The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1904-03-19
WILLIS At
WORK IN TONGA
HAS TRANSLATED AND HAS IN
PRINT THE PRAYER BOOKS
TRANSATLANTIC HYMNS.

An appeal for aid to Bishop Willis
in his work in Tonga has been issued,
and some copies have been received
here. Included in the appeal is the
following account of the work by the
Bishop himself.
"Nukualofa, Tonga, May H. 1908.
THE Tongan Government that is,
the King and Sateki, the Prime Min
lister continue to refuse to give land
to the Anglican Church, although by
the constitution every religious body is
entitled to site in every township in
which it has thirty members. The OPP
position has given me time to become
acquainted with the language, so as to
amend and complete the translations
found in use. l have now in print in
Auckland the first edition of a Tongan
prayer book containing Calendar
Morning and Evening Prayer, Litauy,
Collects and order for Holy Commu-
Mon. The Catechism was printed last
year. Another advantage Of slow
progress caused by governmental oppo-
sition is, that it is giving time for my
five Lay Readers to understand the
Church's system, and instruct the peo-
pie in it, The Church's seasons are
quite a revelation to them. The Wes-
leyans kept Christmas Day and Good
Friday after a fashion, that is. they
would have one service at eight or nine
a. m. and then have a picnic. No Won
! der one of my Lay Readers said that
hitherto he had no idea why Good
/ Friday was kept.
"As .'ou will no doubt be glad to
watch the gradual growth of the
Church in the several centers, I APP
pend to this a table showing how we
stand asking all readers not to despise
the day of small things.
Il may add that a beginning has
also been made of supplying Church
Hymns, by TRANSACTIONS or rather
adaptiOns, of some of Hymns A and
NJ. 1t is enough to mention that such
a simple phrase as Give us which is
only two syllables in English requires
ten syllables in Tongan, to show the
impossibility of traslating verse for
verse. The Tongans have a tonic sofia
system of their own, into which they
transpose our music, which very few
can read. My Chinese pupil from To-
lani Vim Sang Mark, has become quite
]
hymn l write according to the meter
in hymns A and NJ, he writes out the
tune. He then writes the whole on the
mimeograph and takes off 10 to 100
copies, and so the congregations are
supplied. There is no public printing
press in Tonga so l must wait till
have complete selection OF hymns
before sending them to Auckland tC
be printed.
"A clergyman in the United States
has offered to come out and help me
if I can find the means for his passage
so l trust some whom this letter reach
es will be moved to assist me in plant
ing the Church in this part Of the Pa
cifc, that has been so long neglected
At present there is no Episcopal sti-
pend.
Although these islands happily es-
capped the hurricane that wrought such
havoc in the Pamotus in January, they
/ experienced a stiff blow in February,
which has done more damage than was
at first supposed. The salt spray driv-
en- across the narrow islands destroyed
both the bread-fruit and yam crop in
Haabal where l found the people short
of food on a recent visit: moreover,
/ there was a great loss of nuts all
/ through the group, so that the supply
of copra, which is the principal source
of the natives income, will be very
! limited. Hence 1 cannot expect the
native contribution to be as large as
! it otherwise would be-"
| On a visit to the Vavau group at the
end of October the Bishop found the
members of the Anglican Church stand
ing firm in spite of their disappoint-
ment at nothing having been done to
enable them to have a proper Church.
Five men at Labe, confirmed by him in
1902, made their first Communion; two
infants were baptized, and two men
from a neighboring island were receiv-
ed into the Church.