns well paved and lighted, or in
farms neatly fenced and artificially cultivated. The true missionary
must track the wandering savage into the desert, and there make himself
his guide and friend; and teach him that the gospel of Jesus Christ is
indeed of God, inasmuch as it is fitted, as no human contrivance can be
fitted, for man, whatever his outward circumstances or his mode of life;
that it knows no difference between the dweller in the tent, and in
"cities, tall and fenced up to heaven." "Barbarian, Scythian, bond or
free," are all alike welcome to its blessings; and we can see no good
reason why there should not be Christian tribes in the wilderness, as
there were patriarchal churches in the plains of the Euphrates, long
before the law was given on Mount Sinai.

The other mistake was the same which has tainted other missions in their
infancy, and to which we have made some allusion. It was thought
necessary to prepare the savage mind for Christianity, by the
preliminary discipline of a civilizing process. This is inverting the
order in which God proceeds: "The entrance of thy word giveth light."
When the voice of God speaks within, and not before, the demoniac quits
"his dwelling amongst the tombs;" no longer "tears off his raiment" like
a brute beast, unconscious of shame; ceases to be "exceeding fierce,"
and is now found "sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his
right mind." A few efforts upon this, the right evangelical principle as
we conceive, have been made from time to time amongst these degraded
aborigines; but the success has not been great. A wide field still
remains, thinly peopled and spiritually uncultivated. If these lines
should be read by our Christian friends in Australia, to them we would
venture to commend the glorious enterprise. Let there be one colony at
least in which the aborigines shall share the intruder's prosperity. Let
the vast centre of the Australian continent one day rejoice in its
thronging tribes of Christian aborigines.

Mr. Marsden's view of the native character may be gathered from the
following statement, which he published in self-defence when charged
with indifference as to their conversion. "More than twenty years ago, a
native lived with me at Paramatta, and for a while I thought I could
make something of him; but at length he got tired, and no inducement
could prevail upon him to continue in my house; he took to the bush
again, where he has continued ever since. One of my colleagues, the Rev.
R. Johnstone, took two native girls into his house, for the express
purpose of educating them; they were fed and clothed like Europeans; but
in a short time they went into the woods again. Another native, named
Daniel, was taken when a boy into the family of Mrs. C.; he was taken to
England; mixed there with the best society, and could speak English
well; but on his return from England he reverted to his former wild
pursuits." In reply to the inquiries made by Mr. Marsden, who once met
Daniel after he returned to his savage state, he said; "The natives
universally prefer a free and independent life, with all its privations,
to the least restraint." Without multiplying instances quoted by Mr.
Marsden, the trial he made with an infant shows that his heart was not
unfriendly towards these people. "One of my boys, whom I attempted to
civilize, was taken from its mother's breast, and brought up with my own
children for twelve years; but he retained his instinctive taste for
native food; and he wanted that attachment to me and my family that we
had just reason to look for; and always seemed deficient in those
feelings of affection which are the very bonds of social life." This boy
ran away at Rio from Mr. Marsden, when returning from England in 1810,
but was brought back to the colony by Captain Piper; and died in the
Sydney hospital, exhibiting Christian faith and penitence. "I mentioned
to the governor," he adds, "some of these circumstances, but not with
any view to create difficulties; so far from it, that I informed him
that I was authorized by the Church Missionary Society to assist any
plan with pecuniary aid, that was likely to benefit the natives of the
colony." A mission was in fact set on foot by this Society; but from
various causes, it failed, and was abandoned.




CHAPTER VI.

    Mr. Marsden's correspondence with the London Missionary
    Society--Buys the brig Active--His first Voyage to New
    Zealand--Journal of Events.


Richard Baxter, after describing his ministerial labours at
Kidderminster in preaching and visiting from house to house, has these
remarkable words: "But all these, my labours, even preaching and
preparing for it, were but my recreations, and, as it were, the work of
my spare hours; for my writings were my chiefest daily labour." Mr.
Marsden had his recreations, too. Amidst the anxieties of his colonial
chaplaincy he found or made opportunities to conduct a work which of
itself would have been sufficient to exhaust the energies and to
immortalize the memory of any other man. We devote this chapter to a
short, and, of necessity, imperfect sketch of these his _recreations_ in
the missionary field.

On his return from England in 1810, he found disastrous tidings of the
Tahitian mission awaiting his arrival. Disheartened by their utter want
of success, divided amongst themselves, distracted with fears of danger
from the natives, several of the missionaries had fled from their posts,
and taken refuge in New South Wales. The work appeared to be on the eve
of ruin, and it was owing in no small measure to the firmness and wise
conduct of Mr. Marsden that it was not, for a time at least, abandoned.
"Sooner," he exclaims, in one of his letters to the Society at home,
"than _that_ shall be the case, I will give up my chaplaincy, and go
myself and live at Otaheite." Yet it was no easy task to inspire others
with his own courage, or to impart his hopeful spirit to a desponding
band of men. He felt the difficulty, and acted towards them in the most
considerate manner. Instead of at once insisting on their return, he
received them into his family, where it is scarcely necessary to say
they were treated with that patriarchal hospitality for which the
parsonage of Paramatta was famed. When a few months had passed, and
their spirits were cheered and their health restored, the question of
their return to Tahiti was introduced and quietly discussed. Their kind
and pious host had never for an instant doubted of their ultimate
success. We have perused numerous letters addressed by him to the London
Missionary Society, and to various friends in England; but in not one of
them is the shadow of a doubt expressed as to the triumph of the gospel
in Tahiti and the Society Islands; and we may extend the remark to the
New Zealand mission, as shown by his correspondence with the Church
Missionary Society a few years later. About this period a reaction had
taken place in England amongst religious people. The fond hopes they had
unwisely entertained of seeing vast results wherever the gospel was
introduced among the heathen and upon the first proclamation of it, had
been grievously disturbed; and now the tide ran in the opposite
direction. Nothing appears to have given Mr. Marsden more uneasiness
than the general lukewarmness of the church of Christ at home, and their
despondency as to the success of missions. He speaks of his "anxious
days and sleepless nights." But his own courage never failed; and this
high undoubting faith, it is beautiful to observe, rests always on the
same foundation. It was not, much as he respected them, his confidence
either in the Societies at home, or in their missionaries abroad, but
simply in the promises of God, in the power of the gospel, and in the
unchanging love of Christ for his "inheritance" among the heathen. Thus
the missionaries were induced to return to their deserted posts; and not
only so, but to resume their work in a higher spirit of faith and
cheerfulness. It was not long before hopeful signs broke out, and within
ten years Pomare the sovereign became a Christian king, and the island
of Tahiti a Christian land.

The distance of these missions from Australia, and the difficulty of
communicating with them, suggested to Mr. Marsden the advantage of
employing a vessel entirely on missionary service. When his mind was
once made up he lost no time; the consent of the Societies in England
could not all at once be gained; so he resolved, at his own cost, to
purchase a missionary ship, the first probably that ever floated on the
deep, and bought the Active, a brig of a hundred tons burden, for the
service of the two great missions on which his heart was fixed. The
following letter, addressed to the Rev. George Burder, though written
two years later, is introduced here to complete our summary of the
re-establishment of the Tahitian mission:

                                             "Paramatta, June 9, 1815.

    "REV. AND DEAR SIR,--I received a short letter from you by the
    late arrivals, and found you had not got any very interesting
    accounts from the brethren at Otaheite. The last account I had
    from them, they were going on exceedingly well, and the Lord was
    owning and blessing their labours. You will hear I lately visited
    New Zealand, and also my views of that island. Finding that the
    Societies in London could not make up their minds, neither as a
    body nor as individuals, to send out a vessel, I at last
    determined to purchase one for the purpose on my own account. The
    various expenses attending it have created me some little
    pecuniary difficulties; but they are only known to myself, and not
    such as will be attended with any serious consequence. I hope in a
    little time I shall be able to surmount them; whether I shall keep
    the vessel in my own hands or not, I am not certain as yet. I
    cannot do it without some assistance at the first; if I could, I
    certainly would not trouble any of my friends. The vessel has been
    twice at New Zealand, and is gone a third time. When she returns I
    intend her to visit the brethren at Otaheite. It is my intention
    that she should sail in August next to Otaheite. The brethren
    there have been labouring hard to build a vessel for themselves,
    which is almost completed. I have agreed to take a share with them
    in her. During the time the brethren have been building their
    vessel, the work of the Lord appears to have prospered very much,
    far beyond all expectation."

He adds, "I estimate the expenses of the vessel at 1500_l._ per annum,
and I think, if I am not mistaken in my views, that her returns will not
be less than 1000_l._ per annum, and perhaps more. I may venture to say
I should not call on the two Societies for more than the sum I have
stated, namely, 500_l._ per annum from this time. I will not demand
anything if the returns cover the expenses for the use of the vessel."
These returns were to be obtained by "freighting the Active with the
produce of the industry of the natives, and trading with them in
return." This would "stimulate their exertions, correct their vagrant
minds, and enrich them with the comforts and conveniences of civil
life." The letter closes with suggesting yet another mission; for the
large heart of the writer saw in the approaching triumph of the gospel
in his favourite missions only a call to fresh exertions. Even as Paul,
when he had "fully preached from Jerusalem round about unto Illyricum,"
sighed after fresh labours, and still remoter conquests for his Lord. "I
wish to mention to you that it would be a great object if the Society
would turn their thoughts a little to the Friendly Islands. New Zealand
being on one side, and the Society Islands on the other, with labourers
now upon them, the Friendly Islands ought not to be left destitute.
These islands are very populous, and as the London Missionary Society
first began the work there, I think they should renew their attempt. I
cannot recommend any establishment upon any of the islands in the South
Seas, unless commerce is more or less attended to, in order to call
forth the industry of the natives. Provided the Society as a body will
not consent to have anything to do with commerce, I see no reason why a
few pious friends might not, who wish to aid the missionary cause. You
cannot form a nation without commerce and the civil arts. A person of
information who is well acquainted with the Friendly Islands informed me
that the labour of a hundred thousand men might be brought into action
upon these islands in producing sugar, cordage, cotton, etc.... A
hundred thousand men will never form themselves into any regular
society, and enjoy the productions of their country without commerce.
Should the Society have any doubts upon the point, let them authorize an
inquiry into the state of these islands, when there is an opportunity
to examine them, and a report of their inhabitants and their productions
laid out before them." Mr. Marsden then describes the openings at New
Zealand, and concludes a long letter thus: "I have stated my sentiments
with great haste. You will excuse the hasty scrawl. I can assure you my
sincere wish and prayer to the great Head of the church is that all may
prosper that love him. I am, dear sir, yours affectionately,
S. MARSDEN."

A postscript adds:--

    "Since writing this letter, I have determined to keep the Active
    in my own hands."

Let us now turn to the New Zealand mission, which occupied, from this
time, so large a portion of Mr. Marsden's public life.

We have mentioned the designation of two laymen, Messrs. Hall and King,
for this mission by the Church Missionary Society in 1808. They sailed
from England, with Mr. Marsden, in 1810, and were soon after followed by
Mr. Kendall, and the three assembled at New South Wales, intending to
sail thence without delay for the scene of their future work. But here
fresh difficulties arose. Mr. Marsden's intention was to accompany them,
and in person to meet the first dangers, and lay, as it were, the first
stone. But this the new governor absolutely forbade. To him, and in fact
to most men in his circumstances, the whole scheme seemed utterly
preposterous. The idea of converting the savages of New Zealand was the
chimera of a pious enthusiast--a good and useful man in his way, but one
who was not to be allowed thus idly to squander the lives of others, to
say nothing of his own. Nor in truth were the governor's objections
altogether without foundation. The last news from New Zealand was that
an English ship, the Boyd, had been seized and burned by the cannibals
in the Bay of Islands, and every soul on board, seventy in all, killed
and eaten. The report was true, save only that, out of the whole of the
ship's company, two women and a boy had been spared to live in slavery
with the savages. A New Zealand chief had sailed on board, as it
afterwards appeared, and had been treated with brutal indignities
similar to those which Duaterra suffered from the captain of the Santa
Anna. He smothered his resentment, and, waiting the return of the Boyd
to the Bay of Islands, summoned his tribe, who, on various pretences,
crowded the deck of the ship, and at a given signal rushed upon the
crew, dispatched them with their clubs and hatchets, and then gorged
themselves and their followers on the horrible repast. All then that Mr.
Marsden could obtain at present was permission to charter a vessel, if a
captain could be found sufficiently courageous to risk his life and ship
in such an enterprise, and to send out the three missionaries as
pioneers; with a reluctant promise from the governor that if on the
ship's return, all had turned out well, he should not be hindered from
following. For some time no such adventurous captain could be found. At
length, for the sum of 600_l._ for a single voyage, an offer was made,
but Mr. Marsden looked upon the sum as far too much; and this, with
other considerations, induced him to purchase his own missionary brig,
the Active, in which Messrs. Hall and Kendall finally set sail for the
Bay of Islands. They carried a message to Duaterra, entreating him to
receive them kindly, and inviting him, too, to return with them to
Paramatta, bringing along with him two or three friendly chiefs.

Duaterra, after his visit to Mr. Marsden, on his way from England, had
again suffered great hardships from the perfidy of the master of the
Frederick, with whom he had embarked from New South Wales under an
express engagement to be set on shore at the Bay of Islands, where his
tribe dwelt. He was carried to Norfolk Island, and there left; and, to
aggravate his wrongs and sorrows, the vessel passed within two miles of
his own shores and in sight of his long lost home. He was defrauded too
of his share of the oil he had procured with his companions, worth
100_l_. A whaler found him on Norfolk Island, almost naked and in the
last stage of want, and brought him once more to Australia and to his
friend and patron Mr. Marsden. A short stay sufficed; he sailed again
from Sydney, and soon found himself, to his great joy, amongst his
friends in New Zealand. On the arrival of the Active with its
missionaries--the first messengers of Christ who landed on its
shores--he was there to greet them, and to repay, a thousandfold, the
kindness of his friend the minister of Paramatta, in the welcome he
secured for these defenceless strangers. They carried with them too a
present which, trifling as it may seem, was not without its share of
influence in the great work; the story is suggestive, and may serve a
higher purpose than merely to amuse the reader.

Duaterra had been provided by Mr. Marsden with a supply of wheat for
sowing on his return to New Zealand. No such thing as a field of grain
of any kind had yet waved its golden ears on that fertile soil. To this
accomplished savage the honour belongs of first introducing agriculture
into an island destined, within forty years, to rival the best farms of
England both in the value of its crops and the variety of its produce.
The neighbouring chiefs and their tribes viewed with wonder first the
green ears and then the growing corn. The wild potato, the fern, and a
few other roots were the only produce of the earth they were yet
acquainted with, and when Duaterra assured them that his field of wheat
was to yield the flour out of which the bread and biscuits they had
tasted on English ships were made, they tore up several plants,
expecting to find something resembling their own potato at the root.
That the ears themselves should furnish the materials for a loaf was not
to be believed. Duaterra meant to impose upon them, or else he had been
duped himself, but they were not to be cajoled with the tales of a
traveller. The field was reaped and the corn threshed out, when Duaterra
was mortified with the discovery that he was not provided with a mill.
He made several attempts to grind his corn with the help of a
coffee-mill borrowed from a trading-ship, but without success; and now,
like the inventor of steam navigation, and other benefactors of their
species nearer home, he was laughed at for his simplicity. It is strange
that the ancient Roman _quern_, a hollow stone in which the grain was
pounded, the rudest form in fact of the pestle and mortar, should not
have occurred to him; but the total want of invention is an invariable
characteristic of savage nature. At length the Active brought the
important present of a hand-mill for grinding corn. Duaterra's friends
assembled to watch the experiment, still incredulous of the promised
result; but when the meal began to stream out beneath the machine their
astonishment was unbounded; and when a cake was produced, hastily baked
in a frying-pan, they shouted and danced for joy, Duaterra was now to
be trusted when he told them that the missionaries were good men. And
thus the first favourable impression was made upon the savage Maories,
whose race was in the next generation to become a civilized and
Christian people.

Messrs Hall and Kendall, having introduced themselves and their mission
in New Zealand, now, in obedience to their instructions, returned to
Sydney accompanied by Duaterra and six other chiefs, amongst whom was
Duaterra's uncle the famous Shunghie, or Hongi, the most powerful of New
Zealand chieftains; such was the confidence which Mr. Marsden's name,
together with the good conduct of the missionaries, had now inspired.
The Active reached New South Wales on the 22nd of August, 1814. Nothing
could exceed the joy which Mr. Marsden experienced on the successful
termination of the voyage, and being filled with an earnest desire to
promote the dissemination of the gospel amongst the New Zealanders, and
having obtained the governor's permission, he determined to accompany
the missionaries on their return to the Bay of Islands. To his friend,
Avison Terry, Esq., he wrote just before he sailed, Oct. 7, 1814--"It is
my intention to visit New Zealand and see what can be done to promote
the eternal welfare of the inhabitants of that island. I have now
several of the chiefs living with me at Paramatta. They are as noble a
race of men as are to be met with in any part of the world. I trust I
shall be able, in some measure, to put a stop to those dreadful murders
which have been committed upon the island for some years past, both by
the Europeans and the natives. They are a much injured people,
notwithstanding all that has been advanced against them. The time is
now come, in my opinion, for them to be favoured with the everlasting
gospel; and I trust to hear the joyful sound in those dark and dreary
regions of sin and spiritual bondage. I have long had the most ardent
wish to visit these poor heathen, but have never till the present time
obtained permission. I have submitted my views to the Church Missionary
Society, and solicited their aid. The expense of establishing a mission
here will at first be very considerable." ... [Here he mentions his
purchase of the Active, etc.] "Should the Society approve of my views,
no doubt they will give their support, but if they cannot enter into
them in the manner I do, I cannot expect that assistance from them which
may be required. My own means will enable me to set the mission on foot
in the first instance, and I have little doubt but it will succeed."
Zeal such as this, tempered with discretion and guided by the "wisdom
which cometh from above," in answer to many believing prayers, could
scarcely fail of its sure reward.

On the 19th of November, 1814, he embarked on his great mission, with a
motley crew, such as (except perhaps on some other missionary ship) has
seldom sailed in one small vessel--savages and Christian teachers and
enterprising mechanics, their wives and children, besides cattle and
horses. Of this strangely assorted company he gives the following
description: "The number of persons on board the Active, including women
and children, was thirty-five; the master, his wife and son, Messrs.
Kendall, Hall, and King, with their wives and children, eight New
Zealanders, (including Duaterra and his uncle the great warrior Shunghie
or Hongi) two Otaheitans, and four Europeans belonging to the vessel,
besides Mr. John Lydiard Nicholas and myself; there were also two
sawyers, one smith, and a runaway convict whom we afterwards found on
board, a horse and two mares, one bull and two cows, with a few sheep
and poultry. The bull and cows have been presented by Governor Macquarie
from his Majesty's herd." On the 15th December, they were in sight of
land; the next day, the chiefs were sent on shore, and a friendly
communication was at once opened with the natives. But even before they
had landed "a canoe came alongside the Active, with plenty of fish, and
shortly afterwards a chief followed from the shore, who immediately came
on board." Mr. Marsden's fame, as the friend of the New Zealanders, had
arrived before him. "I told them my name, with which they were all well
acquainted.... We were now quite free from all fear, as the natives
seemed desirous to show us attention by every possible means in their
power." The Active dropped her anchor a few days after at Wangaroa, near
the Bay of Islands, the scene of the massacre of the Boyd's crew, and
there amongst the very cannibals by whose hands their countrymen had
fallen so recently the first Christian mission to New Zealand was
opened. A fierce and unholy revenge had been taken, in the murder of
Tippahee, a native chieftain, and all his family, by an English crew who
had visited Wangaroa after the Boyd's destruction, and Tippahee, as Mr.
Marsden always maintained, suffered unjustly, having had no share in the
dreadful massacre. But thus it was; and amongst a people so exasperated
did these servants of the most high God venture forth as the heralds of
the gospel. Seldom since the words of the prophet were first uttered
have they had, in reference to missionaries, a more significant, or a
more correct appropriation than they now received. "How beautiful upon
the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that
publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth
salvation."

Mr. Marsden's journal of this his first visit to New Zealand is a
document of singular interest, and when published at the time in
England, it made a deep impression. It is written in plain and forcible
language, and is characterized by that vein of good sense and practical
wisdom which so distinguished him. There is no display of his own
sufferings, trials and privations, no affectation of laboured and
studied expression, no highly coloured and partial representation of the
savage condition of the natives. All his aim is to lay the truth before
the Society and the friends of missions, and in doing so he has written
with a degree of accuracy and honest feeling, which while they inform
the understanding at once reach the heart. From this unpretending
record, a few selections will be laid before the reader. And here, too,
we would, once for all, acknowledge our obligations to his "companion in
travel," J. L. Nicholas, Esq., to whose manuscript journal of the visit
to New Zealand, as well indeed as for other communications of great
interest on the subject of Mr. Marsden's life and labours, we shall be
much indebted through the future pages of our work.

Duaterra and Shunghie had often told of the bloody war, arising out of
the affair of the Boyd, that was raging, while they were at Paramatta,
between the people of Wangaroa (the tribe of Tippahee) and the
inhabitants of the Bay of Islands, who were their own friends and
followers; the Wangaroans accusing the people of the Bay of Islands of
having conspired with the English in the murder of Tippahee. When the
Active arrived, several desperate battles had been fought, and the war
was likely to continue.

Mr. Marsden was determined to establish peace amongst these contending
tribes. He was known already as the friend of Duaterra and Shunghie; he
now felt that he must convince the other party of his good intentions.
He did not come amongst them as an ally of either, but as the friend of
both; he resolved therefore to pass some time with the Wangaroans; and
with a degree of intrepidity truly astonishing even in him, not only
ventured on shore, but actually passed the night, accompanied by his
friend Mr. Nicholas alone, with the very savages who had killed and
eaten his countrymen. After a supper of fish and potatoes in the camp of
Shunghie, they walked over to the hostile camp distant about a mile.
They received the two white strangers very cordially. "We sat down
amongst them, and the chiefs surrounded us." Mr. Marsden then introduced
the subject of his embassy, explained the object of the missionaries in
coming to live amongst them, and showed how much peace would conduce in
every way to the welfare of all parties. A chief, to whom the Europeans
gave the name of George, acted as interpreter; he had sailed on board an
English ship, and spoke English well. Mr. Marsden tells us how the first
night was passed: "As the evening advanced the people began to retire to
rest in different groups. About eleven o'clock Mr. Nicholas and I
wrapped ourselves in our great coats, and prepared for rest. George
directed me to lie by his side. His wife and child lay on the right
hand, and Mr. Nicholas close by. The night was clear; the stars shone
bright, and the sea in our front was smooth; around us were innumerable
spears stuck upright in the ground, and groups of natives lying in all
directions, like a flock of sheep upon the grass, as there were neither
tents nor huts to cover them. I viewed our present situation with
sensations and feelings that I cannot express, surrounded by cannibals
who had massacred and devoured our countrymen. I wondered much at the
mysteries of providence, and how these things could be. Never did I
behold the blessed advantage of civilization in a more grateful light
than now. I did not sleep much during the night. My mind was too
seriously occupied by the present scene, and the new and strange ideas
it naturally excited. About three in the morning I rose and walked about
the camp, surveying the different groups of natives. When the morning
light returned we beheld men, women, and children, asleep in all
directions like the beasts of the field. I had ordered the boat to come
on shore for us at daylight; and soon after Duaterra arrived in the
camp."

In the morning he gave an invitation to the chiefs to breakfast on board
the Active, which they readily accepted. "At first I entertained doubts
whether the chiefs would trust themselves with us or not, on account of
the Boyd, lest we should detain them when we had them in our power; but
they showed no signs of fear, and went on board with apparent
confidence. The axes, billhooks, prints, etc., I intended to give them
were all got ready after breakfast; the chiefs were seated in the cabin
in great form to receive the presents, I sat on the one side, and they
on the other side of the table; Duaterra stood and handed me each
article separately that I was to give them. Messrs. Kendall, Hall, and
King, with the master of the Active and his son, were all one after the
other introduced to the chiefs. The chiefs were at the same time
informed what duty each of the three persons were appointed to do. Mr.
Kendall to instruct their children, Mr. Hall to build houses, boats,
etc., Mr. King to make fishing lines, and Mr. Hanson to command the
Active, which would be employed in bringing axes and such things as were
wanted from Sydney, to enable them to cultivate their lands and improve
their country. When these ceremonies were over, I expressed my hope that
they would have no more wars, but from that time would be reconciled to
each other. Duaterra, Shunghie, and Koro Koro shook hands with the
chiefs of Wangaroa, and saluted each other as a token of reconciliation
by joining their noses together. I was much gratified to see these men
at amity once more."

The chieftains now took their leave, much pleased with the attention of
Mr. Marsden, and still more so with his presents; and they promised for
the future to protect the missionaries and never to injure the European
traders. Some of the presents excited no little wonder; no New
Zealander, except the few who like Duaterra had been on foreign travel,
had ever seen either cows or horses, for the largest quadruped yet
naturalized in the island was the pig, and even that had been introduced
but recently. Duaterra had often told his wondering countrymen of the
horse and its rider, and in return was always laughed at; but when the
horses were now landed and Mr. Marsden actually mounted one of them,
they stood in crowds and gazed in mute astonishment. These traits of
infant civilization are not without their use to those who may hereafter
be cast among barbarous tribes, or may attempt their improvement.

The first Sunday on which the one true God was worshipped in New Zealand
since the creation, will be for ever memorable in her annals. It was
also Christmas-day, the 25th of December, 1815, "a day much to be
remembered." Mr. Marsden thus describes it: "Duaterra passed the
remaining part of the previous day in preparing for the sabbath. He
inclosed about half an acre of land with a fence, erected a pulpit and
reading desk in the centre, and covered the whole either with black
native cloth or some duck which he had brought with him from Port
Jackson. He also procured some bottoms of old canoes, and fixed them up
as seats on each side of the pulpit, for the Europeans to sit upon;
intending to have divine service performed there the next day. These
preparations he made of his own accord; and in the evening informed me
that everything was ready for divine service. I was much pleased with
this singular mark of his attention. The reading-desk was about three
feet from the ground, and the pulpit about six feet. The black cloth
covered the top of the pulpit, and hung over the sides; the bottom of
the pulpit, as well as the reading-desk, was part of a canoe. The whole
was becoming, and had a solemn appearance. He had also erected a
flagstaff on the highest hill in the village, which had a very
commanding view.

"On Sunday morning, when I was upon deck, I saw the English flag flying,
which was a pleasing sight in New Zealand. I considered it as the signal
and the dawn of civilization, liberty and religion, in that dark and
benighted land. I never viewed the British colours with more
gratification; and flattered myself they would never be removed, till
the natives of that island enjoyed all the happiness of British
subjects.

"About ten o'clock we prepared to go ashore, to publish for the first
time the glad tidings of the gospel. I was under no apprehension for the
safety of the vessel; and, therefore, ordered all on board to go on
shore to attend divine service, except the master and one man. When we
landed, we found Koro Koro, Duaterra, and Shunghie, dressed in
regimentals, which Governor Macquarie had given them, with their men
drawn up, ready to be marched into the inclosure to attend divine
service. They had their swords by their sides, and switches in their
hands. We entered the inclosure, and were placed on the seats on each
side of the pulpit. Koro Koro marched his men, and placed them on my
right hand, in the rear of the Europeans: and Duaterra placed his men on
the left. The inhabitants of the town, with the women and children, and
a number of other chiefs, formed a circle round the whole. A very solemn
silence prevailed--the sight was truly impressive. I rose up and began
the service with singing the Old Hundredth Psalm; and felt my very soul
melt within me when I viewed my congregation, and considered the state
they were in. After reading the service, during which the natives stood
up and sat down at the signals given by Koro Koro's switch, which was
regulated by the movements of the Europeans, it being Christmas day, I
preached from the second chapter of St. Luke's gospel and tenth verse,
'Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy," etc. The natives told
Duaterra that they could not understand what I meant. He replied, that
they were not to mind that now, for they would understand by-and-by; and
that he would explain my meaning as far as he could. When I had done
preaching, he informed them what I had been talking about. Duaterra was
very much pleased that he had been able to make all the necessary
preparations for the performance of divine worship in so short a time,
and we felt much obliged to him for his attention. He was extremely
anxious to convince us that he would do everything in his power, and
that the good of his country was his principal consideration.

"In this manner, the gospel has been introduced into New Zealand; and I
fervently pray that the glory of it may never depart from its
inhabitants till time shall be no more."

The confidence of the natives in Mr. Marsden was now unbounded, and
scarcely less was the confidence he reposed in them; and he resolved
upon a short coasting voyage, with the view of exploring their different
harbours, and making arrangements for the future extension of the
mission. Many of the chiefs and warriors, led by Duaterra, wished to
sail with him, and without the slightest misgiving, twenty-eight
savages, fully armed after the fashion of their country, were invited on
board the Active, manned as she was by only seven Europeans. "I do not
believe," Mr. Nicholas observes, "that a similar instance can be shown
of such unlimited confidence placed in a race of savages known to be
cannibals. We are wholly in their power, and what is there to hinder
them from abusing it? Next to the overruling providence of God, there is
nothing but the character of the ship, which seems to have something
almost sacred in their eyes, and the influence of Mr. Marsden's name,
which acts as a talisman amongst them. They feel convinced that he is
sacrificing his own ease and comfort to promote their welfare."

Their leave of absence having nearly expired, Mr. Marsden and his
companions were now obliged to prepare for their voyage homeward. They
had laid the foundations of a great work--how great, none of them could
tell. But they were full of faith in God, while, as patriots, they
exulted in the prospect of extending the renown of dear old England. Mr.
Marsden, in his conversations with the natives, explained to them the
nature of our government, and the form of trial by jury; he discoursed
with them upon the evils of polygamy, and showed his marked abhorrence
of their darling vices--theft and lying. A chisel being lost from the
Active a boat was sent on shore, manned by Duaterra and other
chieftains, to demand restitution; the culprit was not found, nor the
implement restored; but a whole village was aroused from its slumbers at
midnight, and the inhabitants literally trembled with fear of the
consequences when they saw the angry chieftains, though no harm was
permitted to ensue. An example of high integrity was always set. Mr.
Marsden might, for instance, have obtained land, or timber, or, in
short, whatever he required in exchange for ammunition and muskets; but
he sternly interdicted the sale or barter of these articles upon any
terms whatever, and to this resolution he always adhered. Again and
again does he express his determination, as well in this its earliest
stage as in later periods of the mission, rather to abandon the whole
work, which was far dearer to him than life itself, than to suffer it to
be tainted by what he considered so nefarious a barter. "I further told
them," he says, "that the smith should make axes or hoes, or any other
tools they wanted; but that he was on no account to repair any pistols
or muskets, or make any warlike instruments, no not even for the
greatest chiefs upon the island." And he "took an opportunity, upon all
occasions, to impress upon their minds the horrors their cannibalism
excited; how much their nation was disgraced by it, and dreaded on this
account."

One thing still remained to be done. The missionaries possessed no land,
and were liable, after his departure, to be removed or driven out at the
mere caprice of the tribes amongst whom they settled. He therefore
determined, if possible, to purchase for them a small estate. It
consisted of about two hundred acres; and the first plot of ground to
which England can lay claim in New Zealand was formally made over in a
deed, of which Mr. Nicholas has fortunately preserved a transcript. It
was executed in the presence of a number of chiefs, who were assembled
to take leave of the Active on the day before she sailed, and ran as
follows:--

    "Know all men to whom these presents shall come, that I, Anodee O
    Gunna, king of Rangheehoo, in the island of New Zealand, have, in
    consideration of twelve axes to me in hand now paid and delivered
    by the Reverend Samuel Marsden of Paramatta, in the territory of
    New South Wales, given, granted, bargained, and sold; and by this
    present instrument do give, grant, bargain, and sell unto the
    committee of the Church Missionary Society for Africa and the
    East, instituted in London, in the kingdom of Great Britain, and
    to their heirs and successors, all that piece and parcel of land
    situate in the district of Hoshee, in the island of New Zealand,
    bounded on the south side by the bay of Lippouna and the town of
    Rangheehoo, on the north side by a creek of fresh water, and on
    the west by a public road into the interior, together with all
    the rights, members, privileges, and appurtenances thereto
    belonging; to have and to hold to the aforesaid committee of the
    Church Missionary Society for Africa and the East, instituted in
    London, in the kingdom of Great Britain, their heirs, successors,
    and assigns, for ever, clear and freed from all taxes, charges,
    impositions, and contributions whatsoever, as and for their own
    absolute and proper estate for ever.

    "In testimony whereof I have to these presents, thus done and
    given, set my hand at Hoshee, in the island of New Zealand, this
    twenty-fourth day of February, in the year of Christ, one thousand
    eight hundred and fifteen.

    (Signatures to the grant.) "THOMAS KENDALL.
                               "J. L. NICHOLAS."

To this was affixed a complete drawing of the "amoco," or tattooing of
Gunna's face, done by Shunghie, on one side of which he set his mark.

We need scarcely remind the reader how closely this transaction
resembles the famous contract of William Penn with the native Indians,
by which he became possessed of Pennsylvania. Much and justly as Penn
has been admired, Mr. Marsden's conduct is even more worthy of respect.
Penn sought to found a colony, to place himself at its head, and to
associate his own name with it through generations to come. The chaplain
of Paramatta had not even these motives of honest and laudable ambition;
he sought nothing for himself, nothing for his country, nothing even for
the church of which he was a member, and which he warmly loved. His one
aim was to evangelize New Zealand; to bring a nation of cannibals from
darkness into the marvellous light of the gospel, and from the power of
Satan unto God. His own name appears on the instrument only as the agent
or representative of a missionary society in whom the property was
vested; and yet at the time the purchase was made he was uncertain
whether the bare expenses of his voyage, or even the cost and charges of
his vessel, would ever be repaid to him. He sought neither wealth, nor
honour, nor preferment, but acted with a simple aim to the glory of God.
The memorial of such a name can never perish amongst men; and should it
be forgotten, still his record is on high.

Mr. Marsden returned from his first voyage to New Zealand accompanied by
no less than ten chiefs, and landed at Sydney on the 23rd of March,
1815. He and Mr. Nicholas immediately presented themselves to the
governor, who "congratulated them on their safe return," from what, in
common with all the colony, he regarded as a most perilous and rash
adventure.




CHAPTER VII.

    Death of Duaterra--Trials of Mr. Marsden in the Colony--Libel of
    Philo-free--Letter to Rev. George Burder--To Dr. Mason
    Good--Sympathy of his Friends in England--Congratulations of the
    46th Regiment, and Mr. Marsden's acknowledgment--Letters of Lord
    Gambier, Rev. C. Simeon, and Mrs. Fry.


It was not to be expected that a career of unbroken success and easy
triumph should crown the infant mission in New Zealand. Reverses and
delays were to be looked for; they were in the nature of the work
itself; and for such trials Mr. Marsden was prepared. But he had
scarcely arrived at Paramatta before he was involved in sharper
conflicts. No doubt they were a part of God's discipline of love: for if
Paul required "a thorn in the flesh" lest he "should be exalted above
measure," meaner disciples may surely expect to meet with stern rebuffs,
in their career of usefulness and honour; and they will even learn to
accept them with a thankful and a joyous heart.

The first discouragement was the death of Duaterra. Mr. Marsden had left
him sick; and four days after his departure he expired, surrounded by
his heathen countrymen, from whose superstitions, even to the last, he
was by no means free. "He appeared at this awful moment," Mr. Marsden
writes, describing his last interview, "not to know what to do. He
wished me to pray with him, which I did; but the superstitions of his
country had evidently a strong hold upon his mind; the priest was always
with him, night and day. Duaterra seemed at a loss where to repose his
afflicted mind; his views of the gospel were not sufficiently clear to
remove his superstitions; and at the same time he was happy to hear what
I had to say to him. What horrors do these poor people suffer when they
come to die!" His favourite wife, Dahoo, was inconsolable; and while
Shunghie and his near relatives cut themselves with knives till the
blood gushed out, she sought and found an opportunity to put a period to
her own life by hanging herself, at a short distance from the body of
her husband. None of the natives, not even her relatives, appeared
shocked or surprised. "Her mother," Mr. Kendall wrote, "wept while she
was composing the limbs of her daughter; but she applauded her
resolution, and the sacrifice which she had made for the man she so
tenderly loved. Her father observed her corpse without any apparent
concern. I could not discover a tear at the time it was brought before
him. Two of her brothers smiled on the occasion, and said, 'it was a
good thing at New Zealand.' It is common for women to act thus when
their husbands die; they think that they then go to them." Mr. Marsden,
for a time, was almost overwhelmed. "I could not but view Duaterra, as
he lay dying, with wonder and astonishment; and could scarcely bring
myself to believe that the Divine Goodness would remove from the earth a
man whose life appeared of such infinite importance to his country,
which was just emerging from barbarism and superstition. No doubt but he
had done his work and finished his appointed course, though I fondly
imagined he had only just begun his race. He was in the prime and vigour
of manhood: I judge his age to be about twenty-eight years. In
reflecting on this awful and mysterious event, I am led to exclaim, with
the apostle of the Gentiles, 'Oh the depth of the riches both of the
wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his
ways past finding out!'"

He was indeed a noble specimen of human nature in its savage state. His
character was cast in the mould of heroes: at the very period of his
death, after ten years of as much privation, danger, and hardship as
nature could well bear, his courage was unsubdued, and his patriotism
and enterprise unabated. He told Mr. Marsden with an air of triumph, "I
have now introduced the cultivation of wheat into New Zealand; New
Zealand will become a great country; in two years more I shall be able
to export wheat to Port Jackson, in exchange for hoes, axes, spades, tea
and sugar." He had made arrangements for farming on a large scale, and
had formed his plan for building a new town, with regular streets, after
the European mode, on a beautiful situation which commanded a view of
the harbour and the adjacent country. "I accompanied him to the spot,"
says Mr. M.; "we examined the ground fixed on for the town, and the
situation where the church was to stand." Had he lived he would have
been the Ulysses of his Ithaca--perhaps its Alfred; and nothing in his
whole life gives us a juster idea of Mr. Marsden's sagacity and keen
perception than the fact of his singling out Duaterra, a sick and
apparently dying common sailor on shipboard, and training him to be a
powerful instrument, in God's hands, for the civilization of New
Zealand.

Other trials followed the death of Duaterra. Fresh wars broke out. One
hostile tribe encamped in sight of the mission premises, and, no longer
restrained by Mr. Marsden's presence, threatened, not indeed to expel
the missionaries, but to kill and eat them. For months together the
affrighted band kept watch night and day; their children were laid to
sleep in their cots dressed, to be ready for instant flight, and the
boat was always kept afloat, with its oars and sail in readiness. The
storm blew over, and they remained stedfast at their posts. Soon
afterwards, the Wesleyan Methodists established their important and
successful mission in the island, and the missionaries gained strength
from each other in society and mutual counsel. The first Wesleyan
missionary, the Rev. Samuel Leigh, was well known at Paramatta, and Mr.
Marsden viewed his labours with thankfulness and hope; but the reports
which reached him from time to time of the difficulties to which the
missions were exposed still added much to his anxieties.

And now a series of persecutions began, which, while they never cowed
his brave spirit, harassed and disturbed him more than those who were
acquainted only with the outward features of his strong, dauntless
character would have readily believed. It is greatly to his honour that
all the sufferings to which he was exposed--newspaper libels, official
misrepresentations, and personal abuse--arose immediately out of his
endeavours to raise the morals of the colony, and to protect the unhappy
women who came out as convicts, and were at that time exposed by most
iniquitous neglect to still further degradation.

Just before his departure for New Zealand, he had addressed an official
letter to the governor, calling his attention to the present state of
Paramatta and its neighbourhood, as far as it related to its public
morals and police, and especially with regard to the female convicts, of
whom upwards of one hundred and fifty, besides seventy children, were
employed in a government factory there, and whose condition, as far as
we can venture to describe it, may be gathered from the following
passage. The scene is painful; it is the dark side of our colonial
history; but those who will not listen to these recitals can know but
little of the obligations which society is under to such men as Howard
and Samuel Marsden, or to heroic women, such as Mrs. Fry. In his letter
to the governor he says:

    "The number of women employed at the factory is one hundred and
    fifty; they have seventy children. There is not any room in the
    factory that can be called a bed-room for these women and children.
    There are only two rooms, and these are both occupied as
    workshops; they are over the jail, and are about eighty feet long
    and twenty wide. In these rooms there are forty-six women daily
    employed, twenty spinning wool upon the common wheel, and
    twenty-six carding. There are also in them the warping-machine,
    etc., belonging to the factory. These rooms are crowded all the
    day, and at night such women sleep in them as are confined for
    recent offences, amongst the wheels, wool, and cards, and a few
    others, who have no means whatever of procuring a better abode.
    The average number of women who sleep in the factory is about
    thirty in the whole. Many of these women have little, and some no
    bedding; they all sleep on the floor. There is not a candle or
    bedstead belonging to the factory. I do not deem it either safe or
    prudent that even thirty women should sleep in the factory, which
    has been crowded all day with working people; the air must be bad
    and contagious. Were the magistrate to compel even half the number
    of women, with their children, to sleep in the factory which
    belong to it, they could not exist. Not less than one hundred and
    twenty women are at large in the night to sleep where they can."

He urges upon the governor the necessity of at least providing lodgings
in barracks for these poor creatures. "When I am called upon," he adds,
"in the hour of sickness and want to visit them in the general hospital,
or in the wretched hovels where they lodge, my mind is often oppressed
beyond measure at the sight of their sufferings.... And if their dreary
prospect beyond the grave be viewed in a religious light it far exceeds
in horror the utmost bounds of human imagination. As their minister I
must answer ere long at the bar of Divine justice for my duty to these
objects of vice and woe, and often feel inexpressible anguish of spirit,
in the moment of their approaching dissolution, on my own and their
account, and follow them to the grave with awful forebodings lest I
should be found at last to have neglected any part of my public duty as
their minister and magistrate, and by so doing contributed to their
eternal ruin. So powerful are these reflections at times that I envy the
situation of the most menial servant who is freed from this sacred and
solemn responsibility, namely, the care of immortal souls.... I am of
opinion that no clergyman was ever placed in so painful and trying a
situation as far as relates to the moral and religious state of the
people committed to his care. I see them devoted to vice, and infamy,
and extreme wretchedness while living, and when they come to die
suffering all the horror of mind and anguish of spirit that guilt can
possibly inspire, without the means of applying any remedy in either
case.... I humbly conceive it is incompatible with the character and
wish of the British nation that her own exiles should be exposed to
such privations and dangerous temptations, when she is daily feeding the
hungry, and clothing the naked, and receiving into her friendly, I may
add pious bosom, strangers whether savage or civilized of every nation
under heaven."

The governor courteously replied, acknowledging the receipt of his
letter; but no further steps were taken; and after waiting eighteen
months "without the most distant prospect of obtaining relief for the
female convicts from the colonial government," he sent a copy of his own
letter, with the governor's answer, to the British government at home.
By them it was submitted to a select committee of the House of Commons,
when, in 1819, the state of our jails came under the consideration of
parliament, and was afterwards printed in their report; Lord Bathurst,
the colonial secretary, having previously submitted it to Governor
Macquarie, requesting his opinion on the several matters it contained.
Great exasperation followed; it seemed for a time as if the whole
colony, with scarcely an exception, had risen as one man to crush the
principal chaplain, who alone had dared to expose its profligacy and to
check its abuses. The storm indeed had begun to mutter around his head
before Lord Bathurst's communication was received. The "Sydney Gazette,"
which was under the immediate control of the governor, was allowed to
publish from week to week the most scandalous libels upon his character.
At length, a letter appeared signed Philo-free, which Mr. Marsden
suspected, and at length discovered, to have been written by the
governor's secretary; it was aimed not merely against himself--this he
could have borne in silence--but against the conduct and the moral
character of the missionaries in the South Sea Islands, whose
reputation he felt it his duty at every hazard to protect. He therefore
appealed to the laws for shelter and redress, and two successive
verdicts justified the course he took. There were at the time many, even
of his warm friends, in England, who were almost disposed to blame him
for a too sensitive and litigious spirit. But when the whole case lay
before them, the wisest and the mildest men absolved him from the
charge, and heartily approved his conduct. In the place of any comments
of our own we will lay before the reader, in his own words, some of Mr.
Marsden's views upon the subject. They will see the principles by which
he was actuated, and they will learn with amazement how great the
difficulties with which the friends of missions have had to contend from
their own countrymen. The first letter is addressed to the Rev. George
Burder, and was read, as appears from the endorsement it bears, in the
committee of the London Missionary Society, July 10th, 1818, having been
received on the 25th of June.

                                             "Paramatta, Dec. 9, 1817.

    "REV. SIR,--I wrote to you very fully by Mr. Hassall, and informed
    you what state I was in at that time. Since that period I have had
    many hard struggles to maintain my ground. A very shameful attack
    was made upon me and the missionaries in the South Sea Islands by
    the governor's secretary, in an anonymous letter which he
    published in the Sydney Gazette, and of which you are already
    informed. Since my last I have brought the secretary to the
    criminal bar for the libel. Every means were used to pervert
    judgment that the cunning and art of certain persons could exert.
    After three days' contest, I obtained a verdict against the
    secretary. This was a matter of much joy to all who loved the
    cause of religion, and also to the colony in general. The trouble,
    anxiety, and expense of the trial were very great, as I had only
    truth on my side. When I had got a verdict I hoped to enjoy a
    little quiet, but the next Gazette in the report made of the
    trial, being so false and scandalous, and casting such reflections
    on me and my friends, I was compelled to appeal to Cæsar once
    more; and last Tuesday the cause was heard before the supreme
    court, when I obtained a verdict again. The supreme judge, Justice
    Field, is a very upright man, and acted with great independence in
    the cause. A verdict was given in my favour to the amount of
    200_l._, with costs. The expense to the secretary will not be much
    less than 500_l._ None can tell what I have suffered in my mind
    for the last five years, on account of the missions, from the
    opposition of those in power.

    "I must request the Society to use their interest with the British
    government to check those in authority here from exposing the
    missionaries, and those connected with them, to the contempt of
    the whole world by such scandalous anonymous publications as that
    of which I complain. I have been very anxious to leave the colony
    altogether, from the continual anxiety I have suffered, and the
    opposition thrown in the way of every measure I have wished to
    promote, for the advancement of the kingdom of Christ among the
    heathen."

Yet he had, in truth, no ground for this despondency. St. Paul laid the
foundations of flourishing churches amidst "a great fight of
afflictions;" what wonder if one of the greatest of Protestant missions
in a later age should share in trials from which "the churches in
Macedonia and Achaia" were not exempt? The letter proceeds thus:

"I am very happy to inform you that all goes on well at the Islands,
notwithstanding the contests here. I have forwarded to you, by this
conveyance, all the letters; from them you will learn the affairs of the
missionaries: I hope all the brethren have joined them. Four thousand of
the natives can now read. I send you one of Pomare's letters to me. Mr.
John Eyre has translated it. You will see what the views of the king
are. He is now writing a dictionary of his own language, and one of the
chiefs is employed at the press. I am very sorry they did not meet the
king's wishes with regard to the printing press, and set it up at
Tahiti, where he lives; taking it away from him was unwise.... The main
work is done now, as far as respects the planting of the gospel. Their
native idols are burned in the fire, and many have 'tasted that the Lord
is gracious' amongst the inhabitants. They sing, and read, and pray, and
teach one another, so that there can be no fear that religion will be
lost in the Islands again. The work has evidently been of God, and he
will carry it on for his own glory. They will now also have their
vessel, by which means they can visit the different islands and Port
Jackson. I should wish much to see them turning their attention to
agriculture, etc., so as to induce habits of industry among the natives,
so that the natives of the Society Islands may rank with civilized
nations." The letter closes, after a minute detail of the affairs of
their missions, with an appeal, which, even at this distance of time,
must be read with pain, and which nothing short of mental agony would
have wrung from such a pen. "I rely with confidence on the Society for
their support and protection. Unless his Majesty's ministers will
interfere, I may expect similar attacks from the same quarter. If this
should be the case, it cannot be expected I should remain in the colony
to be ruined in my character, circumstances, and peace of mind. The last
seven years have been very dreadful. A solitary individual cannot
withstand the influence of those in power, armed with such a deadly
weapon as the public papers, and every other means of annoyance at their
command. I have written on the subject to Lord Bathurst....

      "I remain, rev. Sir, yours affectionately,
        "SAMUEL MARSDEN.
  "To Rev. George Burder."

In the same strain he writes to his friend Dr. Mason Good, inclosing the
letter of Philo-free, and other documents. Amongst other threats,
representations to the archbishop and the bishop of London had been
muttered in the colony, with a view no doubt of inducing them to
withdraw him from his post. "Should you learn," he says, "that any
representations are made to the bishops, and you should deem it
necessary, I will thank you to send them the documents I have
transmitted, or any part of them, for their information. I should also
wish Mr. Wilberforce to be acquainted with them, if you will at any time
take the trouble to lay them before him." Then turning to brighter
objects, he has the following remarkable passage:

    "With regard to New Zealand, I must refer you to the Rev. Josiah
    Pratt, (secretary to the Church Missionary Society). Great
    difficulties have opposed the establishment upon that island; but
    I hope they will all be overcome in time. We have sent two young
    men to England, as we think this will greatly tend to enlarge
    their ideas, and prepare them for greater usefulness in their own
    country. I have no doubt, but that New Zealand will soon become a
    civilized nation. If I were inclined to become a prophet I should
    say, that all the islands in the South Seas will afford an asylum
    for thousands of Europeans hereafter, and New South Wales will
    give laws to, and regulate, all their governments in the course of
    time. The gospel, humanly speaking, could not be planted in the
    South Sea Islands, unless our government had established a colony
    in New South Wales. The British government had no view of this
    kind when they first formed the colony. How mysterious are all the
    ways of Divine Providence! yet may the Divine footsteps be traced,
    if we mark attentively what is passing in the world. God, the
    Governor of this world, orders all things according to his
    infinite mind, and all things well."

He soon had reason to adopt a happier strain. The trial was severe, the
more so perhaps from the ardour of his own temperament, which, no doubt,
required the chastisement, which became in the highest sense a blessing
both to himself and others. Writing to the same friend, 3rd October,
1818, he says: "When I take a retrospect of all that has passed in this
colony since my return, I see, with wonder and gratitude, the Divine
goodness overruling the wills and affections of sinful men, and making
all things unite in promoting his glory. 'Philo-free' will not be
without its benefit to the great cause. Had this libel never appeared,
the character, constitution and object of the Church, and London
Missionary Societies would not have been known in this settlement for
many years to come; nor would they have gained the friends which they
will eventually do here."

Letters of congratulation flowed in rapidly, both on account of his
missionary exploits in New Zealand, and of his personal triumph in New
South Wales. We can afford only to give a specimen of each; the one to
show how the successes of the gospel thrilled English Christians with
joy in the infancy of missions; and the other to exhibit the warm
affection with which the great missionary leader of the southern seas
was regarded by his friends at home.

    "From William Terry, Esq.,                   "Hull, 7th May, 1817.

     ..."The account, you gave in your letter, as well as those sent
     to the Church Missionary Society, which appeared in the
     Missionary Register, were very gratifying to all who have at
     heart the prosperity of Zion. I have felt peculiarly interested
     in the journal of your voyage to New Zealand, and when at our
     (St. John's) church the Old Hundredth Psalm was sung, I felt much
     elevated in praise to our Almighty Saviour, that at the same
     period of the year, and exactly two years before, you had been
     enabled to proclaim the glad tidings of his salvation, and to
     commence with the same divine song upon the heathen shores of New
     Zealand. God grant that it may be the dawn of a brighter day:
     that the Lord of all may be adored by all the uncivilized world;
     that the Sun of righteousness may arise and go on to shine with
     increasing and transforming light and influence upon them, and
     upon all others who are yet sitting in darkness and in the shadow
     of death! May he bless all human attempts to promote so glorious
     a cause, and particularly your own zealous efforts; and may he,
     for the sake of the same, continue, if it please him, your
     valuable life for many years to come. I know, from the arduous
     post which you occupy, that your time must be entirely filled up,
     and that you can find very little leisure for a correspondent
     like me, who can render you little or no service.... Our esteemed
     friends, the Rev. Messrs. Dykes, Scott, Clarke, and Foster, are
     all very well, being in mercy continued yet to this highly
     favoured town. Mr. Scott has obtained the living of St.
     Margaret's since the death of Mr. Barker, and has engaged an
     excellent curate, a young man of high birth of the name of
     Sibthorpe, who seems very faithful, and will, I hope, be
     abundantly useful. May the Lord bless you and your young family
     with all temporal and spiritual blessings! And may he bless and
     direct all your zealous endeavours to promote his cause among the
     heathen, and to spread the knowledge and saving influence of his
     truth to all within your influence!"

     Dr. Mason Good, writing on the subject of the libel, under the
     date of April, 1818, says: "The triumph you have gained is indeed
     complete ... persevere, then, my dear friend, in the same good
     and great and magnanimous course. The eyes of the world are upon
     you, and what is more, the eye of Him who governs the world, and
     will never fail to give efficacy to his own instruments, and
     ultimate success to his designs. To this time, however,
     notwithstanding all the terrible threats that have been thrown
     out against you, not a single syllable of complaint has arrived
     from any one; do not therefore let your spirits fail. Depend upon
     esteem and support at home, for your perseverance and manly
     conduct have produced a very deep and popular sensation in every
     quarter in which you would wish to stand well."

In addition to these gratifying testimonies from home, Mr. Marsden
received a public mark of approbation from the officers of the 46th
regiment, then stationed in the colony, who with a high and chivalrous
sense of what was due to one who single handed had so long maintained
the cause of truth and righteousness, stepped forward to offer their
tribute of respect. He replied as follows:--

    "To Col. Molle and the officers of the 46th regiment.

                                           "Paramatta, 16th Oct. 1818.

    "GENTLEMEN,--I had the honour to receive your public letter under
    date 14th May, 1818, and nothing could have given me more real
    gratification than the very handsome manner in which you have
    communicated your kind and friendly sentiments to me on the issue
    of the trials I instituted against the author of the libel,
    'Philo-free.' I beg, gentlemen, to return you my most grateful
    acknowledgments for the honour you have done me, and to assure you
    that this mark of your good will to me, in bearing your testimony
    to my conduct, will ever be held in the highest estimation by me;
    and I trust I shall retain to the latest moment of my life a
    grateful sense of your favour to me as an individual, and at the
    same time never forget the public service you rendered to this
    colony from the time you landed to the day of your departure, by
    your firmness and gentlemanly conduct, as British officers, and by
    your good and prudent example as members of the community." After
    these expressions of gratitude he turns aside to remark upon the
    former condition of the colony, and the services which the 46th
    regiment had rendered in the cause of virtue. Proud as this
    regiment may justly be of honours won in far different scenes, it
    will not, we are assured, nor will its countrymen, regard with
    other feelings than those of high satisfaction, the following
    tribute to its moral worth and character. May every regiment in
    the British army deserve a similar eulogy from men who, like Job
    of old, and we may add, like the chaplain of New South Wales,
    'know not to give flattering titles.'

    "When you first arrived in New South Wales every barrier against
    licentiousness was broken down, every fence swept away. There were
    a few, and but a few, who resolved to stand their ground, and
    preserve that line of conduct which the wisest and best men
    consider essential as marking the distinction between the good and
    the evil."

And again: "Had you not arrived in New South Wales and acted the
honourable part you did, the few who were marked for future conquest
would not have been able to have stood out longer, but must have either
yielded to superior force, or have withdrawn from the colony. Some would
not have had strength of mind sufficient to have carried on a perpetual
warfare against such an unequal force, and thus would not have been able
to meet the expense of continued resistance. You just arrived in time to
turn the wavering balance, and to inspire the desponding with hopes."

A vote of thanks, in the most cordial terms, was also presented to him
at the anniversary meeting of the Church Missionary Society, at the
Freemasons' Tavern, in 1819. It would have been presented to the annual
meeting of the previous year, but it was a mark of respect which had
never yet been paid to any individual by the Society. "The
circumstances, however, which have lately transpired," so writes his
friend, Dr. Mason Good, who was a member of the committee, "the severe
and important battle you have fought, and the triumph you have so
gloriously achieved, have induced the Society to step out of their usual
routine on this occasion, and to show, not only to yourself, but to the
world at large, the full sense they entertain of the honourable and
upright part you have taken, and their unanimous determination to give
you all their support. I agree with you most fully that your contest has
not been a personal one, but that the important objects of the Society
have been at stake, and that the victory you have obtained is of more
importance to the cause of virtue, honour, and true religion, and more
especially to the cause of Christian missions in Australasia, than to
yourself."

We shall conclude our notice of these painful conflicts with two
letters, the one from Lord Gambier, the other from the venerable Simeon.
The former breathes the warm heart of a sailor and the mature wisdom of
an experienced Christian. And thus while British soldiers were ready to
acknowledge the integrity of Mr. Marsden, the navy, as represented by
one of her great heroes, stood forward likewise in his behalf.

    "DEAR SIR,--I was happy to hear of your health and welfare by your
    letters to me of the 22nd January and the 5th March, 1817, which
    came to my hands in due time, though they were rather longer, I
    believe, in their passage than is usual. I deeply lament with you
    that your very zealous and arduous exertions to extend the kingdom
    of our gracious Lord, and to diffuse the knowledge of the glorious
    gospel of salvation among the inhabitants of the dark regions
    around you, should meet with the spirit of opposition from the
    persons in the colony whom you naturally would look to for
    support and assistance. And very grievous indeed it is that you
    should stand almost alone and single in a work of charity that
    exceeds the praises of human language to express its excellence
    and blessed effects upon the race of mankind. Mr. Pratt will have
    informed you that a special meeting of the committee of the Church
    Missionary Society was held last month for the sole purpose of
    deliberating upon the communication you have made to him of the
    state of the affairs of the Society, and the disgraceful letter
    that appeared in the 'Sydney Gazette,' signed 'Philo-free.' The
    result of the committee's consultation was, that your letters on
    this subject should be referred to the consideration of the
    vice-presidents of the Society, requesting them to take such
    measures as they deemed most advisable to relieve you from the
    distressing and painful situation in which you were placed. I had
    the satisfaction of being present at the meeting of the
    vice-presidents; the bishop of Gloucester and Mr. Wilberforce were
    of the number. Mr. Pratt was also present, and as he will
    communicate to you the judgment that we passed upon the occasion
    it is unnecessary for me to add anything thereto; but I cannot
    forbear to express to you the admiration I entertain of your
    conduct, your zeal, perseverance, and unremitted exertions in the
    blessed and glorious cause in which you are engaged. May our
    gracious Lord be your shield; may his powerful arm protect you
    against all your adversaries, and enable you to overcome them all
    with the weapons of a Christian warfare, meekness, patience,
    faith, and charity; and may he lay them all at your feet.! May his
    grace be sufficient for you, and give you strength to go on as you
    have done in his service, to the glory of his name and to the
    salvation of the heathen nations around! You have achieved great
    things in New Zealand. May the seed you have sown there be like
    the grain of mustard, and grow to a large tree; and may you
    finally receive the bright reward of your labours, and have that
    blessing pronounced upon you, 'Well done, good and faithful
    servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.' There is a fine
    field for missionary labours in New Zealand, and I anticipate the
    happiest consequences to the race of men in that country from the
    establishment you have made among them, and I think it very
    probable that they will make more rapid progress in the knowledge
    and practice of Christianity and civilization than any heathen
    nation to whom the gospel has been preached. May you live to see
    this verified!

    "With cordial and earnest wishes for your health and prosperity, I
    remain, dear Sir, with sincere regard,

    "Your faithful and humble friend and servant,

                                                            "GAMBIER."

Mr. Simeon, of Cambridge, wrote to him in the same strain of
encouragement:--

                                                       "Dec. 15, 1819.

    "Last summer I was at Hull, and saw Mr. Scott and other of your
    friends and relatives. It was a joy to me to see how ardent was
    their love towards you. I commissioned Mrs. Scott to tell you, in
    general terms, that your character and cause were duly appreciated
    by the government and by the House of Commons. I take for granted
    that Mr. Wilberforce has given you particulars. It was from him
    that I was enabled to declare the general result.

    "I am overwhelmed almost with work. Eleven volumes will be out in
    the spring. The first six will make their appearance in less than
    a month; it is of the same nature as my former work, though
    distinct from it. It is on all the finest passages from Genesis to
    Revelation. It is entitled 'Horæ Homileticæ,' as being homilies
    for the assistance both of clergy and laity."

In this age of "reformatories," when the treatment of our prisoners has
become a popular question, it is impossible to read without deep
interest such letters as the following. Mr. Marsden had taken up the
cause of the degraded female prisoners in New South Wales. Mrs. Fry in
England hears of his benevolent exertions, and hastens to express her
joy; and thus she writes to the prison-philanthropist of the southern
world:--

                           "Mildred's Court, second month, 11th, 1820.

    "RESPECTED FRIEND,--I have received thy letters, one sent by
    Deputy-commissary-general Allan, and the other written some time
    before, but only arrived within a day or two of each other. I am
    sorry that I happened to be out when Deputy-commissary-general
    Allan called, but I hope soon to see him, and to consult with him
    as to the steps best to be taken to improve the condition of the
    female convicts in New South Wales. Much influence has already
    been used here, and the subject has been brought before the House
    of Commons. I some time ago obtained a copy of thy letter to the
    governor of New South Wales, and the information contained in it
    has been much spread in this country, and it is quite my opinion
    that some beneficial alterations will in time take place; but the
    present parliament being so soon to be dissolved, owing to the
    death of the king, I fear will retard their progress; but much is
    doing in this country, and I trust that much is likely to be
    done. Many of us are deeply interested in the welfare of the poor
    convicts as to their situation here, and their voyage, and when
    they arrive in Botany Bay. And if life and ability be granted us,
    I trust that much will in time be accomplished; but all these
    things require patience and perseverance, which I hope we shall be
    endowed with, both here and on your side of the water. I am sorry
    thou hast had so many trials and discouragements in filling thy
    very important station, and I cannot help hoping and believing
    that thy labours will prove not to be in vain; and even if thou
    shouldst not fully see the fruit of thy labours, others, I trust,
    will reap the advantage of them, so that the words of Scripture
    may be verified, 'That both he that soweth and he that reapeth may
    rejoice together.' I consider myself greatly obliged by thy
    valuable communications, and I think it would be very desirable
    that thou shouldst let us know exactly what sort of place is
    wanted for the women, and what would be its probable expense, as
    it would enable us more clearly to state what we wish for. And I
    should think our government would give the necessary directions to
    have the work done. I remain, etc., thy friend, ELIZABETH FRY."

Through such toils and conflicts our predecessors of the last generation
passed, before they could lay effectually the foundations of those great
principles of humanity and justice in the public mind, which are now
yielding their abundant fruit.




CHAPTER VIII.

    Tooi and Teterree--Mr. Marsden's Second Voyage to New
    Zealand--Progress of the Gospel there--Shunghie--His ferocity--Mr.
    Marsden returns to New South Wales--Third Voyage to New
    Zealand--Malicious charges brought against him in his absence--A
    Commission of Inquiry--Its result--Letters, etc.--Approbation of
    the Government.


The New Zealand mission still continued to occupy Mr. Marsden's
thoughts. He seems to have been always alert, turning every hint to
account, seizing every occasion and employing every likely instrument to
promote the grand design. The excellent quality of the New Zealand flax
had not escaped him. He induced two young New Zealanders, whom he had
brought with him to Paramatta, to visit England, which they did in H. M.
ship Kangaroo, and were placed under the care of his friends in London.
"I wish on no account," he writes to Mr. Pratt, "that they should be
idle; if they cannot be useful in forming a vocabulary, (of the Maori
language of which he was now anxious that a grammar should be prepared)
let them be _put into a rope walk_, and be kept close to labour while
they remain in England." They were both chieftains, Tooi and Teterree;
still the reader must not suppose the rope walk was to them a degrading
employment. Mr. Marsden had another object in view besides their
improvement, and he wished to impart to his friends in London something
of his own enthusiasm in behalf of the Maorie race. "The Society will
see," he says in his letter to the secretary, Mr. Pratt, "from these
two young men what the natives of New Zealand are. They are prepared to
receive any instruction that we can give them; they are fine young men,
and in temper and natural parts very like their countrymen in general."
They seem to have deserved the character here given them. We insert a
letter from each, written while they were in England. The first is
addressed to Mr. Pratt while Tooi was on a visit amongst the
manufactories of Staffordshire and Shropshire.

                                             "Madeley, Sept. 17, 1818.

    "DEAR SIR,--I am much obliged and thank you, Mr. Pratt, for the
    letter you sent me. I so pleased when Mr. Pratt finds a ship. I
    want a ship to go home. I have been to Coalport. I made four cups.
    Mr. Rose tell me, 'You soon learn.' 'Yes,' I say, 'very soon learn
    with fingers, but book very hard,' etc.

    "To Mr. Pratt.                                       THOMAS TOOI."

The other letter is in a graver strain from Teterree to Mr. Marsden.

                           "Church Missionary House, October 12, 1818.

    "MY DEAR FRIEND,--I like Englishman much; he love New Zealand man.
    I very sick in missionary house, and very near die; nothing but
    bone. Kind friend missionary pray for me every night.

    "I kneel down in my bed-room every night, and pray to Jesus Christ
    our Saviour to learn me to read the book.

    "Very nice country England. I never see the king of England; he
    very poorly, and Queen Charlotte very poorly too.

    "I see the iron make, and bottle blow. Tooi blow a bottle, and I
    blow a bottle. I make four cups at China work, etc. Farewell, good
    friend.

                                                            "TETEREE."

Their English education being completed, the young chieftains returned
to Paramatta, and Mr. Marsden embarked a second time for New Zealand,
taking Tooi and Teterree with him, with several missionaries, three
mechanics and their families. They landed at Rangheehoa, in the Bay of
Islands, on the 12th August. The rival chiefs Shunghie and Koro-Koro now
contended for the site of the new missionary settlement which Mr.
Marsden contemplated, each being anxious that his own domain should be
preferred, and offering a grant of land. The spot was selected at Kiddee
Kiddee (or Keri-Keri) a district in the territory of Shunghie, at the
head of a fine harbour; but such was the distress of the disappointed
chieftain, whose part was taken by young Tooi, that Mr. Marsden almost
relented: "He made strong appeals to our feelings, and urged his request
by every argument that he could advance, so that we were obliged to
promise to accompany him on the next day to Parroa, and that we would
build him and Tooi a house if the situation pleased us, and send one or
two Europeans to reside amongst them." The stores were now landed, and
all the beach exhibited a scene of happiness and busy civilization;
fourteen natives sawing timber, others cutting knees, etc.; "a sight
more grateful to a benevolent mind could not possibly have been seen;
our hearts overflowed with gratitude. We viewed the various operations
with delight, and considered them the dawn of civil and religious
liberty to this land of darkness, superstition, and cruelty." Such were
the comments which the missionary leader noted down at the time, and in
reading them we are made to feel how much Christian benevolence excels
the mere selfishness of the most enterprising colonist. Simply for the
good of others, without the hope or wish of reaping any other advantage
than that of extending the kingdom of God amongst a savage race, the
little missionary band, self exiled, and consecrated to a life of
unknown toil and hardship, exult in laying the foundations of their
settlement, as the Jews of old exulted when they began to build their
temple to the living God. On the next sabbath day, the work was
consecrated with prayer and praise. Mr. Marsden's simple language best
describes the scene:--

    "_August 22._--We assembled on the beach for public worship, as
    there was no place sufficiently spacious to hold the people. We
    were surrounded with natives and a number of chiefs from different
    districts.

    "It was gratifying to be able to perform worship to the true God
    in the open air, without fear or danger, when surrounded by
    cannibals with their spears stuck in the ground, and their
    pattoo-pattoos and daggers concealed under their mats. We could
    not doubt but that the time was at hand for gathering in this
    noble people into the fold of Christ. Their misery is extreme, the
    prince of darkness has full dominion over their souls and bodies;
    under the influence of ignorance and superstition many devote
    themselves to death, and the chiefs sacrifice their slaves as a
    satisfaction for the death of any of their friends. This is a
    tyranny from which nothing but the gospel can set them free."

[Illustration: THE BAY OF ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND.]

During this three months' sojourn, besides the attention which Mr.
Marsden gave to the missions in the Bay of Islands, he made a circuitous
journey of seven hundred miles, exploring the country with a view to
more extensive operations. His arrival over land and in health, at the
Bay of Islands, on his return, relieved the minds of his anxious
friends the missionaries, and "gave them additional cause," they say,
"to bless and thank God for his protecting care, and that he had again
heard and answered our supplications." "There is not one in ten
thousand, I think," writes Mr. Hall, "who could or would have borne the
privations, difficulties, and dangers, which he has undergone. I pray
that he may reap the fruits of his labour by the New Zealanders turning
from their degraded state to serve the only living and true God." Mr.
Marsden's journal of this second visit will be valuable in time to come,
as perhaps the best record in existence of the character and habits of a
wonderful people, on whom civilization had not yet dawned, and whose
spiritual darkness was profound. He landed, during a coasting voyage,
with young Tooi, on the small island of Motooroa. "The first object that
struck my eye was a man's head stuck on a pole near the hut where we
were to sleep; the face appeared beautifully tattooed; it was the head
of a chief who was killed by Shunghie's people. The sight," he says,
"naturally excited feelings of horror in my breast." Most men would have
felt something of alarm. But Mr. Marsden seems to have been a perfect
stranger to fear; and if courage, whether physical or moral, makes a
hero, he must be ranked high in the heroic class. He merely adds, "This
caused me to value more and more the blessing of Divine revelation, and
the blessing of civil government."

In his journal on a tour to the River Shukeangha, he writes thus:

    "_September 28, 1819._--After we had passed the swamp, we came
    into a very open country, for many miles round covered with fern.
    The part through which we walked was gravelly, and not very good
    in general.

    "The wind increased toward evening, and blew strong from the rainy
    quarter, so that we had the prospect of a very wet night, without
    a single tree to shelter us from the storm for about eight miles
    from the swamp we had passed. At this distance was a wood, through
    which our road lay, which we were anxious to reach, if possible,
    in order to shelter ourselves from the wind and rain. With this
    hope we pushed forward, and arrived at the edge of the wood about
    nine o'clock. The rain now began to fall heavily. The natives cut
    branches of fern and boughs of trees, and made us a little shed
    under the trees, to afford us some shelter. The blackness of the
    heavens, the gloomy darkness of the wood, the roaring of the wind
    among the trees, the sound of the falling rain on the thick
    foliage, united with the idea that we were literally at the ends
    of the earth, with relation to our native land, surrounded with
    cannibals whom we knew to have fed on human flesh, and wholly in
    their power, and yet our minds free from fear of danger--all this
    excited in my breast such new, pleasing, and, at the same time,
    opposite sensations, as I cannot describe.

    "While I sat musing under the shelter of a lofty pine, my thoughts
    were lost in wonder and surprise, in taking a view of the wisdom
    and goodness of God's providential care, which had attended all my
    steps to that very hour. If busy imagination inquired what I did
    there, I had no answer to seek in wild conjecture: I felt with
    gratitude that I had not come by chance; but had been sent to
    labour in preparing the way of the Lord in this dreary wilderness,
    where the voice of joy and gladness had never been heard: and I
    could not but anticipate with joyful hope the period when the
    Day-star from on high would dawn and shine on this dark and heathen
    land, and cause the very earth on which we then reposed to bring
    forth its increase, when God himself would give the poor
    inhabitants his blessing. After reflecting on the different ideas
    which crowded themselves upon my mind, I wrapped myself up in my
    great coat, and lay down to sleep."

He visited an island where he met with a singular spectacle. A number of
natives were at work, breaking up the ground with a sort of spatula, or
wooden spade, to plant their sweet potato. Amongst these was Koro-Koro's
head wife, or queen. "Her Majesty was working hard with a wooden spade,
digging the ground for potatoes, with several of the women and some
men." The royal infant lay on the ground sprawling and kicking by her
side; "the old queen earnestly requested that I would give her a hoe,
showing me the difficulty she had in digging with a stick; a request
with which I promised to comply." We leave the reader to admire at
leisure the Homeric simplicity of the scene, or to indulge in those
sentiments of contemptuous pity to which Englishmen are possibly more
prone.

In another place, he found the head wife of Shunghie, though perfectly
blind, digging in the same manner, surrounded by her women, and
apparently with as much ease as the rest. The offer of a hoe in exchange
for her spatula was accepted with joy. The scene drew forth these
reflections: "When we viewed the wife of one of the most military
chiefs, possessing large territories, digging with a spatula for her
subsistence, this sight kindled within us the best feelings of the human
heart. If a woman of this character, and blind, can thus labour with
her servants, what will not this people rise to, if they can procure the
means of improving their country, and of bettering their condition?
Their temporal state must be improved by agriculture and the simple
arts, in connexion with the introduction of Christianity, in order to
give permanence and full influence to the gospel among them. Our God and
Saviour, who is loving to every man, and whose tender mercies are over
all his works, is now, blessed be his name, moving the hearts of his
servants to send relief to the poor heathen, even to the very ends of
the earth."

The journal affords us repeated evidences of a phenomenon, which recent
occurrences in India have at this moment deeply impressed on the heart
of England,--one with which both divines and legislators ought to have
been acquainted (for it is not obscurely referred to in the word of
God), but which a foolish and spurious benevolence has led many to
deny--namely, that the most Satanic ferocity frequently lurks under
gentle manners, and is even to be found in connexion with the warmest
natural affection. Nothing, for instance, can be more affecting than the
meeting of Tooi and his sister, after the absence of the former in
England. Tooi himself anticipated _a scene_, and half ashamed, when he
saw his sister at a distance, tried to avoid the interview in public,
and requested Mr. Marsden to order off the canoe in which they were
approaching. But her love could not be restrained; in an instant she
sprang into the boat, fell on her knees, and clung to Tooi. He saluted
her in return; when she gave vent to her feelings in tears and loud
lamentations, which she continued for about an hour. "Tooi conducted
himself with great propriety, suppressing all his wild feelings, and at
the same time treating his sister with all the soft and tender feelings
of nature. I could not but view his conduct with admiration." When Tooi
was in England, he had been taught to read and write, and instructed in
the doctrines of Christianity; and he and his companion Teterree were
general favourites, from their gentle manners and quick intelligence.
They were one day taken to St. Paul's by Mr. Nicholas, who naturally
supposed they would be lost in astonishment at the grandeur of the
building, but they expressed neither surprise nor pleasure; on which
that gentleman makes this just remark; "It is only things of common
occurrence, I suspect, that strike the mind of a savage. The faculties
must be cultivated to fit them for the enjoyment of the beautiful or the
sublime." One thing, however, did strike them, and caused no small
excitement. In walking up Fleet-street, they suddenly stopped before a
hair-dresser's shop, in the window of which were some female busts. They
screamed out "Wyenee! Wyenee!" (Women! Women!) taking them for dried
heads of the human subject. "I took some pains," adds their kind
conductor, "to beat this notion out of them, lest they should tell their
countrymen on their return that Europeans preserved human heads as well
as New Zealanders."

These bursts of feeling were, it seems, quite natural; intense sorrow or
savage exultation, the extremes of tenderness and of brutality, were
indulged by turns, without any suspicion on their part of insincerity in
either. Immediately after, Mr. Marsden mentions that he passed a canoe
in which he recognised an old acquaintance, Hooratookie, the first New
Zealander introduced into civil society--Governor King having once
entertained him with great kindness. Hooratookie was grateful; spoke of
the governor's daughter, then a child, with unfeigned regard, calling
her by her Christian name, Maria. But looking into his large war-canoe,
capable of holding from sixty to eighty men, with provisions, Mr.
Marsden observed on the stern the dried head of a chief. "The face was
as natural as life, the hair was long, and every lock combed straight,
and the whole brought up to the crown, tied in a knot, and ornamented
with feathers, according to the custom of the chiefs when in full dress.
It was placed there as an incentive to revenge. It is possible the death
of this chief may be revenged by his children's children; hence the
foundation is laid for new acts of cruelty and blood from generation to
generation."

Mr. Marsden's fame now preceded him, and wherever he went, he was
received not with rude hospitality, but with courteous respect. One
chieftain offered up an ovation and prayer on their arrival. "He invoked
the heavens above and the earth beneath to render our visit advantageous
to his people, and agreeable to us, and that no harm may happen to us,
whom he esteemed as the gods of another country. We heard the profane
adulations with silent grief, and could not but wish most ardently for
the light of Divine truth to shine on such a dark and superstitious
mind." Yet this man was a ferocious cannibal; and when Mr. Marsden
expressed his anxiety for the safety of the missionaries after he should
have left them, he was calmed by the assurance that, as we had done them
no harm, they had no satisfaction to demand, "and that as for eating us,
the flesh of a New Zealander was sweeter than that of an European, in
consequence of the white people eating so much salt." From this the
conversation turned to that of eating human flesh, which they defended
with arguments which to them appeared, no doubt, perfectly conclusive.
They alleged that fishes, animals, and birds, preyed upon each other;
and that one god would devour another god, therefore there was in nature
sufficient warrant for the practice. Shunghie explained how it was the
gods preyed on each other, "and that when he was to the southward, and
had killed a number of people and was afraid of their god, he caught
their god, being a reptile, and ate part of it, and reserved the
remainder for his friends."

Shunghie, the greatest of New Zealand warriors, was at the same time a
striking instance of that union of gentleness and ferocity which
characterized this people. To the missionaries his kindness was always
great, and his respect for Mr. Marsden knew no bounds. An instance of
his good feeling may here be noticed. In the beginning of 1817, a naval
expedition, under his command, sailed from the Bay of Islands. It
consisted of thirty canoes, and about eight hundred men. Its object was
to obtain peace with his enemies at the North Cape. The chief took an
affectionate leave of the settlers, and told them that if he fell they
must be kind to his children; and if he survived, he would take care of
their families when they should die. The expedition returned, however,
in about a fortnight, his people having quarrelled with those of
Wangaroa, into which place they had put for refreshment; and being
afraid, he said, that the Wangaroa people would attack the settlers in
his absence, he, for the present, abandoned the expedition.

Shunghie was again preparing for war when Mr. Marsden paid his second
visit to New Zealand; his army, to the number of several thousand men,
were already assembled; his war-canoes were ready, and all his
preparations complete; yet in deference to the remonstrances of Mr.
Marsden, he again abandoned his scheme of conquest or revenge, and
dismissed his followers.

Shunghie paid a visit to England about the year 1820. His majestic
person, graceful manners, and gentle yet manly disposition were much
admired. He was one of Nature's nobles; what might not be expected from
such a man when he returned home again? George the Fourth invited him to
Carlton Palace, and received him with marked attention, presenting him
with some military accoutrements and costly fire-arms. Yet the heart of
a savage never ceased to beat beneath this polished exterior, while his
pride was fanned to madness by the consideration he received in England.
"There is," he exclaimed, "but one king in England; there shall be only
one king in New Zealand." Returning by way of Sydney he there happened
to meet with Inacki, another chief, with whom he had an ancient feud. He
told him that when they got back to New Zealand he would fight him.
Inacki accepted the challenge, and Shunghie accordingly assembled, on
his return to New Zealand, no fewer than two thousand men to attack
Inacki. The latter was prepared to receive him, and for some time the
event of the battle that ensued was doubtful. At length Shunghie, who
had the greatest number of muskets, and who had arranged his men in the
form called, in Roman tactics, the cuneus, or wedge, placing himself at
the apex and directing those behind him to wheel round the enemy, from
the right and left, or to fall back into their original position as
opportunity offered, shot Inacki. The savage Shunghie immediately sprang
forward, scooped out the eye of the dying man with his knife, and
swallowed it; and then, holding his hands to his throat, into which he
had plunged his knife, and from which the blood flowed copiously, drank
as much of the horrid beverage as the two hands could hold. Amongst the
horrible superstitions of the Maories, one was that the eye of a victim
thus devoured became a star in the firmament, and thus the ferocious
Shunghie sought for honour and immortality. With the sword which he had
received as a present from King George in England, he immediately cut
off the heads of sixteen of his captives in cold blood; this was done to
appease the spirit of his son-in-law, who had fallen in battle. In this
battle, Shunghie and his tribe were armed with muskets, his opponents
only with the native weapons, the club and spear. His victory,
therefore, was an easy one, but his revenge was cruel. A New Zealand
traveller, who visited the spot in 1844, says: "The bones of two
thousand men still lie whitening on the plain, and the ovens remain in
which the flesh of the slaughtered was cooked for the horrible repasts
of the victorious party, and yet so numerous were the slaves taken
prisoners that the Nga-Puis (the tribe of which Shunghie was the head)
killed many of them on their way to the Bay of Islands merely to get rid
of them."[I] Such was the gentle Shunghie when his viler nature was let
loose--a frightful specimen of human nature, varnished by education, but
unvisited by the grace of God. We turn aside for a moment to describe a
scene in bright contrast with these revolting details. Amongst the few
who escaped the general slaughter was Koromona, a chief who became blind
soon afterwards, but hearing archdeacon W. Williams preach at Matamata,
was converted. "For the last four years," says the traveller above
mentioned, "Koromona has been a native teacher, and may be seen every
sabbath day with his class instructing them in the truths of the
Scripture with an earnestness which is truly admirable; he is now about
to start to preach Christianity to a tribe which has not yet received
it. His memory is wonderful; he knows the whole of the church service by
heart, and repeats hymns and many long chapters verbatim." Thus the
gospel won its victorious way, and proved itself triumphant over hearts
no less depraved and passions no less degraded than those of Shunghie
himself. No earthly power could have effected such a change; it was
wrought by that "gospel" which is truly "the power of God unto salvation
to every one that believeth."

    [I] Savage Life and Scenes in Australia and New Zealand. By George
    French Angas, London, 1847.

Amidst such scenes the missionaries dwelt in peace. War, and its
inseparable and more hideous companion, cannibalism, showed themselves
at their gates, but were not allowed to hurt them. Under the good
providence of God, their security was owing, in a great measure, to the
prudence and courage with which Mr. Marsden planned and carried out his
projects. Himself a stranger to fear, he infused courage into those
around him, and both he and they felt secure under the shield and
buckler of the Almighty. No doubt the fearlessness of Mr. Marsden won
the admiration of these savages and contributed not a little to his
safety. His journal abounds in instances such as that which follows.
The scene is in a Maori village, and the writer is surrounded with
cannibals. "After conversing on several subjects, we had supper, sung a
hymn, and then committed ourselves to the Angel of the everlasting
covenant, and so lay down to rest; a number of the natives lay around
the hut and some within. I slept well until daybreak, being weary with
walking."

He appears to have arrived at home, after this second visit to New
Zealand, towards the close of November, 1819. In February, 1820, he was
once more on his way back to New Zealand. His letters bear ample
testimony to a fact which all who were acquainted with him in private
life observed, that his heart was full of affection, and that his home
was the scene of his greatest happiness. He had not returned, it is
true, to be greeted with public honours; on the contrary, he was still a
marked man. The governor and many of the leading men in the colony were
prejudiced against him. We believe it is to this period of his life that
an anecdote which we give on the best possible authority belongs. The
governor had consented to his recent visit to New Zealand with
reluctance, and had limited the period of his absence with military
precision, threatening at the same time to deprive him of his chaplaincy
unless he returned within the given time. The last day arrived, and the
expected vessel was not in sight. The governor repeated his
determination to those around him, and Mr. Marsden's friends were filled
with anxiety, and his wife and family at length gave up all hope.
Towards evening the long-wished-for sail appeared in the offing, and at
eight o'clock in the evening Mr. Marsden quietly walked into the
governor's drawing-room with the laconic and yet respectful address,
"Sir, I am here to report myself." But within the bosom of his family
all was peace, and his presence shed light and joy on everything around
him. His circumstances were prosperous--for his farm, which was almost
entirely committed to Mrs. Marsden's care, was now a source of
considerable income; his children were growing up to manhood under their
parents' roof; his circle of friends and visitors was large, for there
were no bounds to his simple hospitality; and the clergy of the colony,
men like minded with himself, had now begun to regard him not only with
affection, but with the reverence which belongs to years and wisdom and
wide experience.

Yet at the call of duty this veteran was ready, on the shortest notice,
to resume a life of such toil and hardship as nothing could have
rendered welcome, its novelty once over, but motives the most solemn and
commanding. H.M.S. Dromedary, Captain Skinner, was directed by
government to proceed from Sydney to the Bay of Islands to receive a
cargo of New Zealand timber for trial in the dockyards of England; and
Sir Byam Martin, controller of the navy, knowing something of the energy
of Mr. Marsden's character, and his great acquaintance with New Zealand,
requested that he would accompany the Dromedary, which was joined by the
Coromandel, in order to facilitate the object of their visit. With this
request he felt it his duty to comply. He arrived in New Zealand on the
20th of February, and embarked on board the Dromedary to return on the
25th of November. Thus nearly the whole year was given to the service of
New Zealand.

The time was not lost. On his arrival, a difficulty occurred which he
only could have set at rest. The natives had come to the determination
to exchange nothing, nor to do any kind of work, except for muskets and
powder. His first business was to assemble the few European settlers,
the advanced guard of that mighty band of European colonists which was
soon to follow, and to persuade them not on any account to supply the
natives with these weapons of war, in their hands so sure a source of
mischief. With regard to the duty of the missionaries there could be no
doubt; and this he explained to all the powerful chiefs. They had come
among them to preach the gospel of peace, how then could they be
expected to furnish the means and implements of destruction? In writing
to the Missionary Society at home he says, and he must have written such
a sentence with an aching heart, "I think it much more to the honour of
religion and the good of New Zealand even to give up the mission for the
present, than to trade with the natives in those articles."

After a short time spent in the Bay of Islands, at the mission, he
proceeded, sometimes in company with Europeans, but for the most part
alone, upon a tour of many hundred miles through regions yet untrodden
by the foot of civilized men, mingling with the native tribes,
accompanying them in their wanderings from place to place, teaching the
first lessons of civilization and gospel truth, and receiving everywhere
from these savages the kindest attention and the most hospitable welcome
in return.

On their way to Tourangha, he writes, under the date of June 20: "The
day was far spent when we reached the plain. We walked on till the sun
was nearly set, when we stopped and prepared for the night. The
servants, who had the provisions to carry, were very tired. There were
no huts on the plain, nor any inhabitants, and we were therefore
compelled to take up our lodging in the open air. I was very weary,
having had no rest the preceding night; and having come a long day's
journey, so that I felt that rest would be very acceptable, even on a
heap of fern or anything else.

"The peculiar scene that surrounded me, furnished the mind with new
matter for contemplation on the works and ways of God. The mystery of
his providence, and the still greater mystery of his grace, were all
unsearchable to me. I had come from a distant country, and was then at
the ends of the earth, a solitary individual, resting on an extensive
wild, upon which no civilized foot had ever before trodden. My
companions were poor savages, who nevertheless vied with each other in
their attentions to me. I could not but feel attached to them. What
would I have given to have had the book of life opened, which was yet a
sealed book to them,--to have shown them that God who made them, and to
have led them to Calvary's mount, that they may see the Redeemer who had
shed his precious blood for the redemption of the world, and was there
set up as an ensign for the nations. But it was not in my power to take
the veil from their hearts, I could only pray for them, and entreat the
Father of mercies to visit them with his salvation. I felt very grateful
that a Divine revelation had been granted to me; that I knew the Son of
God had come, and believed that he had made a full and sufficient
sacrifice or atonement for the sins of a guilty world. With
compassionate feelings for my companions, under a grateful sense of my
own mercies, I lay down to rest, free from all fear of danger."

It was during this tour that the following letter was addressed to the
lady of his excellent friend Dr. Mason Good. It is long, but the reader
will scarcely wish that it had been shorter. Let it stand on record as
an evidence of the power of true religion in maintaining amidst the
rudest scenes, and the rough warfare of an adventurous life, all the
gentleness and affection of the most refined and polished society of a
Christian land.

                                         "New Zealand, Sept. 22, 1820.

    "DEAR MADAM,--Your kind favour arrived in the Bay of Islands
    September 7, the evening I returned from a long journey. I had no
    sooner cast my eye over your letter, than busy imagination
    transported me from the solitary woods, dreary wastes, and savage
    society of New Zealand, into 'the polished corner' of
    Guilford-street, and surrounded me with every cordial that could
    refresh the weary traveller, revive the fainting spirits, and blow
    the languishing spark of Christian love with a heavenly flame. I
    had literally been living for weeks a savage life, as far as
    outward circumstances went. I ate, I slept in the thick wood, in a
    cave, or on the banks of a river, or sea, with my native
    companions, wherever the shadows of the evening, or gathering
    storm compelled us to seek for shelter. Every day as I advanced
    from tribe to tribe, I was introduced to new acquaintances; my
    object was to gain from observation and experience that knowledge
    of savage life which I could not learn from books, and to make
    myself well acquainted with the wants, wishes, and character of
    the native inhabitants, to enable me, if my life should be spared,
    to aid to the utmost of my power in their deliverance from their
    present temporal miseries, which are great upon them, and from
    their much sorer bondage to the prince of darkness. I am happy in
    having obtained this object to a certain extent, at the expense of
    a few temporal privations, and a little bodily evil. When I have
    lain down upon the ground after a weary day's journey, wrapped up
    in my great coat, surrounded only by cannibals, I often thought
    how many thousands are there in civil life, languishing upon beds
    of down, and saying, with Job, 'in the evening would God it were
    morning,' while I could sleep free from fear or pain, far remote
    from civil society under the guardian care of him who keepeth
    Israel. Though I everywhere met with the greatest kindness from
    the natives, as well as hospitality, for they always gave me the
    best fern-root, potato, or fish in their possession, yet I could
    never have duly estimated the sweets of civil life, and the still
    greater mental gratification of Christian communion, if I had not
    passed through these dark regions of Satan's dominions, on which
    the dayspring from on high hath never cast a single ray. You
    cannot conceive how great a feast your letter was, after so long a
    fast. I was instantly present with every person you mentioned, and
    lived over again some of those happy moments I once spent under
    your hospitable roof. A sacred warmth flowed round my soul, my
    heart was sweetly melted under the influence of that pure and
    undefiled religion which dropped from your pen, like the heavenly
    dew, as it ran through every line. What shall we call those pure
    sensations that thus warm and captivate the soul? Do they flow
    from the communion of saints, or at these delightful moments does
    some invisible seraph touch our lips with a live coal from God's
    altar? If you have ever experienced similar feelings, their
    recollection will explain more fully my meaning than my words can
    express. When these lines meet your eye, may they find your soul
    rapt up to the third heaven! But to where am I now wandering? the
    veil of the flesh is not now rent, we have not yet entered into
    the holy of holies. Though God has given you and your seed the
    land of Goshen, and you have light continually in your dwelling,
    yet you are still in Egypt, while I am constrained to dwell in
    Mesech, and to dwell in these remote and dark tents of Kedar. But,
    my dear madam, seas and continents will not long separate the
    people of God. I humbly hope the day is at no great distance, when
    we shall join the spirits of just men made perfect. At present you
    abound with blessings.... Jacob often thought of Bethel, and when
    in his afflictions he seemed to have forgotten that sacred spot,
    God said unto him, 'Arise and go to Bethel, and dwell there.' It
    will always be safest for us to dwell also at Bethel. I must now
    close, as my paper is nearly full, and your patience must also be
    tired when it comes to your turn to read what I have written.

    "Remember me to your sister, Mrs. Skinner. Tell Mr. Good I
    received his last letter, and will answer it at a more convenient
    season. I was on my passage to Port Jackson in a small schooner,
    but adverse winds drove me back almost dead with sea-sickness. I
    have been here since February last, and when I shall get home I am
    uncertain; I venture no more in the schooner. Mrs. M. wants me
    back, as she has much upon her hands. It gave me great
    satisfaction to hear my son had arrived safe. I knew your
    kindness would far exceed my wishes. I will endeavour, as far as
    able, to pay all my debts when I see Mr. Good and you face to
    face; till then you must give me credit, and if I do not pay you,
    you will be sure to receive both principal and interest in the
    resurrection of the just.

        "I remain, dear madam,
      "Yours, in the bonds of Christian love,
          "SAMUEL MARSDEN."

The immediate object of his visit being accomplished, he returned to
Sydney, where a strange reception awaited him. Governor Macquarie had
sent to Lord Bathurst a despatch in answer to the statements of the
senior chaplain, already noticed, in which he brought heavy charges
against the latter, which deeply affected his character, not only as a
magistrate, but as a Christian man and a minister. The office of a
magistrate he had been compelled to undertake in common with the other
clergy of the colony, who were all included in the commission of the
peace. For this there was no justification except hard necessity. Mr.
Marsden, however, had long been weary of the irksome task, and had once
and again requested the governor to accept his resignation. This the
governor had expressly declined to do, on the ground that "his services
as a magistrate were too beneficial to the public;" but in fact, it
would seem, only that he might have the opportunity of inflicting upon
him the annoyance of a formal dismissal, which was shortly afterwards
notified in the "Sydney Gazette."

Lord Bathurst, in consequence of the governor's despatch, determined
upon a step which gave great satisfaction to Mr. Marsden's friends at
home, and sent out a commissioner to investigate upon the spot the
truth of these and various other matters affecting the state of the
colony, which had now obtained public notoriety, and had already engaged
the attention of the British parliament; and Commissioner Bigge arrived
during Mr. Marsden's absence to manage the inquiry. On his return we
find him seeking a public and searching examination of his whole
conduct. Addressing a letter to the commissioner, he says: "I am happy
to meet every charge that can be brought against me. I have no wish to
do more than set my character right in the opinion of his Majesty's
government and in that of the Christian world; and I am unfeignedly
thankful to you for the fair opportunity you afford me to justify my
public and private conduct."

Among the many charges brought before the commission of inquiry was that
already preferred against Mr. Marsden by the governor in his despatch to
Lord Bathurst, namely, that he had been guilty of extraordinary severity
as a magistrate. Another, scarcely consistent with the first, was, that
more profligacy and depravity were to be found amongst the convicts of
Paramatta than in any other district, and that this was owing to the
neglect of the senior chaplain. Perhaps it would have been impossible to
have brought forward any two charges of a more painful nature. Happily
the first was easily disproved, or rather it fell at once to the ground
for want of proof. The second was the more cruel, because, while the
facts bore out the statement, Mr. Marsden was the only public man in the
colony who was not guilty, by his silence at least, to some extent of
the iniquities which the governor affected to deplore. Paramatta was, in
fact, the receptacle of the most hardened and depraved of the convict
class; it received the sweepings of the jails in every district. There
were nearly two hundred women and seven hundred male convicts there,
while the factory was so small as not to be able to contain more than
sixty women, and the remainder were obliged to find lodging for
themselves or to sleep in the open fields. This was Mr. Marsden's answer
to the commissioner; it was a repetition of the remonstrance which he
alone had had the courage, two years before, to present to the governor,
and then to remit home to England. Thus he found himself arraigned as
the cause of those very evils--evils, too, lying at his own door--which
he had obtained so much obloquy for attempting to remove. The reflection
is a trite one, but it will bear to be repeated, that the Christian
philanthropist must look for his recompense in heaven, and not from man.
"If when ye do well and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is
acceptable with God, for even hereunto were ye called." A third charge
was that he had squandered public money in building the female orphan
house. He showed, however, on his defence, that the lieutenant-governor,
judge-advocate, and others, who formed the committee, had examined the
accounts and passed them every quarter, and that the governor had
himself afterwards approved of them, and published them in the "Sydney
Gazette" three years before the charge was made. It now appeared further
that Mr. Marsden had advanced largely to the institution; to the amount
indeed of more than eight hundred pounds, for the mere cost of the
building; "and this," he says, "must have been known to the governor, as
I was obliged to apply to him for repayment for some of these sums, and
received an answer that he could not assist me."

Such are some of the trials which they must learn to encounter who would
be brave and fearless soldiers of the cross. They must expect to have
their motives censured, their tempers blamed, their actions
misconstrued, sometimes by men as good, or, at least, as honest as
themselves. Governor Macquarie left the impression of his genius upon
the youthful institutions of Australia, where his memory is still
honoured as that of a great man; yet his conduct to Mr. Marsden was
oppressive and unjust. It is consoling to know that there had been
nothing in the personal conduct of the latter unworthy of his sacred
calling. The commissioner, in the conclusion of the investigation,
inserts, for Mr. Marsden's information, the governor's testimonial of
his character, which, considering the charges brought against him,
certainly does go far to prove that misapprehension and exasperated
feelings had betrayed his excellency into a warmth and precipitancy of
which, in moments of less irritation, he felt ashamed. "The governor
admits that Mr. Marsden's manner to him has been constantly civil and
accommodating, and that nothing in his manner could provoke the
governor's warmth. The governor admits his qualifications, his activity,
and his unremitting vigilance as a magistrate, and in society his
cheerful disposition and readiness to please."

While this inquiry was pending at Sydney, the governor addressed a
letter to Lord Sidmouth, and published it in England. It was a defence
of his own line of policy against various attacks which had been made
against it in the House of Commons by the Hon. H. Grey Bennett and
others. In the course of his defence, the governor not only ridiculed
Mr. Marsden's letter on the necessity of a female factory, and his
account of the melancholy condition of the convict women, but charges
him with being himself accustomed to traffic in spirituous liquors, and
in consequence of being displeased at having so many public-houses in
his neighbourhood.

Malicious, and absurd as the accusation was, carrying with it its own
refutation, it found some who were weak or wicked enough to believe, or
however to repeat it. It was revived in the colony, and republished in
one of the Sydney newspapers after Mr. Marsden's death. Such is the
tenacity of slander. "Only throw mud enough," says the eloquent Mr.
Burke, "and some of it will be sure to stick." Mr. Marsden felt his
character so seriously compromised that he wrote home to the minister in
self-defence, and also addressed a statement of the case to the new
governor, Sir Thomas Brisbane. After showing the absurdity, and indeed
the impossibility, of the charge, since, in the first place, the
governor himself had granted a monopoly to certain contractors to
purchase and land all spirits brought to the colony, and that in the
second he had no licence, he adds: "Such is the watchful eye that was
kept upon my whole conduct by night and by day, if I had been guilty of
that or any other impropriety, it would have been impossible for me to
have escaped detection." So far as any pretence of truth could have been
urged in support of this foul slander, namely that "he kept a
public-house for the sale of ardent spirits, selling them in any
quantity from a pint to a puncheon," it may be stated in his own words:
"In the infancy of the colony, previously to my arrival, barter was
established among all classes from the governor downwards. As there was
neither beer nor milk, tea nor sugar, to be purchased at any price,
wine and spirits became the medium of exchange. As the colony
progressively advanced in agriculture, commerce, and wealth, barter
gradually decreased, and money transactions became more general. I can
affirm that for the last eighteen years I have not had in my possession
as much spirits as would allow my servants half a pint a head per week.
And at no period of my residence did I ever purchase spirits for
sale."[J]

    [J] Rations of spirits, as in the navy, would seem at this time to
    have been regularly served out to the servants and labourers in the
    colony.

These were not the only troubles through which he was called to pass.
But enough has been said both to explain the difficulties in which Mr.
Marsden was placed and to clear his character from the vile aspersions
cast upon it. It is with pleasure that we turn from these false and
disgraceful charges to follow him in those Christian and philanthropic
pursuits which have given splendour to his name.

On the arrival of Sir Thomas Brisbane, in 1821, to assume the government
of New South Wales, Mr. Marsden immediately waited upon him, when he
received the assurance of his countenance and support, not only as a
colonial chaplain, but as the representative of the great missionary
work going forward in New Zealand. Such encouragement was opportune; he
thanked God and took courage; for the difficulties were great, and from
time to time grievous disappointments and vexations had occurred. It was
about this time that the seminary at Paramatta, for the education of New
Zealanders, was abandoned. It had its origin with Mr. Marsden, and was
conducted for some time in his own house. It was indeed one of his most
favourite plans, and its failure was a severe disappointment. It was
found, however, that the change of habits and of climate was injurious
to the health of the New Zealanders, while the results were not always
such as might have been desired. But nothing could damp his ardent zeal,
or quench his spirit of enterprise. "I see," he says, writing to his
friends at home, "the way preparing for the spread of the gospel. I feel
the fullest conviction that the South Sea Islands will now receive the
blessing of civilization and the gospel. The work is great, and many
difficulties may oppose it. The foundation is now firmly laid, and no
power on earth can overturn it. To impart these blessings to the New
Zealanders is an object worthy of the British nation: a more noble
undertaking could not be suggested to the Christian world." This at
least was not the mere declamation of the platform, but the deliberate
expression of the views of one who had toiled and suffered in the cause
for twenty years, and had scarcely been cheered, at present, with the
sight of a single New Zealand convert. "Here," at least, "is the
patience of the saints."

His home duties were not neglected; nor was his the easy philanthropy
which overlooks the humble claims of the rustic flock or obscure parish,
while it stalks abroad on some heroic enterprise which may feed the
vanity, while it satisfies the conscience, of the actor. Through his
exertions Paramatta had now its association in behalf of the Bible
Society, which already collected funds for the Parent Society in
England. An early report from this institution contains a remarkable
account of his visits to the sick bed of a young woman, whose experience
beautifully illustrates the text, that the Scripture "is able to make us
wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." It brings
the writer also before us incidentally as a spiritual pastor and an
enlightened minister of Christ.

"Some time ago," says Mr. Marsden, "I was called on to visit a young
woman, about twenty years of age, in one of our districts, who was
extremely ill, and who wished very much to see me before she died. On my
arrival at her father's house, I found her heavily afflicted, and death
appeared to be at no great distance. I sat by her bedside with the Bible
in my hand; expecting to find her, as I have but too often found others
in similar circumstances, ignorant of the first principles of religion.

"I read a portion of this sacred book to her, and was most agreeably
surprised to find that she not only understood the letter but the spirit
of the Scriptures.

"I asked her father how she became so well acquainted with the
Scriptures: he said he did not know--she was always reading her Bible at
every opportunity, and sometimes sat up whole nights for that purpose.
He observed, she was a very dutiful daughter: he had a large family, and
she, being the eldest, and very industrious, was of great service to her
mother and the younger branches of the family; the only indulgence which
she desired was to be allowed to read the Bible when her work was done;
but he could not account for her attachment to it; and it seemed very
strange to him that she should attend to it so much. I asked him if she
was in the habit of going to church, as I did not personally know her.
He said she went sometimes, but was generally prevented, from the
distance and the large family which she had to attend to.

"This young woman may be said to have obtained her religion wholly from
the Bible. None of the family knew anything of the Bible but herself. I
visited her during the whole of her sickness, from the time she sent for
me, until she fell asleep in Jesus. Her faith was simple, her views of
the way of salvation clear. She gave me many proofs of this, in the
various conversations which I had with her during her sickness. The
Bible was more precious to her than gold; she had found it, under the
influence of the Divine Spirit, her counsellor and her guide, and by it
she had been brought to a knowledge of the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom he had sent; and hereby she was filled with a hope full of
immortality. Previously to her last sickness, she had enjoyed good
health: it was in the prime of youth and vigour that she had read her
Bible, and loved it, so that she had not to seek God, for the first
time, in this trying moment; but found him a present help in sickness
and in the approach of death. The Bible had testified of Christ to her:
she had found eternal life revealed therein; and the Divine promises
were both great and precious to her soul."

Such instances of faith, and of the happy effects of a simple reliance
upon the atonement, were at that time of rare occurrence in the colony.
Instances of conversion simply from the reading of the Scriptures are
not perhaps so rare as we generally suppose. Lieutenant Sadleir, who
himself resided at Paramatta, has remarked upon this occurrence: "It is
gratifying to the reflecting mind to observe such glimmerings of light
in the midst of so much darkness. Although found in obscurity and in the
cottage of the peasant, it proved that there were some who had not bowed
the knee to the Baal of universal licentiousness."

Mr. Marsden's anxiety for the female convicts was not to be abated by
ridicule or opposition. We find him, in August, 1822, addressing a
letter to Dr. Douglas, the police magistrate of Paramatta, on their
behalf. Some of the sentiments are beautifully touching. The substance
of the plea on their behalf is "that these poor creatures, who are
confined in the penitentiary, and who have committed no offence in these
settlements, be allowed the privilege of attending at least once on the
sabbath day on public worship." The request was surely reasonable, and
in urging it he rises to a pathetic eloquence: "There is no nation under
the heavens in whose bosom the wretched and unfortunate finds so warm a
reception as in our own. The unhappy situation of the female convicts
during their confinement in the different jails in the empire interests
the best feelings of the human heart. They are instructed by the
counsels of the wise, consoled by the prayers of the pious, softened by
the tears of the compassionate, and relieved by the alms of the
benevolent. The noble senator does not pass over their crimes and their
punishments unnoticed; he is anxious for the prevention of the former,
and the mitigation of the latter; nor does the wise politician consider
them beneath his care." He then speaks with natural exultation of "the
watchful eye with which the British government provides for their wants
and conveniences during their voyage to New South Wales, even more
liberally than for the brave soldiers and sailors who have fought the
battles of their country, and never violated its laws;" and then follows
a sentence which leaves us uncertain whether more to admire his
patriotism or the gentleness of his nature and the warmth of his heart:

"This apparently singular conduct may seem as if the British government
wished to encourage crime and afterwards reward it; but upon a nearer
view this principle of action will be found to spring spontaneously from
virtue, from that inherent, laudable, Christian compassion and anxiety,
which the father of the prodigal felt for his lost son, which kept alive
the spark of hope that he might one day return to his father's house and
be happy. This parable of our blessed Saviour's most beautifully
exhibits the character of the British nation towards her prodigal sons
and daughters, and is more honourable to her than all the victories she
has achieved by sea and land."

The welfare of the female convict population lay near to Mr. Marsden's
heart; scarcely his beloved New Zealanders and their missions engaged
more of his affection. His plans for the improvement of their temporal
condition, and his incessant labours for their spiritual welfare,
occupied no small portion of his time and thoughts; and there is good
reason to believe that his labours amongst these outcasts were not "in
vain in the Lord." Standing, as we should have thought, himself in need
of encouragement, he stimulated the languid zeal of others. Mrs. Fry and
other philanthropists were now engaged in their great work of amending
our prison discipline at home. We have inserted a letter from that
excellent lady to Mr. Marsden. His answer to it must have cheered her
spirits amidst the many disheartening toils to which she was exposed.

"The Wellington had just arrived when," he says, "I went on board, and
was highly gratified with the order which appears to have been
maintained in that vessel. I could not have conceived that any ship
could have been fitted up to have afforded such accommodation to the
unfortunate female exiles as the Wellington was. All the women looked
clean, healthy, and well. They had not that low, vicious, squalid, dirty
look which the women at former periods have had when they first arrived.
I believe there has been very great attention paid by the master and
surgeon to their morals and comfort, in every possible way. The very
sight of the arrangements of the vessel showed that the humane and
benevolent wishes of the Christian world had been carried into effect,
and proved beyond all contradiction that order and morality can be
maintained upon so long a voyage in a female convict ship.... The
present inquiry into the state of this colony, before the committee of
the House of Commons, will greatly benefit this country. I can speak
from painful experience that for the last twenty-six years, it has been
the most immoral, wretched society in all the Christian world. Those who
are intimate with the miseries and vices of large jails alone can form
any idea of the colony of New South Wales. I know what Newgate was when
I was in London, in the years 1808 and 1809. I was then in the habit of
seeing that miserable abode of vice and woe. What has since been done in
Newgate may be done elsewhere, if suitable means are adopted by those in
authority, seconded by individual exertions; much might be done in these
colonies towards restoring the poor exiles to society, with the
countenance and support of the government. Great evils are not removed
without great difficulties. When I visited the Wellington, I saw much
had been done in England, and more than I could have credited, had I not
been an eye witness of the situation of the females."

Sir Thomas Brisbane, the new governor, was not slow to perceive the
worth of services such as those which Mr. Marsden had rendered to the
colony, and pressed him to accept once more the office of a magistrate.
In reference to this, "I wish," says Mr. Marsden, in a letter to Dr.
Mason Good, "to avoid the office if I can; but I fear it will not be in
my power, without giving offence. The judges as well as the public and
the magistrates have urged me to take the bench at the present time." In
the same letter, he adds: "I feel happy that I have stood firm against
all calumnies and reproaches, and have been the instrument of bringing
to light the abominations that have been committed here: and some of the
evils are already remedied." The friends of religion and virtue in
England could not fail to sympathize with him, being well assured that
substantially he was fighting the cause of true piety and equal justice,
against profligacy and oppression. Mr. Wilberforce wrote to him in the
year 1823, with his usual warm affection:--

    "Though I may be a somewhat doubtful and unfrequent correspondent,
    I am not an uncertain friend; and where good will, as in your
    instance, is grounded on early esteem, and cemented by the
    consciousness of having many mutual friends, I should be ashamed
    if that should suffer any decay from the impression not being
    often renewed. It was with no small concern that I heard that
    anything unpleasant had occurred. I had meant to endeavour to
    obtain a sight of any letters or papers to our common friends, and
    to have consulted with them whether any, and if any, what
    measures, could be taken for the benefit of your colony, or in
    your own support, which, without a compliment, I hold to be in a
    degree coincident.... And now, my dear sir, farewell: but I ought
    not to conclude without congratulating you on the progressive
    advancement, as I trust, of the religious and moral interests of
    your Australian world, and begging that you will always inform me
    unreservedly whenever you conceive I can be of use publicly, or to
    yourself personally.

      "I remain, with much esteem and regard,
        "My dear sir,
          "Your sincere friend,
            "W. WILBERFORCE."

The report of Commissioner Bigge was made public soon afterwards; and
with it the clouds which had gathered so long around the chaplain of
Paramatta were at last dispersed. He was too prominent a mark not to be
again assailed. Always in the front of the battle when the oppressed
required protection, or evil doers in high positions his bold assaults,
it was not in the nature of things that he should lead a very quiet
life. His calling was peculiar; so were his talents; and the latter were
admirably fitted for the former. But for the present his triumph was
complete, and the government at home appreciated his faithful service.
The document which follows requires no further comment. It was not
received till some time had elapsed, but we insert it here as a fitting
conclusion to the chapter:--

                 "Private Secretary's Office, Sydney, 9th April, 1825.

    "REVEREND SIR,--I have the honour to acquaint you, by command of
    his excellency the governor, that Earl Bathurst, having taken into
    consideration your long and useful services in the colony of New
    South Wales, has determined upon increasing your stipend to the
    sum of four hundred pounds sterling, per annum.

    "I have further the pleasing satisfaction of coupling with it his
    lordship's instructions to the governor, to acquaint you that it
    has been done in consideration of your long, laborious, and
    praiseworthy exertions in behalf of religion and morality.

      "I have the honour to be, reverend Sir,
        "Your obedient servant,
          "JOHN OVENS,
            _Private Secretary._

    "To the Rev. Samuel Marsden,
    Principal Chaplain."




CHAPTER IX.

    Fourth Visit to New Zealand--Trials and Successes of the various
    Missions--Shipwreck and Danger of Mr. Marsden and the Rev. S.
    Leigh--Returns home--Letter to Avison Terry, Esq.


In July, 1823, we find Mr. Marsden again taking ship and embarking for
New Zealand; his intention being to visit the stations of the Church
Missionary Society, and to arrange its affairs. Since his last visit
fresh causes for anxiety had appeared. In consequence of Shunghie's
misconduct, the natives were now alienated from the missionaries; they
had become indifferent to education and agricultural improvements; and
the gospel, it was too evident, had made little progress hitherto.
Shunghie declared that as to himself, "he wanted his children to learn
to fight and not to read." The Maories about the settlement insisted
upon being paid for their services in fire-arms and ammunition. "Since
Shunghie's return," writes one of the missionaries, "the natives, one
and all, have treated us with contempt. They are almost past bearing;
coming into our houses when they please, demanding food, thieving
whatever they can lay their hands on, breaking down our garden fences,
stripping the ship's boats of everything they can. They seem, in fact,
ripe for any mischief; had Mr. Marsden himself been amongst us, much as
he deserves their esteem, I believe he would not escape without insult;
but the Lord is a very present help in time of trouble." Amongst the
missionaries themselves certain evils had appeared, the growth of a
secular and commercial spirit, which had injured their cause, and
threatened to frustrate the great end for which the mission was
projected. Mr. Marsden heard of these untoward events, and hastened his
departure, full of anxiety, but not abating one jot of his confidence in
the final triumph of God's cause. What his feelings were his own journal
testifies:--

    "I am still confident that this land of darkness and superstition
    will be visited by the day-star from on high. The glory of the
    Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for
    the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. O Lord, let thy kingdom come;
    thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. I have suffered
    so much annoyance and persecution for some time past, from
    unreasonable and wicked men, that I am happy in leaving the colony
    for a little time, in which I have experienced so much annoyance.
    In reflecting upon the state of New Zealand there are many things
    which give me both pleasure and pain. I am happy the Church
    Missionary Society has not relinquished the cause, but have sent
    out more strength to carry on the work. Many have been the
    discouragements from the misconduct of some of the servants of the
    Society; but I am confident that the sword of the Spirit, which is
    the word of God, will in time subdue the hearts of these poor
    people to the obedience of faith."

He was accompanied on his voyage by the Reverend Henry Williams and his
family, who now went out to strengthen the New Zealand mission, of which
he soon became one of the most effective leaders. One of Bishop Selwyn's
first steps when he was appointed bishop of New Zealand, was to make Mr.
Henry Williams one of his archdeacons, and since then he has been
designated to a New Zealand bishopric in a district inhabited
exclusively by Christianized Maories. Could Mr. Marsden have foreseen
the course which awaited his companion, how would his soul have been
cheered! but it was for him to sow in tears, and for others to reap in
joy. The field was not yet ripe for the harvest; other men laboured, who
now sleep in the dust, and we of this generation have entered into their
labours. Mr. Marsden was not mistaken in his estimate of his new
companion. Indeed he appears to have been very seldom mistaken in the
judgments he formed about other men. "I think," he notes, "that Mr.
Williams and his family will prove a great blessing to the Society. I
hope he will be able to correct and remedy, in time, many evils that
have existed, and also to set an example to the rest what they as
missionaries should do."

This was his fourth visit to New Zealand, and though in some respects it
was painful, yet in others there was ground for joy. The cloud which the
prophet saw from Carmel, though no greater than a man's hand, foretold
abundance of rain; and so now too, at length, after nine years' toil, a
few hopeful symptoms appeared amongst the Maories. Their anxious visitor
observed with much pleasure, he says, that since his last visit, the
natives in general were much improved in their appearance and manners;
and now for the first time he heard them, with strange delight, sing
some hymns and repeat some prayers in their own language. This convinced
him that, notwithstanding the misconduct of a few of the Europeans, the
work was gradually going on, and the way preparing for the blessings of
the gospel. "I have no doubt that the greatest difficulties are now
over, and that God will either incline the hearts of those who are now
in New Zealand, to devote themselves to their work, or he will find
other instruments to do his work."

Yet he had a painful duty to discharge. Firm as he was and lion-hearted
when danger was to be met, his nature was very gentle, and his
affections both deep and warm; and he had now to rebuke some of the
missionaries whom he loved as his own soul, and even to dismiss one of
them. Of those whom he had been obliged to censure, he writes
thus:--"They expressed their regret for the past, and a determination to
act in a different way for the future. Some, I have no doubt, will
retrace their steps, and will be more cautious and circumspect, but I
have not the same confidence in all. Some express sorrow, but I fear not
that which worketh repentance." Again he remarks: "Missionary work is
very hard work, unless the heart is fully engaged in it. No
consideration can induce a man to do habitually what he has a habitual
aversion to. The sooner such a one leaves the work, the better it will
be for himself and the mission." But though compelled to blame, he did
not forget to sympathize. "The present missionaries, though some of them
have erred greatly from the right way, yet have all had their trials and
troubles. Some allowance must be made for their peculiar situation, and
their want of Christian society, and of the public ordinances of
religion."

Several chiefs, among whom was Tooi, warmly took up the cause of the
missionary who had been dismissed. The conversation which followed is a
beautiful illustration of the too much forgotten Scripture which tells
us that "a soft answer turneth away wrath," while at the same time it
presents an interesting view of the Maori mind and character at this
critical period of their national history.

    "Tooi addressing me, said a missionary had informed him that day
    that he was going to leave New Zealand, and the chiefs wished to
    know whether this person had been dismissed for selling muskets
    and powder to the natives. To this I replied that Mr. ---- was
    directed by the gentlemen in England who had sent him out as a
    missionary, not to sell muskets and powder; that it was not the
    custom in England for clergymen to sell muskets and powder; and
    that no missionary could be allowed to sell them in New Zealand.
    As several of the chiefs present had been at Port Jackson, I
    observed that they knew that the clergymen there did not sell
    muskets and powder. They knew that I had not one musket in my
    house, and that they had never seen any when they were with me.
    They replied, they knew what I said was true. I further added we
    did not interfere with the government of New Zealand; they did
    what they pleased, and the missionaries should be allowed to do
    what they pleased. Tooi said that this was but just, and observed,
    'We are at present in the same state as the Otaheitans were some
    time back. The Otaheitans wanted only muskets and powder, and
    would have nothing else, and now, as they knew better, they wanted
    none; and the New Zealanders would care nothing about muskets when
    they knew better, which they would in time.' All the chiefs
    acquiesced in the observations Tooi made. I was happy to find
    their minds were so enlarged, and that they had begun to take such
    proper views of the subject. I said, Tooi's remarks upon the
    conduct of the Otaheitans were very just, and told them that the
    Queen Charlotte brig, which had sailed from the bay the preceding
    day, belonged to the young king Pomare; that the Otaheitans had
    sent oil and various other articles to Port Jackson, and that they
    had received in return, tea, sugar, and flour, and clothing, as
    they wanted these articles, and that the New Zealanders might in
    time have a ship of their own to procure sperm oil, spars, etc.,
    which they might sell at Port Jackson, and many of them were able
    to kill the whales, having been employed on board the whalers.
    When they got a vessel of their own, they would soon be equal to
    the Otaheitans, and give over their cruel wars. They expressed
    much pleasure at having a vessel of their own. After some further
    explanation the chiefs were satisfied that Mr. ---- had violated
    our laws and had brought all his distress upon himself."

The conduct of the natives confirmed the impression which Mr. Marsden
had previously formed, and which their subsequent history down to the
present day entirely sustains, that they are a noble race of men, of
considerable mental capacity, of great perseverance and enterprise, who
never lose sight of an object upon which they have once set their minds;
powerful reasoners upon any subject that has come within their
knowledge; possessed of a quick perception and a natural sagacity, which
enables them to form a just acquaintance with human nature as it
presents itself before them. Who would not wish that they too may form a
happy exception to the rule which seems in every land to condemn the
native population to waste away before the advances of European
enterprise? Who would not desire that the Maorie tribes may long be a
great and powerful nation, protected, but not oppressed by English rule?

Mr. Marsden now paid a visit at Wangaroa, to the Wesleyan missionary
station there. Over the Wesleyan missions he had of course no control or
oversight, such as that with which he was intrusted towards the missions
of the London Missionary Society in the South Sea Islands. This,
however, did not prevent his taking an affectionate interest in their
affairs. He found Mr. Leigh, the founder of their mission, very ill, and
invited him to return with him on a voyage of health and recreation to
Port Jackson; and having taken leave of the Church Missionary brethren
with solemn and affectionate counsels he embarked on the 6th of
September, 1823, with feelings which he thus describes.

    "I now felt much pleasure in the prospect of a speedy return to my
    family and people, and being very weary with various toils and
    anxieties both of body and mind, I longed for a little rest, and
    retired to my cabin with much thankfulness and comfort. I had
    cause to be thankful for continual good health during the period I
    had been in New Zealand, as I had not lost one day. I felt great
    confidence in the Rev. Mr. Williams, and I doubt not that God will
    prosper the work, and raise up a seed in this benighted land to
    serve him; for many shall come from the south as well as the
    north, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the
    kingdom of God."

But his bright visions were overcast. Like the first and greatest of
Christian missionaries, it was ordained that he, too, "should suffer
shipwreck and be cast upon a desert island." His own journal gives us
the story of his danger and deliverance.

    "_Sunday 7th._--This morning we weighed anchor. I spent some time
    this day reading the Scriptures with the Rev. S. Leigh, our
    subject for contemplation was the 1st chapter of St. Paul to the
    Romans. The weather was very threatening and stormy; the wind from
    the eastward and strong, blowing directly into the mouth of the
    harbour. We lay in Korororika Bay, on the south side of the
    harbour, and had to sail along a lee rocky shore. In working out
    with the wind dead on the land, the ship being light and high out
    of the water she would not answer her helm, and twice missed
    stays. The lead was kept continually sounding, and we soon found
    ourselves in little more than three fathoms water, with a rocky
    bottom and a shoal of rocks on our lee, and it was then high
    water. When the captain found the situation we were in, he
    immediately ordered to let go the anchor, which was done. When the
    tide turned the ship struck, the gale increased, and the sea with
    it; a shipwreck was now more than probable; there appeared no
    possible way to prevent it. The Rev. Mr. Leigh was very ill, and
    felt the disturbance much, Mrs. Leigh also being very ill. I
    requested the captain to lend me the boat to take Mr. and Mrs.
    Leigh to the nearest island, where we arrived very safely, the
    island being but two miles distant. The natives expressed much
    concern for us, made a fire, prepared the best hut they could,
    which was made of bulrushes, for our reception. I requested them
    to send a canoe to Rungheehe, to inform Mr. and Mrs. Hall of the
    loss of the ship, and to bring their boat to assist in bringing
    the people to land. At the same time, I desired they would tell
    the natives to bring a large war canoe. The natives for some time
    alleged that their canoe would be dashed to pieces by the waves,
    but at length I prevailed upon them. They had between five and
    six miles to go, through a very rough sea. About three o'clock,
    Messrs. Hall, King, and Hanson, arrived in Mr. Hall's boat, and a
    large war canoe with natives; they immediately proceeded to the
    ship, and we had the satisfaction to see them arrive safe, and
    waited until dark with the greatest anxiety for their return. The
    rain fell in torrents, the gale increased, and they had not
    returned; we lay down in our little hut full of fear for the
    safety of all on board. The night appeared very long, dark, and
    dreary. As we could not rest, we most anxiously wished for the
    morning light, to learn some account of them.

    "_September 8th._--When the day arrived we had the happiness to
    see the vessel still upright, but driven nearer the shore. No boat
    or canoe from her; the gale still increased; about mid-day we saw
    the mainmast go overboard. The natives on the island screamed
    aloud when the mast fell. I concluded they had cut away the mast
    to relieve the vessel. We spent the rest of this day in great
    suspense, as we could not conjecture why all the passengers should
    remain on board in the state the ship was in. At dark in the
    evening Mr. Hall returned, and informed us that the bottom of the
    vessel was beaten out, and that both her chain and best bower
    cable were parted; and that she beat with such violence upon the
    rocks when the tide was in that it was impossible to stand upon
    the deck; at the same time, he said, there was no danger of any
    lives being lost, as he did not think the vessel would go to
    pieces, as she stood firm upon the rock, when the tide was out. He
    said, the passengers on board had not determined what they would
    do, or where they would land as yet; they wished to wait till the
    gale was abated. Mr. Hall's information relieved us much; as it
    was now dark, the wind high, and the sea rough, we could not leave
    the island, and therefore took up our lodgings in our little hut.

    "The natives supplied us with a few potatoes and some fish. My
    pleasing prospect of returning to Port Jackson was at an end, for
    some time at least. I was exceedingly concerned for the loss of so
    fine a vessel on many accounts, as individuals who are interested
    in her must suffer as well as the passengers on board, and spent
    the night in reflections on the difficulties with which I was
    surrounded; while the raging of the storm continued without
    intermission.

    "_Tuesday 9th._--At the return of day we discovered the ship still
    upright, but she appeared to be higher on the reef. I now
    determined to return to Kiddee-Kiddee in Mr. Hall's boat with Mr.
    and Mrs. Leigh. We left the island for the missionary settlement,
    where we arrived about nine o'clock. Our friends had not heard of
    the loss of the ship until our arrival, as there had not been any
    communication between the different settlements in consequence of
    the severe weather. We were very kindly received by the brethren;
    I informed them in what situation we had left the ship, and
    requested that every assistance might be given to land the
    passengers and luggage. The wreck was about twelve or fourteen
    miles from the settlement. Four boats were immediately sent off;
    Mr. Hall's boat took the women and children to Rungheehe, and two
    of the boats returned with part of our luggage, and we went to the
    station of the Rev. Henry Williams. All the brethren rendered
    every aid in their power. The boats on their return brought the
    welcome news that all was well on board, and Mr. Leigh did not
    appear to have suffered much injury from the wet and cold he
    endured on the island, though in so weak a state. Divine wisdom
    has no doubt some wise ends to answer in all that has befallen us.
    The word of God expressly says all things shall work together for
    the good of them that love God, and the Scripture cannot be
    broken.

    "We cannot see through this dark and mysterious dispensation at
    the present time; the why and wherefore we must leave to him who
    ordereth all things according to the counsel of his own will. As
    the gale continued with unremitting violence, if we had gone out
    to sea we might have been cast on shore under more dangerous and
    distressing circumstances. Our shipwreck has been a most merciful
    one, as no lives have been lost, nor anything but the ship."

The shipwreck of the Brampton--for that was the vessel's name--occurred
on the 7th of September, and in consequence Mr. Marsden was detained in
New Zealand until the 14th of November, when he returned home in the
Dragon, and arrived at Sydney in the beginning of December, 1823. The
interval was not lost; for he seems to have been one of those who gather
up the fragments of time, and turn to the best account the idle hours
and spare moments of life. He drew up some excellent rules for the
guidance of the missionaries and Christian settlers in their intercourse
with the shipping which now began to visit the Bay of Islands. He
encouraged the erection of a school-house for the natives. "The
foundation," he says, "must be laid in the education of the rising
generation. The children possess strong minds, are well-behaved and
teachable. They are capable of learning anything we wish to teach them."
During his detention he also addressed a circular letter to the
missionaries respecting a grammar in the Maori or New Zealand language,
pointing out the necessity of adopting some more systematic method both
for its arrangement and pronunciation. This led to a new vocabulary of
the native language, and in a short time to a new method of spelling. We
have, of course, retained Mr. Marsden's orthography of New Zealand
names, but we may remark, by the way, it is very different from that
which has been since introduced. Shunghie became E'Hongi; Kiddee Kiddee,
Keri Keri; and so in other instances. But even Mr. Marsden, with all his
sagacity, did not penetrate New Zealand's future, nor foresee in how
short a time the well-known and familiar sounds of English towns and
villages would be transferred to that still savage island, superseding
even in Maori lips their native designations. It seems probable that the
New Zealand language may, in the course of another generation, come to
be known only by the grammar which the missionaries compiled and the
Scriptures which they have since translated. But whatever be its fate,
it is in a high degree sonorous and expressive, and had it but an
antique literature, a Tallessin or an Ossian, it could never perish.
Without a literature of its own no spoken language can long endure
against the assaults of that which is evidently destined to be the
universal speech of trade and commerce, the English tongue. On the other
hand the literature of a language, or even of a dialect, embalms it
after it has ceased to be a spoken tongue even to the end of time.

And lastly, a political object occupied some of Mr. Marsden's time and
thoughts. The incessant and desolating wars which the native tribes
waged against each other were, he saw, the great obstacle to the
progress of New Zealand. The missions were always insecure, for the
country was always more or less disturbed. Civil war is, under all
circumstances, the bane, and, if persisted in, the ruin of a country;
add the ferocity of New Zealand warfare, its cannibalism and its undying
spirit of revenge, and nothing more was wanted to degrade the finest
country under heaven into a very pit of darkness. All this Mr. Marsden
felt; he conceived that if he could succeed in establishing some one
chief as supreme, a plan of government might be drawn up securing life
and property throughout the island. He consulted Shunghie, Wyatto Riva,
and other powerful chieftains. Shunghie's ambitious spirit would have
embraced the proposal, the condition being, of course, that he should be
the sovereign; but the jealousy of the rest prevented anything like
unanimity. Riva justly remarked that to have any superior would degrade
them; yet all the chiefs appeared tired of war and the unsettled state
consequent upon it. So the project failed.

At length he returned home, accompanied by six New Zealand youths, whose
eagerness was such that they gladly promised to sleep upon the deck
rather than miss the opportunity. Mr. Leigh, the Wesleyan missionary,
was also his fellow voyager. Mr. Leigh's opinion of Mr. Marsden and his
labours is highly gratifying, and not the less so as coming from one who
belonged to another Society. "The shipwreck," he says, "which we have
experienced will, I have no doubt, prove favourable to the reputation of
the New Zealanders. For several days we were in their power, and they
might have taken all that we had with the greatest ease; but instead of
oppressing and robbing us, they actually sympathized with us in our
trials and afflictions. Mr. Marsden, myself, and Mrs. Leigh, were at a
native village for several days and nights, without any food but what
the natives brought us; what they had they gave us willingly, and
said--'Poor creatures! you have nothing to eat, and you are not
accustomed to our kind of food.' I shall never forget the sympathy and
kindness of these poor heathens.

    "I do hope that the Rev. S. Marsden will be successful in his
    endeavours to put an end to the frequent wars in New Zealand. I
    have heard many natives and chiefs say, 'It is no good to go to
    fight and eat men; we wish to cease from war, and retire to some
    peaceful place.' I pray God that this object may be soon effected
    among this people. The Christian world, and especially the Church
    Missionary Society, will never be able fully to appreciate the
    valuable labours of the Rev. Samuel Marsden. His fervent zeal, his
    abundant toil, and extensive charity in the cause of missions, are
    beyond estimation. May he live long as a burning and shining light
    in the missionary world!"

Within a few days of his return home, Mr. Marsden, the impression of his
visit still fresh upon his mind, wrote the following interesting
letter:--

                                        "Paramatta, December 20, 1823.

    "MY VERY DEAR SIR,--I now sit down to thank you for your very
    valuable presents, which you were so kind as to send me for the
    natives of New Zealand. They arrived a little before I sailed for
    that island. I was at Van Diemen's Land when the vessel which
    brought them arrived at Port Jackson. On my return from the
    southern settlements I prepared for New Zealand. Your spades,
    axes, etc., made the hearts of many rejoice; and they are now
    dispersed over the country, from the North Cape to the Thames.
    When I arrived at the Bay of Islands there were several chiefs
    there, who had fled for safety in the late wars, but returned when
    peace was restored, and took with them some of your presents. I
    have just returned from New Zealand, having been absent about
    twenty weeks; was shipwrecked, but no lives were lost. The natives
    have made considerable advances in civilization, and I have no
    doubt they will become a great nation in due time. Much has been
    done already to better their situation. I believe their
    agriculture has increased more than twenty-fold since they have
    got hoes, but it will be many years before every man in the island
    will be able to procure a hoe. The Church Missionary Society has
    done much for them, and their labour has not been in vain. All
    that is wanted now is faithful missionaries to labour amongst
    them; it will be very difficult to find such men. There are even
    very few pious men who are qualified to be missionaries; it
    requires much self-denial, much patience, and much perseverance,
    united with the wisdom of the serpent and the innocence of the
    dove. Men, also, of education and knowledge are wanted; ignorant
    men, though possessed of piety, will be found ill-qualified for a
    mission in New Zealand. The natives are a wise and understanding
    people, and will pry into the very secrets of every man who
    resides amongst them. Their study is human nature in all its
    bearings; they talk more of the heart of man than we do, and of
    the evil that is lodged there. They will soon find out a man's
    real character, whether he is ignorant or wise, prudent or
    foolish, and will estimate the benefits which they are likely to
    derive from his knowledge, his good temper, his charity, and will
    esteem him or despise him accordingly. A wise and prudent man
    will have great influence over them, while they would laugh at an
    ignorant man. A good farmer or mechanic would be much esteemed,
    because they would be benefited by him. I have gained considerable
    knowledge of their customs and manners in my last visit.
    Cannibalism is interwoven through the whole of their religious
    system. They offer up human sacrifices as sin offerings. Whenever
    the gospel shall be revealed to them they will very easily
    understand the doctrine of the atonement. They demand a sacrifice
    or an atonement for almost everything which they consider as an
    injury. Human sacrifices are offered for the death of their
    friends, whether they are slain in battle or die a natural death.
    Their eating human flesh has its origin in superstition. They pay
    great attention to all the ceremonies of their religion, and are
    very much afraid of offending their god. As for their wars, these
    will not be prevented until an object can be found that will
    employ their active minds. Agriculture and commerce are the only
    means that promise to remedy their civil wars; when these can be
    brought into operation they will have a beneficial effect. It is
    only the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, that can
    subdue their hearts to the obedience of faith. I am of opinion
    that civilization and Christianity will go hand in hand, if means
    are used at the same time to introduce both, and one will aid and
    assist the other. To bring this noble race of human beings to the
    knowledge of the only true God and Jesus Christ is an attempt
    worthy of the Christian world. I believe as God has stirred up the
    hearts of his people to pray for them, and to open both their
    hearts and their purses he will prosper the work, and raise up a
    people from amongst these savages to call him blessed. In time
    the voice of joy and gladness will be heard in the present abodes
    of cruelty, darkness, and superstition. I consider every axe,
    every hoe, every spade, in New Zealand as an instrument to prepare
    the way of the Lord. They are silent but sure missionaries in the
    hands of the natives of that country. I was very happy to learn
    that your dear mother was still alive, and all your family were
    well at present. Remember us kindly to your mother, if still
    alive, and to Mrs. Terry and our other friends.

      "I am, yours affectionately,
        "SAMUEL MARSDEN.
    "To Avison Terry, Esq."




CHAPTER X.

    Aborigines--South Sea Mission--Fresh Slanders on Mr. Marsden's
    character--His Pamphlet in self-defence--Letter of Messrs. Bennett
    and Tyerman--Libels and Action at Law--Verdict--Case of
    Ring--Pastoral Letters of Mr. Marsden: To a Lady; On the Divinity
    of Christ--Fifth Voyage to New Zealand--Letters, etc.


Scarcely had Mr. Marsden returned to Paramatta when we find him in
correspondence with the new governor on the subject of the aborigines of
Australia. They were already wasting away in the presence of the
European colonists like snow before the sun. Their restless and
wandering habits seemed to present insuperable difficulties, whether the
object were to convert or merely to protect them. His memorandum to the
governor, and subsequent correspondence with the Church Missionary
Society, show his anxiety for their welfare and the largeness of his
heart. Each new project, as it came before him, was welcomed with
serious attention, while at the same time there was no fickleness, no
relaxation of his efforts in his old engagements and pursuits. But he
was not allowed to connect his name with the evangelization of these
poor heathen. Various attempts have been made by different denominations
to bring them into the fold of Christ, but hitherto with very small
success. It seems, at length, as if Christians had acquiesced in the
conclusion that their conversion is hopeless, that we can do nothing
more than to throw over them the shield of the British government, and
prevent their wholesale destruction by lawless "squatters" and
"bush-rangers." We shall return, however, to the subject hereafter.

His interest in the mission to the South Sea Islands continued unabated.
The London Missionary Society had deputed the Rev. Daniel Tyerman and
George Bennett, Esq., to visit these missions, and bring home in person
a report of all they might see upon the spot. On their voyage, they
stayed awhile at Sydney, and Mr. Marsden addressed a letter to them,
which shows his own zeal in the cause, and the painful apathy or profane
contempt of others. Such memorials, in this day of comparative fervour,
ought not to be forgotten. When a Livingstone returns home to receive a
shower of honours from a grateful country let us not forget the
venerable pioneers in the same missionary work, and the different
treatment they experienced. The contrast will call forth emotions both
of gratitude and of shame.

                                            "Sydney, November 4, 1824.

    "GENTLEMEN,--I know of no circumstance that has given me more
    satisfaction than your mission to the South Sea Islands. The
    attempt to introduce the arts of civilization and the knowledge of
    Christianity amongst the inhabitants of those islands was
    confessedly great. An undertaking of such a new and important
    nature could not be accomplished without much labour, expense,
    anxiety, and risk, to all who were concerned in the work. The
    missionaries, for the first ten years, suffered every privation in
    the islands, from causes which I need not state. They called for
    every support and encouragement to induce them to remain in the
    islands, and to return to their stations, after they had been
    compelled to take refuge in New South Wales. During these ten
    years, I used every means in my power to assist the missionaries,
    and to serve the Society Islands. During the next ten years, the
    ruling powers in this colony manifested a very hostile spirit to
    the mission. As I felt it my pleasure as well as my duty to
    support the cause, I fell under the marked displeasure of those in
    authority, and had a painful warfare to maintain for so long a
    period, and many sacrifices I had to make. The ungodly world
    always treated the attempt to introduce the gospel among the
    natives of the Islands as wild and visionary, and the Christian
    world despaired of success.

    "In those periods of doubt and uncertainty in the public mind, I
    suffered much anxiety, as very great responsibility was placed on
    me. Sometimes, from one cause and another, my sleep departed from
    me; though I was persuaded God would bless the work. The work is
    now done; this your eyes have seen, and your ears heard; in this I
    do rejoice and will rejoice. I wish you, as representatives of the
    Society, to satisfy yourselves, from friends and foes, relative to
    my conduct towards the mission for the last twenty-five years. You
    must be aware that many calumnies have been heaped upon me, and
    many things laid to my charge which I know not. My connexion with
    the missionaries and the concerns of the mission has been purely
    of a religious nature, without any secular views or temporal
    interests; and my services, whether they be great or small, were
    gratuitous. The missionaries, as a body, are very valuable men,
    and as such I love them; but some of them, to whom I had been
    kind, have wounded me severely, both here and elsewhere. I have
    always found it difficult to manage religious men; what they
    state, though in a bad spirit, is generally believed by the
    Christian world. I need not enter into the circumstances which
    urged me to purchase the Queen Charlotte, as you are in full
    possession of them; you are also acquainted with the reason why
    her expenses became so heavy, the fall of colonial produce more
    than twenty per cent. in so short a period, which no one could
    have anticipated at that time, and the increased duty of one
    hundred per cent. upon tobacco. If these two circumstances had not
    occurred, there would have been no loss to any individuals or the
    mission. I inclose the statement of the accounts of the Queen
    Charlotte, and shall leave the matter in your hands, to act as you
    think proper. I shall also leave the Society to make their own
    account of the interest upon the 600l. I borrowed. I have no doubt
    but the Society will be satisfied that I had no motive but the
    good of the mission, and that, as Christian men who fear God, they
    will do what is just and right. I shall therefore leave the matter
    in your hands.

      "I have the honour to be, gentlemen,
        "Your most obedient, humble servant,
           "SAMUEL MARSDEN."

While thus engaged, he was still a faithful minister of the gospel in
its richest consolations, and a bold opponent of vice. His position as a
magistrate not only obliged him to reprove but to punish sin. The task
was difficult, when the real offender, in too many cases, was not the
wretched culprit at the bar of justice, but some rich and insolent
delinquent, beyond the reach of the limited powers of a colonial
magistrate. In consequence of Mr. Marsden's fearless conduct in a case
we shall not describe, he was at length formally dismissed from the
magistracy. All that is necessary to be known, in order to vindicate his
character, is contained in an extract of a letter written by himself to
Mr. Nicholson, dated Paramatta, 12th August, 1824:

    "My very dear sir," he says, "I have still to strive against sin
    and immorality, which brings upon me the hatred of some men in
    power; this I must expect from those who live on in sin and
    wickedness.... You would hear of the whole bench of magistrates at
    Paramatta being dismissed at one stroke, five in number--Messrs.
    ... and your humble servant. We fell in the cause of truth and
    virtue. If certain individuals could have knocked me down, and
    spared my colleagues, I should have fallen alone; but there was no
    alternative but to sacrifice all at once. I glory in my disgrace.
    As long as I live I hope to raise a standard against vice and
    wickedness. We have some Herods here who would take off the head
    of the man who dared to tell them that adultery was a crime."

He was still subject to the most annoying insults. Imputations,
ludicrous from their absurdity and violence, were heaped upon him. In
reading the libels which were published in the colony, and in England
too, about this time, we should suppose that the man against whom they
were aimed was some delinquent, notorious even in a penal settlement. He
was openly accused of being "a man of the most vindictive spirit,"--"a
turbulent and ambitious priest,"--a "cruel magistrate"--an "avaricious
man." These charges, amongst many more, were contained in a work in two
volumes octavo, professing to give an account of Australasia, which
reached a third edition, and to which the author's name was attached. As
if these were not sufficient to grind his reputation to the dust,
further charges of hypocrisy and bigotry were thrown in. These last were
easily repelled; to refute the others was more difficult, inasmuch as
facts were involved which it was necessary to clear up and place in a
just light before the public. It might have seemed magnanimous to
despise such assailants, and meet them with silent pity. And yet we
doubt whether such magnanimity would have been wise, for with a
blemished reputation his usefulness would have been at an end; since his
accusers were not anonymous hirelings, but magistrates and men of high
position in the colony.

He referred the matter to his friends at home, placing his character in
their hands. He was willing to institute an action for libel, if this
step were thought advisable; or else to lay a statement of his wrongs
before the House of Commons; and he transmitted the manuscript of a
pamphlet, in self-justification, to his friend Dr. Mason Good. It was
accompanied with a letter, remarkable for the modest estimate of his own
abilities, as well as for true Christian meekness: "I have requested our
mutual friend, Baron Field, Esq., to show the documents to you, and to
consult with you on the propriety of publishing them. I have much more
confidence in your superior judgment than in my own.... Many hard
contests," he says, "I have had in this colony. But God has hitherto
overruled all for good, and he will continue to do so. As a Christian I
rejoice in having all manner of evil spoken of me by wicked men. As a
member of society, it is my duty to support, by every lawful means, an
upright character. The good of society calls upon me to do this, from
the public situation I hold, as well as that gospel which I believe; on
this principle I think it right to notice Mr. W.'s work. I leave it," he
adds, "to you and my other friends to publish what I have written or
not, as you may think proper, and with what alterations and arrangements
you may think necessary. I do not know how to make a book, any more than
a watch, but you have learned the trade completely; I therefore beg your
assistance, for which I shall feel very grateful." But even these
anxieties could not engross his confidential correspondence. In the same
letter we have pleasant mention of New Zealand and its missionaries:--"I
have no doubt about New Zealand; we must pray much for them, and labour
hard, and God will bless the labour of our hands." Nor is science quite
forgotten:--"I have sent you a small box of fossils and minerals, by
Captain Dixon, of the Phoenix, from Point Dalrymple principally; the
whole of them came from Van Diemen's Land."

Mr. Wilberforce and other friends of religion were consulted; and under
their advice his pamphlet was published in London, though not till the
year 1826. It is entitled, "An Answer to certain Calumnies, etc., by the
Rev. Samuel Marsden, principal Chaplain to the colony of New South
Wales." It contains a temperate, and at the same time a conclusive
answer, to all the charges made against him. To some of these we have
already had occasion to refer; others have lost their interest. The
charge of hypocrisy was chiefly grounded on the fact that a windmill, on
Mr. Marsden's property, had been seen at work on Sunday. But "the mill,"
he says, "was not in my possession at that time, nor was I in New South
Wales. I never heard of the circumstance taking place but once; and the
commissioner of inquiry was the person who told me of it after my return
from New Zealand. I expressed my regret to the commissioner that
anything should have taken place, in my absence, which had the
appearance that I sanctioned the violation of the sabbath-day. As I was
twelve hundred miles off at the time, it was out of my power to prevent
what had happened; but I assured him it should not happen again, _for
the mill should be taken down_, which was done." How few, it is to be
feared, would make such a sacrifice, simply to avoid the possibility of
a return of the appearance of evil! The charge of bigotry arose out of
his interference with Mr. Crook, a person in the colony who had formerly
been intended for the South Sea mission. It was at the request of the
missionaries themselves, that Mr. Marsden, as agent of their Society,
had been led to interfere; but he was represented, in consequence, as "a
persecutor of dissenters." Messrs. Bennett and Tyerman were then in
Australia; and in answer to Mr. Marsden's request that "they would do
him the favour to communicate to him their impartial opinion, how far he
had in any way merited such an accusation, either as it respects Mr. C.
or any other missionary belonging to the London Missionary Society," he
received a grateful acknowledgment of his services, which we are happy
to insert:--

                                                "Sydney, May 11, 1825.

    "REV. AND DEAR SIR,--We have to acknowledge the receipt of your
    letter of the 5th inst., requesting our opinion, as the
    representatives of the London Missionary Society, on one of the
    malicious charges against you in the outrageous publication lately
    come to the colony. It is with the utmost satisfaction we state,
    as our decided opinion, that the charge of intolerance or
    persecution towards Mr. Crook, or any other missionary connected
    with the London Society, or, indeed, connected with any other
    missionary society, is utterly untrue. We believe it to have
    originated in malice or culpable ignorance, and to be a gross
    libel.

    "We rejoice, sir, to take the opportunity to say that the South
    Sea mission, and all its missionaries, have been, and continue, to
    be, exceedingly indebted to your singular kindness and persevering
    zeal in their behalf. No temporal reward, we are persuaded, would
    have been equivalent to the most valuable services which you have
    so long and so faithfully rendered to this mission and its
    missionaries. After all your upright and perfectly disinterested
    kindness towards the missionaries, when they have been residing on
    the Islands,--when they have been residing in the colony, on their
    way from England to the Islands,--when they have voluntarily
    returned from the Islands to the colony,--and when, from dire
    necessity and cruel persecution, compelled to flee from the scenes
    of their missionary labours, and take up their residence here;
    that you have met with so much calumny, and so few returns of
    grateful acknowledgment, for all you have done and borne on their
    behalf, is to us a matter of surprise and regret.

    "Allow us, dear sir, to conclude by expressing our hope, that the
    other envenomed shafts aimed at you in this infamous publication,
    will prove as impotent as that aimed at you through that Society,
    in whose name, and as whose representatives, we beg to renew its
    cordial thanks and unqualified acknowledgments. And desiring to
    present our own thanks in the amplest and most respectful manner,

      "We remain, rev. and dear sir, most faithfully,
        "Your obliged and obedient servants,
           "GEORGE BENNETT.
           "DANIEL TYERMAN."

The case of James Ring, we cannot pass unnoticed. It shows the cruelty
with which Mr. Marsden's reputation was assailed on the one hand, and
his own firm and resolute bearing on the other. Ring was a convict, who
for his general good conduct had been assigned as a domestic servant to
Mr. Marsden. He was permitted by the latter, in accordance with the
usual custom, to work occasionally at his own trade--that of a painter
and glazier, on his own account, and as a reward for his good conduct.
He was frequently employed in this way by the residents at Paramatta;
amongst others by the chief magistrate himself. This man having been
ill-treated and severely beaten by another servant, applied, with Mrs.
Marsden's approbation, to the magistrates of Paramatta for redress;
instead of receiving which, he was charged by them with being illegally
at large, and committed to the common jail.

Mr. Marsden was then absent on duty in the country: on appearing before
the bench of magistrates upon his return home, he at once stated that he
had given permission to Ring to work occasionally for himself, and that
therefore if there was any blame it lay with him, and not the prisoner.
The magistrates not only ordered Mr. Marsden to be fined two shillings
and sixpence per day for each day his servant had been thus at large,
under the assumed plea of his transgressing a general government order,
but also ordered Ring to be remanded to jail and ironed; and he was
subsequently worked in irons in a penal gang. "At this conviction there
was no informer, nor evidence," (we are now quoting Mr. Marsden's words,
from a statement which he made before a court of inquiry instituted by
Lord Bathurst, the colonial minister at home, to investigate the
subject at Mr. Marsden's request,) "but the bench convicted me on my own
admission that I had granted indulgence to my servant to do jobs in the
town. There were two convictions, the first was on the 17th of May,
1823. On the 23rd of the same month, without a hearing, or being
present, without informer, evidence, or notice, on the same charge I was
convicted in the penal sum of ten pounds. On the 7th of June, a convict
constable entered my house with a warrant of execution, and levied the
fine by distress and sale of my property."

These convictions took place under an obsolete colonial regulation of
1802, made in the first instance by Governor King, to meet a temporary
emergency; but virtually set aside by a general order of Governor
Macquarie's, of a much later date, granting the indulgence under certain
regulations, with which Mr. Marsden had complied. Mr. Marsden says, in
his official defence, that he "was the only person in the colony who was
ever fined under such circumstances, since the first establishment of
the colony, to the present time." And he adds a statement which, had it
not come down to us thus accredited under his own hand, would have
seemed incredible, namely that "the two magistrates by whom the fines
were inflicted, Dr. ---- and Lieut. ----, were doing, on that very day,
the same thing for which they fined me and punished my servant, and I
pointed that out to them at the time they were sitting on the bench, and
which they could not deny." Denial indeed was out of the question,
since, says Mr. Marsden, "one of Dr. ----'s convict servants, Henry
Buckingham, by trade a tailor, was working for me, and had been so for
months. Lieut. ---- at that very time also had two convict servants
belonging to Dr. Harris, working for him at his own house."

In vain did Mr. Marsden appeal to the governor; even he was afraid to
breast the torrent, which for a time bore all before it. "He found no
reason to interfere with the colonial law." Mr. Marsden prayed him at
least to bring the matter before a full bench of magistrates, in whose
hands he would leave his character; this, too, the governor declined,
whereupon as a last step, he laid the affair before the supreme court
for its decision; prosecuting the magistrates, and obtaining a verdict
for the amount of the fine so unjustly levied. They now affected to
triumph in the small amount of the damages in which they were cast,
"wishing," he says, "to make the world believe that the injury I had
sustained was proportionally small." And thus even his forbearance and
his Christian spirit in rendering good for evil, were turned against
him; for he had instructed his solicitor expressly, not to insert in the
indictment the count or charge of malice, but merely to sue for the
recovery of the amount of the fine. He states the case thus in simple
and forcible language. "I may here observe, the only error it appears I
committed originally was in not prosecuting the magistrates for
vindictive damages before the supreme court. Had I alleged malice, I
must have obtained a verdict accordingly; but I sought for no vindictive
damages; I sought redress no further than to set my character right with
the public. To have done more than this would not have become me,
according to my judgment, as a minister of the gospel, and I instructed
my solicitor, Mr. Norton, merely to sue for the amount of the award
which had been levied on my property by warrant and distress of sale.
The court gave me the amount I prosecuted for, with costs of suit, and
with this I was perfectly satisfied."

For two whole years this miserable affair lingered on. The unfortunate
man Ring at length gave way to despondency, made his escape from the
colony, and found his way to New Zealand, but was never heard of more.
Mr. Marsden was much concerned for Ring's misfortunes, and deplored his
rashness in making his escape when all his sufferings were unmerited. "I
knew," he says, "if he should return to England and be apprehended as a
returned felon, his life would be forfeited." Such even to a recent
period was the severity of our penal code, an escaped felon was
consigned to the gallows. With a view of preventing this additional
calamity, he wrote to the Right Honourable Mr. Robert Peel, his
Majesty's secretary of state for the home department, under date of July
1824; and having stated the case, he says: "I feel exceedingly for Ring;
should he return to England and fall a sacrifice to the law, I should
never forgive myself unless I used every means in my power to save him.
The above statement of facts might have some influence with the
executive in saving his life, if the circumstances of the case could
reach the throne of mercy." The contents of this letter were transmitted
by Mr. Peel to Lord Bathurst the colonial secretary, and his lordship
ordered the governor of New South Wales to establish a formal inquiry
into the case. A court was accordingly summoned at Sydney, consisting of
the governor assisted by two assessors, the chief justice and the
newly-appointed archdeacon Scott, before which Mr. Marsden was cited to
appear. He did so, the whole affair was investigated, and the result
was, as the reader will have anticipated, not only Mr. Marsden's entire
acquittal of the charges which wantonness and malice had preferred, but
the establishment of his reputation as a man of high courage and pure
integrity, and a Christian minister of spotless character.

The Christian reader will probably ask what were the effects of these
various trials upon Mr. Marsden's mind and temper? Did he become selfish
and morose? were his spiritual affections quickened? As a minister of
Christ, did his light shine with a more resplendent ray, or was it
disturbed and overcast with gloom? To suggest and answer such inquiries
are the proper uses of biography, especially the biography of religious
men. With regard, then, to his habitual temper and tone of mind nothing
can be more cheering than a letter, which we now insert, written to a
lady in solitude, when the storm of insult and misrepresentation was at
its highest pitch.

                                        "Paramatta, December 26, 1824.

    "DEAR MRS. F.,--I received your kind letter by Mr. Franklane, and
    was happy to learn that you and your little boy were well. The
    circumstance to which you allude is not worthy to be had in
    recollection for a single moment, and I hope you will blot it out
    of your remembrance for ever; we are so weak and foolish, and I
    may add sinful, that we allow real or imaginary trifles to vex and
    tease our minds, while subjects of eternal moment make little
    impression upon us. It is a matter of no moment to our great
    adversary, if he can only divert our minds from attending to the
    best things. He wishes at all times 'a root of bitterness' should
    'spring up' in our minds, as this will eat like a canker every
    pious feeling, every Christian disposition. 'Learn of me,' says
    our blessed Lord, 'for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall
    find rest unto your souls.' 'The meek will he guide in judgment,
    and the meek will he teach his way.' It is for want of this
    meekness, this humility of mind, that we are soon angry. The
    apostle exhorts us 'to be kindly affectioned one towards another,'
    and live in unity and godly love, and 'bear ye one another's
    burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.' Situated as you are,
    remote from all Christian society, and from the public ordinances
    of religion, you will want, in a very especial manner, the
    consolations which can only be derived from the Holy Scriptures.
    You are in a barren and thirsty land where no water is; you have
    none to give you to drink of the waters of Bethlehem, and you must
    not be surprised if you grow weary and faint in your mind. Though
    God is everywhere, and his presence fills heaven and earth, yet
    all places are not equally favourable for the growth of religion
    in our souls. We want Christian society; we want the public
    ordinances; we want social worship. All these are needful to keep
    up the life of God in our souls. Without communion and fellowship
    with God, without our souls are going forth after him, we cannot
    be easy, we cannot be happy; we are dissatisfied with ourselves,
    and with all around us. A little matter puts us out of humour,
    Satan easily gains an advantage over us, we become a prey to
    discontent, to murmuring, and are prone to overlook all the great
    things the Lord hath done for us. Under your peculiar
    circumstances you will require much prayer, and much watchfulness;
    religion is a very tender plant, it is soon injured, it requires
    much nourishing in the most favourable situations, but it calls
    for more attention, where it is more exposed to blights and
    storms. A plant removed from a rich cultivated soil, into a barren
    uncultivated spot soon droops and pines away. I hope this will not
    be the case with you, though you must expect to feel some change
    in your feelings of a religious nature. Without much care the
    sabbaths will be a weariness; instead of your soul being nourished
    and fed upon this day, it will sicken, languish, and pine. I most
    sincerely wish you had the gospel preached unto you; this would be
    the greatest blessing, but it cannot be at present. There is no
    man to care for your souls, you have no shepherd to watch over
    you, and must consider yourselves as sheep without a shepherd. You
    know how easily sheep are scattered, how they wander when left to
    themselves, how soon the wolves destroy them. It is impossible to
    calculate the loss you must suffer, for want of the public
    ordinances of religion. My people, says God, perish for lack of
    knowledge. You know it is true that there is a Saviour, you have
    your Bible to instruct you, and you have gained much knowledge of
    Divine things, but still you will want feeding on the bread of
    life, you will want Jesus to be set before your eyes continually
    as crucified. You will want eternal things to be impressed upon
    your minds from time to time. Though you know these things, yet
    you will require to have your minds stirred up, by being put in
    remembrance of these things. As you cannot enjoy the public
    ordinances, I would have you to have stated times for reading the
    Scriptures and private prayer; these means God may bless to your
    soul. Isaac lived in a retired situation, he had no public
    ordinances to attend, but we are told he planted a grove, and
    built an altar, and called upon the name of the Lord. This you
    have within your power to do. Imitate his example, labour to
    possess his precious faith, and then it will be a matter of little
    importance where you dwell. With the Saviour you will be happy,
    without him you never can be. When you once believe on him, when
    he becomes precious to your soul, then you will seek all your
    happiness in him. May the Father of mercies give you a right
    judgment in all things, lead you to build your hopes of a blessed
    immortality upon that chief corner stone, which he hath laid in
    Zion; then you will never be ashamed through the countless ages of
    eternity.

    "Mrs. M. and my family unite in kind regards to you, wishing you
    every blessing that the upper and nether springs can afford.

      "In great haste. I remain, dear Mrs. F----,
        "Yours very faithfully,
          "SAMUEL MARSDEN."

Systematic theology, or indeed deep learning in any of its branches,
sacred or profane, Mr. Marsden had never cultivated. His life had not
been given to abstraction and close study, but to the most active
pursuits. Activity, however, is not inconsistent with deep
thoughtfulness, and it affords some aids to reflection and observation,
which often lay the foundation for a breadth of mind and a solid wisdom
to which the mere student or man of letters seldom attains. Mr. Marsden,
too, was well acquainted with his Bible, and, above most men, with
himself. Thus, without being in any sense a learned divine, he was an
instructive minister, and often an original thinker. His early
acquaintance with Dr. Mason Good had led him deeply to consider the
question of the deity of Christ and the following letter upon this
all-important doctrine proves how capable he was of standing forward in
its defence, and how deeply alive he was to its importance. It was
addressed to one who had begun to doubt upon the subject of our Lord's
Divine nature.

                                            "Paramatta, June 13, 1825.

    "MY DEAR SIR,--I ought to have answered your letter long ago, but
    was prevented from one thing and another, which called away my
    attention when I was determined to write. I received the books you
    sent me. That respecting our Lord's Divinity I read with care and
    attention. I found nothing in it that would satisfy me; there was
    no food to the soul, no bread, no water of life. I found nothing
    that suited my ruined state. I know I have destroyed myself by my
    iniquities, that I am hopeless and helpless, and must be eternally
    undone unless I can find a Divine Saviour who is able and willing
    to answer all the demands of law and justice. If I were alone in
    the world, and no individual but myself believed that Jesus was
    God over all blessed for evermore, and that he had died for my
    sins, that the penalty due to them was laid upon him, I know and
    am persuaded unless I believed this I could not be saved. I find
    no difficulty in my mind in praying to him, because I believe he
    is able to save. The dying thief did this in the very face of
    death: 'Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.'
    Jesus promised that he should be with him that very day in
    paradise. Stephen, we are told, was a man full of faith and the
    Holy Ghost; he was mighty in the Scriptures, so that none of the
    Jewish priests were able to withstand his arguments which he
    advanced in support of the doctrine that Jesus was the Son of God.
    When he was brought to the place of execution his only hope of
    eternal life was in Jesus. 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,' was
    his dying prayer. He fled to him as the Almighty God at this most
    awful period. No other foundation can any man lay than that is
    laid, says St. Paul, which is Christ Jesus. It is to no purpose to
    quote Scripture on this important doctrine, I mean any particular
    passage, for Jesus is the sum and substance of them all. I am
    fully convinced that no man can have a well-grounded hope of
    salvation unless he believes in the Divinity of our Lord and only
    Saviour. I would ask you, why should you not have as firm a hope
    as any other man in the world of eternal life, if you do not
    believe in the Divinity of our Lord? Admitting that you have the
    same view as the author of the work you sent me to read, of God
    and religion, I may put the question to you, Can you depend on the
    foundation your hope stands upon? Does it now give you full
    satisfaction? Are you sure that you are right? I believe Jesus to
    be a Divine person, I believe him to be God over all; I have no
    doubt upon this point, and I believe that all will be saved by him
    who trust in him for salvation. This doctrine is as clear to me as
    the sun at noon-day, and while I believe this doctrine it
    administers comfort to my mind, and gives me hope of a better
    state. I envy none their views of religion. I am satisfied with my
    own, though I am not satisfied with the attainments I have made in
    it, because I have not made those advances in divine knowledge in
    all the fruits of the Spirit I might have done. This is matter of
    shame, and regret, and humiliation. Examine the Christian religion
    as it stands revealed, with prayer for Divine illumination, and
    that God who giveth wisdom to all who call upon him for it will
    impart it to you. I have never met with a Socinian who wished me
    to embrace his faith, which has surprised me. I feel very
    differently. I wish all to believe in our Lord, because I believe
    this is necessary to salvation, as far as I understand the
    Scriptures; and I would wish all men to be saved, and to come to
    the knowledge of the truth. I would not change my views of
    religion for ten thousand worlds. But I must drop this subject,
    and reply to your last note.

       *       *       *       *       *

      "Our affectionate regards to Mrs. F.; accept the same from,

        "Dear sir, yours very sincerely,
          "SAMUEL MARSDEN."

He remembered with gratitude his early friends, and was now in a
condition to repay their kindness, and in his turn to repeat the
Christian liberality which had once been extended to himself. From a
private letter to the Rev. J. Pratt, we venture to make the following
interesting quotation: "I believe in the year 1786 I first turned my
attention to the ministry, and from the year 1787 to 1793 I received
pecuniary assistance, more or less, from the Elland Society, but to what
amount I never knew. First I studied under the Rev. S. Stores, near
Leeds. In 1788, I went to the late Rev. Joseph Milner, and remained two
years with him. From Hull I went to Cambridge, and in 1793 I left
Cambridge, was ordained, and came out to New South Wales. I shall be
much obliged to you to learn, if you can, the amount of my expenses to
the Elland Society. I have always considered _that_ a just debt, which I
ought to pay. If you can send me the amount I shall be much obliged to
you. I purpose to pay the amount from time to time, in sums not less
than 50_l._ per annum. When I close the Society's accounts on the 31st
of December next, I will give your Society credit for 50_l._, and will
thank you to pay the same to the Elland Society on my account. When I
know the whole amount, I will then inform you how I purpose to liquidate
it. Should the Elland Society not be in existence, I have to request
that the Church Missionary Society will assist some pious young man with
a loan, per annum, of not less than 50_l._, to get into the church as a
missionary. In the midst of all my difficulties God has always blessed
my basket and my store, and prospered me in all that I have set my hand
unto. The greatest part of my property is in the charge of common
felons, more than a hundred miles from my house, in the woods, and much
of it I never saw, yet it has been taken care of, and will be. A kind
providence has watched over all that I have had, and I can truly say I
feel no more concern about my sheep and cattle than if they were under
my own eye. I have never once visited the place where many of them are,
having no time to do this. We may trust God with all we have. I wish to
be thankful to him who has poured out his benefits upon me and mine."

The practical wisdom, the spirit of calm submission to the Divine will
when danger appears, and the simple faith in Christ displayed in the
following letter require no comment, nor will its affectionate and
paternal tone pass unnoticed. It appears to have been written to a lady
on the eve of a voyage to England. We could wish that a copy of it were
placed in the hands of every lady who may be compelled to go to sea.

                                             "Paramatta, May 27, 1826.

    "MY DEAR MRS.----,--Should you sail to-morrow it will not be in my
    power to see you again. I feel much for your very trying
    situation; why and wherefore you are so severely exercised remains
    at present known to the only wise God. If time does not reveal the
    mystery, eternity will. Clouds and darkness are round about the
    paths of the Almighty, and his footsteps are not known. You must
    now cast yourself and your little ones upon the bosom of the great
    deep. Remember always that he who holdeth the waters in the hollow
    of his hand, will continually watch over you and yours; winds and
    seas are under his sovereign control. We are prone to imagine that
    we are in much more danger on the seas than on dry land, but this
    is not really the case; our times are all in his hands, and if we
    only reflected that the hairs of our heads are all numbered, we
    should often be relieved from unnecessary and anxious fears. As
    for myself, I am constrained to believe that I am as safe in a
    storm as in a calm from what I have seen and known. Should you
    meet with raging seas and stormy winds, let not these distress
    you; they can do no more to injure you than the breath of a fly,
    or the drop of a bucket, without Divine permission. The promise
    is, 'When thou passest through the waters I will be with thee.'
    This is sufficient for the Christian to rest upon. You must live
    near to God in prayer. Labour to get right views of the Redeemer,
    who gave his life as a ransom for you. Humble faith in the Saviour
    will enable you to overcome every trial and bear every burden. No
    doubt but that you will have many painful exercises before you see
    the shores of old England. Tribulations will meet us, and follow
    us, and attend us all our journey through, and it is through much
    tribulation we must enter the kingdom of God. Could you and I meet
    on your arrival in London, and could we put our trials in
    opposite sides, it is very probable that mine would overbalance
    yours during the period you were at sea. You are not to conclude
    when the storm blows hard, the waves roar, and seas run mountain
    high, that you are more tried and distressed than others.

    "I hope the captain will be kind to you and the children; if he
    should not you will have no remedy but patience. Should the
    servant woman behave ill, you must submit to this also, because
    you can do no good in complaining. Should the woman leave you ...
    this is no more than what has happened to my own family. I should
    recommend you to give the children their dinner in your own cabin;
    never bring them to table but at the particular request of the
    captain. This precaution may prevent unpleasant disputes. You will
    soon see what the feelings of the captain and his wife are, and
    regulate your conduct accordingly. When I returned to England,
    when I entered the ship I resolved that I would not have any
    difference with any one during my passage; whatever provocations I
    might meet with, I would not notice them; and that resolution I
    kept to the last.

    "If you take no offence at anything, but go on quietly your own
    way, those who would wish to annoy you, will cease to do so,
    finding their labour in vain. Never appear to see or hear anything
    that you have not the power to remedy. If you should even know
    that the persons intended to vex you, never notice their conduct.
    There will be no occasions for these precautions if your
    companions on board be such as they ought to be.

    "Let your passage be pleasant or not, take your Bible for your
    constant companion. The comfort to be derived from the Divine
    promises will always be sweet and seasonable. 'They that love thy
    law,' says the Psalmist, 'nothing shall offend them.' If Jesus be
    precious to your soul, you will be able to bear every trial with
    Divine submission. To believe that Jesus is your Saviour, and that
    he is God over all blessed for evermore, will make you happy in
    the midst of the sea, as well as on dry land. Wishing you a safe
    and pleasant passage, and a happy meeting of your friends in
    England, and praying that the God of all grace may preserve you
    and yours in his everlasting kingdom, I subscribe myself,

      "Yours respectfully,
        "SAMUEL MARSDEN."

More than two years had now passed since Mr. Marsden's last visit to New
Zealand. The close of the year 1826 found him preparing for another, his
fifth voyage, of twelve hundred miles, to the scene of those missions he
had so long regarded with all a parent's fondness. A great change had
just taken place in the conduct of several chiefs towards the
missionaries in consequence of their fierce intestine wars. At Wangaroa
the whole of the Wesleyan missionary premises had been destroyed; the
property of all the missionaries was frequently plundered, and their
lives were exposed to the greatest danger. The worst consequences were
apprehended, and the missionaries, warned of their danger by the
friendly natives, were in daily expectation of being at least stripped
of everything they possessed, according to the New Zealand custom. For a
time the Wesleyan mission was suspended, and their pious and zealous
missionary, Mr. Turner, took refuge at Sydney, and found a home at the
parsonage of Paramatta. The clergy of the church mission deeply
sympathized with him. Mr. Henry Williams writes: "The return of Mr.
Turner will be a convincing proof of our feelings on this point. In the
present unsettled state of things we consider ourselves merely as
tenants for the time being, who may receive our discharge at any hour."
His brother, the Rev. William Williams, in another communication says:
"We are prepared to depart or stay according to the conduct of the
natives; for it is, I believe, our united determination to remain until
we are absolutely driven away. When the natives are in our houses,
carrying away our property, it will then be time for us to take refuge
in our boats."

As soon as the painful intelligence reached New South Wales, Mr. Marsden
determined to proceed to the Bay of Islands, and use his utmost
exertions to prevent the abandonment of the mission. He was under no
apprehension of suffering injury from the natives; and his long
acquaintance with their character and habits led him to anticipate that
the storm would soon pass away. Accordingly, he sailed for New Zealand
in H.M.S. Rainbow, and arrived in the Bay of Islands on the 5th April,
1827. He had reached the period of life when even the most active crave
for some repose, and feel themselves entitled to the luxury of rest; but
his ardent zeal never seems to have wanted other refreshment than a
change of duties and of scene. He found the state of things improved;
peace had been restored; and the missionaries were once more out of
danger. He conferred with them, and gave them spiritual counsel. As far
as time would permit, he reasoned with the chiefs upon the baneful
consequences of the late war, and, at the end of five days from his
arrival, he was again upon the ocean, on his way back to Sydney. "He
was not wanted in New Zealand;" in Australia, besides domestic cares,
many circumstances combined to make his presence desirable. Thus he was
instant in season, out of season; disinterested, nay indifferent and
utterly regardless of the honours and preferments which even good men
covet; and ever finding in the work itself, and in Him for the love of
whom it was undertaken, an abundant recompense.

Brief as the visit was, it confirmed his faith, and reassured his
confidence in the speedy conversion of New Zealand. He found the
missionaries living in unity and godly love, and devoting themselves to
the work. "I trust," he says, "that the Great Head of the church will
bless their labours." In consequence of his co-operation with the
missionaries, the beneficial labours of the press now for the first time
reached the Maori tribes. During a visit to Sydney, Mr. Davis had
carried through the press a translation of the first three chapters of
Genesis, the twentieth of Exodus, part of the fifth of Matthew, the
first of John, and some hymns. These were small beginnings, but not to
be despised; they prepared the way for the translation of the New
Testament into Maori, which was printed a few years afterwards at the
expense of the British and Foreign Bible Society. The importance of this
work can scarcely be estimated, and it affords a striking example of the
way in which that noble institution becomes the silent handmaid,
preparing the rich repast which our various missionary societies are
ever more distributing abroad, with bounteous hand, to feed the starving
myriads of the heathen world.

Nor was the Polynesian mission forgotten by its old friend. The London
Missionary Society now conducted its affairs on so wide a basis, and to
so great an extent, that Mr. Marsden's direct assistance was no longer
wanted. But how much he loved the work, how much he revered the
missionaries, those who shall read the extract with which this chapter
concludes will be at no loss to judge.

                                         "Paramatta, February 4, 1826.

    "MY DEAR SIR,--It is not long since I wrote to you, but as a
    friend of mine is returning, the Rev. Mr. Nott, who has been
    twenty-seven years a missionary in the Society Islands, I could
    not deny myself the pleasure of introducing him to you. Mr. Nott
    was one of the first missionaries who was sent out to the Islands.
    Like Caleb, he always said the missionaries were able to take the
    land. He remained a long time in Tahiti alone, labouring by
    himself when all his colleagues were gone, and lived with and as
    the natives, under the full persuasion that the mission would
    succeed. He remained breaking up the ground, sowing the gospel
    seed, until he saw it spring up, and waiting until part of the
    harvest was gathered in, until many of the poor heathen crossed
    the river Jordan, with the heavenly Canaan full in view. Such have
    been the fruits of his patient perseverance and faith. Should his
    life be spared, I shall expect to see him again in fourteen months
    returning to his labours, to die amongst his people, and to be
    buried with them.

    "I venerate the man more than you can conceive: in my estimation,
    he is a great man: his piety, his simplicity, his meekness, his
    apostolic appearance, all unite to make him great in my view, and
    more honourable than any of the famed heroes of ancient or modern
    times. I think Mrs. Good will like to see such a character return
    from a savage nation, whom God has so honoured in his work. I
    shall leave Mr. Nott to tell his own story, while you listen to
    his report....

      "I remain, my dear sir,
        "Your's affectionately,
          "SAMUEL MARSDEN."
    "To John Mason Good, M.D."




CHAPTER XI.

    Death of Dr. Mason Good--Malicious Charges brought against Mr.
    Marsden and confuted--Sixth Voyage to New Zealand--Frightful state
    of the Island--Battle of the Maories--Their Cannibalism--Progress
    of the Mission--Mr. Marsden's return--Death of Mrs.
    Marsden--Anticipation of his own decease.


The shadows of evening now began to fall on him whose life had hitherto
been full of energy, and to whom sickness appears to have been a
stranger. He had arrived at the period when early friendships are almost
extinct, and the few who survive are dropping into the grave. The year
1827 witnessed the death of Dr. Mason Good. Nearly twenty years had
elapsed since he and Mr. Marsden had taken leave of one another; but
their friendship had not cooled during that long term of absence; it
seems rather to have gained strength with distance and declining years.
Dr. Mason Good felt, and gratefully acknowledged, that to the
conversations, and yet more to the high example of Mr. Marsden, he owed
it, under God, that he was led to seek, through faith in Jesus, that
holiness and peace which he found at last, and which shed so bright a
lustre on his closing years. He had seen in his friend a living instance
of disinterestedness, zeal, and humility combined, all springing from
the love of God, and directed for Christ's sake towards the welfare of
man; such as he had never seen before--such as, he confessed, his own
Socinian principles were incapable of producing. Far his superior as a
scholar and a man of genius, he perceived and felt his inferiority in
all that relates to the highest destinies of man; he sat, as a little
child, a learner, in his presence; and God, who is rich in mercy,
brought home the lessons to his soul.

Nothing, on the other hand, could exceed the respect, almost amounting
to reverence, mingled however with the warmest affection, with which Mr.
Marsden viewed his absent friend. In every difficulty he had recourse to
him for advice; more than once he intrusted the defence of his character
and reputation entirely to his discretion. A correspondence of nearly
twenty years, a few specimens of which are in the reader's hand, show
the depth of his esteem. Upon his death a fuller tide of affection
gushed out; while he wrote thus to the mourning widow:--

                                         "Paramatta, November 9, 1827.

    "MY DEAR MRS. GOOD,--A few days ago we received two letters from
    your daughter M--, informing us of the death of your much revered
    husband. I had seen his death noticed in one of the London papers,
    but had not received any other information. I feel for all your
    loss. He was a blessing to the Christian world, and to mankind at
    large. No one I esteemed more, and his memory will always be dear
    to me. When I was with you, he and I had many serious
    conversations on the subject of religion.

    "His great talents, united with his child-like simplicity,
    interested me much. I always experienced the greatest pleasure in
    his company, as well as advantage; in knowledge I found myself an
    infant in his presence, but yet at perfect ease. His gentle
    manners, his mild address, often made me forget to whom I was
    speaking; and after retiring from his presence I, on reflecting,
    have been ashamed that I should presume to talk to him as I had
    done, as if he were my equal. I never could account for the ease
    and freedom I felt in his company, in giving my opinion upon the
    various subjects we were wont to converse upon. He was a very
    learned man, and knew a thousand times more of men and things than
    I did, excepting on the subject of religion; here I always felt
    myself at home; and he would attend to what I said with the
    sweetest simplicity and the greatest openness of mind. In our
    various conversations on the most important doctrines of the
    gospel, he manifested a humble desire to know the truth, though he
    proceeded with great caution. I experienced no difficulty in my
    own mind in urging the truths of religion upon him, by every
    argument in my power. I always saw, or thought I saw, the Day-star
    from on high dawning upon his mind; and my own soul was animated
    and refreshed whenever the subjects of the gospel engaged our
    conversation. Perhaps our mutual friend, Dr. Gregory, may remember
    the observations I made to him, on what passed between your dear
    husband and myself, respecting religion, and what were my views of
    the state of his mind at that time; the period to which I allude
    was when he joined the Church Missionary Society, or intended to
    join it. I had the firmest conviction in my mind that he would
    embrace the gospel, and cordially believe to the salvation of his
    soul. I could never account for that love which I have continued
    to have for Dr. Good, even here at the ends of the earth, but from
    the _communion of saints_. Though the affliction of yourself and
    your dear daughters must be severe, having lost such a husband and
    father, yet you cannot sorrow as those without hope; you must be
    satisfied that the Lord has taken him away from the evil to come;
    and as he cannot now return to you, comfort one another with the
    hope that you shall go to him. He finished his course with joy,
    and the work that had been given him to do; and came to the grave
    like a shock of corn that was fully ripe. This consideration
    should reconcile you to the Divine dispensation, and constrain you
    to say, 'Not my will, but Thine be done.' You and your dear
    husband had travelled long together; few in this miserable world
    were so happy and blessed as you were for so long a period.
    Remember all the way the Lord hath led you in this wilderness;
    recall to mind his mercies of old, and bless his name. I have long
    wished to see you face to face; but that wish will never be
    gratified. The day may come when, in another and a better world,
    we may recount all our travels here below. We are sure that we are
    fast approaching to the end of our journey, and shall soon arrive
    at the banks of Jordan. Let us labour, my dear madam, to keep the
    promised land in view. You have the consolation of your two
    amiable daughters' company. I have never thought of Mrs. N. but
    with feelings of sympathy, and regret for her loss in the death of
    her excellent husband. How mysterious are the ways of God! We
    cannot account for them now, but we shall know hereafter. As a
    father pitieth his own children, so is the Lord merciful unto them
    that fear him. Mrs. Neale may derive comfort from the Divine
    promises. There are many made to the widow and the fatherless, and
    God is never unmindful of his promises. When we arrive in Mount
    Zion, we shall then be satisfied with all the Divine
    dispensations, and see cause to bless God for the severest. Give
    my love to Miss Good; tell her how much I am obliged to her, for
    the communication she has made to me respecting her dear
    father....

      "I am yours, very sincerely,"


He was still subject to the persecutions of "unreasonable and wicked
men," and was again compelled to vindicate his conduct in a pamphlet,
which issued from the press at Sydney, in 1828. Transmitting a copy to
his friend, the Rev. Josiah Pratt, he says: "I consider myself a
proscribed person these last few years. All the charges against me are
contained in this pamphlet. My public offences, my illegal acts, the
charges against me for inflicting torture to extort confession, for
which I have been condemned unheard, and suffered as guilty. What an
ungodly world may think or say of me, is of little moment; but I do not
wish to lose the good opinion of my Christian friends, and fall in their
estimation." He returns to the subject in his correspondence with other
Christian friends; for the apprehension that in him the cause of
religion might seem to have received a wound, lay heavy on his mind. "I
should feel much," he says, writing to Mr. D. Coates, "if the cause of
religion should suffer in my personal conduct; but I hope it will not. I
hope I have said enough to satisfy the Christian world that I am clear
in this matter. To justify my public conduct, was an act due to my
family and to all my Christian friends, as well as the general interests
of religion." Nor was it merely the breath of slander that assailed him:
he mentions in a private letter to the Rev. Edward Bickersteth, an act
of grievous wrong inflicted by the British government. "I and my family
were all struck off the public victualling books in the latter part of
Governor Macquarie's administration, without any compensation. The Rev.
R. Cartwright and the Rev. William Cooper, with their families, were
also struck off from the public stores at the same time. They have both
had their claims settled since governor Darling arrived. One received
700_l._, and the other more than 800_l._; but I have received nothing.
My claim is equally just, had I only served the same period as my
colleagues, though I have served nearly twenty years longer than either
of them. I can only attribute this act of injustice to some hostile
feeling in the colonial office. Governor Darling has always shown me
every attention I could wish."

Yet he uttered no protest; he raised no clamour for redress. "I mention
this circumstance to you," he adds, "_confidentially_: when the truth of
my case is laid before the public, perhaps my superiors may think
differently of my conduct, and do me common justice." Whether he
obtained redress we are not informed. The occurrence shows the depth and
bitterness of those hostile feelings, which we can trace to no other
cause on his part than his boldness in rebuking vice, and his fidelity
to the cause of his Lord and Master.

The year 1830 found Mr. Marsden once more upon the ocean. For neither
increasing years nor the vexations through which he had passed damped
his ardour in the missionary cause. His mind was stedfastly fixed on the
progress of the gospel in New Zealand, and there he was anxious once
more in person to assist in carrying on the work. He felt that his time
was growing short, and hastened, "before his decease," to "set in order
the things which were wanting."

He perceived, too, with mingled feelings, that New Zealand was about to
undergo a great change. His efforts to induce the chiefs to unite under
one head or sovereign elected by themselves, had totally failed.
Shunghie had been slain in battle, and his ambitious projects of gaining
a New Zealand throne by conquest were at an end. War was the natural
condition of all the Maori tribes, and this, rendered more deadly,
though possibly less ferocious, by the introduction of fire-arms, was
fearfully thinning their numbers from year to year. They were subject,
too, to periodical returns of a terrible scourge, a disease resembling
the influenza, which cut off multitudes. On the whole, it was
calculated, that not more than a hundred thousand Maories now survived;
while twenty years before, when the island was first visited, the
numbers were at least two hundred thousand. It was evident that they
could not long maintain their independence as a nation. European ships
began to crowd the Bay of Islands. English settlers were already making
their way into their choice and fertile lands. To minds less sagacious
than Mr. Marsden's, the result could be no longer doubtful--New Zealand
must become an English colony. He foresaw the necessity, and, though at
first with reluctance, cordially acquiesced in it, even for the sake of
the Maories themselves. His concern now was to prepare them for a
measure which must sooner or later take place. Everything was in a
lawless state; the progress of the missions was greatly interrupted, and
his presence was once more highly necessary. His own anxiety was great,
first on behalf of the missions which had so long been the especial
objects of his care; and then for New Zealand at large that the policy
of Great Britain should respect the rights of the native tribes and
pledge itself to their protection.

On his arrival in New Zealand, in March, 1830, he was greeted before the
ship had cast anchor by the Messrs. Williams and others of the
missionary band, who hastened on board, and expressed their joy at his
unexpected appearance among them. It was a critical moment, for they
were in greater anxiety and difficulty than they had experienced at any
former period of the mission. The natives were at open war, and but a
day or two before a great battle had been fought on the opposite beach
of the Bay of Islands, in which about fourteen hundred had been engaged.
The alleged cause of the war was the misconduct of an English captain
who had offered indignities to some native women on board his vessel.
One tribe espoused his cause, while another came forward to avenge the
insult. Six chiefs had fallen in the battle, and a hundred lives were
lost; several whaling vessels were lying in the Bay, and their crews as
well as the missionary stations, were in the utmost peril from the
revenge of the victorious tribe, which now lay encamped at Keri-Keri.

There was not an hour to be lost. Mr. Marsden crossed the bay with Mr.
Henry Williams early the next morning, to visit the camp as a mediator.
The chiefs, many of whom from different parts of the island, had
formerly been acquainted with Mr. Marsden, all expressed their
gratification at meeting him again. After conversing with them on
different points connected with proposals of peace, the two friendly
mediators crossed over to the camp of their opponents, and entered at
once on the subject of their mission. They spoke to them of the evils of
war, and more particularly of the civil war in which they were engaged.
"They heard all we had to say with great attention, and several of them
replied to the different arguments we had used. They contended that we
were answerable for the lives of those who had fallen in the battle, as
the war had been occasioned by the misconduct of the captain of a vessel
one of our own countrymen; they wished to know what satisfaction we
would give them for the loss of their friends who had been slain. We
replied that we could give them no satisfaction, that we condemned his
conduct, and were sorry that any of our countrymen had behaved so badly,
and that we would write to England and prevent his return." This the
savages requested that Mr. Marsden would not do; they longed for his
return, that they might take their own revenge. Mr. Marsden then
proceeded to inform them that he had had an interview with the chiefs on
the other side, who were willing to come to terms of peace, and wished
him to assist in settling their quarrel. This information was received
in a friendly way by the greater part: one or two still wished to fight.
The mediators now returned to the beach, which they found covered with
war canoes and armed men. A war council was held, and the Rev. Henry
Williams stated the business upon which they had come amongst them. The
natives listened attentively. Many of the chiefs gave their opinion in
turn, with much force and dignity of address. These orations continued
from an early hour in the morning, till the shades of evening were
closing. It was finally agreed that the mediating party should proceed
the next morning to the opposite camp and repeat what had taken place.
After a long discussion, it was concluded that two commissioners from
each party should be appointed, along with Mr. Marsden and Mr. Williams,
to conclude the terms of peace. Having now urged all that was in their
power to bring about a reconciliation, they walked over the ground
where the battle had been fought; a dreadful scene under any
circumstances, unutterably loathsome, where cannibals were the
contending parties. "The remains of some of the bodies that had been
slain were lying unconsumed on the fires; the air was extremely
offensive, and the scene most disgusting. We could not but bitterly
lament these baneful effects of sin, and the influence of the prince of
darkness over the minds of the poor heathen."

The next day was Sunday, it was spent by Mr. Williams at the camp, for
it was not considered safe at present to leave the savage warriors,
whose angry passions smouldered. Mr. Marsden proceeded to the station,
and preached to the infant church. Never was the gospel of Christ placed
in finer contrast with the kingdom of darkness, and the appalling
tyranny of the god of this world. Mr. Marsden's pen thus describes the
scene as he sketched it upon the spot:

    "The contrast between the state of the east and west side of the
    bay was very striking. Though only two miles distant, the east
    shore was crowded with different tribes of fighting men in a wild
    savage state, many of them nearly naked, and when exercising
    entirely naked; nothing was to be heard but the firing of muskets,
    the noise, din, and commotion of a savage military camp; some
    mourning the death of their friends, others suffering from their
    wounds, and not one but whose mind was involved in heathen
    darkness without one ray of Divine knowledge. On the other side
    was the pleasant sound of the church going bell; the natives
    assembling together for divine worship, clean, orderly and
    decently dressed, most of them in European clothing; they were
    carrying the litany and the greatest part of the church service,
    written in their own language, in their hands with their hymns.
    The church service, as far as it has been translated, they can
    write and read. Their conduct and the general appearance of the
    whole settlement reminded me of a well-regulated English country
    parish. In the chapel, the natives behaved with the greatest
    propriety, and joined in the church service. Here might be viewed
    at one glance the blessings of the Christian religion, and the
    miseries of heathenism with respect to the present life; but when
    we extend one thought over the eternal world how infinite is the
    difference!"

These were trying times undoubtedly. The missions had existed fifteen
years, and yet the powers of darkness raged in all the horrors of
cannibal warfare, close to the doors of the missionary premises. On the
following Tuesday morning, Mr. Marsden was aroused from his bed by a
chief calling at his window to tell him that the army was in motion, and
that a battle seemed to be at hand. He arose immediately and was
informed that thirty-six canoes had been counted passing between the
main and the island. He immediately launched the missionary boat and
proceeded to meet them. "When we came up to them we found they had left
their women and children on the island, and that they were all fighting
men, well armed and ready for action in a moment's notice. I counted
more than forty men in one war canoe." Yet amongst these infuriated
savages the missionaries felt no alarm. "We were under no apprehension
of danger; both parties placed the utmost confidence in us, and we were
fully persuaded the commissioners would be cordially received." If the
event had turned out otherwise Mr. Marsden and his friends had notice
given them by the native commissioners, of whom we have spoken, that
they would be seen alive no more. "The three native commissioners
accompanied us in a small canoe which they paddled themselves. They
brought their canoe between our two boats, and in that position we
approached the beach. They told us if they were killed, we must be given
up to their friends as a sacrifice for the loss of their lives." The
missionaries' confidence was not misplaced; "the whole day was spent in
deliberation; at night, after a long oration, the great chief on one
side clove a stick in two to signify that his anger was broken. The
terms of peace were ratified, and both sides joined in a hideous war
dance together; repeatedly firing their muskets. We then took our
departure from these savage scenes with much satisfaction, as we had
attained the object we were labouring for."

Such scenes did not for an instant disturb the firm faith and confidence
of the great missionary leader. Coming from the midst of them he could
sit down in the missionary hut and write as follows:

    "The time will come when human sacrifices and cannibalism shall be
    annihilated in New Zealand, by the pure, mild and heavenly
    influence of the gospel of our blessed Lord and Saviour. The work
    is great, but Divine goodness will find both the means and the
    instruments to accomplish his own gracious purposes to fallen man.
    His word, which is the sword of the Spirit, is able to subdue
    these savage people to the obedience of faith. It is the duty of
    Christians to use the means, to sow the seed and patiently to wait
    for the heavenly dews to cause it to spring up, and afterwards to
    look up to God in faith and prayer to send the early and latter
    rain."

Even now the "Day-spring from on high" had visited this savage race. In
no part of the world was the sabbath day more sacredly observed than by
the converts in the missionary settlements; their lives gave evidence
that their hearts were changed. Spiritual religion, deep and earnest,
began to show its fruit in some of them; others were at least much
impressed with the importance of eternal things. Mr. Marsden was waited
upon one evening by several native young men and women who wished to
converse on religious subjects; when they came in their anxious
countenances explained the inward working of their minds; their object
was to know what they must do to be saved. He endeavoured to set before
them the love of Jesus in coming from heaven to die for a ruined world,
and mentioned many instances of his love and mercy which he showed to
sinners while on earth. "When I had addressed them at some length," he
adds, "a young native woman begun to pray."

"I never heard any address offered up to heaven with such feelings of
reverence, and piety, so much sweetness and freedom of expression, with
such humility and heavenly mindedness. I could not doubt but that this
young woman prayed with the Spirit, and with the understanding. She
prayed fervently that God would pardon her sins and preserve her from
evil; and for all the natives in the room, that they might all be
preserved from falling into the temptations by which they were
surrounded. Her very soul seemed to be swallowed up with the sense she
had of the evil and danger of sin, and the love of Jesus, who came to
save sinners. Her voice was low, soft and harmonious; her sentences were
short and expressed in the true spirit of prayer. I never expected to
have seen, in my day, any of the natives of this barbarous nation
offering up their supplications for pardon and grace, to the only true
God, with such godly sorrow and true contrition."

Amongst the audience in the room were the aged widow and two daughters
of the great Shunghie. When they rose from their knees the ex-queen
exclaimed, "Astonishing, astonishing!" and then retired; "and I
confess," adds Mrs. Marsden, "I was not less astonished than she was."
The young woman he learned had for some time lived upon the mission
premises, and conducted herself in all respects as a Christian, adorning
the gospel she professed. A few days after we find Mr. Marsden "marrying
an Englishman to a native Christian woman, who repeated the responses
very correctly in English which she well understood; she conducted
herself with the greatest propriety, and appeared neatly dressed in
European clothing of her own making, for she was a good sempstress." Mr.
Marsden considered, he says, this marriage to be of the first
importance; and the New Zealanders appear to have been of the same mind,
and to have done due honour to the occasion: for "the company came in a
war canoe and brought their provisions with them, a pig and plenty of
potatoes." Shortly afterwards, he united a young native man and woman in
marriage, they were both Christians, domestic servants to Mr. Clarke,
one of the missionaries, and seemed to have a great affection for each
other. The young man was free and of a good family; the young woman was
a slave, having become such by capture; for all their prisoners of war
if not massacred were reduced to slavery. Mr. Clarke therefore redeemed
her from her master, for five blankets, an axe, and an iron-pot. A chief
seldom allowed any of his female slaves to marry, always reserving a
number of them as wives for himself. We must therefore suppose that the
price was a very liberal one.

The effects of Christianity were now apparent in some favoured spots,
and Mr. Marsden returned home again full of hope and consolation. He had
witnessed already changes far greater than he had ever hoped to see,
sanguine as he was of ultimate success. So confident was he in the good
feeling of the natives towards himself, that he had taken one of his
daughters with him, and she accompanied him in his visits to the chiefs,
one of whom, known by the title of King George, demanded her in marriage
for his son; "an honour," writes her father, "which I begged permission
to decline." Fearful indeed had been the condition of females hitherto
amongst these savages, as the following extract, with which we conclude
our notice of Mr. Marsden's sixth visit to New Zealand, sufficiently
attests. He is describing the great change which Christianity had
effected among the New Zealanders.

"On one of my former visits to New Zealand, sitting in the room I am at
present in, the natives killed and ate a poor young woman just behind
the house. But what a wonderful change the gospel has wrought! In this
little spot, where so late hellish songs were sung and heathen rites
performed, I now hear the songs of Zion, and the voice of prayer offered
up to the God of heaven. So wonderful is the power of God's word."

He returned home greatly cheered and well qualified "to comfort others
with the comforts wherewith" he himself "was comforted of God." To Mrs.
Good, the widow of his departed friend, he wrote as follows, soon
afterwards:

                                          "Paramatta, August 27, 1833.

    "MY DEAR MRS. GOOD,--We received Miss Good's letter, which gave us
    much concern to learn that you had met with such severe trials....
    How mysterious are the ways of God! We cannot comprehend them now,
    but we are assured, that what we know not at present we shall know
    hereafter. Our heavenly Father has promised that all things shall
    work together for good to them that love God, and the Scriptures
    cannot be broken. He willingly suffers none of his children to be
    afflicted. In the end we shall find that he hath done all things
    well. At present our trials may bear heavy upon us, but St. Paul
    tells us they are but for a moment, and eventually will work for
    us a far more exceeding weight of eternal glory. Job, when he had
    lost all his children and property exclaimed, 'Naked came I out of
    my mother's womb, and naked shall I return; the Lord gave and the
    Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.' We know
    Infinite Wisdom cannot err in any of his dispensations towards us,
    and he will never leave or forsake them that trust in him. I pray
    that the Father of mercies may support you under all your trials
    and afflictions. The very remembrance of the pleasure I
    experienced in the society of your ever-to-be-revered husband is
    very refreshing to my mind. We often speak of you all, and humbly
    pray that we may meet again in another and a better world. I am
    now almost seventy years old, and I cannot but be thankful, when I
    look back and consider how the Lord hath led me all my life long.
    I have gone through many dangers by land, by water, amongst the
    heathen and amongst my own countrymen, robbers and murderers, by
    night and by day; but though I have been robbed, no personal
    injury have I ever received, not so much as a bone broken. I have
    also had to contend with many wicked and unreasonable men in
    power, but the Lord in his providence ordered all for good. Most
    of them are now in the silent grave, and I have much peace and
    comfort in the discharge of my public duty, and I bless God for
    it. I have visited New Zealand six times. The mission prospers
    very much; the Lord has blessed the missionaries in their labours,
    and made their work to prosper.

    "I am happy to say my family are all pretty well.... Mrs. M.
    enjoys her health well at her age, so that we have everything to
    be thankful for. The colony increases very fast in population; 599
    women arrived from Europe a few days ago. Provisions are very
    cheap and in great plenty. Our number increases some thousands
    every year, so that there is a prospect of this country becoming
    great and populous. Your daughter mentions the sheep; she will be
    astonished to hear that one million eight hundred thousand pounds
    of wool, were exported last year from New South Wales to England,
    and we may expect a very great annual increase from the fineness
    of the climate, and the extent of pasturage.... Wool will prove
    the natural wealth of these colonies and of vast importance to the
    mother country also. We are very much in want of pious
    ministers.... None but pious men will be of any service in such a
    society as ours.... I should wish to go to England again to select
    some ministers, if I were not so very old; but this I cannot do,
    and therefore I must pray to the great Head of the church, to
    provide for those sheep who are without a shepherd.

    "May I request you to remember us affectionately to Mrs. Neale and
    Dr. Gregory--I pray that you and yours may be supported under
    every trial, and that they may be all sanctified to your eternal
    good. I remain, dear Mrs. Good,

      "Yours affectionately.
        "SAMUEL MARSDEN."

In 1835, Mrs. Marsden died. She had long been patiently looking forward
to her great change, and her last end was full of peace. Years had not
abated his love for his "dear partner;" so he always called her when,
after her decease, he had occasion to speak of her. He showed her grave,
in sight of his study window, with touching emotion to his friends, and
felt himself almost released from earth and its attractions when she had
left it. His own increasing infirmities had led him to anticipate that
he should be first removed, and the parsonage house being his only by a
life tenure, he had built a comfortable residence for his widow, which
however, she did not live to occupy. By this bereavement he was himself
led to view the last conflict as near at hand; henceforward it
constantly occupied his mind, and formed at times the chief subject of
his conversation. He sometimes spoke of it amongst his friends with a
degree of calmness, and at the same time with such a deep sense of its
nearness and reality, as to excite their apprehensions as well as their
astonishment. He stood on the verge of eternity and gazed into it with a
tranquil eye, and spoke of what he saw with the composure of one who was
"now ready to be offered, and the time of whose departure was at
hand;"--his last text before he had quitted New Zealand.

Yet he was not at all times equally serene. Returning one day from a
visit to a dying bed, he called at the residence of a brother minister,
the Rev. R. Cartwright, in a state of some dejection. He entered on the
subject of death with feeling, and expressed some fears with regard to
his own salvation. Mr. Cartwright remarked upon the happiness of himself
and his friend as being both so near to their eternal rest, to which Mr.
Marsden seriously replied with emphasis, "But Mr. C----, _if_ I am
there." "If, Mr. Marsden?" rejoined his friend, surprised at the doubt
implied. The aged disciple then brought forward several passages of
Scripture bearing upon the deep responsibility of the ministerial office
coupled with his own unworthiness; "lest I myself should be a castaway;"
"if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;"
remarking on his own sinfulness,--every thing he had done being tainted
with sin,--on his utter uselessness,--and contrasting all this with the
holiness and purity of God. At another time, coming from the factory
after a visit to a dying woman, and deeply impressed with the awfulness
of a dying hour in the case of one who was unprepared to die, he
repeated in a very solemn manner some lines from Blair's once celebrated
poem on the grave--

  "In that dread moment how the frantic soul
  Raves round the walls of her clay tenement,
  Runs to each avenue and shrieks for help,
  But shrieks in vain. How wistfully she looks
  On all she is leaving; now no longer hers.
  A little longer, yet a little longer. Oh! might she stay
  To wash away her crimes, and fit her for her passage."

He then spoke on the plan of salvation and the grace offered by the
gospel with great feeling.

The holiness and purity of God appeared at times to overwhelm his soul;
contrasting it, as he did, with his own sinfulness, and viewing it in
connexion with the fact that he must soon stand before his awful
presence. Yet he speedily recovered his habitual peace, recalling the
blessed truth that "there is now no condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus." He was still on the whole a most cheerful Christian,
joying and rejoicing in the hope of a blessed immortality. And as he
drew near his journey's end his prospects were still brighter and his
peace increased.




CHAPTER XII.

    State of New South Wales--The Aborigines--Cruelties practised upon
    them--Attempts to civilize and convert them--They fail--Mr.
    Marsden's Seventh Visit to New Zealand--His Daughter's
    Journal--Affection of the Natives--Progress of the Mission--Danger
    from European vices--Returns in H.M.S Rattlesnake to Sydney.


History affords but few examples of a change such as New South Wales had
undergone since Mr. Marsden landed from a convict ship in the penal
settlement of Botany Bay in the year 1794. The gold fields had not yet
disclosed their wealth, nor did he live to see the stupendous
consequences which resulted from their discovery in 1851, the rush of
European adventurers, and the sudden transformation of the dismal
solitudes of Bendigo and Ballarat into the abode of thousands of
restless, enterprising men, with all the attendant circumstances, both
good and evil, of civilized life. But Australia was already a vast
colony; in almost everything except the name, an empire, self-supporting,
and with regard to its internal affairs, self governed, though still
under the mild control, borne with loyalty and pride, of the English
sovereign. The state of society was completely changed. For many years,
the stream of emigration had carried to the fertile shores of Australia
not the refuse of our jails, but some of the choicest of our population;
the young, the intelligent, the enterprising, and the high principled,
who sought for a wider field of action, or disdained to live at home,
useless to society, and a burden to their relatives. Large towns such
as Sydney, Victoria, Geelong and Melbourne, with their spacious
harbours crowded with shipping, were already in existence, and English
settlers had covered with their flocks those inland plains which long
after Mr. Marsden's arrival still lay desolate and unexplored.

The religious condition of Australia was no less changed. All
denominations were now represented by a ministry, and accommodated in
places of worship not at all inferior to those at home. The Church of
England had erected Sydney into a bishopric, of which the pious and
energetic archdeacon Broughton was the first incumbent, and the number
of the colonial clergy had been greatly increased; under all these
influences the tone of social morality was improved, and real spiritual
religion won its triumphs in many hearts. Mr. Marsden was now released
from those official cares and duties as senior chaplain which once so
heavily pressed upon him. Beyond his own parish of Paramatta his
ministerial labours did not necessarily extend, and in his parish duties
he had the efficient aid of his son-in-law and other coadjutors.

[Illustration: PARAMATTA CHURCH.]

The one spot on which no cheering ray seemed to fall, the sterile field
which after years of laborious cultivation yielded no return, was the
native population, the aborigines of New South Wales.

We have mentioned some of the many futile attempts made for their
conversion; more might be added; for various missions were devised,--by
the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, aided by
the colonial government; by the Wesleyan and the Church Missionary
Societies; and by the London Missionary Society; but none of these met
with much success, and we fear all have been in turn abandoned. The
mission of Mr. Threlkeld, on the margin of lake Macquarie deserves
especial notice. It was continued for upwards of fourteen years; during
the first six years at the charges of the London Missionary Society, but
owing to the heavy expense, and the slow progress of the mission, they
withdrew from it after an outlay of about three thousand pounds. Mr.
Threlkeld was reluctant to give up the mission, and pursued it for some
time from his own resources and those of his friends, with a small grant
of a hundred and fifty pounds a-year from the British government, who
also made over ten thousand acres of land to be held on trust on behalf
of the natives. Mr. Threlkeld seems to have been admirably fitted for
his work; he had been the fellow labourer of the martyr John Williams,
of Erromanga, and left the Tahitian mission in consequence of heavy
domestic afflictions. He had spent much time in acquiring a knowledge of
the language of the "blacks" or aborigines, of which he drew up a
grammar, besides translating some portions of Scripture, Watts's hymns,
and other suitable works. He had generally three or four tribes resident
around him upon the land granted for their use. Occasionally he employed
from twelve to sixty of them in burning off the timber and clearing the
land, an employment which they liked best. At this they would continue
for eight or ten days at a time, until some native custom, or the report
of the hostile intention of some neighbouring tribe, called them off,
perhaps never to return. Harmless as they seemed, their customs were
ferocious; the tribes were constantly at war, and upon human life they
set no value; they had no law against murder, and consequently no
punishment for it. A man may murder his wife, or child, or any other
relative with impunity; but if a person murder another who is no way
connected with him, the nearest of kin to the murdered person will
sometimes avenge his death; though this seldom happens unless the
delinquent and the sufferer are of different tribes. It is only as they
become acquainted with the customs of Europeans that human life is
regarded. In their native wilds they sport with the sufferings both of
man and beast.

At different periods, Mr. Threlkeld erected huts, but in these they
could not be induced to live, alleging the accumulation of vermin and
the fear of other natives coming in the night and spearing them without
a possibility of escape. On urging them to plant corn on a piece of
ground he had prepared for them, they replied it would be useless, as
the tribes from the neighbouring Sugar Loaf Mountain, although on
friendly terms, would come down and take it away when ripe. Mr.
Threlkeld attributed the failure of his mission partly to the want of
funds, but still more to the influx of European settlers. He deeply
deplored the want of legal protectors, both to prevent the ferocious
attacks of the blacks upon each other, and to protect them from the
white man's atrocities. "I am firmly of opinion," adds Mr. Threlkeld, in
the annual report of his mission for the year 1836, "that a Protector of
Aborigines will be fully employed in investigating cases of the cruelty
of European settlers, which are both numerous and shocking to humanity,
and in maintaining their civil rights."

He had but too much reason to express himself thus. The cases of
oppression which he himself describes, are most revolting. In one
instance, a stockman, or herdsman, boasted to his master of having
killed six or seven black men with his own hands, when in pursuit of
them with his companions; for they were hunted down in mere wantonness
and sport. He was merely dismissed from his employer's service. In
another, a party of stockmen went out, some depredation having been
committed by the blacks in spearing their cattle, took a black prisoner,
tied his arms, and then fastened him to the stirrup of a stockman on
horseback to drag him along. When the party arrived near their
respective stations they separated, leaving the stockman to conduct the
prisoner to his own hut. The black, when he found they were alone, was
reluctant to proceed, and struggled to get free, when the stockman took
his knife from his pocket, coolly stuck the black in the throat, and
left him for dead. The poor fellow crawled to the house of a gentleman
dwelling on the plains, told his tale, and died.

These are but specimens of cruelties, too numerous and too horrible to
relate. The blacks, of course, retaliated, and military parties were
sent out against them. On the 31st October, 1828, the executive council
of the colony declared in their minutes, "that the outrages of the
aboriginal natives amount to a complete declaration of hostilities
against the settlers generally," but they forgot to add that these
hostilities had been provoked in every instance by the wanton aggression
of the Europeans. Martial law was again proclaimed in October, 1830,
against the natives, and the governor at length determined to call upon
the inhabitants to take up arms, and join the troops in forming a
military cordon, by means of which he proposed to drive the aborigines
into Tasman's Peninsula. The inhabitants responded to the call, and an
armed force of between two and three thousand men were in the field from
the 4th October till the 26th November; but the attempt entirely
failed.

Mr. Marsden lived to see the beginnings of a better system, though from
his advanced age he was now no longer able to take an active part in the
formation of new institutions. Before his death, a society had been
formed in the colony for the protection of the aborigines, and
government had also appointed protectors to defend them against wanton
outrage. This was a great advance in a colony where, Lieutenant Sadleir
(who had the charge of the school at Paramatta for the aborigines) tells
us, that on his first tour up the country he saw the skull of a
celebrated native, in which was visible the hole where the ball had
penetrated the forehead, placed over a gentleman's bookcase in his
sitting-room; "a trophy," he says, "which he prized very much, of his
success in one of those exterminating excursions then sometimes
undertaken, when the natives were hunted down like beasts of prey to be
destroyed." But it was not till the year 1839 that an act was passed by
the legislative council giving extensive powers to certain
"commissioners of lands," who were also magistrates of the territory, to
put a stop to the atrocities so extensively committed beyond the
boundaries, both by the aborigines and the European settlers. The
governor drew attention to this act in a proclamation worthy of his high
office. "As human beings," he remarks, "partaking of our common nature,
as the aboriginal possessors of the soil from which the wealth of the
country has been principally derived, and as subjects of the queen,
whose authority extends over every part of New Holland, the natives of
the colony have an equal right with the people of European origin to the
protection and assistance of the law of England.

"His excellency thinks it right further to inform the public that each
succeeding despatch from the secretary of state marks in an increasing
degree the importance which her Majesty's government, and no less the
parliament and the people of Great Britain, attach to the just and
humane treatment of the aborigines of this country, and to declare most
earnestly and solemnly his deep conviction that there is no subject or
matter whatsoever in which the interests as well as the honour of the
colonists are more essentially concerned."

His excellency was soon called upon to bring his professions of
impartial justice to the test. A few weeks only after the date of the
proclamation, seven monsters in human shape, convicts who had been
assigned as stockmen to some of the settlers in the interior,
influenced, it would seem, by no other motive than a fiendish
determination to exterminate the unhappy natives, set out on horseback
in pursuit of their victims. One Charles Kilmaister was their leader.
They were traced in their progress, inquiring after blacks, and at last
it appeared they arrived at a hut near the Orawaldo, commonly called the
Big River, beyond Liverpool Plains. Here they discovered a little tribe
of about thirty natives, men, women, and children, including babes at
their mothers' breasts, assembled in the bush, unsuspicious of danger,
and unconscious of offence. It was on Sunday. They immediately
approached their victims, who, terrified at their manner, ran into
Kilmaister's hut, crying for protection; but they appealed to hearts of
stone. The bandits having caught them as it were in a trap, dismounted
and followed them into the hut, and, despite of their entreaties, tied
them together with a rope. When all were thus secured, one end of the
rope was tied round the body of the foremost of the murderers, who,
having mounted his horse, led the way, dragging the terrified group
after him, while his infamous companions guarded them on all sides.
Onward they were dragged till a fitting place in the bush was reached,
when the work of slaughter commenced, and unresisting, these hapless
wretches, one after the other, were brutally butchered. Fathers, and
mothers, and children, fell before the previously sharpened swords of
their executioners, till all lay together a lifeless mass, clinging to
each other even in death, as with the throes of natural affection. But
one shot was fired, so that it was presumed one only perished by
fire-arms. The precise number thus immolated has not been accurately
ascertained, but it is computed not less than thirty lay stretched on
their own native soil. The demon butchers then placed the bodies in a
heap, kindled an immense fire over them, and so endeavoured to destroy
the evidence of their unheard-of brutality. The eye of providence,
however, was not to be thus blinded; and although for a time the
miscreants imagined they had effectually disguised their horrible work,
circumstances led to their apprehension. Birds of prey were seen
hovering about the spot where the unconsumed remains yet rotted on the
ground. Stockmen in search of their strayed cattle were attracted to the
place, supposing they should find their carcasses. In this way it was
that the ribs, jaw-bones, half-burned skulls, and other portions of
human skeletons were found, while symptoms of the conflagration in the
vicinity were likewise discovered. This led to inquiry, and ultimately
to the discovery of the horrible truth. The place was fifty miles from
the nearest police station. The whole of the villains were apprehended,
and their own admissions and conduct, both previous and subsequent to
the atrocious deed, added to a chain of circumstantial evidence, left no
doubt of their guilt. It chanced that the night previous to the murders
a heavy rain had fallen, and traces were thus discovered of horses feet,
as well as of the naked feet of the wretched natives, on the way to the
field of death. The chief witness, a respectable man, scarce dared,
however, to return to the district, so strong was the sympathy expressed
towards these miscreants, even by persons of influence, some of whom
were magistrates. All possible pains were taken to save them from
condign punishment; subscriptions were made for their defence, and
counsel retained, but in vain; their guilt was established beyond a
doubt, and Sir George Gipps, the governor, suffered the law to take its
righteous course.

Yet the progress of humanity and righteousness was very slow, and Mr.
Marsden did not live to see equal justice, not to speak of gospel truth
or English liberty, carried to the aborigines. In the very year of his
death, an effort was made by the attorney-general of the colony to pass
a bill to enable the courts of justice to receive the evidence of the
blacks, hitherto inadmissible. The chief justice of Australia gave his
sanction to the measure. In laying this bill before the council, as the
law officer of the crown, the attorney-general gave some painful
instances of its necessity. There was then, he said, lying in his office
a very remarkable case, in which there was no doubt a considerable
number of blacks had been shot, but in consequence of not being able to
take the evidence of the blacks who witnessed the transaction, it was
impossible to prosecute, although there was proof that certain parties
went into the bush in a certain direction with fire-arms, and that shots
were heard. The dead bodies of blacks were afterwards found there, the
skulls of some of them being marked with bullets. On the other hand five
blacks were convicted of a larceny, and could be convicted of no higher
offence, although those who heard the case must have been convinced that
they had murdered two white men; but, because the blacks, who knew how
the murder was committed, could not be heard as witnesses, it was
impossible to prosecute them for the murder. The bill only went so far
as to allow the blacks to be heard,--"to allow them to tell their own
story; the jury might believe them or not as their evidence was
corroborated circumstantially, or by other witnesses." Yet this simple
instalment of justice was denied, and the bill was rejected by the
legislative council. Such are some of the crimes through which even
England, just and generous England, has ascended her dazzling throne of
colonial empire. When we tear aside the veil of national pride, how
gloomy are the recesses of our colonial history; how large the amends
which Britain owes to every native population which God has intrusted to
her care!

Mr. Marsden was now seventy-two years of age. On every side the friends
of his youth were falling, and he was bowed down with bodily
infirmities, the natural consequence of a life of toil. He often pointed
to an aged tree which grew in sight of his windows, as an emblem of
himself. It had once stood in the middle of a thick wood, surrounded on
all sides with fine timber; which the waste of years and the ruthless
axe had levelled; now it stood alone, exposed to every blast, its
branches broken off, its trunk decayed and its days numbered. Yet he
resolved to pay another, his seventh, and, as it proved, his last visit
to New Zealand. It was thought by his friends, that he would never live
to return. His age and infirmities seemed to unfit him for any great
exertion of either mind or body; but having formed the resolution,
nothing could now deter him, or divert him from it. He sailed on the 9th
February, 1837, in the Pyramus, accompanied by his youngest daughter,
and he seemed to be cheered by the reflection that if he should die upon
his voyage he should die in his harness and upon the battle field on
which God had chosen him to be a leader.

And yet his sturdy spirit scarcely bowed itself to such misgivings. As
on former visits, he had no sooner landed than his whole soul was
invigorated by scenes from which most others would have shrunk. He
landed on the southern side of the island, at the river Hokianga, and
remained amongst the Wesleyan missionaries for about a fortnight; after
which he crossed over to the Bay of Islands, carried all the way in a
litter by the natives. In this way he visited the whole of the
missionary stations in the neighbourhood of the Bay of Islands, as well
as Kaitaia, a station at the North Cape. On the arrival of H. M. S.
Rattlesnake, he accompanied Captain Hobson (afterwards governor of New
Zealand), to the river Thames, and the East Cape, returning at length to
Sydney in that ship, where he arrived on the 27th of July after an
absence of five months. When entering the heads of Port Jackson, one of
the officers of the ship observed, "I think Mr. M. you may look upon
this as your last visit to New Zealand;" upon which he replied, "No I
don't, for I intend to be off again in about six weeks, the people in
the colony are becoming too fine for me now. I am too old to preach
before them, but I can talk to the New Zealanders."

Of this, his last visit, we must give some account. Captain Livesay of
the Pyramus, in a valuable letter to Mr. Nicholas, has given some
interesting reminiscences of his passenger:--

                                        "Devonport, November 29, 1837.

    "MY DEAR SIR,-- ... I looked forward to meeting you with
    inexpressible delight, to talk about our much esteemed friend Mr.
    Marsden, and compare notes about New Zealand; but we are born to
    disappointment, although I shall still look forward to have that
    pleasure on my return to England.

    "From the last account I had of Mr. Marsden, previous to my
    quitting New Zealand, I was informed that the trip had done him
    much good. When he left the ship, and indeed when I last saw him,
    which was a month afterwards, he used to walk with a great stoop;
    he was then able to walk upright, and take considerable exercise.
    The dear old man! it used to do my heart good to see his pious
    zeal in his Master's cause. Nothing ever seemed a trouble to him.
    He was always calm and cheerful, even under intense bodily
    suffering, which was the case sometimes from the gravel, which
    caused him great distress. His daughter Martha was a very great
    comfort to him; she was constantly with him, and very affectionate
    in her attentions. I did hope my next voyage would have been to
    New South Wales, that I might have the pleasure of seeing him once
    more, should God have spared him so long; but that thought must
    now be given up." ...

The remainder of the letter has reference to the state and prospects of
New Zealand. The sentiments are honourable to a British sailor. How
happy it would have been for the Maori race, had all English captains
who visited the Bay of Islands, been such men as Captain Livesay!

He says, "It affords me great satisfaction to find that a committee are
forming for the colonization of New Zealand, on the scale you intimate.
It is very much to be desired indeed; as the poor natives are becoming a
prey and a sacrifice to a set of dissolute wretches who do all in their
power to sink the savage into the perfect brute, or by design and craft
to cheat them out of all their possessions. Even those who call
themselves respectable, are amongst this number, and one or two, to my
certain knowledge, have purchased an immense extent of land for a mere
song, depriving the rising generation of all their claims. The New
Zealanders are upon the whole, a fine and intelligent race, capable of
much if well directed. They are accused of low cunning, and covetousness
in their dealings with the Europeans. Let the question be asked, who
taught them to be so? Why, the Europeans themselves. They are said to be
ferocious. I maintain that they are not half so much so as our own
ancestors in the barbarous times of Britain; and where Christianity has
been properly introduced, they are quite a different race of beings. Let
but the ill weeds that have taken root there be torn up, and the
wholesome plant of industry and sobriety, with the spirit of the gospel,
sown in its place, and all the savage will soon cease to be."

The "ill weeds" were springing up apace, and, as a consequence, the
missionary cause was once more in peril.

An English barque had lately been wrecked upon the coast, but
fortunately Mr. Guard the captain, his wife, two children, and the crew,
twenty-eight in all, escaped to land. At first, according to the
statement of the captain, the natives treated them with kindness, which
they soon exchanged, under what pretext, or in consequence of what
provocations on either side, it would be useless to ask, for open
hostilities. A quarrel was got up between two native tribes, and an
engagement followed, in which twelve Europeans, and about forty Maories
fell. Guard and his party were taken prisoners. It shows how great an
improvement had taken place amongst the natives, that they were not
massacred and devoured; but, on condition of returning with a cask of
powder as a ransom for himself and the rest, Guard and five of his men
were allowed to proceed, without further molestation, to Sydney; where
he laid the matter before Sir Richard Bourke the governor. Relying on
the accuracy of Guard's narrative, the governor, with the advice of the
executive council, requested Captain Lambert to proceed with H.M.S.
Alligator, which happened to be lying in Port Jackson, to obtain the
restoration of the British subjects, then in the hands of the New
Zealanders. He was instructed to abstain from any act of retaliation,
and to obtain the restoration of the captives by amicable means; and
Guard and his five men returned in the same ship.

Soon after the arrival of the party at New Zealand, Guard recognised the
chief who was now the proprietor of the shipwrecked woman and children;
and the unsuspicious native rubbed noses with him in token of amity, at
the same time expressing his readiness to give up his prisoners on
receiving the "payment" guaranteed to him. This, however was not the
way in which the affair was to be settled; Guard and his sailors seized
him as a prisoner, and dragged him into the whale boat in which the
party had gone ashore. The cruelty practised towards this unfortunate
man, and the fearful havoc committed by the English, we gladly pass
over. Such iniquitous transactions reflect but little credit on us as a
Christian or a civilized people; and they were, moreover, in direct
opposition to the benevolent instructions of Sir Richard Bourke. The
British subjects were restored; as indeed they might have been without
the loss of a single life, through the intervention of the missionaries,
and of the British resident at the Bay of Islands, and the expedition
having gained its object by force and stratagem, returned to Sydney with
the troops and the liberated captives.

This painful affair, as well as other acts of outrage, on the part of
the natives, which were its natural consequence, made a deep impression
at the time, and were a source of great uneasiness to Mr. Marsden. He
saw at once the danger to which they exposed the missionaries and their
cause, and felt, no doubt, a just reliance on himself. Unarmed and
unprotected, had he been upon the spot, he would have accomplished more
in his own person than all those warlike measures had effected, which
anew embittered the Maori race against the Europeans.

His record of his farewell visit was probably not kept with his former
accuracy; but the chasm is well supplied by the interesting journal of
his daughter, some extracts from which the reader will peruse with
pleasure. We have the whole scene placed before us by her graceful pen,
and we gain some glimpse into her father's character, which we should
certainly not have gathered from his own modest, self-forgetting,
memoranda.

    "_February 12, Sunday._--Had service on deck. The Rev. Mr.
    Wilkinson read prayers, and my father preached. The sailors were
    very attentive; the service was truly interesting from its novelty
    and the impressiveness of the scene; nothing around us but the
    wide waste of waters.

    "_13th._--At the suggestion of Captain L----, reading in the
    evenings was introduced. We began the History of Columbus, by
    Washington Irving, and the arrangement is that we are to read by
    turns."

    The weather proved boisterous, and it was not before the 21st they
    made the land.

    "_22nd._--Up early on deck to view the land, which presented a
    very bold and romantic appearance.

    "Not being able to obtain a pilot, the captain determined, lest he
    should lose the tide, Hokianga being a bar harbour, to take the
    vessel in himself. The dead lights were put in, and every
    arrangement made as we approached the bar. Not a voice was heard
    but that of the captain and the two men in the chains, heaving the
    lead. Every sailor was at his station, and the anchors in
    readiness to let go at a moment's warning. We sounded as shallow
    as 'a quarter less four,' when the ladies became alarmed, though
    we were obliged to keep our fears to ourselves, as the gentlemen
    very politely left us. The wind being light, the fear was the
    breakers would have overtaken the ship, thrown her upon her beam
    ends, and rendered her unmanageable; but providence guided and
    preserved us.

    "I seldom remember a more beautiful scene; the moon is near its
    full, and the banks of the river are very high, covered with the
    most luxuriant foliage. We were so delighted with the scenery that
    we would willingly have stayed up all night. As we proceeded up,
    the mountains appeared to lessen into hills. Several native
    hamlets, and two or three residences of Europeans, show that the
    busy hand of man has been engaged in the work of redeeming the
    wilderness from the wild dominion of nature. Anchored near the
    Wesleyan mission station, where we were kindly welcomed by Mr. and
    Mrs. Turner. The mission here has been established nearly nine
    years; they have a neat chapel and one or two comfortable houses,
    and are about to form an additional station. The missionaries
    related several instances of the melancholy death of various New
    Zealanders who have opposed the progress of the mission. One chief
    became so incensed against the 'Atua,' for the death of his child,
    that he formed a circle of gunpowder, placed himself in the
    centre, and fired it. The explosion did not immediately destroy
    him; he lingered a few weeks in dreadful agony, and then died.

    "_Saturday._--The natives are coming in great numbers to attend
    divine worship. Mr. Turner preached, and afterwards my father
    addressed them. They listened with earnest attention, and were
    much pleased. Many of the old chiefs were delighted to see my
    father, and offered to build him a house, if he would remain. One
    said, 'Stay with us and learn our language, and then you will
    become our father and our friend, and we will build you a house.'
    'No,' replied another, 'we cannot build a house good enough, but
    we will hire Europeans to do it for us.'

    "The whole congregation joined in the responses and singing, and
    though they have not the most pleasing voices, yet it was
    delightful to hear them sing one of the hymns commencing 'From
    Egypt lately come.'"

The journey across from Hokianga to the Waimaté, as described by Miss
Martha Marsden, shows, in the absence of railroads and steam carriages,
an agreeable if not expeditious mode of conveyance. "Took leave of Mrs.
Turner; and, mounted in a chair on the shoulders of two New Zealanders,
I headed the procession. My father, Mr. Wilkinson, and the two children,
were carried in 'kaw-shores,' or native biers, on which they carry their
sick. We entered a forest of five miles, then stopped to dine. The
natives soon cooked their potatoes, corn, etc., in their ovens, which
they scoop in the sand, and after heating a number of stones, the
potatoes are put in, covered with grass and leaves, and a quantity of
water poured upon them; they were exquisitely steamed. As I approached
one of the groups sitting at dinner, I was much affected by seeing one
of them get up and ask a blessing over the basket of potatoes.

"Five miles from Waimaté I left my chair, mounted on horseback, and
reached Waimaté for breakfast. Old Nini accompanied us the whole way,
and told my father if he attempted to ride he would leave him. The
natives carried him the whole way with the greatest cheerfulness, and
brought him through the most difficult places with the greatest ease.
The distance they carried him was about twenty miles."

The state of all the missions with regard to their spiritual work was
now full of hope. Of the Wesleyan mission Mr. Marsden himself reports,
"I found that many were inquiring after the Saviour, and that a large
number attended public worship. The prospect of success to the Church
of England Mission is very great. Since my arrival at the missionary
station I have not heard one oath spoken by European or native; the
schools and church are well attended, and the greatest order is observed
among all classes. I met with many wherever I went, who were anxious
after the knowledge of God. Wherever I went I found some who could read
and write. They are all fond of reading, and there are many who never
had an opportunity of attending the schools who, nevertheless, can read.
They teach one another in all parts of the country, from the North to
the East Cape."

The native tribes were still at war with each other, and with the
European settlers--the miserable effect of Captain Guard's rash conduct.
From the missionary station at Pahia Mr. Marsden's daughter counted one
morning twenty-one canoes passing up the bay. A battle followed, which
she witnessed at a distance, and the Europeans all around fled to the
missionary station. In the engagement three chiefs fell; a second fight
occurred soon afterwards. "We have heard firing all day," she writes;
"many have been killed; we saw the canoes pass down the river containing
the bodies of the slain." Mr. Marsden himself was absent on a visit to
the southward, or his presence might possibly have prevented these
scenes of blood.

Wherever the venerable man appeared, he was received by the converted
natives with Christian salutations and tears of joy; the heathen
population welcomed him with the firing of muskets and their rude war
dances. Wherever he went, he was greeted with acclamations as the friend
and father of the New Zealanders. One chieftain sat down upon the ground
before him gazing upon him in silence, without moving a limb or
uttering a single word for several hours. He was gently reproved by Mr.
Williams for what seemed a rudeness. "Let me alone," said he, "let me
take a last look; I shall never see him again." "One principal chief,"
writes Mr. Marsden, "who had embraced the gospel and been baptized,
accompanied us all the way. We had to travel about forty miles, by land
and water. He told me he was so unhappy at Hokianga that he could not
get to converse with me from the crowds that attended, and that he had
come to Waimaté to speak with me. I found him to be a very intelligent
man, and anxious to know the way to heaven." While at Kaitai he held a
constant levée, sitting in an arm-chair, in an open field, before the
mission house; it was attended by upwards of a thousand Maories, who
poured in from every quarter; many coming a distance of twenty or thirty
miles, contented to sit down and gaze on his venerable features; and so
they continued to come and go till his departure. With his
characteristic kindness and good nature he presented each with a pipe
and fig of tobacco; and when he was to embark at last, they carried him
to the ship, a distance of six miles.

Before leaving New Zealand, he wrote to the Church Missionary Society an
account which glows with pious exultation, describing the success with
which the Head of the church had at length been pleased to bless the
labours of his faithful servants. Since his arrival, he says, he had
visited many of the stations within the compass of a hundred miles. It
was his intention to have visited all of them, from the North to the
East Cape; but from the disturbed state of the country "it was not
considered prudent for him to go to the south," where he still
contemplated further efforts "when the country should be more settled in
its political affairs." He had "observed a wonderful change: those
portions of the sacred Scriptures which had been printed have had a most
astonishing effect; they are read by the natives in every place where I
have been; the natives teach one another, and find great pleasure in the
word of God, and carry that sacred treasure with them wherever they go.
Great numbers have been baptized, both chiefs and their people." He had
met with some very pious chiefs, who had refused to share in the present
war, and avowed their resolution to fight no more. One of them, at his
own cost, had built a chapel, or place of public worship, which was
visited by the missionaries; in this he himself taught a school,
assisted by his son. "Waimaté, once the most warlike district in the
island, is now," he says, "the most orderly and moral place I was ever
in. My own mind has been exceedingly gratified by what I have seen and
heard." Old age, it seems, is not always querulous; its retrospects are
not always in favour of the past; the aged Christian walks with a more
elastic step as he sees the fruit of his labour, and anticipates his own
great reward. "Mine eyes," he concludes, "are dim with age like Isaac's;
it is with some difficulty I can see to write."

Nor had the weakness and credulity of advancing years led him to take
for granted, as in second childhood old age is wont to do, the truth of
first impressions, or the accuracy of every man's reports. He still gave
to every subject connected with missions the closest attention,
penetrated beneath the surface, and formed his own conclusions. While in
New Zealand, for instance, he addresses the following queries to Mr.
Matthews, one of the missionaries, on the subject of education:--

                                                         "April, 1837.

    "... I will thank you to return me what number of native young
    men there are employed from your station on the sabbath in
    visiting the natives, I mean the numbers who occasionally visit
    their countrymen and instruct them. What schools there are at the
    station, and who are the teachers? Have you an infant school, or a
    school for men and boys? a school for women? What do they learn?
    Do they learn to read and write? Do they understand figures? Have
    they renounced generally their former superstitions? At what
    period of the day do they attend school? Have they any meeting in
    the week-days for prayer and religious instruction? Do they appear
    to have any views of the Lord Jesus Christ as a Saviour? Any
    information you can give me, along with your brethren, will be
    very acceptable to the lovers of the gospel in New South Wales."

        "SAMUEL MARSDEN."

On one point only he met with no success. He had not yet quite abandoned
the pleasing dream of a Maori nation, united under one chief; a
Christian people, governed by a code of native law. Tahiti naturally
encouraged these bright visions, and seemed to show how easily they
might be realized. There, for ten years past, under king Pomare, the
wondrous spectacle had been presented to the world of a whole people,
under the guidance of their king, rejecting idolatry, and with it all
the base usages of savage life, and working out their own national
regeneration; framing a Tahitian code of law on the sound principles of
Christian jurisprudence, and cordially adopting it. Why should not a
similar state of things be brought about in New Zealand? The
instrumental agency in both islands was the same; namely, that of
Christian missionaries, chiefly, if not entirely, English Christians,
who carried with them, it might be supposed, to both islands the same
reverence for order, and with it the same love of liberty. Were the
Maories an inferior race, compared with the aborigines of the Tahitian
group? On the contrary, the difference was rather in favour of the
Maori; he was the more athletic, and consequently the more vigorous in
his mental development; indeed, upon the whole, he stands unapproached
by any other tribe of man uncivilized and in a state of nature; unless
we go back to the heroic ages and find his equal amongst ancient Greeks
at the dawning of their somewhat fabulous history.

Yet the project failed; and Mr. Marsden was now obliged mournfully to
admit that New Zealand's only hope lay in her annexation to the British
crown. The two causes of the failure of these otherwise reasonable
expectations are to be found, no doubt, first, in the circumstances of
the Maori tribes, and secondly, in the pernicious effects produced by
European traders and settlers.

Tahiti was happy in possessing one sovereign. New Zealand was
unfortunate in its multitude of petty chieftains. When the heart of king
Pomare was gained, the confidence of a loyal and devoted people was at
once won over. There was no rival to foment rebellion, or to seize the
occasion of a religious festival, when he and his people were unarmed,
to make inroads on his territory. With the assistance of his council,
and under the advice of the faithful missonaries, a code of law was
easily prepared, suited for all his subjects, and adapted to every part
of his little kingdom. In New Zealand, on the contrary, the chiefs,
each of whom claimed to be perfectly independent of the rest, were
constantly at enmity with each other. The violent passions of civil war
never slept--hatred, revenge, and jealousy. The missionaries, if
cherished by Shunghie, were hated or feared by Shunghie's opponent.
Their direct influence in the politics of the Maories was therefore, of
necessity, slight. But the chief hindrance arose from the mutual
animosities of the chiefs, and the want of confidence in each other
which universally prevailed, both among chiefs and people.

And it must be confessed with sorrow, that the evil example of the
Europeans provoked the natives to fresh crimes, and indisposed them to
all the restraints of civil government. The Polynesian Islands had, up
to this period, known neither commerce nor colonization. Except a chance
visit from a man-of-war, a European ship was scarcely ever seen; or the
few which came and went were connected with the missions, and were
manned by decent if not religious crews. The polluting influence of a
debauched and drunken body of seamen, rolling in constant succession to
its shores, had not yet tainted the moral atmosphere of Tahiti and its
neighbouring group. And colonization had not even been attempted; the
natives were left in full possession of their soil, no man making them
afraid. In New Zealand all this was reversed. Wicked seamen infected
even savages with new vices; and lawless settlers set an example of
injustice, shocking even to New Zealanders. For these evils it was
evident there was but one remedy, the strong hand of British rule. Take
the following sketch from the pen of Mr. Marsden. After describing the
happy state of the Christian settlement at Waimaté, he goes on to say:
"On the opposite side of the harbour, a number of Europeans have settled
along with the natives. Several keep public-houses, and encourage every
kind of crime. Here drunkenness, adultery, murder, etc. are committed.
There are no laws, judges, nor magistrates; so that Satan maintains his
dominion without molestation. Some civilized government must take New
Zealand under its protection, or the most dreadful evils will be
committed by runaway convicts, sailors and publicans. There are no laws
here to punish crimes. When I return to New South Wales, I purpose to
lay the state of New Zealand before the colonial government, to see if
anything can be done to remedy these public evils." "I hope in time," he
says again, in a letter, dated May 16th, 1837, from Pahaia, to the Rev.
James Matthews, "the chiefs will get a governor. I shall inform the
Europeans in authority how much they are distressed in New Zealand for
want of a governor with power to punish crime. The Bay of Islands is now
in a dreadful state.... It is my intention to return to New South Wales
by the first opportunity."

That opportunity soon appeared, and the venerable founder of its
missions, the advocate of its native population, the friend of all that
concerned its present or spiritual welfare, took his last leave of the
shores of New Zealand. Preparations were made for his reception on board
H. M. S. Rattlesnake. The signal gun was fired, and all the friends from
Waimaté and Keri-Keri arrived to accompany their revered father to the
beach, "Where," says one of them who was present, "like Paul at Miletus,
we parted with many benedictions: sorrowing most of all that we should
see his face again no more. Many could not bid him adieu. The parting
was with many tears."

His happy temperament always diffused pleasure and conciliated
friendship. On board the Rattlesnake he was welcomed with warm,
affectionate, respect. Captain Hobson, who was afterwards for a time
governor of New Zealand, knew his worth, and felt honoured by his
company; and Mr. Marsden fully appreciated the high character and
courtesy of the commander, whose widow retains a handsome piece of plate
presented to her husband by his grateful passenger, as a memorial of the
happiness he enjoyed on this his last voyage homewards.

The chaplain of the Rattlesnake noted down an affecting conversation
with the aged minister upon his voyage, which we are permitted to
insert:--

"We enjoyed a most lovely evening. I had a long conversation with Mr.
Marsden on deck. He spoke of almost all his old friends having preceded
him to the eternal world; Romaine, Newton, the Milners, Scott, Atkinson,
Robinson, Buchanan, Mason Good, Thomason, Rowland Hill, Legh Richmond,
Simeon, and others. He then alluded in a very touching manner to his
late wife; they had passed, he observed, more than forty years of their
pilgrimage through this wilderness in company, and he felt their
separation the more severely as the months rolled on. I remarked that
their separation would be but for a short period longer. 'God grant it,'
was his reply; then lifting his eyes towards the moon, which was
peacefully shedding her beams on the sails of our gallant bark, he
exclaimed with intense feeling.

  'Prepare me, Lord, for thy right hand,
  Then come the joyful day.'"




CHAPTER XIII.

    Mr. Marsden's ministerial pursuits and journeys--Love of the
    Country and of Patriarchal story--His Old Age--Its mental
    features--Anecdotes--Love of Children--Bishop Broughton--His
    reverence for Mr. Marsden's character--Mr. Marsden's views of
    Death, etc.--His Habits of Prayer--His Illness and Death.


Mr. Marsden had now passed the allotted span of human life, though his
days were not yet "labour and sorrow." Entering upon his seventy-second
year with stooping gait and failing eyesight and a decaying memory, he
had otherwise few of the mental infirmities of age. He was still a
perfect stranger to fear, as well as to that nervous restlessness and
susceptibility which wears the appearance of it, though often found, as
may be daily observed, in connexion with the truest courage. After his
return home from his last voyage he was attacked, when driving with his
youngest daughter, upon one of his excursions in the bush, by two famous
bush rangers Wormley and Webber, part of a gang who for a period of two
years kept the whole country in a state of terror. One of the ruffians
presented a loaded pistol at his breast and another at his daughter's,
threatening with horrid imprecations to shoot them both, if they said a
word, and bidding his daughter to empty her father's pockets into their
hands. Perfectly undismayed, Mr. Marsden remonstrated with them on their
wicked course of life, telling them at last that he should soon see them
again, he had no doubt, on the gallows. At parting, though charged, with
the usual threats, not to look behind him, he turned round, and
continued, while they were in sight, to warn them in the same strain of
the certain consequences of a life of crime. His admonition was soon
verified; the wretched men were apprehended for other outrages and
sentenced to death, and he himself attended them from the condemned cell
to the place of execution.

These excursions into the country around Paramatta, where he had gone
about for a period of nearly forty years doing the work of an evangelist
or home missionary, were continued to the last. To wind through devious
paths in the bush in his one horse chaise, where his good horse _Major_
seemed as if trained to penetrate, gave him the highest pleasure. The
way was often trackless, and he was obliged to ask his companion whether
the trace of a cartwheel could be seen. Yet there was an instinctive
feeling of safety in his company, and a refreshment in his conversation,
which always made the vacant seat in the gig prized by those who knew
and loved him. "As he drove along," says a Christian lady, the wife of
Captain B---- who was his companion on some of his last journeys,
"wherever he went there was always to be found some testimony to that
goodness and mercy which had followed him all the days of his life. Some
Ebenezer he could raise where helped perhaps in an encounter with a
bushranger, having only the sword of the Spirit with which to defend
himself and disarm his foe, or some Bethel, it might be, where like
Jacob he had been enabled to wrestle and prevail. With such a companion
no one could be a loser. On these excursions, no matter to what
distance, he seemed to think preparations needless, he would travel
miles and miles without any previous consideration for his own comfort
or convenience. Even a carpet-bag was an encumbrance. He had been too
long accustomed to make his toilet with the New Zealander, and take with
him his meal of fern-root, to be particular, or to take thought, what he
should eat, or wherewithal should he be clothed."

His love of the country and of rural scenes gave a strong colouring, and
great originality to his preaching as well as to his own religious
character. He called his estate "The plains of Mamre." This property we
may remind the reader had been presented to Mr. Marsden in the early
days of the colony, when land uncleared was absolutely worthless, to eke
out his insufficient stipend. It had now become valuable, and he was
exposed both in the colony and in England to many unjust remarks, even
from those who should have known him better, on the score of his reputed
wealth. His own justification of himself is more than sufficient. Being
told that he was charged with avarice, "Why," said he, "they might as
well find fault with Abraham whose flocks and herds multiplied. Abraham
never took any trouble about it, nor do I. I can't help their
increasing;" and he added, a remark so true and of such pregnant import
that it ought for ever to have put to silence this miserable carping;
"It was not for myself, but for the benefit of this colony and New
Zealand, that I ever tried to promote agriculture or the improvement in
sheep or cattle." Had he done nothing else for Australia, his
introduction of Merino sheep with a view to the growth of wool would
have marked him down upon the roll of her greatest benefactors.

Through life his choicest topics in the pulpit had been the patriarchs,
their lives and characters but as he grew old, he seemed unconsciously
to rank amongst their number; to fall into and become one of their own
body; himself a Christian patriarch. It was the frequent remark of his
friends that he spoke of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, just as if he had
lived in their times, heard their conversations, and been well
acquainted with them. It is much to be regretted that more full and
accurate reports of his sermons and conversations should not have been
kept. The truth and originality of his remarks would have made them
invaluable. When seated in his chair upon the lawn before his house,
surrounded by his family and friends, his conversations took the
prevailing turn of his mind, and he used to dwell on the incidents of
patriarchal life with a depth of feeling and a power of picturesque
description of which one would be glad that the memorials should not
have been allowed to perish.

At an examination of the King's School at Sydney, the headmaster having
requested him to ask the boys some questions upon Scripture history,
forgetting the business in hand, he broke out into a long and
interesting address on patriarchal life and manners. The end
contemplated by the headmaster was of course frustrated, "but we dare
say," says the colonial journalist who tells the story, "there are many
young persons now growing up into manhood, who, to this day remember the
pious and excellent observations of the venerable man."

His old age exhibited some traits not always to be found, even in good
men, after a long life passed among scenes of danger or amidst the
hardening warfare of personal animosities. Though to the last bold in
reproving sin his real character was that of gentleness and the warmest
social affection. None but the bad were ever afraid of him; on the
contrary, his presence diffused a genial light and warmth in every
company. Cruel savages and little children loved him alike; the wisest
men gathered instruction from his lips, while they found pleasure in his
simple courtesy and manly open heartedness. He brought home with him in
the Rattlesnake from New Zealand, several Maori youths; "they seemed to
love and respect their _Matua_, as they called him, more than any one,
or anything, besides. They used to run after his gig like joyous
children, and to attempt to catch his eye as if to bask in the sunshine
of his benevolent countenance." "They delighted;" says Mrs. B----, to
whose manuscript of Mr. Marsden's last years of life we are again
indebted, "to come to our barrack apartments with him, always making
their way to the bookcase first, take out a book and point upwards, as
if everybody who had anything to do with 'Matua' must have all their
books leading to heaven. Pictures pleased them next; when they would
direct each others' attention to what they considered worthy of notice,
with extraordinary intelligence; but when the boiled rice and sweets
made their appearance, digging their elbows into each others' sides,
with gesticulations of all sorts, and knowing looks, putting their
fingers to their mouths, and laughing with greedy joy, Mr. Marsden all
the time watching their movements, and expressive faces, as a kind nurse
would the gambols and frolics of her playful charge, saying with
restrained, but grateful emotion, 'Yes, sir, nothing like bringing the
gospel at once to the heathen. If "music charms the savage breast," sir,
why should not the sweetest sounds that ever met man's ear do more? Why,
sir, the gospel turns a worse than savage into a man, ay, and into a
woman too.' He then related to us the anecdote of a New Zealand woman
who, for the last remaining years of her life preached the gospel among
her own sex, having acknowledged to him, that before he had brought the
word of God to New Zealand, and the Spirit applied it to her heart, she
had killed and eaten nineteen children."

His last communication to the Church Missionary Society, dated December
10th, 1837, and received after his death, is full of hope for his
beloved New Zealanders. "I am happy to say the mission goes on well
amidst every difficulty. I visited many places in my last voyage from
the North Cape to Cloudy Bay. The gospel has made a deep impression upon
many of the natives, who now lead godly lives." The letter, which is
written in a large and straggling hand, as though the pen were no longer
under its usual firm control, concludes with these touching words: "I am
now very feeble. My eyes are dim, and my memory fails me. I have done no
duty on the sabbath for some weeks through weakness. When I review all
the way the Lord has led me through this wilderness I am constrained to
say, _Bless the Lord, O my soul, etc_,

    "Yours very affectionately,
      "SAMUEL MARSDEN."

The innocent games of children pleased him to the last. When such
meetings were more rare than they have now become, the children of the
Paramatta school once a year assembled on his lawn, and then his
happiness was almost equal to their own. In his own family, and amongst
the children of his friends, he would even take his share in their
youthful gambols, and join the merry party at blind man's buff. Though,
as he said of himself, he "never sang a song in his life, for he
learned to sing hymns when ten years old, and never sang anything else,"
yet he was charmed with the sweet and hearty voices of children joining
in some innocent little song, and it pleased him better still if it
finished off with a noisy chorus. Yet all this was consistent with his
character as a grave, wise old man. Though mirthful, he was never
frivolous; in a moment, if occasion called for it, he was ready to
discuss the most serious subjects, or to give his opinion upon matters
of importance; and he had the enviable talent of mingling even pious
conversation with the sports of children.

It was observed that though always unembarrassed in the presence of
strangers whatever their rank or importance might be, he never seemed
completely happy but in the company of persons of true piety. He does
not appear to have spoken very freely in ordinary society on the subject
of personal religion, still less on the subject of his own experience;
but his emotions were deep, and out of the fulness of the heart his lips
would speak, in the midst of such a circle, of the loving-kindness of
the Lord. The sense of his own unworthiness seems to have been always
present. Of all God's servants he might have been, as he verily thought
himself to be, the most unprofitable; and when any circumstance occurred
which led him to contrast the justice of God to others who were left to
die impenitent, with the mercy shown to himself, he spoke with a
humiliation deeply affecting. With scenes of vice and human depravity
few living men were more conversant than he, yet to the last such was
the delicacy of his conscience that the presence of vice shocked him as
much as if the sight were new. "Riding down to the barracks one
morning," says the lady whose narrative we have already quoted, "to
invite Captain B---- and myself that day to dinner to meet the bishop,
he had passed what, alas! used to be too frequent an object, a man lying
insensible and intoxicated in the road. His usually cheerful countenance
was saddened, and after telling us his errand, we could not but ask the
cause of his distress. He gave us the unhappy cause, and turning his
horse's head round to leave us, he uttered with deep emotion--

  'Why was I made to hear thy voice
  And enter while there's room?'

Throughout the day the subject dwelt upon his mind; after dinner the
conversation turned to it, and he was casually asked who was the author
of the hymn he had quoted in the morning. He shook his head and said, 'I
cannot tell, perhaps it was Watts, or Wesley,' and several hymn books
were produced in which the bishop and others instituted a fruitless
search, the bishop at length saying, 'I can't find the hymn, Mr.
Marsden.' 'Can't you, sir,' was the reply, 'that is a pity, for it is a
good hymn, sir--says what the Bible says, free sovereign grace for poor
sinners. No self-righteous man can get into heaven, sir, he would rather
starve than take the free gift.' In the course of the day the
conversation turning upon New Zealand, the bishop expressed the opinion,
once almost universal though now happily exploded, an opinion, too,
which Mr. Marsden himself had regarded with some favour in his younger
days, that civilization must precede the introduction of the gospel; and
his lordship argued, as Mr. Marsden himself had argued thirty years
before, in favour of expanding the mind of savages by the introduction
of arts and sciences, being impressed with the idea that it was
impossible to present the gospel with success to minds wholly
unenlightened. Mr. Marsden's answer is thus recorded--'Civilization is
not necessary before Christianity, sir; do both together if you will,
but you will find civilization follow Christianity, easier than
Christianity to follow civilization. Tell a poor heathen of his true God
and Saviour, point him to the works he can see with his own eyes, for
these heathen are no fools, sir--great mistake to send illiterate men to
them--they don't want men learned after the fashion of this world, but
men taught in the spirit and letter of the Scripture. I shan't live to
see it, sir, but I may hear of it in heaven, that New Zealand with all
its cannibalism and idolatry will yet set an example of Christianity to
some of the nations now before her in civilization.'"

It will not be out of place to offer a passing remark upon Mr. Marsden's
conduct to Dr. Broughton, the first bishop of Sydney. As an
Episcopalian, sincerely attached to the church of England, he had long
desired the introduction of the episcopate into the colonial church, of
which, as senior chaplain, he himself had been the acknowledged leader
for so many years. When the appointment was made it was a matter of just
surprise to his friends that he was passed over in silence, while an
English clergyman was placed over him to govern the clergy, amongst whom
he had so long presided, and whose entire respect and confidence he had
gained. There is no doubt that his integrity and fearless honesty had
rendered him somewhat unacceptable to men in power, and that to this his
exclusion is, in a great measure, to be ascribed. But this slight
brought out some of the finest features in his truly noble character. He
had never sought either honours, wealth, or preferment for himself. If
a disinterested man ever lived it was Samuel Marsden. The only remark
which his family remember to have heard him make upon the subject was in
answer to a friend, who had expressed surprise at the slight thus put
upon him, in these words--"It is better as it is; I am an old man; my
work is almost done." And when Dr. Broughton, the new bishop, arrived in
the colony, he was received by Mr. Marsden not with cold and formal
respect but with Christian cordiality. When the new bishop was installed
he assisted at the solemn service; the eloquent author of the "Prisoners
of Australia,"[K] who chanced to be present, thus describes the
scene--"On a more touching sight mine eyes had never looked than when
the aged man, tears streaming down his venerable cheek, poured forth,
amidst a crowded and yet silent assemblage, the benediction upon him
into whose hands he had thus, as it were, to use his own metaphor,
'yielded up the keys of a most precious charge;' a charge which had been
his own devoted care throughout the storms and the tempests of a long
and difficult pilotage. And now like another Simeon, his work well nigh
accomplished, the gospel spreading far and wide over the colony and its
dependencies, and the prayer of his adopted people answered, he could
say without another wish, 'Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in
peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.'" Though differing from
him, we may add, on some points, Mr. Marsden retained to the last
sincere regard for bishop Broughton, who in return fully appreciated the
high and lofty character of his senior chaplain. "Well!" said he one day
when he heard of his last illness, breaking out after a thoughtful
silence, "if there ever was a truly honest man, Mr. Marsden certainly
is one;" and after his death he publicly expressed his "deep sense of
the loss he had experienced, and the painful void he felt in the absence
of his aged and faithful companion who had so often stood by his side,
whose genuine piety and natural force of understanding," said he, "I
held in the highest esteem while he lived, and still retain them in
sincerely affectionate remembrance."

    [K] London: Hatchard, 1841.

Conscious that in the course of nature his decease could not be far
distant, death was now his frequent meditation. He viewed its approach
without levity and without alarm. Familiar through life with death in
every form, his feelings were not blunted; he still felt it was a solemn
thing to die, but he had experienced the love of Him who had tasted
death for every man, and was no longer "subject to bondage through fear
of death." He continued his pastoral visits to the sick and dying to the
last, and some of those who were raised from a bed of languishing, and
who survived their pastor, speak of the affectionate kindness, the
delicacy and tenderness, as well as the deep-toned spirituality of mind
he showed in the sick chamber, as something which those who had not
witnessed it would be backward to credit. One of the last letters which
he penned filled three sides of folio paper, addressed to a friend who
had met with a severe accident in being thrown from a carriage; it
contained the most consoling and Scriptural aids and admonitions; it was
unfortunately lost by its possessor on a voyage to India, or it would
have proved, we are assured, an acquisition to our memoir, of real
interest and importance.

As he stepped out of his gig, his family easily perceived from his
manner if he had been visiting the chamber of death, and never presumed
to break a sacred silence that was sure to follow his deep-drawn sigh
till he was pleased to do so himself. This he did in general by the
solemn and subdued utterance of a text from Scripture, or some verse of
a favourite hymn. The tears often fell down his aged cheeks while slowly
articulating, in a suppressed voice, "Blessed are the dead which die in
the Lord;" or from one of Watts's hymns.

  "Oh could we die with those that die," etc.

After this touching relief he seemed to feel more at liberty to speak on
future events connected with his own decease, when he should be sitting
down, as he frequently said, with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the
kingdom of God. Indeed his happy, social spirit led him to connect the
joys of heaven with the society of saints and patriarchs and his own
departed friends. Sitting at dinner with the bishop and others as his
guests, his mind abstracted itself from the surrounding scene, and he
addressed the Christian friend to whose notices of his last days we have
already had recourse: "You know, madam, you and I are to take an
alphabetical list some day of all the names of the good men I expect
soon to meet in heaven; there will be (counting them up upon his
fingers) John Wesley, Isaac Watts, the two Milners, Joseph and Isaac,
John Newton and Thomas Scott, Mr. Howels of Long Acre, and Matthew
Henry----" Here the conversation of the party broke off the solemn
reverie.

Yet all this tranquillity was consistent with that natural fear of death
which for the wisest purposes God has implanted in man, and which Adam
must have known in paradise, or else the Divine prohibition and the
threatened penalty, "in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die," could have had no force and appealed to no motive. "In the
month of September, after his last voyage, he called at the house of his
friend, the Rev. Mr. Cartwright, with a young lady from New Zealand, to
introduce her to Mrs. Cartwright. The door was opened by his aged and
now deeply afflicted friend and brother in the ministry, for Mrs.
Cartwright had expired in the night, after a few hours' illness. Mr.
Marsden, with his usual cheerfulness of manner, said, 'Well! I have
brought Miss W. to introduce her to Mrs. Cartwright.' 'Stop! stop, my
friend,' responded the mourner, in a solemn manner, 'don't you know that
Mrs. Cartwright is dead?' 'Dead? dead?' replied Mr. Marsden. 'Oh no; oh
no. You must be in joke; it is too serious a matter to make a joke of,
Mr. Cartwright.' 'Indeed,' responded Mr. Cartwright, 'it is too true.
Come, and I will convince you,' and then led him to the room where the
remains of his departed wife lay. Mr. Marsden approached the body,
saying, 'Oh! she is not dead; no, no, she is not dead;' (the bright
complexion remaining unchanged), 'she is not dead;' and then, passing
his hand over the face, the cold chill of death dissipated the delusion.
'Yes, she is dead, she is dead,' and leaving the room, he hurried away
to give vent to his feelings."

As he contemplated his own near approach to the eternal state, a few
chosen passages of Scripture fell often from his lips; and it was
remarked they were almost the only repetitions he made use of; for his
mind was richly stored with Scripture, which he seemed to bring forth
with endless variety, and often in the happiest combination; but now he
often repeated the words of Job, "He cometh forth like a flower, and is
cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not," chap. xiv. 2.
And those of Zechariah, "Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets,
do they live for ever?" chap. i. 5.

Like Cornelius, he had been a devout man, a man of prayer through life.
He believed in the promises of effectual aid from God the Holy Spirit,
to carry on the work of grace in his own soul. Nerved with this faith,
he waged a ceaseless war against corruptions within, and temptations
from without. And while he viewed the promises of assistance from the
Holy Spirit, as given not to supersede our own exertions, but to animate
them, he simply trusted to Him to become the author of his complete
sanctification. And all the blessed fruits of faith were found richly
clustering round his character. It was his constant habit, after his
return from a journey, to spend some time in his room alone, engaged, no
doubt, in holy communing with God. When he prayed in the family, or
before his sermon in the pulpit, where he seldom used a form, the rich
and fervid unction, the variety and copiousness of his supplications and
thanksgivings, seemed to intimate how closely he had been wont to
commune in secret with his heavenly Father. The fifty-first Psalm now
often supplied the words for many a humble confession of sin, and many
an earnest aspiration for larger supplies of the Holy Spirit's
sanctifying influences, both in the pulpit and elsewhere. He appears
always to have held frequent communion with God in ejaculatory prayer
throughout the day. To one whose engagements were so many, and whose
interruptions were necessarily so frequent, the practice was no doubt
most beneficial. Thus the lamp of God in his soul was always trimmed,
and the light went not out as age and infirmities drew on. His friends
now remarked his frequent abstraction from the scenes around, while his
moving lip and solemn gesture significantly intimated the direction of
his mind, and the occupation of his thoughts. His mind became daily more
spiritual, and even when in the midst of visitors he seemed often to be
absorbed in silent prayer.

"An incident which seems to show that he had a presentiment of his
approaching end occurred on the last Sunday on which the holy communion
was administered before his death. Although in his usual health, he did
not assist in the service, as he always had done for a long period of
forty-five years in the same congregation; and when the officiating
minister was ready to distribute the bread and wine, he remained in his
pew, apparently overcome by his feelings. A pause ensued, when, as he
still did not attempt to move, the Rev. Henry Bobart, his son-in-law,
thought it advisable to take the elements to him. Many of his
congregation were affected to tears, impressed with the belief that they
might not again receive from his venerable hands those emblems of the
Saviour's love. He had never yet been present at the church without
assisting at the solemn rite. Such fears were but too truly and sadly
realized. On the Sunday evening, at the parsonage, it was the custom, at
family worship, to read one of a course of sermons. The Sunday before
his death, when he was still apparently as well as usual, he requested
that the one in course for that evening might be laid aside and
Bradley's sermon the 'Morrow unknown,' from the text 'Boast not thyself
of to-morrow,' substituted. Some slight objection was made; but on his
again expressing his wish, it was of course complied with. The remarks
made by him upon the subject during the evening excited the
apprehensions of his family that the coming week might be one of trial,
but they little thought that ere the next sabbath one so loved and
revered would be removed from them."

On Tuesday the 8th of May, 1838, a few of his friends visited him at his
own house; he wore his usual cheerfulness, and they wished him, as they
thought, a short farewell as he stepped into his gig on a journey of
about five and-twenty-miles. In passing through the low lands contiguous
to Windsor, the cold suddenly affected him, and he complained of illness
on his arrival at the house of his friend, the Rev. Mr. Styles, the
chaplain of the parish. Erysipelas in the head broke out, and a general
stupor followed, so that he became insensible. His mind wandered amongst
the scenes to which his life had been devoted, and he uttered a few
incoherent expressions about the factory, the orphan school, and the New
Zealand mission. "Though he spoke but little," says his friend, Mr.
Styles, in his funeral sermon, "yet in his few conscious moments he said
quite enough to show that the Saviour whom he served through life was
with him in the time of trial. A single remark was made to him by a
bystander on the value of a good hope in Christ in the hour of need.
'Yes,' said he, 'that hope is indeed precious to me now;' and on the
following evening, his last on earth, he was heard repeating the words
'precious, precious,' as if still in the same strain of thought which
that remark had suggested. Soon after, inflammation having reached the
brain, his spirit was released. On Saturday morning, the 12th of May, he
entered--who can doubt?--upon the enjoyment of his 'eternal and
exceeding great reward.'"

       *       *       *       *       *

He was buried in his own churchyard at Paramatta. Upwards of sixty
carriages formed the mourning train, and a numerous assemblage of
mourners, including most of the public functionaries in the colony,
followed him to the grave. Of these, some who had in years long past
thwarted and opposed him came at last to offer an unfeigned tribute of
deep respect. A few had been his early associates in the ministry, and
in every good word and work. The majority were a youthful generation, to
whom he was only known as a wise and venerable minister of God. His
parishioners had been most of them brought up under his instructions,
and had been taught from their infancy to look up to him with respect
and love. The solemn burial service was read by the Rev. Dr. Cowper, who
first came out to the colony at Mr. Marsden's solicitation. He stood
over the grave and addressed the mourners on the early devotedness of
their departed friend and pastor to the great work of the ministry, told
them how solemnly he had dedicated himself to God before he left England
in his youth, and reminded them of the fidelity with which through evil
and good report he had endured his Master's cross, despising the shame.

Australia seemed at length fully to appreciate his worth. It was quite
fitting, and indeed an additional tribute to his integrity, that some
mutterings of calumny should be uttered by ungodly men, even as the
grave closed over him, and that a priest of the apostate church of Rome
should catch them up, and gladly give expression to them. With this
exception the colony was unanimous, as were the friends of religion in
England, and throughout the world, in mourning for him as for one who
had been great as an evangelist in the church of Christ, and as a
philanthropist second to none who have ever devoted their lives to the
welfare of their fellow creatures. It was proposed to erect a monument
to his memory by public subscription; the proposition was warmly
approved on all sides, and subscriptions were offered to a considerable
amount. Whole families became subscribers--parents, and children, and
domestic servants, all ready thus to testify their reverence. On further
consideration, it was thought better to erect a church to his memory on
a piece of his own land, which he himself had devised for that purpose,
to which the name of Marsfield should be given; and the design, we
believe, has been carried into effect, at the cost of about six thousand
pounds.

The public press, not only in Australia but in England, published
biographical sketches of his life and labours, with articles on his
motives and character. The great missionary societies recorded his death
with becoming feelings of reverential love. The notice of him in the
minutes of the Church Missionary Society, the reader will not be
displeased to find in these pages. It was read at their annual meeting
at Exeter-hall, and published in their thirtieth report.

    "The Committee of the Church Missionary Society record the death
    of the late Rev. Samuel Marsden with feelings of deep respect for
    his personal character and gratitude to the Great Head of the
    church, who raised up, and who so long preserved, this
    distinguished man, for the good of his own, and of future
    generations.

    "In him the Committee recognise an individual whom Providence had
    endowed with a vigorous constitution, both of body and mind,
    suited to meet the circumstances which ever attend a course of new
    and arduous labours. Entering upon the duties of his chaplaincy
    forty-five years ago, at a time when the colonists of New South
    Wales were, for the most part, of abandoned character and
    suffering the penalty of the law, he, with admirable foresight,
    anticipated the probable future destinies of that singular and
    important colony, and never ceased to call the attention of both
    the local and home governments to the great duty of providing for
    the interests, both temporal and spiritual, of the rapidly
    increasing population by a proportionate increase in the number of
    colonial chaplains.

    "In the discharge of his diversified duties, the native energies
    of his mind were conspicuously exhibited in the undisturbed
    ardour, public spirit, and steady perseverance, with which his
    various plans of usefulness were prosecuted; while his high
    natural gifts were sanctified by those Christian principles, which
    from his youth up, he maintained and adorned, both by his teaching
    and by his life.

    "But it is to his exertions in behalf of Christian missions that
    the Committee are bound especially to call the attention of the
    Society. While he omitted no duty of his proper ministerial
    calling, his comprehensive mind quickly embraced the vast
    spiritual interests, till then well nigh entirely unheeded, of the
    innumerable islands of the Pacific Ocean, whose 'inhabitants were
    sitting in darkness, and in the shadow of death.'

    "Under the influence of these considerations, Mr. Marsden
    zealously promoted the labours of the different societies which
    have established missions in the South Seas. And it is to his
    visits to New Zealand, begun twenty-five years ago, and often
    since repeated, and to his earnest appeals on behalf of that
    people, that the commencement and consolidation of the Society's
    missions in the Northern Island are to be attributed.

    "In calling to mind the long series of eminent services rendered
    to the Society by Mr. Marsden, the committee notice with peculiar
    satisfaction the last visit made by him, in the year 1836, to the
    Society's missions in New Zealand--a visit justly termed by the
    Lord Bishop of Australia 'Apostolical.' With paternal authority
    and affection, and with the solemnity of one who felt himself to
    be standing on the verge of eternity, he then gave his parting
    benediction to the missionaries and the native converts."

And thus was the man honoured in his death, whose life had been one long
conflict with obloquy and slander. With few exceptions his enemies had
died away, or been gradually led to abandon their prejudices, and many
of them now loved and revered the man whom they had once hated or
despised. This, however, is but the usual recompense of a life of
consistent holiness. God often allows his servants to live and even to
die under a cloud of prejudice; but sooner or later, even the world does
homage to their virtues and confesses its admiration of the Christian
character, while the church of Christ glorifies God in the grace which
made their departed brother to shine as a light in the world.




CHAPTER XIV.

    Character of Mr. Marsden--His Life and Labours.


The reader may naturally expect in conclusion a summary of Mr. Marsden's
character. In attempting this, we are by no means insensible to the
difficulty of the undertaking. Indiscriminate eulogy, and the arrogance
which affects to blame in order to establish its own claim to superior
wisdom, are both alike impertinent and unbecoming. Yet it is not easy to
speak of one whose motives were so high, whose labours so constant and
self-denying, and whose triumphs so remarkable, without enthusiasm.
While, on the other hand, those infirmities which may generally be
detected even in the best men, and which truth requires to be
impartially noted down, did not much affect his public life; and we have
felt all along as we have written with the disadvantage of having known
him only by the report of others. Still, however, something should be
attempted. The character of Mr. Marsden is too instructive to be lost;
perhaps few great men ever lived whose example was more calculated for
general usefulness,--for the simple reason that he displayed no gigantic
powers, no splendid genius; he had only a solid, well ordered, mind,
with which to work,--no other endowments than those which thousands of
his fellow men possess. It was in the _use of his materials_ that his
greatness lay.

Mr. Marsden was a man of a masculine understanding, of great decision of
character, and an energy which nothing could subdue. He naturally
possessed such directness and honesty of purpose, that his intentions
could never be mistaken; and he seemed incapable of attempting to gain
his purpose by those dexterous shifts and manoeuvres which often pass
current, even amongst professing Christians, as the proper, if not
laudable, resources of a good diplomatist, or a thorough man of
business. When he had an object in view, it was always worthy of his
strenuous pursuit, and nothing stopped him in his efforts to obtain it,
except the impossibility of proceeding further. Had his mind been less
capacious such firmness would often have degenerated into mere
obstinacy; had it been less benevolent and less under the influence of
religion, it would have led him, as he pressed rudely onwards, to
trample upon the feelings, perhaps upon the rights, of other men. But he
seems, whenever he was not boldly confronting vice, to have been of the
gentlest nature. In opposing sin, especially when it showed itself with
effrontery in the persons of magistrates and men in power, he gave no
quarter and asked for none. There was a quaintness and originality about
him, which enabled him to say and do things which were impossible to
other men. There was a firmness and inflexibility, combined with earnest
zeal, which in the days of the reformers would have placed him in their
foremost rank. None could be long in his society without observing that
he was a man of another mould than those around him. There was an air of
unconscious independence in all he did which, mixed with his other
qualities, clearly showed to those who could read his character, that he
was a peculiar instrument in the hands of God to carry out his own
purposes. These traits are illustrated by many remarkable events in his
life.

When he first arrived in New South Wales, while theft, blasphemy, and
every other crime, prevailed to an alarming extent among the convicts,
the higher classes of society, the civil and military officers, set a
disgraceful example of social immorality. Such is the account given by a
Sydney periodical a few weeks after Mr. Marsden's decease, which goes on
to say: "Many an individual of a more plastic nature might have been
moulded by the prevailing fashion of the age in which he lived, and
instead of endeavouring to struggle against the tide of popular opinion,
would have yielded in all probability to its seducing influence. Such
was not the case with Mr. Marsden. When he was opposed on all hands, and
even by the civil and military authorities of the day, he faithfully
performed his duty, and careless of the powerful coalitions combined for
his destruction, 'all the ends he aimed at were his country's, his
God's, and truth's.' Educated in the school of the Milners, the Simeons,
and the Fletchers, he was not disposed to flatter the vices of any man;
but with plainness and sincerity of speech, he discoursed 'of
righteousness, temperance and judgment to come.'" He has been known to
rebuke sin at a dinner-table in such a manner as to electrify the whole
company. Once, arriving late, he sat down in haste, and did not for a
few minutes perceive the presence of one who should have been the wife
of the host, but who stood in a very different relation to him. Mr.
Marsden always turned a deaf ear to scandal, and in the excess of his
charity was sometimes blind to facts which were evident enough to
others. The truth now flashed upon him, and though such things were
little thought of in the colony, he rose instantly from the table,
calling to the servant in a decided tone to bring his hat, and without
further ceremony, or another word, retired. That such a man should raise
up a host of bitter enemies is not to be wondered at.

To these qualities his great successes in life, under God, were due. The
young chaplain who single handed confronted and at length bore down the
profligacy of New South Wales, and the shameless partiality of its
courts of justice (the immediate result and consequence of the
licentious lives and connexions of the magistrates) planned, and was
himself the first to adventure upon the mission to New Zealand. Against
the rashness of this attempt the timid expostulations of his friends,
the hesitation of the captains who declined so perilous an adventure,
and even the remonstrances of Governor Macquarie himself weighed not a
feather in the scale. He saw his way clearly; it was the path of duty,
and along it he must go. And when, ten years afterwards, scarcely a
nominal convert had been won from among the cannibals, when tens of
thousands of good money had been spent, when the church at home was
almost weary of the project, and half disposed to give it up, he was
still true as ever to the cause. He neither bolstered up his courage
with noisy protestations, nor attempted to cheer the languid zeal of
others by the slightest exaggerations, but quietly went forward calmly
resting upon the two great pillars, the _commands_ and the _promises_ of
God. So again with respect to the Polynesian missions; at first he
showed little of that enthusiasm in which some of its promoters were
caught as in a whirlwind, and carried off their feet. But high principle
endures when enthusiasm has long worn out. And it was to the firm and
yet cheering remonstrances of Samuel Marsden, and to the weight which
his representations had with the churches of Christ in England, that
the directors were indebted for the ability to maintain their ground,
and that this perhaps the most successful of Protestant missions, was
not finally abandoned upon the very eve of its triumphs.

While he embraced large and comprehensive projects, it was one of his
striking peculiarities that he paid close attention to minute details.
Some minds beginning with the vast and theoretical, work backwards into
the necessary details; others setting out upon that which is minute and
practical, from the necessities of the hour and the duties of the day
before them seem to enlarge their circle and to build up new projects as
they proceed. The former may be men of greater genius, but the latter
are in general the more successful, and to these Mr. Marsden belonged.
The cast of his mind was eminently practical. No crude visions of
distant triumphs led him away from the duties which belonged to the
scene and circumstances in which providence had placed him. Paramatta
was for many years the model parish of New South Wales, although its
pastor was the soul of the New Zealand mission, and of many a
philanthropic enterprise besides. Commissioner Biggs, in his "Report of
Inquiry," which was published by order of the House of Commons, observes
that "Mr. Marsden, though much occupied by the business of the missions
which he conducted, and by the superintendence of the orphan school
which he had himself called into existence, was remarkably attentive to
the duties of his ministry." "The congregation at Paramatta appeared to
me to be more respectable than at the other places of worship, and the
choral parts of the service were admirably performed by the singers, who
have been taught under the direction of the Rev. S. Marsden." He was
well known to all his parishioners, to whom he paid constant ministerial
visits; his attention to the sick, whether at their own homes or the
government hospital, was unremitting, and here his natural shrewdness,
sharpened as it was by his spiritual penetration, showed itself in his
insight into the true character of those he dealt with. Nothing
disgusted him more than a want of reality. High professions from
inconsistent lips were loathsome to him, and his rebukes were sometimes
sharp. A gentleman, whose habits of life were not altogether consistent
with Christian simplicity and deadness to the world, had been reading
"Mammon," when that volume had just made its appearance, and with that
partial eye with which we are too apt to view our own failings, had come
to the flattering conclusion that by contrast with the monster depicted
in "Mammon," the desires he felt to add field to field and house to
house, were not covetousness, but that diligence in business which the
Scriptures inculcate. In the happy excitement of the discovery, he
exultingly exclaimed, "Well, thank God, I have no covetousness." Mr.
Marsden, who had read no more about covetousness than he found in the
Bible, had sat silent; rising from his chair, and taking his hat, he
merely said, "Well, I think it is time for me to go: and so, sir, you
thank God that you are not as other men are. You have no covetousness?
havn't you? Why, sir, I suppose the next thing you'll tell us is that
you've no pride;" and left the room.

But when he spoke to a modest inquirer, these roughnesses, which lay
only on the surface, disappeared. To the sick, his manner was gentle and
affectionate, and in his later years, when he began, from failing
memory and dimness of sight, to feel himself unequal to the pulpit, he
spent much of his time in going from house to house and amongst the
prison population, exhorting and expounding the Scriptures. Upon one of
these occasions, a friend who accompanied him relates that he made a
short journey to visit a dying young lady, whose parents on some account
were strangely averse to his intrusion, pastoral though it was. But the
kindness with which he addressed the sufferer, whom he found under deep
spiritual anxieties, and the soothing manner in which he spoke and
prayed with her, instantly changed the whole bias of their minds. "To
think," they exclaimed when he left the house, "of the aged man, with
his silver locks, coming such a distance as seventeen miles, and
speaking so affectionately to our feeble child!"

"At Paramatta, his Sunday-school," his daughter writes, "was in a more
efficient state than any I have since seen;" and the same remark might
probably be applied to his other parochial institutions, for whatever he
did was done with all his heart; and he was one of those who easily find
coadjutors. Their example seems to shed an immediate influence. And his
curates and the pious members of his flock were scarcely less zealous
and energetic than himself.

He found time to promote missionary meetings, and to encourage the
formation of tract and Bible societies, as well as other benevolent
institutions, at Sydney and other places. On many occasions he delivered
interesting speeches, and not long before his death he presided at a
Bible Society meeting at Paramatta, when, in the course of an
affectionate address, he alluded to his beloved New Zealand. New Zealand
was near his heart, and he now seldom spoke of it without being
sensibly affected. Relating an anecdote respecting Mowhee, a converted
New Zealander, he was completely overcome, and burst into tears.

His manner of preaching was simple, forcible, and persuasive, rather
than powerful or eloquent. In his later years, when he was no longer
able to read his sermons, he preached extempore. His memory, until the
last year or two of his life, was remarkably tenacious: he used to
repeat the whole of the burial service _memoriter_, and in the pulpit,
whole chapters or a great variety of texts from all parts of Scripture,
as they were required to prove or illustrate his subject. He was seldom
controversial, nor did he attempt a critical exposition of the word of
God. His ministry was pure and evangelical. "You can well remember him,
my hearers," says the preacher, in his funeral sermon, "as having
faithfully preached to you the word of God; clearly did he lay before
you the whole counsel of God. Man was represented by him as in a
condemned and helpless state, lying in all the pollution and filthiness
of his sin, totally unable to justify himself wholly or in part, by any
works of righteousness which he can do; God, as too pure to look upon
iniquity without abhorrence, and yet too merciful to leave sinners to
their sad estate without providing a refuge for them; Christ, as All in
all to the sinner; as wisdom to enlighten him, as righteousness to
justify him, sanctification to make him holy in heart and life, as
complete redemption from the bondage of sin and death into the glorious
inheritance of heaven; the Holy Spirit of God as the only author of
aught that is good in the renewed soul; faith as the only means of
applying the salvation of the gospel to the case of the individual
sinner; justification by faith; the necessity of regeneration; holiness
indispensable. All these were represented by your departed minister as
the vital doctrines of the gospel, and the mutual bearing and connexion
of each was clearly shown. And this he has been doing for nearly
forty-five years."

Dwelling on the outskirts of civilization and of the Christian world, he
was too deeply impressed with the grand line of distinction between
Christianity and hideous ungodliness, whether exhibited in the vices of
a penal settlement or the cannibalism of New Zealand, to be likely to
attach too much importance to those minor shades of difference which are
to be met with in the great family of Jesus Christ. As his heart was
large, so too was his spirit catholic. He was sincerely and
affectionately attached to the church of England. He revered her
liturgy, and in her articles and homilies he found his creed, and he
laboured much to promote her extension. Yet his heart was filled with
love to all those who name the name of Christ in sincerity. Wherever he
met with the evidences of real piety and soundness of doctrine, his
house and his purse flew open; and orthodox Christians of every
denomination from time to time either shared his hospitalities or were
assisted in their benevolent projects with pecuniary aid. With what
delicacy this was done may be gathered from such statements as the
following, which is copied from the "Colonist" newspaper, September
12th, 1838: "An attempt having been made to build a Scotch church in
Sydney, the colonial government for a time opposed the scheme, and in
consequence some of its friends fell away. Then it was that the late
Samuel Marsden, unsolicited, very generously offered the loan of 750_l._
to the trustees of the Scotch church, on the security of the building
and for its completion. This loan was accordingly made; but as it was
found impracticable to give an available security on the building, Mr.
Marsden agreed to take the personal guarantee of the minister for the
debt."

In the same spirit he presented the Wesleyan Methodists with a valuable
piece of land on which to erect a chapel, at Windsor. This act of
Christian charity was acknowledged by their missionaries in a grateful
letter. Mr. Marsden's reply is full of warmth and feeling. "You express
your acknowledgment for the ground at Windsor to build your chapel and
house upon. I can only say I feel much pleasure in having it in my power
to meet your wishes in this respect. To give you the right hand of
fellowship is no more than my indispensable duty; and were I to throw
the smallest difficulty in your way I should be highly criminal and
unworthy the Christian name, more especially considering the present
circumstances of these extensive settlements, 'where the harvest is so
great and the labourers are so few.' ... The importation of convicts
from Europe is very great every year; hundreds have just landed on our
shores from various parts of the British empire, hundreds are now in the
harbour ready to be disembarked, and hundreds more on the bosom of the
great deep are hourly expected. These exiles come to us laden with the
chains of their sins, and reduced to the lowest state of human
wretchedness and depravity. We must not expect that magistrates and
politicians can find a remedy for the dreadful moral diseases with which
the convicts are infected. The plague of sin, when it has been permitted
to operate on the human mind with all its violence and poison, can never
be cured, and seldom restrained by the wisest human laws and
regulations. Heaven itself has provided the only remedy for sin--the
blessed balm in Gilead; to apply any other remedy is lost labour. In
recommending this at all times and in all places, we shall prevail upon
some to try its effect; and whoever do this we know they will be healed
in the selfsame hour. I pray that the Divine blessing may attend all
your labours for the good of immortal souls in these settlements."

His private charities displayed the same catholic spirit. His
disinterestedness was great, and his only desire seemed to be to assist
the deserving or to retrieve the lost. He was not foolishly indifferent
to the value of money, as those who had business transactions with him
were well aware; but its chief value in his eyes consisted in the
opportunities it gave him to promote the happiness of others. Hundreds
of instances of his extraordinary liberality might be mentioned, and it
is probable that many more are quite unknown. The following anecdotes,
furnished by his personal friends, will show that his bounty was dealt
out with no sparing hand.

A gentleman, at whose house he was a visitor, happened to express a wish
that he had three hundred pounds to pay off a debt. The next morning Mr.
Marsden came down and presented him with the money, taking no
acknowledgment. The circumstance would have remained unknown had not the
obliged person, after Mr. Marsden's decease, honourably sent an
acknowledgment to his executors. All he assisted were not equally
grateful. Travelling with a friend in his carriage, a vehicle passed by.
"Paddy," said he, calling to his servant, "who is that?" On being told,
"Oh," said he, "he borrowed from me two hundred pounds, and he never
paid me." This was his only remark.

Yet he was not tenacious for repayment, nor indeed exact in requiring it
at all where he thought the persons needy and deserving. The same friend
was with him when a man called to pay up the interest on a considerable
sum which Mr. Marsden had lent to him. He took a cheque for the amount,
but when the person retired, tore it up and threw it into the fire,
remarking, "He is an honest man. I am satisfied if he returns me the
principal; that is all I want."

On another occasion, a friend who had been requested to make an advance
of fifty pounds to a needy person, but was unable to do so, mentioned
the case to Mr. Marsden, with, "Sir, can you lend me fifty pounds?" "To
be sure I can," was the answer, and the money was instantly produced.
When he called, shortly afterwards, to repay the loan, Mr. Marsden had
forgotten all about it. "Indeed I never looked to its being repaid."

The Rev----, being pressed for a hundred pounds, walking with Mr.
Marsden, mentioned his difficulties. Mr. Marsden at once gave him a
hundred pounds, simply remarking, "I dare say that will do for you."

A lady had come to the colony at the solicitation of her family, with
the view of establishing a school of a superior class for the daughters
of the colonists. At first she met with little success. Mr. Marsden saw
the importance of her scheme, and at once invited her to Paramatta,
offering her a suitable house and all the pecuniary aid she might
require, and this under the feeling of a recent disappointment in an
undertaking of the same nature.

Of the large sums he expended on the New Zealand mission from his own
private resources it is impossible even to conjecture the amount, to say
nothing of a life in a great measure devoted to the service. He one day
called upon a young man of enterprise and piety, whom he was anxious to
induce to settle in New Zealand, and offered him fifty pounds per annum
out of his own purse, as well as to raise a further sum for him from
other sources. Nor should it be forgotten, in proof of this
disinterestedness, that with all his opportunities and influence in New
Zealand, he never possessed a single acre of land there, or sought the
slightest advantage either for himself or for any member of his family.

Another feature in his character was his unaffected humility. This was
not in him the nervous weakness which disqualifies some men for vigorous
action, rendering them either unconscious of their power, or incapable
of maintaining and asserting their position, and consequently of
discharging its obligations. This, though often called humility, is, in
fact, disease, and ought to be resisted rather than indulged. Mr.
Marsden's mind was vigorous and healthy; he took a just measure of his
powers and opportunities, as the use he put them to proves abundantly.
There was nothing in him of the shyness which disqualifies for public
life; he was bold without effrontery, courageous without rashness, firm
without obstinacy; but withal he was a humble man. His private
correspondence will have shown the reader how anxious he was to submit
his own judgment, even on questions affecting his personal character, to
what he considered the better judgment of his friends at home. To vanity
or ostentation he seems to have been a perfect stranger. There is not a
passage in his correspondence, nor can we learn that a word ever fell
from his lips, which would lead us to suppose that he ever thought
himself in any way an extraordinary man. Flattery disgusted him, and
even moderate praise was offensive to his feelings. When the life of his
friend, Dr. Mason Good, appeared from the pen of Dr. Olinthus Gregory,
it contained an appendix, giving an account of his own labours and
triumphs at Paramatta and in New Zealand. This he cut out of the volume
with his penknife, without any remark, before he permitted it to lie
upon his table or to be read by his family. He was so far from thinking
he had accomplished much, either in the colony or amongst the heathen,
that he was rather disposed, in his later days, to lament that his life
had been almost useless; and indeed he was heard more than once to
express a doubt whether he had not mistaken his calling, and been no
better than an intruder into the sacred ministry. Perhaps failing health
and spirits were in part the cause of these misgivings, but his
unfeigned humility had a deeper root. It originated in that evangelical
piety upon which all his usefulness was built. He saw the holiness of
God, he saw his Divine perfection reflected in his law, and though he
had a clear, abiding sense of his adoption through the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, this did not interfere with a clear conception too of his
own unworthiness. When told one day, by a justly indignant friend, how
basely he was misrepresented, "Sir," he exclaimed, and the solemnity of
his manner showed the depth of his meaning, "these men don't know the
worst. Why, sir, if I were to walk down the streets of Paramatta with my
heart laid bare, the very boys would pelt me."

Such was Samuel Marsden, a man whose memory is to be revered and his
example imitated. "Not merely a good man," says the preacher of his
funeral sermon, "who filled up the place allotted to him on earth, and
then sank into his grave; not merely a faithful minister of Christ, who
loved and served his Saviour and turned many to repentance, but more
than either of these. Rightly to estimate his character we must view him
as a peculiar man, raised up for an especial purpose." And he adds--

    "As Luther in Germany, and John Knox in Scotland, and Cranmer in
    England, were sent by the Head of the church, and fitted with
    peculiar qualifications to make known his glorious gospel, hidden
    in Romish darkness, so too, no less truly, was SAMUEL MARSDEN
    raised up in this southern hemisphere, and admirably fitted for
    the work, and made the instrument of diffusing the light of that
    same gospel, and of bringing it to bear on the darkness of New
    Zealand and the Isles of the Sea, and upon the darkness, too, no
    less real, of the depravity of society in early Australia."




APPENDIX I.

    Progress of the Gospel and of Civilization in New Zealand, since
    Mr. Marsden's Decease.


The great work of Mr. Marsden's life was undoubtedly the New Zealand
mission; but he was also, as we have seen, the early friend, the wise
adviser, and not unfrequently the generous host of that devoted band of
men who first essayed the introduction of the gospel to the Society
Islands. Each of these missions has been attended with astonishing
success; each has produced what may be called magnificent
results,--results which already far exceed, in some respects, the most
sanguine hopes, extravagant as at the time they seemed to be, of Mr.
Marsden and his early coadjutors some fifty years ago. Yet in other
respects their disappointment would have been great had they lived to
witness the present state of things, whether in New Zealand or Tahiti.
Instead of native tribes growing up into Christian brotherhood, and
asserting a national independence, these beautiful islands have bowed to
a foreign yoke. Instead of native churches they have rather assumed the
form of offshoots and dependencies of British churches. A great work has
been accomplished, and its fruits will never cease to ripen. But events
have occurred which only prophets could have foreseen; changes have
taken place which neither political sagacity nor the saintly wisdom of
those good men who first projected our foreign missions amidst storms of
insult, or, what was worse to bear, the withering influences of a
contemptuous neglect, anticipated. It is often so in this world's
history. Our successes, our trials, the events which happen to us, our
national history, and that of the church of Christ, scoop out for
themselves fresh channels, and flow still onwards, but in the direction
perhaps least of all expected.

Our readers are, we trust, so far interested in the details already
given as to desire some further acquaintance with the later history of
these great missions since Mr. Marsden's death. This we propose to give,
briefly of course, for the subject would fill a volume; and such a
volume, whenever it shall be written well and wisely, will be received
with delight by every intelligent member of the whole catholic church of
Christ.

We shall direct our attention in the first place to NEW ZEALAND.

Attempts to colonize upon a large scale, attended with constant
aggressions upon the native tribes, had occurred before Mr. Marsden's
death, and awakened his anxiety. A New Zealand Company was formed in
1839, with the avowed object of purchasing land from the Maories, and
settling large tracts of the island with English emigrants. It made no
provision for the spiritual welfare of the natives, nor indeed for that
of the European settlers; and it was evident that, however
well-intentioned, the project in the hands of a mercantile company would
be effected, as such schemes always have been effected, only at the cost
of injustice and oppression to the natives. Meanwhile danger was
threatening from another quarter. Louis Philippe now sat upon the throne
of France. Though not ambitious of military conquest, he was cunning
and unprincipled, and anxious to extend the power of France by force or
fraud. Her colonial possessions she had lost during her long war with
England, and now scarcely one of them remained. He saw and coveted the
islands of the Southern Ocean, and resolved to repair his colonial
empire by the addition of these splendid and inviting prizes. It was
said, and we believe with truth, that a frigate was already equipped and
on the very point of sailing for New Zealand with secret orders to annex
that island to the crown of France, when the English government, tardily
and with sincere reluctance, resolved to anticipate the project and
claim New Zealand for the queen of England. This was done, and the
island was formally annexed to the English crown, and in January, 1842,
became an English colony.

For once the story of colonial annexation is neither darkened with crime
nor saddened with war and bloodshed. The measure was essential both to
the security of the natives and to the work of the Protestant missions.
Lawlessness and anarchy were universal: the Maori tribes were
slaughtering one another; the white man was slaughtering the Maori
tribes. For the native laws were obsolete, and the laws of England no
man yet had the power to enforce.

There was, too, on the part of England, and it was strongly expressed in
the British parliament, a determination to secure, as far as possible,
not only the safety but the independence of the natives under their old
chiefs, and to leave them in possession of their ancient usages and
forms of government. In fact, the authority of queen Victoria was to be
that of a mild protectorate rather than an absolute sovereignty. The
chiefs were to acknowledge the supremacy of the crown as represented in
the governor. To him, and not as heretofore to the field of battle, with
its horrors and cannibalism, were their disputes to be referred; and in
all doubtful questions English law, its maxims and analogies, were to be
held supreme. Upon these easy terms the most fastidious will find little
to blame in our annexation of New Zealand. The Maories did not exceed,
it was computed, one hundred thousand souls. Suppose they had been twice
that number, still they could scarcely be said to _occupy_ the whole of
an island of the size of Ireland, and quite as fruitful. There was still
room for a vast influx of Europeans, leaving to the natives wide tracts
of land far beyond their wants, either for tillage or the chase, or for
a nomad wandering life, had this been the habit of the Maories. And when
the threatened seizure by France is thrown into the scale, few
Protestants, of whatever nation they may be, will hesitate to admit that
the conduct of England in this instance was both wise and just.

The Maories in general accepted this new state of things with
satisfaction. Those of them who resided on the coast and in the
neighbourhood of the Bay of Islands saw that the aggression of the
colonists was restrained, and that their own safety was secured. Further
in the interior, where the want of an English protectorate was less
felt, heart-burnings occurred, fomented, as usual, by designing men, and
aggravated by the occasional outrage of individuals. Some of the tribes
resisted, and a war broke out, though happily neither bloody nor of long
duration, in which the Maories maintained the reputation of their native
valour, even against English regiments. Nor was it till the year 1849
that the peace of the island and the supremacy of the English crown
were perfectly restored and asserted.

For a time the progress of the gospel was triumphant. For example,
archdeacon William Williams could report that the number of communicants
in the eastern district, beneath his care, had risen from twenty-nine in
1840, to two thousand eight hundred and ninety-three in 1850; and these
were "members of the congregation who were supposed to walk in the
narrow way. Here then," he exclaims, "is abundant encouragement; the
little one is become a thousand. In the course of ten years, there has
been time for the novelty of Christianity to wear away; but, while some
are gone back again to the beggarly elements of the world, hitherto the
Lord has blessed his vineyards with increase." In other districts the
progress of the gospel was equally gratifying. At Tauranga, out of a
population not exceeding two thousand four hundred, upwards of eight
hundred partook of the Lord's supper; and yet there were many native
Christians who, from various causes, had been kept away from this
ordinance. Other denominations of Protestant Christians had likewise
their trophies to exhibit to the "praise of his grace," who had crowned
their labours with success. "The facilities," reports one missionary,
upon the eastern coast, "the facilities for usefulness are great; the
coast might become one of the most interesting missionary gardens in the
world. Crowds can be got together at any time for catechizing; the dear
children are all anxious for schooling; the native teachers and monitors
put themselves quite under your hands; and they are, I think, a very
improving and improvable class."

Similar reports reached home from almost every station in New Zealand.
At the intervention of a missionary of the church of England, a Wesleyan
missionary, and an English lay gentleman, (the surveyor-general,) the
Waikato and Wangaroa tribes, bent on mutual slaughter, laid down their
arms at the instant the battle should have joined. They had had their
war-dance; some random shots had even been fired; their mediators had
begun to despair; when at length, towards evening, they agreed to leave
the subject in dispute between them (the right to a piece of land), to
Sir George Grey, the governor, and Te Werowero, a native chieftain, for
arbitration. The question was put to the whole army, "Do you agree to
this?" Four hundred armed natives answered with one voice, assenting.
The question was put a second time, and they again gave their consent.
"The surveyor-general giving the signal, we all," says the missionary,
"gave three hearty cheers; after which the natives assembled for
evening-prayers, and," he adds, "I trust I felt thankful." The accounts
that reached England, filled men's hearts with astonishment; even upon
the spot, men long enured to the spiritual warfare with idolatry, were
amazed at the greatness of their triumph. They wrote home in strains
such as the following.

    "Rotorua is endeared to us by every tie that should endear a place
    to a missionary's heart. We came hither, to a people utterly
    debased by everything that was savage. Now, there is not a village
    or place around us, where the morning and evening bell does not
    call to prayer and praise, and where the sabbath is not observed.
    I am sometimes astonished when I look back upon the past, and
    remember what we have passed through. If I think only of those
    scenes which occurred to us during the southern war, the
    remembrance seems appalling. Now peace reigns in every border;
    the native chapel stands conspicuous in almost every Pa; wars seem
    almost forgotten; and for New Zealand, the promise seems
    fulfilled, 'I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance,
    and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.'"

New Zealand was at length, outwardly at least, a Christian land. Bishop
Selwyn had, in 1842, taken charge of the church of England and the
oversight of her missions, and other denominations assumed a fixed and
settled character. The missionary began to merge and disappear in the
stated minister. The ancient warrior chieftain too, was fading fast from
sight; and we cannot deny that, savage as he was, we part from him with
some feelings of respect. Who that has a heart to feel, or any
imagination capable of being warmed by strains of exquisite pathos, can
read unmoved the last words of the dying Karepa? The scene is in the
lonely village of Te Hawera, of which he was the chief. Mr. Colenzo, the
missionary, arrived just as his people, with loud cries, sitting around
his new-made tomb, bewailed his departure. At night they gathered around
their spiritual father in his tent, and one of the natives thus related
the last words of Karepa.

    "He summoned us all," said he, "to come close around him, and with
    much love exhorted us; talking energetically, as was his custom, a
    long while, he said:--'You well know that I have brought you, from
    time to time, much riches, muskets, powder, hatchets, knives,
    blankets. I afterwards heard of the new riches, called faith. I
    sought it. I went to Manawatu; in those days a long and perilous
    journey, for we were surrounded by enemies; no man travelled
    alone: I saw the few natives who, it was said, had heard of it;
    but they could not satisfy me. I sought further, but in vain. I
    heard afterwards of a white man at Otaki, and that with him was
    the spring where I could fill my empty and dry calabash. I
    travelled to his place, to Otaki, but in vain; he was gone--gone
    away ill. I returned to you, my children, dark minded. Many days
    passed by; the snows fell, they melted, they disappeared; the buds
    expanded, and the tangled paths of our low forests were again
    passable to the foot of the native man. At last we heard of
    another white man who was going about over mountains and through
    forests and swamps, giving drink from his calabash to the secluded
    native--to the remnants of the tribes of the mighty, of the
    renowned of former days, now dwelling by twos and threes among the
    roots of the big trees of the ancient forests, and among the long
    reeds by the rills in the valleys. Yes, my grandchildren, my and
    your ancestors, once spread over the country as the Koitarekè
    (_quail_) and Krivi (_apteryx_) once did; but now their
    descendants are even as the descendants of these birds, scarce,
    gone, dead, fast hastening to utter extinction. Yes, we heard of
    that white man; we heard of his going over the high snowy range to
    Patea, all over the rocks to Turakiráe. I sent four of my children
    to meet him. They saw his face; yes you, you talked with him. You
    brought me a drop of water from his calabash. You told me he had
    said he would come to this far-off isle to see me. I rejoiced, I
    disbelieved his coming; but I said he may. I built the chapel, we
    waited expecting. You slept at nights; I did not. He came, he
    emerged from the long forest, he stood upon Te Hawera ground. I
    saw him. I shook hands with him; we rubbed noses together. Yes, I
    saw a missionary's face; I sat in his cloth house (_tent_); I
    tasted his new food; I heard him talk Maori; my heart bounded
    within me; I listened; I ate his words. You slept at nights; I did
    not. Yes, I listened, and he told me about God, and his Son Jesus
    Christ, and of peace and reconciliation, and of a loving Father's
    home beyond the stars. And now I, too, drank from his calabash and
    was refreshed, he gave me a book, as well as words. I laid hold of
    the new riches for me, and for you, and we have it now. My
    children, I am old; my teeth are gone, my hair is white; the
    yellow leaf is falling from the Táwai (_beech tree_); I am
    departing; the sun is sinking behind the great western hills, it
    will soon be night. But, hear me; hold fast the new riches--the
    great riches--the true riches. We have had plenty of sin and pain
    and death; but now we have the true riches. Hold fast the true
    riches, which Karepa sought out for you.'

    "Here he became faint, and ceased talking. We all wept like little
    children around the bed of the dying old man--of our father. He
    suffered much pain, from which he had scarcely any cessation until
    death relieved him."

But New Zealand was now passing through a dangerous crisis. The Maori
ceased to exist in his savage state. Cannibalism was a mere tradition.
Of the ancient superstitions scarcely a trace was left. European arts
and manners were introduced in almost every part of the island, and New
Zealand took her place amongst other civilized communities. Still, under
new circumstances fresh dangers threatened her. The church of Rome saw
from afar and coveted so glorious a possession; and in the course of a
single year a Romish bishop and sixteen priests landed at Wellington,
and a second bishop with his troop of priests and nuns at Auckland. For
a while the childish simplicity of the Maori character, fond of show and
a stranger to suspicion, gave them great advantage; and the missionaries
of evangelical churches viewed their progress with serious apprehension.
But as the novelty wore off the Maori Christian discovered that Popery
was but a hollow pretence, without heart, or life, or abiding
consolation, and whole tribes which had been led astray returned with
their chiefs to purer churches in search of better pasturage. Lately the
translation of the whole of the Bible has been completed, and in this we
have the best antidote, under God, to the progress of this baneful
superstition. New Zealand, too, besides its several Protestant bishops
of the church of England, its zealous missionaries, and stated ministers
of every evangelical denomination, has now at length a native ministry
of her own Maories, few as yet in number, but holy men, men of competent
learning and gifts of utterance, who have evidently been called of God.
One of these, the Rev. Riwai Te Ahu, who was ordained by Bishop Selwyn,
is not only highly esteemed by all the natives of whatever tribe they
may be, but by the English too; and he is entirely supported by internal
resources, by regular contributions from the natives, and a private
grant from the governor himself. We can understand something of the joy
with which an honoured missionary, one of the oldest labourers in the
field, sat and listened in the house of prayer while he officiated,
assisted by the Rev. Rota Waitoa, the only two Maori ministers of the
church of England in New Zealand, and his own early converts, "the one
reading prayers, and the other preaching an admirable sermon to his own
native tribe." Other churches have similar triumphs. The Wesleyans have
three native assistant ministers, and probably these are not all, for it
may be presumed that a great work is going forward in so large an
island, of which our missionary societies have no official reports, and
by agents who are no longer responsible to them. Thus it is often found
that in the interior some village or hamlet has become Christian where
no European missionary was ever seen. Native converts have done their
own work.

Still the church in New Zealand is in an infant state, surrounded by
many dangers. The influx of Europeans, the sudden increase of wealth and
luxury, the introduction of a new and foreign literature from England,
bearing as it were upon its wings all that is bad as well as all that is
lovely and of good report in theology, politics, and morals, may well
cause, as indeed it does create, the deepest concern to those who have
at heart the purity of the Maori faith, and the continued progress of
the gospel. It is not for those who know that the gospel is the power of
God unto salvation, to doubt for a moment of its ultimate success; but
the firmest faith may, at the same time, be apprehensive and anxious, if
not alarmed, for the fiery trial that awaits her,--not of persecution,
but of wealth and luxury, and the sad example of every European vice.
Let the reader help them with his prayers.

We cannot close our sketch of the progress of Christianity in New
Zealand, without some allusion to the Canterbury Association, one of the
most remarkable attempts of modern times to colonize on Christian
principles, or rather perhaps we should say, to carry abroad the old
institutions of England, and plant them as it were full blown in a new
country. The design was not altogether original, for the New England
puritans of the seventeenth century, had led the way, in their attempts
to colonize at Boston and in New England, in the days of Charles I. They
would have carried out the principles, and worship of the Brownites to
the exclusion of other sects, though happily for the freedom of
religion, their design was soon found to be impracticable, and was only
partially accomplished. The Canterbury Association was formed on high
church of England principles, "avowedly for the purpose of founding a
settlement, to be composed in the first instance of members of that
church, or at least of those who did not object to its principles." Its
early friends now admit that their project was, in some of its parts,
utopian and impracticable. The idea, if ever seriously entertained, of
excluding by a test of church membership those whose profession differed
from their own was abandoned by most of the colonists as soon as they
had set foot on the shores of New Zealand. In 1848, Otakou or Otago, in
the southern part of the Middle Island, was colonized by an association
of members of the Free Church of Scotland; and in 1850, the first
colonists were sent out to the church of England settlement, founded in
the vicinity of Banks's Peninsula, by the Canterbury Association. The
site made choice of possessed a harbour of its own, an immense extent of
land, which it was supposed might easily be brought under cultivation,
and removed from danger of disturbance from the natives, of whom there
were but few, an extent of grazing country unequalled in New Zealand,
and a territory "every way available for being formed into a province,
with a separate legislature." The plan was to sell the land at an
additional price, and appropriate one third of the cost to
ecclesiastical purposes. The sums thus realized by sales of land, were
to be placed at the disposal of an ecclesiastical committee, who were
empowered to make such arrangements as they might think fit to organize
an endowed church in the colony. A bishopric was to be at once endowed,
a college, if not a cathedral, was to be connected with it, a
grammar-school of the highest class, was to be opened as well as
commercial schools; and all the luxuries of English country life,
including good roads, snug villas, well cultivated farms; and good
society, were to be found by the future settler, after a very few years
of probationary toil.

The scheme was warmly taken up at home, and within a single twelvemonth
from the 16th December, 1850, when the first detachment arrived, nearly
three thousand emigrants had seated themselves in the Canterbury Plains.
The towns of Lyttelton and Christchurch were founded, and operations on
a large scale were fairly begun. Of course bitter disappointment
followed, as it too often does with the early colonists, whose
expectations are unduly raised by the romantic stories told them in
England. But we must quote a passage from "Archdeacon Paul's Letters
from Canterbury," just published. It may be of use to other emigrants,
into whatever region of the world they go. "Restless spirits, who had
never yet been contented anywhere, expected to find tranquillity in this
new Arcadia, where their chief occupation would be to recline under the
shadow of some overhanging rock, soothing their fleecy charge with the
shepherd's pipe, remote from fogs and taxation and all the thousand
nameless evils which had made their lives a burthen to them at home.

"Alas! the reality was soon found to be of a sterner type--

  'These are not scenes for pastoral dance at even,
  For moonlight rovings in the fragrant glades:
  Soft slumbers in the open eye of heaven,
  And all the listless joys of summer shades.'

Long wearisome rides and walks in search of truant sheep and cattle;
bivouacs night after night, on the damp cold ground; mutton, damper, (a
kind of coarse biscuit,) and tea (and that colonial tea) at breakfast,
dinner, and supper, day after day, and week after week, and month after
month; wanderings in trackless deserts, with a choice of passing the
night on some bleak mountain side or wading through an unexplored swamp;
and, after all this labour, finding perhaps that his flock are infected,
and that no small amount of money as well as toil must be expended
before he can hope for any profit at all;--these are the real
experiences of a settler's early days in a young pastoral colony."

Yet, upon the whole, the founders of the settlement consider that it has
answered all reasonable expectations. None of the early settlers have
been driven home by the failure of their prospects, and few have been so
even from qualified disappointment. The plains of Canterbury have a
thoroughly English look, dotted in every direction with comfortable
farm-houses, well-cultivated inclosures, and rickyards filled with the
produce of the harvest: and the great seaport of the colony, Lyttelton,
is well filled with shipping. Christchurch boasts at length its college,
incorporated and endowed. It became an episcopal see, too, in 1856,
under the first bishop of Christchurch; it has its grammar school and
Sunday schools. Here, too, as well as at Lyttelton, the Wesleyans have
taken root, and, besides chapels, have their day and Sunday schools.
From the first, the Scotch Church was represented by some enterprising
settlers. The decorum of religion is everywhere perceptible; "I
believe," writes a nobleman, whose name stands at the head of the
Association, "that no English colony, certainly none of modern days, and
I hardly except those of the seventeenth century has been better
supplied with the substantial means of religious worship and education.
No one doubts the great material prosperity and promise of the colony;
and no one denies that it is the best and most English-like society in
all our colonies.... Sometimes a very vain notion has been entertained
that we meant or hoped to exclude dissenters from our settlement. Of
course, nothing could be more preposterous. What we meant was to impress
the colony in its origin with a strong church of England character. This
was done by the simple but effectual expedient of appropriating one
third of the original land fund to church purposes, but this was of
course a voluntary system."

Thus New Zealand stands at present. The lonely island of the Southern
Ocean approached only fifty years ago with awe by the few adventurous
whalers which dared its unknown coasts and harbours, now teems with
English colonists. The dreaded New Zealander has forsaken his savage
haunts and ferocious practices, and may be seen "clothed and in his
right mind," and sitting to learn at the feet of some teacher of "the
truth as it is in Jesus." The face of the country has undergone a
corresponding change. And in many places, the scene is such as to force
the tears from the eye of the self-exiled settler; the village spire
and the church-going bell reminding him of home. What the future may be,
we shall not even hazard a conjecture. Let it be enough to say that a
mighty change has already been accomplished, and that its foundations
were laid, and the work itself effected more than by any other man, by
Samuel Marsden.




APPENDIX II.

    State and Prospects of the Protestant Mission at Tahiti under the
    French Protectorate.


At the period of Mr. Marsden's decease, the Tahitian mission, over which
he had watched with parental solicitude from its infancy, presented an
aspect even more cheering than that of New Zealand. Idolatry had fallen;
its idols were utterly abolished; they had found their way to the most
ignoble uses, or to the museums of the curious, or those of the various
missionary societies in Great Britain. So complete was their destruction
that natives of Tahiti have actually visited the museum of the London
Missionary Society within the last few years, and there seen, for the
first time in their lives, a Tahitian idol. But a dark cloud already
skirted the horizon, and the infant church was soon to pass through the
purifying furnace of a long, relentless, wearying, and even bitter
persecution.

The revolution of 1830 had placed Louis Philippe on the throne of
France. During the earlier years of his reign, the church of Rome was
deprived of much of that power and dignity which it had enjoyed under
the elder Bourbons. As to any hold on the affections of the people of
France, this it seldom boasted,--certainly not within the last hundred
years. Yet the crafty king of the French was not unwilling to give to
his restless priesthood the opportunities both of employment and renown
in foreign parts; especially if in doing so he could extend his own
power, and add a wreath to that national glory so dear to Frenchmen.
The priests were therefore instructed to direct their attention to the
South Sea Islands. Animated partly by hatred to England, they succeeded
in effecting a settlement in the Society Islands. The first of them, who
arrived there, called Columban (though his original name was Murphy),
came in rather strange guise. "He was clad like a man before the mast,
smoked a short pipe, and at first was mistaken for what he appeared to
be. He had an old English passport, and among other pious tricks,
endeavoured to make use of the lion and the unicorn, to prove to the
natives that he was sent by the king of Great Britain."[L] Two others,
Caret and Laval, arrived soon afterwards. The law of the island forbade
foreigners to reside without obtaining the sanction of the queen. The
priests, accordingly, when their arrival became known, were ordered to
depart. They refused; comparing the Protestant missionaries to Simon
Magus, and claiming for themselves the exclusive right to instruct the
Tahitian people. After some delay, however, they left, and went to the
Grambier Islands. Captain Lord E. Russell, then with his ship of war at
the island, publicly declared, that "if the priests had remained in the
country, anarchy and confusion, disastrous to the island, would have
inevitably ensued." This was in December, 1836.

    [L] Wilkes's Tahiti, etc.

In September, 1837, M. Montpellier, accompanied by Murphy-Columban,
arrived at Tahiti. He was followed in 1838 by Captain Du Petit Thouars
in the frigate Venus, who made no secret in avowing to our English
officers that he was looking out for a suitable island on which to hoist
the French flag for the purpose, he added, of forming a penal
settlement. Returning to Paris, Thouars was raised to the rank of
rear-admiral, and sent back to the Pacific with his flag in La Reine
Blanche on a secret expedition. He seized on two of the Marquesas
Islands, built a fort on each, and garrisoned them with four hundred
men. He now wrote home, demanding thrice that number of troops and four
ships of war for the maintenance of his conquest; but he had further
objects in view. False representations had probably been made to the
French government with regard to the removal of Caret and Laval; and
Captain Du Petit Thouars was instructed to demand satisfaction at Tahiti
for injuries done to French subjects. A desire of conquest no doubt
inflamed Guizot the French minister--alas! that a Protestant should thus
have tarnished his fame--as well as his royal master; but hatred of
Protestantism had its full share in these nefarious proceedings.

One M. Henicy, who accompanied the Antoine French frigate to Tahiti, in
the summer of 1839, thus writes of the English missionaries: "Ferocious
oppressors, shameless monopolizers, trafficking in the word of God, they
have procured for themselves a concert of curses. Their ministers are
found to be vile impostors." Caret, Murphy, and the other priests now
returned to Tahiti. A French consul was appointed, a worthless,
profligate man; he professed, however, to be a zealous friend of the
true faith, anxious for missionary labourers to convert the deluded
Tahitian Protestants. Very little progress, however, could be made in
this spiritual work; the natives obstinately preferred sermons to
masses, and possessed so little taste as to reject pictures and rosaries
while they still read their Bibles. It was evident that efforts of a
more strenuous kind, though, such as the church of Rome is never
unwilling to resort to when persuasion fails, must be tried. And now it
was announced that the island was placed under the protection of France;
to this arrangement, it was pretended, the chiefs of Tahiti and the
queen herself had consented; nay, that they had solicited the protection
of France. This unblushing falsehood was immediately exposed, and we now
know, from queen Pomare herself, that all the proceedings in this
disgraceful affair had their origin in fraud and treachery. They were
chiefly carried out by the French consul, who is accused of having,
under false pretences, prevailed on certain chiefs of the island to
affix their signatures, in the name of the queen, to a document, the
object of which was to induce the king of the French to take Tahiti
under his protection, the pretence being grounded on a false statement,
which accused some native chiefs, and the representatives of other
nations, of bad conduct and various crimes. When the queen was apprised
of this document, she called a council of her chiefs, with an assembled
multitude of natives and foreigners; and, in the presence of the
British, French, and American consuls, denied all knowledge of it, as
also did the chiefs themselves who signed it. They declared that the
French consul brought it to them in the night, and that they put their
names to it without knowing what it contained. The governor, being one
of the persons imposed upon, wrote to the British consul, Mr.
Cunningham, declaring that the parties subscribing did not know what
were the contents of the letter which the French consul brought them to
sign, and that they affixed their names to it, as it were, in the dark.
The translator also affirmed that it must have been written by some
person not a Tahitian; its idiom being foreign, its orthography bad,
words misapplied, and the handwriting even foreign.

But the most convincing evidence of the forgery was the declaration of
two of the chiefs who signed the document, Tati and Ulami, to the
following effect: "That all men may know, We, who have signed our names
hereunto, clearly and solemnly make known and declare, as upon oath,
that the French consul did wholly dictate and write the letter, said to
be written by the queen Pomare and her governors, requesting protection
of the king of the French. Through fear we signed it. It was in his own
house, and in the night time, that the document was signed by us. And we
signed it also because he said, If you will sign your names to this, I
will give you one thousand dollars each when the French admiral's ship
returns to Tahiti.

  (Signed) "TATI,
           "ULAMI."

This disgraceful plot was carried on in the absence of the queen. She
was no sooner made acquainted with it, than she addressed a short and
dignified protest and remonstrance to the queen of Great Britain, the
president of the United States, and the king of the French. Few
diplomatic notes are more worthy of a place in history than that which
was addressed to Louis Philippe.

    "Peace be to you. I make a communication to you, and this is its
    nature,--

    "During my absence from my own country a few of my people,
    entirely without my knowledge or authority, wrote a letter to you,
    soliciting your assistance. I disavow any knowledge of that
    document. Health to you.

    (Signed) "POMARE."

But the French consul proceeded to form a provisional government of
three persons, placing himself at the head of it as consul-commissary of
the king. The triumvirate behaved with the greatest insolence, not only
to the poor queen, but even to the British flag. Captain Sir T.
Thompson, with the Talbot, lay in the harbour. The queen arrived and
hoisted the Tahitian flag, which the Talbot saluted. A letter from the
consul-commissary and the two French officials with whom he was
associated was addressed as a protest to the gallant captain, "holding
him responsible to the king of the French, his government and nation,
for the consequences of such disrespect, and for a measure so hostile
towards France." Sir Thomas knew his duty too well to answer the
affront, or in any way to notice it; but he could only look on with
silent sorrow and disgust, he had no power to interfere. The queen also
received an insolent letter from the consul; he even forced himself into
her presence, and behaved in a rude and disrespectful manner. "He said
to me," she writes, in a letter to the captain of the Talbot, "shaking
his head at me, throwing about his arms, and staring fiercely at me,
'Order your men to hoist the new flags, and that the new government be
respected.' I protested against this conduct, and told him I had nothing
more to say to him." Bereft of other hope, the insulted and greatly
injured Pomare wrote a most touching and pathetic letter to queen
Victoria. It was published in the newspapers, and went to the heart of
every man and woman in Britain who had a heart to feel for dignity and
virtue in distress, "Have compassion on me in my present trouble, in my
affliction and great helplessness. Do not cast me away; assist me
quickly, my friend. I run to you for refuge, to be covered, under your
great shadow, the same as afforded to my fathers by your fathers, who
are now dead, and whose kingdoms have descended to us." She explains how
her signature was obtained. "Taraipa (governor of Tahiti) said to me,
'Pomare, write your name under this document (the French deed of
protection); if you don't sign your name you must pay a fine of 10,000
dollars, 5000 to-morrow and 5000 the following day; and should the first
payment be delayed beyond two o'clock the first day, hostilities will be
commenced, and your country taken from you. On account of this threat,"
says the queen, "against my will I signed my name. I was compelled to
sign it, and because I was afraid; for the British and American subjects
residing in my country in case of hostilities would have been
indiscriminately massacred. No regard would have been paid to parties."

There was no exaggeration in this pathetic statement; it is confirmed by
a letter--one of the last he ever wrote--from John Williams, the martyr
missionary, who called at Tahiti, March 1839, on his last fatal voyage
to the New Hebrides. "You will doubtless see by the papers the cruel and
oppressive conduct of the French. A sixty-gun frigate has been sent here
to chastise the queen and people of Tahiti for not receiving the Roman
Catholic priests; and the captain demanded 2000 dollars (10,000?) to be
paid in twenty-four hours, or threatened to carry devastation and death
to every island in the queen's dominion. Mr. Pritchard and some
merchants here paid the money and saved the lives of the people. The
French would only hear one side of the question, but demanded four
things within twenty-four hours: 2000 dollars (10,000), a letter of
apology to the French king, a salute of twenty-one guns, and the
hoisting of the French flag."

In short, the island became a French dependency, and the poor queen was
left with the mere shadow of her former sovereignty. And so it remains
to this day. A strong feeling of indignation was aroused in England.
Missionary meetings, particularly a noble one at Leeds, were held,
pledging themselves to do all in their power to induce our government to
exert its legitimate influence with the government of France to restore
to the queen of Tahiti her just independence, and to all classes of her
subjects their civil rights and religious freedom. But the English
government was either infatuated or afraid. Lord Aberdeen, secretary of
state for colonial affairs, stated in the House of Lords that, "although
he was not sufficiently informed of the precise grounds upon which the
French government had acted, or of the complaints made against the
authorities in those islands which had led to the convention; yet he had
no apprehension as to the establishment of the French in those seas, nor
that our commercial or political interests would be affected by it." He
stated that "he had received the most unqualified assurance that every
degree of protection and encouragement would be afforded to the British
missionaries residing in those islands; that in granting the
protectorship to the French king, it had been stipulated that all the
places of worship at present existing would receive protection, and that
the fullest liberty would be given to the missionaries to exercise their
functions." And he concluded by saying, "that he reposed the fullest
confidence, not only in the king of the French himself, but in the
minister, who at this moment was the principal adviser of that monarch."
But a righteous God looked on. This king was driven from his throne, and
died an exile in England; while his minister, M. Guizot, who sacrificed
his Protestantism to his ambition in this matter, after escaping with
difficulty in 1848, from a mob who would have torn him to pieces, saw
himself compelled to give up for ever all hope of recovering power in
France.

From that time to the present all political power and influence has
centred in the French governors, who have been sent out from Europe, and
their subordinate officers. Pomare still lives, revered by her people,
but without being able to exercise any one independent act of
sovereignty; and the native chiefs and governors who formerly took a
prominent part in all public affairs, and in their respective districts
possessed great influence, are without a vestige of authority, except in
those instances in which they have been induced to accept office under
the French governor. In 1842, a treaty, so called, was framed, which did
indeed provide for "the freedom of religious worship, and especially
that the English missionaries shall continue in their labours without
molestation." "The same shall apply," says its fifth article, "to every
other form of worship: no one shall be molested or constrained in his
belief." But this treaty was probably intended only to cajole those whom
it could not intimidate, and in practice it is a mere dead letter. The
treaty itself is brief and informal, and evidently drawn up in haste, or
perhaps with a view, from the absence of precision in its language, to
provide for its more easy violation. Yet if the language in which it is
couched conveys any meaning the treaty provides that the people of the
island, and the English missionaries in the prosecution of their labours
amongst them, shall continue to enjoy unrestricted religious liberty.
Now it might be urged, and with some plausibility, by the French
authorities in Tahiti, that the people are still allowed, as heretofore,
to attend their public worship, and to retain their Bibles and Christian
books. They might even maintain, that although a number of Romish
priests, with a bishop at their head, have been thrust upon the island,
no Protestant missionary has been expelled by the act of the
authorities. The substantial truth of these statements cannot be denied,
and yet there is abundant evidence that the clauses of the treaty
guaranteeing the religious liberty of the islanders and the missionaries
have, for every practical purpose, been palpably and grossly violated.
The places of worship have not indeed been closed, but the English
missionaries have, from time to time, been placed under such severe
restrictions that four of their number, finding themselves entirely
debarred from the free exercise of their ministry, left the island in
1852. There are at present but two missionaries remaining. One of these
is solely engaged in the operations of the press, but without permission
to preach to the people; and the other--far advanced in age--is merely
permitted, by a kind of sufferance, to remain at his post, and to
minister to his own flock, though prohibited from extending his labours
to other districts. So far as the churches and congregations scattered
over the island are still supplied with the means of religious
instruction, it is by the agency of natives, many of whom were formerly
trained to the work by the missionaries. But these native preachers are
subject to the constant inspection and interference of the authorities,
and they hold their offices solely by sufferance. It will thus be seen,
that although the English missionaries have not been forcibly ejected
from the island, the object aimed at by the French authorities has,
through the artful policy they have adopted, been effectually attained.
The missionaries have been silenced, disowned, and cast aside.

In pursuance of the same cautious and subtle policy, the French rulers
have not ventured to excite or irritate the people by sanctioning any
hasty measures for enforcing conformity to the Roman Catholic faith;
still they have encouraged the formation of elementary schools, in which
the young people are taught by priests appointed by the government, and
everything is done to give undue importance to these schools, so that
the pupils taught in them may, at the periodical examinations, appear to
more advantage than those under native masters.

Notwithstanding the prevalence of a system so calculated to ensnare and
mystify the minds of a simple unsuspicious people, it is a most
remarkable and gratifying fact that instances of apostasy to Romanism
have been exceedingly rare, and that the bulk of the people continue
stedfast in their attachment to the pure Scriptural truths taught them
by the missionaries. To account for this it should be borne in mind that
the churches and congregations still assemble as heretofore for Divine
worship under native pastors, some of whom are known to be pious,
devoted, and well qualified men. Then again, through the active and
efficient agency of the Rev. W. Howe, who, though prohibited from
preaching, still remains in charge of the mission press at Papeete, the
native pastors and people have been well supplied with religious books.
And it is further to be noted that the natives generally are amply
provided with copies of the sacred Scriptures in their own language,
which will no doubt, in the good providence of God, prove an effectual
safeguard against popish error and superstition. In the year 1847, five
thousand copies of the entire Tahitian Bible, revised by the Rev. Messrs
Howe and Joseph, and generously provided by the British and Foreign
Bible Society, were sent out in the missionary ship John Williams for
circulation in Tahiti and the other islands of the Society group; and
again, in 1852, three thousand copies of the New Testament were
despatched to Tahiti, chiefly for the use of schools.

In proof that the social and political troubles of the island have not
had the effect of diminishing the number of its Christian population,
the following most satisfactory statement, furnished by Mr. Howe, dated
11th July, 1856, may be adduced.

    "I have been comparing the number of persons in church fellowship
    at the present time with the numbers respectively before the
    establishment of the French protectorate, and at the period when
    it had become fully established. In 1842, there were about one
    thousand six hundred and eighty church members in Tahiti and
    Eimeo. In 1851, when the island of Tahiti was supplied by three
    foreign missionaries, and the students in the seminary, the report
    of the Society stated the number of church members to be upwards
    of one thousand six hundred, which is probably equal to that of
    1842. Almost ever since that period the districts have been
    entirely supplied by native pastors only, with the exception of
    Bunaauia; and there are at the present time upwards of one
    thousand six hundred members on the two islands, and many are now
    seeking admission. It must also be borne in mind that during the
    interval between 1851 and the present time, the population of the
    two islands has been reduced by epidemic disease and removals at
    least one thousand, a large proportion of whom were church members
    from middle to old age, so that the present number in fellowship
    is comprised of the strength and pride of the nation, and the
    proportion of communicants to the population is greater than it
    has ever been."

Of the kind of annoyance to which the missionaries are exposed, and of
the influences which are brought to bear against them, the reader will
be able to judge after perusing the account of a prosecution lately
instituted by the Romish bishop against the Rev. Mr. Howe. In the autumn
of 1855, the Roman Catholic bishop having issued a catechism in which
the doctrines and superstitions of Popery were dogmatically stated, and
Protestantism as grossly misrepresented, Mr. Howe felt constrained, by a
sense of Christian fidelity, to publish in reply a firm but temperate
refutation. For this publication a criminal action was commenced against
him by the bishop; but so vexatious and unfounded were the charges that
the legal officer of the government, on whom it devolved to prosecute,
though urged by the governor, declined to bring the case into court, for
which he was suspended from his office; and when at length the case was
carried before the proper tribunal, the charges against our missionary
were dismissed. But the bishop, notwithstanding his signal discomfiture,
was not to be diverted from his object; he determined to renew the
contest, in the hope that by a change of tactics his ultimate object
might be secured. The _criminal_ prosecution already described was
brought to a termination in December. On the following 15th of March,
Mr. Howe received notice that his inveterate opponent had entered a
_civil_ action against him; and although the charges brought forward
were essentially the same, they were put into such a shape, and
contained statements so grossly exaggerated, that in order to meet them
Mr. Howe was compelled to remodel his reply.

After various delays, the trial at length commenced, in the court of
First Instance, on the 28th April, 1856, and in proof of the malevolence
by which the bishop was actuated, it may be stated that he demanded
30,000 francs damages, the suppression of the Tatara-taa,[M] and that
Mr. Howe should pay all the expenses of the courts, and also for 2000
copies of the judgment for distribution.

    [M] The native name of the publication issued by Mr. Howe, in
    refutation of the bishop's catechism; which the latter charged to be
    libellous.

The following is a summary of the proceedings, which excited the
liveliest interest in the island, both among the natives and the foreign
residents.

"My pleadings," writes Mr. Howe, "were so successful that the court
declared itself incompetent to judge the case, and fined his lordship
100 francs, and condemned him to all the expenses of that court and
those of the preceding chambers.

"The judgment was read on the 3rd of May. On the 10th I received notice
that the bishop had appealed to the Imperial Tribunal, and demanded that
the previous judgment should be rescinded.

"This tribunal met on the 16th, when I objected to one of the judges,
giving as my reasons that an intimacy existed between him and the
bishop, which rendered his sitting as a judge in the case illegal. My
objection was sustained by the court.

"On the 17th, I objected to his lordship's advocate, as being under the
sentence of banishment for political offences, and by which he had
forfeited his civil rights. This was also sustained by the court.

"On the 26th, the bishop himself appeared to plead his own cause, and he
likewise objected to one of the judges, but his objection was overruled.
Suffice it to say, that after having made several unsuccessful attempts
to prove my defence unsound, the bishop beat a retreat, and said that if
I would consent to submit my cause to arbitration he would withdraw the
action. I demanded that his cause, to which this is an answer, should be
submitted to the same test, and he consented.

"The court then retired, and on its return announced its judgment to be,
that the decisions of the previous courts were sustained, and that the
bishop should pay all the expenses of this appeal, as well as the
expenses of the previous courts. By this step his lordship cannot appeal
again, either to the administration here, or to the Court of Cassation
in France."

It is gratifying to learn, that through this long and painful affair,
our missionary not only had the countenance of the British and American
consuls, and the fervent prayers of the native converts, both in public
and private, but that even the French officers, greatly to their honour,
openly expressed their sympathy.

In order more fully to appreciate the result of this protracted contest,
it should be borne in mind that the real point at issue was, whether the
cause of Protestant Christianity, as represented by Mr. Howe, should be
permitted to hold a footing in the island; that Mr. Howe stood alone,
unsustained, excepting by a stedfast confidence in the justice of his
cause, and the generous aid and sympathy of friends, French, English,
and native, who rallied round him in the time of need; that his potent
adversary could reasonably calculate on the countenance and
encouragement of the authorities, who, as Frenchmen and Roman Catholics,
would naturally be disposed to favour the interests of their own church,
and to repress what they had been taught to regard as heresy. But in the
providence of God, the presiding judges of the French tribunals before
which the cause was heard magnanimously regardless of all prejudices on
the score of nationality or religion, delivered a judgment which, while
completely exculpating the accused, reflected the highest honour upon
their own discernment, impartiality, and justice. While, therefore we
devoutly recognise the hand of God so conspicuously manifest in
overruling and directing this trial, or rather series of trials, to so
merciful an issue, we would add the expression of our hope and belief
that so long as the cause of Protestant Christianity is represented in
Tahiti by men like-minded with Mr. Howe, and so long as the courts of
justice on the island are presided over by men who, without fear or
favour, dispense their judgments in accordance with the principles of
truth and equity, the light of the gospel, which has for so many years
made glad the hills and valleys of Tahiti, can never be extinguished.




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TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES:

    Missing punctuation has been added and obvious punctuation errors
    have been corrected.

    Alternate spellings have been retained.

    Footnotes have been moved closer to their reference points as an
    aid to the reader.

    The following printer errors have been corrected:

    Page vi: "The Bay of Islands, New Zealand (_Engraving_)"
    added to the Table of Contents.

    Page 11: "aud" changed to "and" (Discovery and early History of).

    Page 25: "Shoolhouse" changed to "Schoolhouse" (breaking and
    entering Schoolhouse at Kissing Point).

    Page 84: "set set" changed to "set" (in fact set on foot)

    Page 256: "misssionaries" changed to "missionaries" (the advice of
    the faithful missionaries).

    Page 305: "asistant" changed to "assistant" (three native assistant
    ministers).

    Page 306: "Cantrebury" changed to "Canterbury" (The Canterbury
    Association).

    Page 330: "copions" changed to "copious" (a copious ANALYSIS, Notes,
    and Indexes.)





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