BISHOP WILLIAMS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2553, 14 July 1909, Page 5

BISHOP WILLIAMS.

VALEDICTORY oUCIAL.

A -LARGE GATHERING. (

There was a very large and thoroughly representative gathering of the residents of Poverty Bay, including a great many Maoris, in -His Majesty’s Theatre, last night on t-lie occasion of the fa-re well social which wais tendered to the Right Rev. Bishop Williams, on his retirement. The stage was carpeted and tastefully decorated with flowers and a number of pot plants, and occasional tables and eaey chairs were placed on it, giving the stage'a most comfortable appearance. The chair was taken by Mr.' John Townley, and a hearty round of .apiplause greeted the Bishop, as the venerable guest of tho evening; took his seat in a capacious armchair in the centre of the stage. There were a number of ladies on the stage, and also the following gentlemen: Revs. W. H. Roberts, E. H. Wyatt, W. Grant, J. A. Lochore, Archdeacon H. W. Williams, Adjutant Melksham, and Lieu.t.-Colonel Winter. Apologies for non-attendance, were received from the following: Revs. E. Ward, W. Lamb, E. ,H. Walker, Father Lane, Messrs Chas. Evans, C. E. Armstrong, J. W. Witty, and C. W c Ferris. Rev. Father Lane wrote as follows: “Whilst thanking you for your very kind invitation to the social gathering to be tendered to the Bishop of Waiapu this evening, I have to express my very great regret that a prior appointment prevents my acceptance of it. To-night the half-yearly meeting of the H.A.C.B. Society will bo hold, at which officers for the ensuing six months will be elected.’ As I am Past President of the Board my presence thereat is necessary. Were it not for this meeting, I would gladly assist at this evening’s function, organised to do honor to a great and good man.” The following letter was received from Rev. W. Lamb: “I very deop'.y regret that owing to my having another important engagement it will not he possible for me to attend the farewell social tendered to Bishop Williams to-night. I sincerely pray that in his closing years he may realise much of the ijivine Presence, so that for him it may be seen that at ‘evening time it is light.’ Again regretting my inability to he present,—l remain, yours sincerely, W. Lamb.” Mr. Witty wrote: “As I shall not bo able to be present at the gathering tonight in His Majesty’s Theatre, will you kindly apologise for my absence, and convey to the Bishop my best wishes that he may be long spared to enjoy his well-earned ■ retirement Lem active duty. He will- remoamer .our first meeting 44 years ago, m the middle of tbc dense bush between Wluka-onga-onga and Paritu, when I was accompanying Captain Fraser, returning to Wairoa, via Mahia, after Luffing marched to Turanganui, via Te Reinga and Hangaroa, and our astonishment at meeting a solitary European escorted by only two Natives, one of whom was ostentatiously waving me British flag over the Archdeacon’s head.—A ours faithfully, James W. Witty.” On behalf of tlie Native Mr. Rawiri Karaha. assessor to the Native Land Court, delivered a short address, which was translated as follows by Mr. Gough:— Ladies and Gentlemen, —We are gathered here together to offer cur congratulations to His Lordship the Bishop, who has passed so much of his long life in doing his duty to the Maori ipcople. His mantle will fall on some one to come after him, and a Maori -proverb illustrates this .as it tells as the beautiful frond of a . fern dies away, so another frond takes its place. We congratulate the present Bishop on the fact that his mantle had fallen on to him from his father, whose faithful work he had continued until this day loyally and well. It is the hope of the Maori people tliat your mantle will fall upon a son from oat of your own house. I recognise that this is a purely European gathering, as the Natives of the district have been taken by surprise. I wisli to apologise for the absence of several of tho leading chiefs of the district, who, although called by telegram, had been unable to be in time, as the notice was too short. The Aatives themselves at either Whangara or just over the river would take a fitting opportunity of wishing His Lordship farewell. I. hope that on that day all the people of Gisborne would honor the Natives by their presence, when the Maoris would do their part in farewehmg the Bishop. I congratulate you, your Lordship, on behalf of the Maori people, on reaching so venerable an age, and hope that you will long be spared to

live amongst us. The next item on the programme was the presentation of an address to the Bishop. Lieut.-Colonel Winter read the address, and handed it to His Lordship. The address read as follows: To the Right Reverend William Leonard Williams, 1).D., Bishop of Waiapu. My Lord Bishop,—On behalf of the vestry of the parish of Holy Trinity, Gisborne, and of the residents of Gisborne, and your many friends of both races in the northern portion of the Diocese of Waiapu, we desire at the close of your long- career as Missionary Priest and Bishop, to express to you the esteem and respect with -which you are. regarded. You have been indefatigable in the discharge of your many duties, leaving nothing undone which it has been possible to do. As linguist, scholar, and scientist, you -are known and respected, not only in New Zealand, but also in Great Britain : while your labors have' materially aided in preserving for the Maori race the original strength and beauty of the language. The establishment of a Maori Church with trained Maori clergymen and (missionaries willing and able to carry the Gospel, message to the unreach'ed Islands of Polynesia, has been largely your work. Others have built, .and are new building, upon the I foundations you so ivcll laid. Your 1 European friends of earlier days in v Poverty Bay gladly remember how, in the - difficulties of pioneer settlement, in which you fully shared, before churches were established, you at all times willingly aided the first settlers with the ministrations and consolations of your high office. Baptised together with the first Native converts to Christianity, you have soon New Zealand .attain to the rank of a Dominion, settled with a happy and prosperous people. You have taken part in -every movement having for its (Object the preservation and education of the Maoris, and have had to meet,'and deal with the . serious hindrances caused to the progress of Christianity by the Native war, through the whole period of which you had to- pass, not wholly without personal danger to yourself ' • and to your family. We shall follow vo-u' into your retirement! with kindly affection and interest, wishing for .you in the closing years of your l|tev:;ay i y.!L^,^:£ntidS 5 . ;; a :

brance of good work well done. —We are, with greatest respect, yours very sincerely, Geo. J. Winter and C. W. Ferris, churchwardens; J. Townley, Chairman of Committee; W. Jd. j. ueicer, and Oline Pitau. The Rev. F. W. Cliatterton said that he had been asked to say a few words, and was very conscious that the Bishop disliked laudatory remarks, but he felt that some of the c.orgy oi the district would feel that tiiey must say something of what they'knew oi the Bishop. He (the speaker; felt that ho was only voicing the toolings of many, both European and Maori, in stating .that they felt they were losing a real Father-in-God. The Bishop had set clergy and laity alike a noble example by the singleness of aim of his whole 11 to, and he knew no one who was less swayed by popular feeling from the course he felt he ought to take than their beloved Bishop. This was an uncommon, trait, and they would always look back upon .the Bishop with feelings of what they owed to him by his example. Through times of stress .and trial the Bishop had been prepared to go right through to the end. In the work amongst the Maori people, too, they could look back to his example, and if they could loam to follow, even afar off then they should have learnt a good lesson. The labor of 1 a modern Bishop was by no means a sinecure, and in the early days amongst the Maori brethren a great deal of good liad been done by the Bishop who was now retiring, and whom they would long remember as a true Father-in-God. The Rey. Win. Grant said it gave him genuine pleasure to unite with those present, on behalf of other Christian churches in the town, in their farewell to the Bishop. From all he could learn, His Lordship had been a man with one ideal —to walk in the path of duty, and for that they must honor him. * They could not but admire the grit, courage and resourcefulness of the early settlers, and when, he was speaking on behalf of the churches of the town he did so with much ad.miration of the work and character of the man who was with them that night. Mr. Townley referred to the old days when the Bishop, then Archdeacon, used to come to Gisborne and hold service in the Magistrate's Court. Let them imagine the journeys of the Bishop before there was a road anywhere in the district, and they wou.d realise what he must have gone through in his grand work. On behalf of the old settlers he wished His Lordship a long, happy, and helpful time in his retirement, which was thoroughly .deserved after the many hardships he had undergone in his ministrations. His Lordship, who upon rising was greeted with prolonged applause, said that he w:.v sure that all present would feel with him that he was placed in a very awkward position in having been seated there and listened to all of the manv go-od tilings that had been said about him. He could not. of course, conscientiously endorse all that the speakers had said, as their remarks would imply that during his service be had done no wrong. .<o one knew better than himself that he could own to having made a great many mistakes, although he had a consciousness of having attempted to do faithful work, which unfortunately had fallen far short of the. ideal. He had always taken a very lively interest in this part of tlie district, and Gisborne in particular, which was only natural considering that he lmcl lived here fer the greater part of his life. "When he first knew Gicborno there was a small wooden building with a fence round it somewhere in the vicinity of the present site of the Albion Hole., and there was a great number of thorny acacias growing all in front of it. There was also a Maori pah where the present Courthouse now stands, and with a few other people those were all the signs of habitation that there were on this side of the river, and the other side was altogether in the rough. It had been said, and truly said, that his work had lain chiefly among the Maoris, and iu the earlier days of Christianity in this district the work was undoubtedly blessed by God. At that time tlie Maoris presented a very good example to any people as they seemed to feel the reality of the Christian religion much more than those who had been born into it. The district then was a safe one to live in, and property was muck respected. One one occasion, when liis family had to make a lengthy visit to the Bay ot Islands, a lot of their belongings were left in the care of the natives, and on their return the goods were found to be intact. Reference liad been made to the troubles and trials lie had undergone. In tlie war which, began in 1860 there were undoubtedly sad times, and itjhad been stated in the English settlements that the Maoris had finally abjured Christianity, and he was urged to return to England on the grounds that Christianity was not wanted by the natives, and that there was nothing further for him to do. People did not take into account, however, that many of the natives were fighting for the British flag, and had not abjured their religion, although it liad undoubtedly suffered by their defection. The origin of tlie war was on account of a sad blunder on the part of those in authority at the time, and the cause of the trouble arose over tho_ purchase of some land at Waitara, New Plymouth. I’lie authorities purchased the land from a section only of. the tribe to whom it belonged. They liad to give it back, but the war began, and lasted for seven years. That state of affairs, thank God, liad passed away, and lie hoped that Maoris and Europeans would continue to live liappily together as they did at present. In the early days the only means of locomotion in the country was by tho method commonly ‘known as “Shanks’ Pony,” and fortunately there was no lack of it in those days Now they had marvellous methods of getting about, cycles, motor cal’s, etc., and this was an indication of the way the district had prospered far beyond the imagination of 30 years ago. They had not, as some of the papers said, to account for this by the fact of being spoonfed by the Government, but rather had gone ahead m spite of the neglect experienced -at the hands of those in authority. The whole district north of Napier had longboon in that position. The town of Wairoa. was founded in ISCS-G, and it was only a very few years back that there had been any road capable of vehicular traffic between Napier ami Wairoa. Although the Government had placed people there, their only means of getting to Napier was either a rough bridle track or else a very small boat which could only come into the river at intervals. When they had been under the Provincial Government of Auckland in the early days, they liad been visited once, but practically no notice at all had been taken of them. In spite of the great neglect by the Government, the district had progressed materially, and also, lie trusted, spiritually, j They- now had the ministrations of religion for all classes of tlie for every different section ol Christians, and ho trusted ihat all those who 'professed to serve S Kite ii&l PedknM tv, US M l 3 f l ! d!a£@iw

to-do, and thus minimize any evil effects which might arise from their difference of Methods. (Loud applause.) At the conclusion of tlie Bishop's speech, he addressed the Maoris present in their native tongue for a few moments, and his remarks were most attentively listened to. and were punctuated by outbursts of approval. At the end of the bunding close to the stage two large tables were laden with a profusion of good things, and refreshments were"" handed round at the clove of tho speeches, when there was a half hour's friendly intercourse amongst those present. His Lordship came down from the stage and moved amongst the people, renewing acquaintance will) many old residents of the district, and also meeting many of the younger generation. The refreshment® were arranged for by a large committee of lathes, headed by Mesdames Townley, Gough, Coleman, Walter Barker, and a number of others, who were ably assisted bv a wiling band of helpers. During the evening, the following musical programme was gone through, Mr. E. N. Kidolx/ttom acting as accompanist: Quartette and chorus (Maori), “Ancient and Modern,” Te Rau students and other natives; solo. “The Swallows.” and for an encore “Josephine,” Mrs. Morgan; solo, “My Ain Folk,” Mr. R. A. Mitchell; sole, “The Kerry Piper.” Mr. J. L. Kisdingysclo'. “Absent,” Mr. Grimshaw; part song, “Sweet and Low,” To Rau students. The gathering was brought to a close by His Lordship the Bishop pronouncing the Benediction.