The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1864-01-12 00:00:00

THE COLUMBIAN MISSIONS.

On Thursday afternoon a meeting in connection with
thews missions was held at the Townhall, Dorchester, to
hear the Lord Bishop of Columbia give an accounted
the diocese in which he has now Inboured for five year&
The attendance was not very numerous. The chair
was taken by C. Skinner, Esq., of Came, and there
were • good many of the neighbouring clergy present.
The meeting having been opened with prayer by the
Rev. James Fisher,
The CHAILMAA said they were met to hear an
address from the Bishop of Columbia upon the stets of
his diocese, and its wants both spiritually and morally.
He had no doubt the address would be interesting and
instructive, and thought it would bays the effect of
producing in them a desire to do whet they could
towards the funds of the diorama He was aware that
this was the objectionable oart of meetings of this sort;
but no work could be conducted without money, and he
could hardly conceive any call more legitimate upon
their pockets than that for which the Bishop was about
to address them. They were all interested more or less
in their colonies, and had either directly or indirectly
promoted emigration ; and that being so, it was clear
that they should lent them that which was prised most
highly in life, so that they might grow up in such •
state as not to be unworthy of the parent dock. This
had been too much neglected in the colonies, and they
were now reaping the fruits of that neglect in the
alienation and distraction of America. British
Columbia was a young colony, and they must endeavour
to avoid that fault if possible. After • few further
remarks he introduced the Bishop.
The Manor of Cotemma, in addressing the meeting,
said the subject upon which they were met was, all bad
well been said, not simply a general one of Christian
missions, which wee binding upon them all, but
one which was especially binding upon Englishmen,
namely, to promote the spiritual welfare and the
interests of the children of Britain. It was pleasing
God in his providence to build up England in remark-
able prominence, and there was no circumstance which
marked her saionpt othernations more prominently than
the possession of colonies in all parts of the earth. In
some puts the heathen abounded in great numbers,
Involving upon us to provide the blessings of the
Gospel tidings for every soul. As • colonist he felt on
interest on this subject, beaus, he knew the value
which colonists set upon British sympathy, and be
&leo knew how every good thing was helped, how
religion and order were helped by keeping up closely
the tie with the mother land. As a missionary he had
• special interest In addressing them, because be knew
from the earbes t days of Christianity it was the work
of God's Church to propagate the Gospel to all lands,
and it had been part of the duty of Christian people
to help forward that work, and they were now present as
• matter of course to do their duty. They could
not help being present, because the object before them
was for the extenaion of Christ's Gospel, mid that be-
longed to them just as much ss going to church did. lie
knew it was his duty to be there to tell them of those
things, and such • course had been pursued from the
earliest times, in support of which he quoted the
example of Paul and &rushee. In placing the subject
before them he would remind them that these rots-ions
. were missione to America. That ought to give them •n
I, Interest, and it slid give an Interest, partiuderly at this
I time. If they looked at the distraction in America,
I what would they see? They saw that country once a
colony, belonging to England, now in • state of the most
, bitter distraction. They sew people who spoke the same
' language and tongue, and even families closely united,
rending each other to pieces with that ferocity for which
there bes never been any parallel in the civilised world.
England had now to ask herself, "is this to be the fate
of all my col ~,, icsr She might take • lesson from that
country, and feel that the duty rested upon the mother
country to discharge her responsibilities to the souls
; committed to her, and to provide them with those means
; I by which they could only become a people truly great,
0 prosperous, end happy. (Applause.) In the year 1868,
1 when the discovery of gold took place in British
; Columbia, large crowds of people were attracted
1 to the colony, end the Government of England
I were quick to send out what was thought neors-
' sary for the maintenance of order. The Imperial
I Government sett out a judge, • governor, police
magistrates, end a military force, and there they stopped.
If the Chnstisn character of this country was to be main-
tained in the world It would not be dpne by the
directed efforts of this country, but by voluntary exer-
tions. This was felt by a Cltristi on lady, who in-
augurated these missions, and he had been carrying on
the work ever since. In speaking of the subject
before them he would first simply offer remarks
upon the country itself, leaving them to form their
own opinions as to the future improvement of
British Columbia; in the second place he would speak
respecting the population that had been attracted there
from the gold discovery ; and, thirdly, of the Indisn
population. His lordship, by the aid of a map, having
explained the geographical position of Columbia and
Vanoouver's Island, passed on to say that the climate
of those countries was similar to that of England, and
the people of New York and Boston frequently spent
their winters there. His lordship then alluded to a
conversation he had with a lady who lived in Canada
for 10 years, but who had returned to England, when
she said people looked so old in Canada, the seasons
were so rigorous, and the extremes of cold and heat had
such an effect upon English people. That was not the
case in Columbia and Vancouver's Island. The geogra-
phical situation of Columbia had made it the outlet to
the Pacific, and for traffic in days to come for Europe.
The Hudson's Bay Company had recently been reformed
for the purpose of opening up the territory between
Canada and British Columbia They were about to
open up a region twice as large as France, an the popu-
lation was pressing towards the West, and had done so
for yearn and years. Emigration had been towards the
West. 80 years ago the 310.000.000 of people in the
United States were only 3,000 WO. The population of
Columbia was rapidly lucre's ng. Every year large
numbers of Americans passed over from the Central
States to the Ws stern States, and he was informed this
year, in consequence of the war, about 100,000 persons
were on their way from the Eastern' to the Western
States. The prospect, therefore, we. that the popola-
tion of the Western States would still go on increasing.
The other day he was in San Francisco, and he preached
in a cathedral which resod on • spot which 14 year. ago
was only a desert, and now there was built on it • city
containing 100.000 inhebitants, the number of whom
was continually increasing. If American enterprise
could build a city in 14 years., containing 100,000
people, a like result must happen to two cities in his
diocese, or at least two of them, Victoria and New
Westminster, when they considered what advantage
there was in British capital, British security, and thou
means which England had at command over thou
which other nations possessed. The increase in popu-
lation was in consequence of the development of basis
netts in the Pacific, and the rapid communication be
tween Europe and the Rut It had been the desire
of nations to get the key of truffle between Europe and
the East. His lordship then alluded to the probability
of there being • chain of British colonies between
the Atlantic and Pacific, tisol together by a railway, re-
marking that the greatest difficulty experienced would
be by getting over the Cascade range of mountains ; but ,
that was now overcome, as good reeds had been con-
structed They all knew how quickly railways followed
roads, so the probability was that that would be the
highway between Europe and China. If that was
accomplished they would get from England to Victoria
in • fortnight, and from Viotoris to Shanghai in •
month. Canada once talked about seceding from
England; but since British Columbia had been opened
she had not done so, because she knew she would form
part of the highroad of train The probability was
that she would be the groat highway of traffic, and
would become as essential to &shied as England would
be to her. la fact, she would be England in America.
If that was the prosrect, what were they to do?
Follow up the hand of God in opening up that portion
of the Western territory, and to take care to plant the
best things of England, so that she might find means,
not only for its temporal wealth and advantage, but for
building up the House of God in the land, so that
whilst it might become a highway of commerce it might
become a highway of the Lord If they ware not
permitted to Wafers between their brethren, who were
now struggling on without attempting to stop the flow
of blood, they, at least, had an opportunity of planting
the Gospel of puce, which perhaps might extend its in-
fluence to adjoining countries, and help those suffering
people who were now afflicted with the horrors of a civil
wets. Alluding to the gold discovery, his lordship ex•
pithead the state in which it was found, sad said It was
not only discovered in the Fraser River, but in other
rivers, in fact it could be found in all puts of the
colony. This ought to have been discovered before con-
sidering its :learner to California and its geology. The
consequence of the gold discovery wee that it
attracted population, which must be fed, and
clothed, and consequently agriculture and other occu-
pations were introdueed. As an instance of what might
he does by farming, his lordship alluded to the fact
that in May last an enterprising farmer took 60 horses
laden with bacon to the gold fields frotn Caraboo, and
although it cost him only I. or 9d. per lb. braise on his
own farm, be sold it for Is. IL per lb. Salmon was the
chief fish of the country. On one occasion one of our
ships put down • net off St. Johe's,end took 603 in one
haul. He was in a bay where salmon were leaping out
of the ',seer, when • calculation was made of bow many
fish were in the sir at • Onus, when it was reckoned
that there were SO. Other kinds of fish were also very
abundant, as an instance of which his lordship mid that
he was once in • settler's house when pronoun were
wanted for dinner, and • little girl was sent down to
the river with • rake and • bunks', and he vitalised
her satohing a quantity of herrings by that simple
means. The timber of the count also very fine,
se there was • pine called the ias
les pine which
puesesed qualities over every giber louid of wOods and

was becoming inattentive article of expert. Coals were
also found as Vancouver's Island in sufficient quail.,"
to supply our steam nuy and merchant ships, and
would no doubt be the great source for supply-
lug foal for the whole of the traffic in
the Pacifies. Alluding to the population, be said it was
prinelpally from the United Staler, not from
e.atiland, and not from the hest part of the Stated, for
Columbia wee the reorptable of that portion of the
Anurioan population who were the moat loose in
society. He then adverted to the state of gaiety, re-
marking that a body of men, called the Vigilant Com-
mittee:had taken the law in their hands, and managed
Us country, induced et to do in consequence of the cor-
✓uption which had taken plus. The effect of the gold dis-
savory was merely to demoralise the people, producing all
kinds of wretchedness, his lordship alluding to the gains
of some, and to the disappointment of others. Speaking
of the religious date of society moompat the miners, he
mid the missionaries often found people who had coin.
from civilised nations greatly to have fallen away in
civilisation, and, though belonging to countries pro-
fessedly Christian, had lost all travel of Christianity.
It was often the missionaries lot to orneme serves men
who would say they did not believe there was a God.
The work of the mission had been to carry the Gospel to
their souls. In doing so it had difficultiee of a moral
nature, and difficultiee of • physical nature ; because
they had to follow the miner, who lied been attracted
by gold, to the fastness of the mount•in. Difficulty. of
that kind were not greater than many persons socked
for pleasure ; but the difficulties of a moral nature were
far mm-e distressing. He than contrasted the state of
society in the colony to what it was in England, where
in the latter place • minister was certain of meeting
with sympathy, and with people who were willing to be
instructed. But in Columbia it was not so, for the
people's hearts were steeled against the minister, and he
was looked upon with distrust and suspicion, whilst the
miners were shrewd and intelligent in all this world's
things. However, after the work of several years, the
mission had been able, under God's Messing, to see
the fruits of its labours, and to find that many
had been drawn to the ministrations of God, and
bad been induced to give themselves spin His service.
He than weed a high coulogium on his clergy, observing
that he could not have a finer body of men, and then
detailed the manner in which they went about doing
good. Instead of ministers now being looked upon wiab
suspicion they were eagerly watched for ; and his lord-
ship said he had been frequently asked when Mr. Knipe
sad Mr. Start would be amongst them. He then gave
sone anecdotes of miners who had been brought from
**depths of sin to the grace of God, after which he
wont on to say that the mission had been enabkd ta
build churches in different parts of the colony. Their
, object was to endeavour to make their own churches
! self-eopporting. They said to the eolonata the mother
ehureb lass eared for year souls. She know, you are
poor at first, and that there ans no endowments and
State allowances, and that you are not able to support
your ministers, therefore she assists you whilst you are
at first struggling ; but she expecte that you will do
all you can, and Increase more and more until she
may go away from you, and go to other plum such as
your country used to be. They must remember that
the first settlers in any colony were always very poor,
and not able to support their ministers. His lordship
said that gold seekers were not generally nob people.'
They were very rarely well to do—the poorest people
were the gold seekers; they were the worst people to
look to for assistance. The great use of the gold dis-
covery was to open up the (country quickly,and to throw
in population so as to introduce agriculture and other
occupations. As an instance of how aliens supported
the Church, be said that an Italian gave £3, and •
Frenchman EL towards buildings place of worship; and
when application was made to the colonists to con-
tribute towards the distress in Lancashire, £llO were
mind. Alluding to the Indian population of British
Columbia and Vancouver's Island, his lordship
said they were everywhere, and were now most anxious
for instruction, and were remarkable for their love for
the white man, in support of which the Bishop spoke
at some length, detailing several interesting circum-
stances connected with the Indian race of their desire
to be instructed. His lordship then alluded to the
efforts of Mr. Dunkin, a catechist, amongst a tribe of
Indians. The chief, who was • most ferocious and
savage man, had • feast day, and had excited himself in
the manner in which Indians generally became excited-
Before the feast took place he sent to Mr. Dunkin,
telling him that the school must be closed that day'.
The catechist sent back to my that the school should
not be cloud. Boma messengers were again sent, and
they stated that, unless the school was cloud, the chief
would take the life of Mr. Dunkin, the catechist.
The Hudson's Bay Company's people told Mr.
Dunkin that (the Reboot had better be closed ; but
the answer he returned wu that a Christian wheal
should not be cloud for a feast in devilry. At last the
chief was said to be coming towards the school, and all
the children disappeared like mice. For a few minutes
it was • time of great suspense to the ca!eakist ;
but there was • Providence watching over him and the
savage chief, who had never been known to fail in
carrying out any threat he had made, was unable to
lift his hand against Mr. Dunkin, although his followers
were urging him to cut off his head. At last he left
the school, unable to carry his threat into execution.
That was • great result for the mission, and many
persons that day were glad that the words of Dunkin
were stronger than the chief. His lordship subse-
quently added that Legade, the chieftain's name, was a
Christian man, and doing all he could for the glory of
God; and afterwards gave an interesting account of the
baptism of several Indians, reading answers in reply to
questions which they had given him. In conclusion the
Bishop made • powerful address for aa-istence, stating
that he must obtain £lO,OOO, and £3,000 a-year in onier
to carry on the mission.
A vote of thank, was awarded his lordship, and the
proceedings terminated by • collection being mado at
the door, amounting to over £lB.