The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1863-06-11
PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
The Right Rev. j. ". COlenSO, d. d..
Bishop of Natal in \. africa.
EY REv. LEWIS GEOUI.

size OF Vermont, and contains about fifteen thou
sand white people, and about ten times Is many
natives-that -, about a hundred and fifty thou
sand /uIus.
As some Of Bishop Colenso's writings are com
Ing before the public, and exciting attention in
some parts, it may not be altogether amiss or
devoid Df instruction for US 70 take a glance at
SOME Of the leading points Of his life and labOrs
in that part Of the world. IL was in the early
part Of 1854 that he made a visit and a tour Of
ten weeks In Natal, with a view 10 his being sent
out there as Bishop Of the English Church, Or Of
Natal, rs they would say, and especially as a
missionary bishop % the heather in that part Of
the world tie took a flying trip through the
district, making n minute Of men and things-Of
visits, calls. conversations, discussions, among the
natives, emigrants, and mIssIJuarles-all which
Vas presently printed. on his return 10 England,
under the title Of : Ten Weeks in Natal" The
few copies which found their way back 10 that
part Of the world led thoughtful, Observing
Christians To fear that the authors influence and
efforts among them might not be what a bishop,
q minister. a missionary ought to exert, and be
expected to put forth. Nor have they been dis
appointed.
It was, / suppose, in the family Of the writer
that he found a missionary paper which spoke of
the heather as . perishing.' Having copied the
substance into his Ten Weeks he adds -"
quote these passages, not for i moment wishing
il 70 be supposed that the good American mission
aries Of Natal hold and preach these fearful doc
trines-Gpd forbid but to enter my solemn
protest against them as utterly contrary 10 the
whole spirit Of the GO-pel.'
The practice Of the missionaries in refusing TO
admit pOlygamists into the Christian church he
characterized rs quite unwarrantable and OPP
posed TO the plain teaching Of our Lord"
Travelling among the natives, he fell in with one
of the most immoral, degrading heathenish feasts.
an annual dance, and kind Of political review,
on which occasion, as We all know, and rs one of
the best authorities in that land has said, : the
chief is openly wOrshiped as God. in the diSpen-
satiOn and indulgence Of all heathenish l~usts,'
the Bishop says . : This, rs now observed, Is a
purely heather ceremony. but has, undoubtedly,
q right meaning at the bottom, and instead of
setting our face against all these practices, our
wisdom Will surely be, in accordance with the
sage advice of Gregory the Great, to adopt such
as are really grounded on truth. and restore them
to their right use, or rather raise them in the end
still higher, by making them Christian celebra-
tons. IL would surely be a step in the
right direction if we could get such Il chief as
this lPakadel to allow Of the Lords Prayer
being said by Il Christian missionary before the
feast begins, etc. > " | cannot but hope that
even in this way we may, with the blessing of
God, be enabled to make some breach into the
stronghold of their hetthenisun-more especially
If, as | think may be practicable, | make u point
OF going the circuit annually among the heathen,
and officiating myself at this feast of frst-fruits."
Ask the u%ntutOred Zulu. Who was the first
man, and whence his origin? and he replies,
Unkulunkulu, who sprang forth or burst out
from 4 reed. The Bishop tried to make himself
NHL t"t DGltth lllIL luAS u uIEl o
man. Cnkulunkulu, is the same as the Christians
God. The honest, discerning old chieitain. how
ever, said, tNo, it cannot be. There is a COM
plete separation in these matters between the
black and the white; we cannot at all under
stand each other" = But" saws the Bishop,
= my Interpreter, Mr.. ShepstOne, explained, that
l thought there was not so great d separation as
he supposed that ,re believed in Unkulunkulu
(the great great One) as well as they-that we
prayed 10 him in England"
Returning from England, Dr.. COlensO entered
more fully upon his labOrs rs Bishop and mis-
siOnary in Natal, about the middle of 1855.
Being dissatisfied with the rule which all mis-
siunaries in that field had practiced in respect to
polygamy, excluding polygamists from the
church, he wrote a pamphlet trying To prove this
: rule to be unwarrlnted by Scripture. opposed
TO the practice Of the Apostles, condemned by
reason, and altogether unjuStifable -
and saying, 9 | verify believe that, in consequence
of the enforcement of this rule, our blessed reli-
gIon already stinks in the nostrils of this people,
By request Of the American Zulu Mission. one of
their number (the writer Of the present article)
prepared Il REPLY To this pamphlet. This
was followed by a long : Letter" Of some seventy
pages from the Bishop to the author Of " Reply
which called out a still longer = Answer, all
which was afterwards noticed and reviewed in
The Mem EHgkdHGer.
But. though the Bishop let down all the bars
for the pDlygamist, and actually invited him TO
come with all his wives into the fold Of Christ,
assuring him that he would not only not be
it4uIEci 10 put any OF IleH away nut rather
encouraged and required 10 keep them, in pre-
senting himself for baptism and admission into
the family of Christ, yet after eight years trial,
| believe the author of this new rule has never
had an opportunity 10 apply it in a single in
stance. | made inquiry on this point in Natal,
not a year since, and could not learn that a single
pOlvgamist had ever asked the Bishop for baptism
or sought to come, with all his wives, into the
church. The native who really wants "a new
wants, as ne says. something in advance
Of the old, something better than ne has got
he does not care to make an exchange.
1t was evidently DR.. COlenso'S wish, If not his
expectation. that all missionaries American,
W ~esleyan. Berlin. NOrwegIan-wUuid come under
supervision. Nor did he seem to doubt his
ability To come from writing sermons and mathe-
NAUTICAL works in good old England. and strike
out n better mission scheme than men who had [
gray in the field could devise or mature. I
Hence his frequent and sweeping criticisms upon y
others had done or not done before him.
iis plan was To start one great central institu- :
ton, near the capital of the colony, which should |
the parent and head of Il dozen others where ]
III departments of life and labor, pursuits and :
Professions from the collegiate, theological. and I
medical down 10 the agricultural and mechanical. $
hOuld be represented, taught, and practiced- O
citing forth 10 the world, and especially u his I
,atrOns In England, that this and these institu- Il
ions, each and all. would doubtless be sell-sup- I
Orting in about five years. Hence he began y
bringing out n corps of teachers, clergymen, i
nd artisans, of all kinds and grades, obtained 4 )
of about 5000 acres, in the neighborhood I
{ Pietermaritzburg, and commenced operations {
{ once on the largest scale, except that he had !
- --- 6 IL l-.-- ---L- - a-- -