w ^ 1S7 ^.^ Jjs-povnteABTJhii-p of l-LchhO^ .:. DecT T^ 2861. Electedy I)et>^Z3^1ffe7 Confirmed, at, Bow .1072^4'^ 2868. ETitkronecl Jan/P''^2S6a. Die-dat the, Palac&,Lichfield,Affed 69, April ll'^2£W. T,-izara.ved -tv W^HoU', friTn wFhotoqTa:p1v ty Mffs^VHason&u 0" In ^Fmopiam. A SKETCH OF THE LIFE or THE RIGHT REVEREND GEORGE AUGUSTUS SELWYN, LATE BJSHOl' OF LICHFIELD, AND FORMERLY lUSHOP AND METEOPOLITAN OF NEW ZEALAND. BT MRS. G. HERBERT CURTEIS. NEWCASTLE: C. HICKSON, PEINTER & PUBLISHER. J. PARKER & CO., LONDON. TO ATX IN EITHER HEMISPHERE WHO HAVE LOVED BISHOP 8ELWYN AND REVERE HIS MEMORY, A2TD MORE ESPECIALLY TO THOSE WHO IN ENGLAND AND ELSEWHERE HAVE RECEIVED THE RITE OF CONEIRMATION OR ORDINATION AT HIS HANDS, THESE PAGES ARE DEDICATED. CONTENTS Prefaob. Ohaptbe I.— Early life at Eton and Cambridge, and Ministry at Windsor. 1809-1841. Chapter II. — Consecration to the Bishopric of New Zealand : The Voyage : Work in the Colony. 1841—1848. Chapter III. — First Voyage to the Melanesian Islands : Mis- sionary work there : Consecration of Bishop Patteson. 1841—1867. Chapter IV. — Second visit to England to attend the Pan- Anglican Synod : Appointment to the Bishopric of Lich- field : Farewell Visit to New Zealand. 1867—1868. Chapter V. — Life and work in the Diocese of Lichfield: First Visit to America: Death of Bishop Patteson. 1868—1871. Chapi'ER VI. — Bishop Rawle Consecrated in Lichfield Cathedral : Rev. J. R. Selwyn leaves England for Melanesia: The Bishop's second visit to America. 1872 — 1875. Chapter VIL— Death of Dean Champneys : Church Congress at Stoke-upon-Trent : Visit to the Isle of Man : Fourth Diocesan Conference. 1875 — 1878. Chapter VIIL— Last Illness and Death: The Funeral. Pro- posed Memorials at Lichfield and Cambiidge: Conclusion. 1878. Appendix. Ii,L,TJ8TRATI0NS. Portrait of Bishop Selwyn. (page 1.) Map of Melanesia, (page 24.) Lichfield College House, (page 48.) Alms Bason presented by the American Church, 1872. (page 85.} PEEFACE. On Sunday, the 24th of March, 1878, unexpectedly and ahnost without warning. Her Majesty's training ship, Eurj^dice, with all hands on board went down off the Isle of Wight. The tidings next morning sent a thrill of dismay throughout the length and breadth of England at the suddenness of the oalamit}'. On the same afternoon of that chill and bitter day, with its blinding snowstorms and withering wind, after a long Confirmation which had tried his powers to the utmost, our late beloved Bishop, folding his hands and laying back his head in the vestry of S. Mary's, Shrewsbury, said — " The end is come." To hear of his being ill created a feeling of no ordinary anxiety among his people, as he had shown few signs of failure in health, and no sign whatever of failure in energy. But when, a fortnight later, the medical attendants announced that his life was in the greatest danger and that very little hope could be entertained of his recovery, anxiety gave place to deep and unfeigned sorrow. Telegrams and bulletins were scanned with keenest interest from hour to hour; and when on Thursday, April 11th, the great Bell at the Cathedral announced that Bishop Selwyn was no more, everybody felt that a stately ship had indeed gone down, or, as we should rather say, had passed to the haven beyond our earthly knowledge. While therefore the remembrance of him, both as man and Bishop, is still vividly present with us, and his voice — that voice with its calm deep tone, warning, exhort- ing, comforting all who heard him — still sounds in our ears, LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYK. it seems well, ere the clear impression becomes at all dimmed, to recall some parts of his eventful life, and to put on record a few of those striking acts and words which have so power- fully affected the Church of England at [lome and in the colonies ; a more complete account being reserved for some abler pen than that which has been prompted by affectionate and reverential memories to write this simple sketch. The Close, Lichfield, 1878. E. A. C. CHAPTEE I. Early Life at Eton and Cambridge, and Ministry AT Windsor: 1809—1841. George Augustus Selwyn was born on April 5th, 1809, at Church Eow, Hampstead, in the quaint old street that still leads to the ivy-clad church. His father was Mr. William Selwyn, an eminent Queen's Counsel, and his mother Letitia Frances, daughter of Mr. Eoger Kynaston, of Witham, Essex. He was one of six children, four sons and two daughters, amongst whom even in the nursery he took the lead ; the others — though all possessed of considerable talent and force of character — invariably following wherever he led and carry- ing out whatever he proposed. Ealing was the first school to which the young Selwyns were sent ; and a letter from an old schooKellow mentions the popularity of the future Bishop even there. But it was Eton which mainly prepared him for his distinguished career at Cambridge. Mr. Grladstone, his schoolfellow and personal friend, has testified to the fact that from boyhood upwards his actions were noble and generous ; and this is confirmed by the EARLY LIFE AT ETON AND CAMBRIDGE. following characteristic anecdote, cc>mmunicated by his friend and coadjutor, Bishop Abraham. " AVe belonged," he says, " to the pre-scientific period as regards athleticism as \vell as studies. Our boats were clumsy and the oars clumsier. In Selw3'n's ' long-boat' there were seven oars not very good and one superlatively bad. The boys used to run up town as hard as they could to Bob Tolladay's and seize upon one of the seven moderately bad ones, and the last comer got the ' punt- pole.' Of course he was sulky all the ^vaj up to Surh', and the other seven abused hiin for not pulling his own weight. Every one Avas out of temper. So George Selwyn determined always to come last. The other feLlows chaffed him, but he used to laugli, and at last said ' It's Avorth my while taking that bad oar : I used to have to pull the w^eight of the sulky fellow who had it; now you are all in good humour.' This story illustrates his whole after life. He always took the labouring oar in everything."* The Bishop of Winchester (the Eight Eev. Harold BroAvne) has also recentl}' told in the Upper House of Convocation how he knew him when he was a bo}-, having been of nearly the same standing with him at Eton. He says, " He was the best boy on the river and nearly the first boy in learning. I remember his spirited speeches at the Eton debating society and some of his Greek compositions. I believe he was the greatest diver at Eton or anywhere else. •'•' * * He was always first in everything, and no one ever knew him without admiring and loving him." There is a bush at Eton called " Selwyn's bush," standing on a high bank of the Thames, to which he used to run up, take a spring, go over it with a perfectly straight body, and coming into the water head foremost at an angle * Eton College Chronicle, Jiine -ith 1878. LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. of forty-five, pass under the surface of the water and rise again directly. When asked how to do it, he used to say *' fancy yourself a dart." He left Eton in the Upper Division and went to Cambridge where he was first a Scholar and afterwards Fellow of S. John's College. " In 1829 a proposal for an inter-university boat race was started by Oxford, made (it is believed) by the present Bishop of S. Andrews. Cambridge warmly accepted the chal- lenge, and the 7th oar in the boat was pulled by George Selwyn. All his life he was an enthusiastic advocate for rowing, and in a letter which appears in Dr. de Morgan's book on University oarsmen he sa,js, ' Many of us were also great pedestrians : Bishop Tyrrell and I walked from Cam- bridge to London in thirteen hours without stopping: many were also ' Psychrolutes,' bathing in winter in all states of the river ; and my advice to all young men is, in two sentences, 'Be temperate in all things,' and 'Incumbite remis' (Bend to your oars).' "* Towards the end of his undergraduate life, he observed once on returning home that his parents had put down their carriage. He asked the reason, and learnt that the expense of keeping two sons at Cambridge and two at Eton was beyond their means. From that day he determined to gain his own livelihood, and did so as a Private Tutor and Fellow of S. John's. On leaving Cambridge he returned to Eton as private tutor to Lord Powis's sons; and having been ordained on his College- title he at first helped the Vicar of Windsorf by providing an Evening Service in the Church, and after a time became Curate of the Parish. The Vicar left matters very much in the young Curate's hands ; and when, in public or in private, •Saturday Review, April 20th, 1878. tThe late Rev Isaac Gossett. MINISTRY AT WINDSOR. praise was expressed at the admirable order with which every thing was arranged, lie alwaj's acknowledged the fact that success was entirely due to his Curate, and would take none of the credit to himself. " It is all Selwyn's doing," he would say, "he is the moving-spring here." A friend writes, ' ' His whole residence in Eton was marked by kindly co-operation, cordiality and zeal. If there were any misunderstandings amongst friends, he could not rest till they were reconciled ; if pecuniary difficulties fell upon anyone he would make every effort to extricate him ; if his friends were ill he was their nurse and companion ; if they lost relations or fell under sorrow he was Avith them at any hour to console and uphold them. Whether it were in spiritual work or active exercises or ordinary amusements, 'whatso- ever his hand found to do he did it with his might.'* How this description comes home to all who have known the Bishop during his life at Lichfield, where he was ever the comforter of those in trouble, the supporter of the weak, the guide in all difficulty to those who needed help ! While he was Tutor at Eton, he persuaded Dr. Hawtrey to let him undertake the management of the water arrangements for the boys. Hitherto the river had been ' out of bounds : ' so there were no rules or regulations for the boating and bathing, as there was no recognition of either on the part of the authorities. The young Tutor knew weU the mischief of this state of things, and represented to Dr. Hawtrey how wrong it was to treat boys as criminals requiring to be imprisoned. "Let them have fi-eedom," he pleaded, " and force them to learn swimming before going on the water." This was ac- cordingly carried out; and since that year (1839) not a *Guardian, April 24th, 1878. LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. .single fatal accident has happened, although the school has doubled its numbers, while before that time at least one death had occurred annually. One of his projects while Curate at "Windsor was — long before the days of cooking schools and lectures — the establishment of a parish kitchen. This was graphically described by himself at Wolverhampton in 1868, in his address to Churchwardens. " There is another point in parochial economy which I value very much indeed, and which has been very much in place in m.j past experience in New Zealand. Travelling across a wild country, it has often hap- pened to me that I have had to cook my OAvn food ; and the knowledge of cookery that I possess I acquired in my own parish-kitchen at Windsor, an institution which I found of the most beneficial kind for the relief of the poor, and also for the education of the children in a kind of knowledge which they needed very much — a knowledge of cooking. Before the kitchen was started there was a relief committee, to whom our district-visitors used to bring reports of various sick persons who required medical comforts and necessaries ; and the com- mittee issued orders for so many pounds of bread and mutton to be soiit to them. If the Curate followed the material to its destination, he would go into miserable places where there were only a few pieces of coal in the grate with a small black pot vipon them ; and in that pot would be a sort of fluid, black and greasy, with a hard lump like a cricket ball floating in the middle, which would be the very pound of meat for which the committee had paid 8d. to make broth for a sick person. Why I might as well have told them to make broth out of stones ! So the kitchen was started : a cook was engaged : a district visitor attended in the morning to act as housekeeper : they made all kinds of delicacies for the sick according to their CONSECRATIOX TO THE BISHOPRIC OF NEW ZEALAND. 7 wants : and at twelve o'clock the school-children carried tliem to the various houses, bringing ba(;k the basins and plates when they returned to school. This was found to be a great saving on the old plan. For sixpenny worth of well- cooked food did more good than a shilUngsworth of raw material in unskilled hands. I contend that every poor person when sick ought to be ministered to in the same waj' as the highest in the land : and nothing went out of our kitchen that was not fit for any person to partake of." At this time there was a large Chui'ch debt which was the cause of constant contention between various parties, each accusing the other of having incurred it. To remove this subject of dissension he gave up his own stipend as a foundation for paying off the debt, and enlisted some helpers to go with him from house to house until they had succeeded in raising the neeessar}' amount. He also kept the accounts of the Penn}' Bank and other parochial institu- tions, when he was a Curate, thus acquiring habits of business and method which were invaluable to him all his life. So varied was the training and discipline by which the unseen hand of Grod was fitting him for the career which soon afterwards most unexpectedly opened before him. CHAPTEE II. Consecration to the Bishopric of New Zealand : the Voyage : Work IN THE CoLONT : 1841 — 1848. The Church Missionary Society had long been desu'ous of Episcopal oversight for their successful and extensive Missions in New Zealand, which formed part of the Australasian dio- cese under Bishop Broughton's jurisdiction. This indefatig- 8 LIFE OF BISHOP SEL"WYN. able prelate had indeed visited the islands in 1838, had held an Ordination and two Confirmations there, and had conse- crated certain burial grounds. But, beyond this, New Zea- land — although almost entirely Christianized by the labours of Samuel Marsden (1815) and his successors — knew nothing of episcopal order and supervision. But in 1841, her Majesty's Government made New Zealand a separate colony, and in deference to the urgent representations of the Society, and of the newly founded "Colonial Bishoprics Council," they went so far as to promise £600 a year for the maintenance of a Bishop in the new Colony, an equal sum having ah*eady been guaranteed by the Church Missionary Society. The only re- maining difficulty was to find a suitable man for the post. It so happened that at this time the Windsor ciu'ate, in an- ticipation of liis pupils leaving Eton, was disengaging himself from his parish work and had ofi'ered to take an unpaid curacy under the aged vicar of a town in Shropshire near the Powis estates. But a higher call suddenly reached him. It was not indeed the call which he may possibly have anticipated — a call to the Bishopric of Malta (or Gibraltar). The summons was not to re-animate the corrupt communions of the Levant or to " re-kindle the fii-es of the early African Churches." It was a summons to carry the blessings of Church order and Episcopal supervision among the hardy colonists and the recently con- verted natives of " the Britain of the South." This arduous post, for which George Augustus Selwyn was of aU men per- haps the best fitted, was now offered to him and at once en- thusiastically accepted. He was consecrated on October 17, 1841 ; and at once prepared for his voyage. To go out as a Colonial Bishop in those days was a much more difficult undertaking than it is now. There were FAREWELL LETTER FROM THE ARCHBISHOP. » many hardships to be undergone, absence of civilization, great difficulty of communication, very little companionship, and sometimes even deficiency of food. All honour to the noble spirit which despised the comforts and refinements of life, for the sake of the Master in whose steps he so closely followed ! Some extracts will be interesting from Archbishop Howley's farewell letter to Bishop Selwyn, dated Nov. 30, 1841, and from the ansAver sent by the Bishop before he sailed from England. "My dear Lord, — I am requested by such of the Bishops as attended the last meeting of the Committee appointed to manage the fund for the endowment of Colonial Bishoprics, to address a valedictory letter to your lordship expressive of their personal respect, and of the deep interest they take in your high and holy Mission. The Mission over which you preside is foun- ded on the recognition of a principle which unfortunately has not always been acted upon in the first establishment of our colonies. You will have the great satisfaction of lading the foundations of civilized society in New Zealand on the basis of an Apostolical Church. * * Your mission acquires an importance exceeding all calculation when your See is regarded as the central point of a system extending its influence in all directions ; as a fountain diffusing the streams of salvation over the islands and coasts of the Pacific ; as the seminary to which nations which have been hitherto blinded by debasing superstitions wiR look for light. * * The consciousness of going forth in the name of the Lord, as the messenger of mercy and peace, will reconcile you to the sacrifices which you have made in obedience to this call from on high. * * The influence of. Mrs. Selwyn's kindness and piety wiU, I am 10 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. persuaded, not only promote the comfort and happiness of her domestic circle, but will be extensively useful in bettering the condition and improving the morals of all who come within its sphere. I most heartily commend your lordship, your family, and all the Clergj'men in your train, to the protection of the Lord and the guidance of His Holy Spirit. Your affectionate brother and friend, W. Caktuar." To this the Bishop replied as follows: — "Eichmond, Dec. 8, 1841. My dear Lord Archbishop, — The prevalence of contrary winds gives me an opportunity of acknowledging your Grace's most feeling and Christian letter from this place. When I say that every member of my own and of jii}' wife's family has ac- quiesced joj'fully and thankfully in the call which will sejDarate me from them, perhaps for life, I cannot offer a better proof of the blessing which has attended this act of the Church, in pro- curing for it the willing obedience of so man}' of its members. I may add to these feelings of public duty, that 3-on.r Grace's farewell letter has diffused jo}' and comfort on all our relations b}' the power of private sj'mpathy mingling with the highest and holiest thoughts of Christian obligation. TJiat the Church of England at home may be blessed with the spirit of unity and peace, and in the strength of that sj^irit may go forth into all the world, as it has now reached its most distant point, is the earnest prayer of one, who — more than all others — will require the support which is afforded b}^ the thought that there is no division in the Bod}^ of Christ ; but that in Him we all are joined together in one spirit and in one faith. '^•' * Sir J. Richardson would have been the first to rejoice in re- signing his daughter to the service of his Redeemer and at the bidding of His Church. I thank God that his spirit lives also in her. With our united and affectionate remembrances VOYAGE TO NEW ZEALAND 11 to Mrs. How'ley, and in grateful recollection of all join- kind- ness, I remain, with great respect, your Grace's dutiful and affectionate son, Gr. A. New Zealand." This letter at once suggests a leading feature in Bishop Selwj^n's character, evident to all who knew him through- out his life, — how he lived in communion with God. His thoughts ever naturally' and simply turned to Him, every action being, as it were, permeated with, love to God and with the one desire to do all to His honour and glory. His farewell- sermon at "Windsor was listened to with deep emotion as he talked of "going away to plant a Church and then to die neglected and unknown." One young hearer, an Eton hoy, was so forcibly struck by this sermon, that from that day forth he never gave up the idea of following the Bishop when he should be old enough to do so. This boy was John Coleridge Patteson, the future Bishop and Martj-r of Melanesia. In December, 1841, the Bishop of New Zealand sailed from Plymouth with a large party in the ship Tomatin.'^- He engaged a young native who liad been brought to England to be trained at Battersea, and from him during the voyage learnt the Maori language so successfully, that the first Sunda}- after he arrived he preached to the natives in their own tongue, so that he must have seemed to them half-inspired. On the journey out, he held classes daily for the benefit of those Avho were with him in Maori, Greek, and Hebrew ; and for himself, he learnt the art of navigation, which after- wards enabled him to be his own sailing-master in the vessels in which he cruised about on almost unknown seas. After a " For details of this voyage see Dean Howson's Menioii' of Re^'. T. B. ^Hirtehead, one of the party. 12 LIFE OF BISHOP SEL"WYN. voyage of four months he and his party landed at Sydney, where public thanksgivings weie offered up in S. James's Church for their safe arrival. A delay occurred at Sydney, owing to an accident which had happened to the Tomatln. After some weeks, therefore, during which the Bishop took counsel with Dr. Broughton, Bishop of Australia, about the new diocese, he started with his chaplain (Mr. Cotton) in a small brig for Auckland, leaving Mrs. Selwyn and their infant son to follow with the rest of the party. He landed at Auck- land May 30th, 1842. Many years afterwards, he thus de- scribed how he found things in New Zealand. "In 1814 the work of the Church Missionary Society began with the labours of Samuel Marsden, a Chaplain at Sydney, who trained and sent missionaries to preach the Gospel in New Zealand. He was followed by men sent out from England whose names will be ever remembered in the missionary annals of the Church. * * * * i ^©nt a quarter of a centmy later and found the greater part of the people had made profession of Christianity." Civilization and Christianity had indeed advanced rapidly in New Zealand since the early days of Christian Missions, when the natives were ferocious cannibals. In 1839, throughout the Northern Island there was scarcely a village which had not come under the sway of a native catechist, whose duties comprehended those of a village schoolmaster and reader of morning and evening prayer. The desire for instruction seemed universal ; and it is related hoAv some EngKsh sawyers requested their master to teach them reading and writing, as they were ashamed of being inferior to the surrounding natives in point of education. Some of the young chiefs were even eager to diffuse a know- ledge of Christianity throughout the country, and so to establish WORK IN THE COLONY. 13 peaceful relations between the hostile tribes. Mr. Jameson mentions having met with a young chief of gi'and proportions, six feet in height and endowed with a gift of eloquence by no means uncommon amongst the New Zealanders, who had travelled from one end of the Northern Island to the other, with ten of his tribe, for the sole purpose of imparting the knowledge of Christianity to the people near Cook's Straits. Every evening before retiring to rest this young chief assem- bled the natives, read a chapter of the New Testament in their 0"\\Ti language, and concluded mth a short extempore address. Another young man is mentioned, the son of one of the princi- pal chiefs, who had rescued a boy belonging to the ship Tonj from drowning ; and he is spoken of as very intelligent, while "his manners at table would not have disgraced a pupil of Lord Chesterfield.""^' In less than two months from the time he landed, the Bishop had arranged things satisfactorily at Auckland, and felt himself free to start for Wellington and Nelson in the Gf-overnment brig Victoria. He carried with him a Church-tent presented by W. Cotton, Esq., and on landing at Nelson he at once pitched this " canvas cathedral " and held daily service for the natives. Having spent a fortnight at Nelson he went on to Wellington, where his visit was saddened by the death of W. Evans, one of his fellow- workers, who died of fever in the Bishop's arms. From Wellington he started on his overland journey and began at once to visit all the Mission Stations, separated from one another by hundreds of miles of roadless country, over which he could travel only on foot. He thus solved in the simplest way Grovernor Hobson's question, ' What is the use of a Bishop, in a country where there are no roads for *Jamesoii's New Zealand, &c., (1842,) pp. 308, 199. 14 LIFE 0¥ BISHOP SELWYN. his lordship's carriage to drive ou ? ' He appointed four Archdeacons, and in one of his charges he warns them "not to consider themselves ' dignitaries ' of the Church : for, as the title of ' Bishop ' was a name not of honour but of work, so tlie title of ' Archdeacon ' was no peacock's feather to distin- guish ouje clergyman above another, but a pledge of com- bined helpfulness and work." The Bishop's letters at this time are full of enthusiastic admiration for the beauty of the country, the grandeur of the scener}^, and the unequalled climate under which he could en- dure exposvu'e by night or by day without fear of evil conse- quences. The only requisites of a New Zealand camp, he says, are "fern, firewood, and water." Throughout the re- maining months of the year 1842 he visited every settlement : and before he returned to Auckland in January 1843, he had made acquaintance with every clergyman and catechist through- out the Diocese. The Chief Justice, Sir William Martin, accompanied the Bishop throughout a great part of this first visitation ; and they were Avarmly welcomed and hospitably entertained everywhere at the settlers' houses. In his diary he says, "I was lodged in the house of Mr. Cooke, a gentle- man who most kindly undertook to place his whole establish- ment at the service of the Chief Justice and myself; and on going out into his garden in the morning, the view burst upon me of the whole mountain (Mt. Egmont), running up in a white cone above the clouds which were still clinging to it mid- waj. At the foot of the grounds ran one of those beautifully clear and rapid streams which abound throughout Taranaki ; and all around the fresh fciliage of a New Zealand spring, tipping all the evergreens with a bright and sparkling verdure, formed a base on which the white peak of the mountain re- FOUNDATION OF S. JOHN's COLLEGE. 15 posed. My favourite verse came into my mind — ' Tlie lot is fallen to me in a fair ground, j'ea, I have a goodly heritage.' "* In the same enthusiastic Ava}' he describes a service held out of doors for the benefit of the natives. " Sunday, Nov. 13th, 1842. Conducted native services for my party of thirty natives, — a most happy Sunday. Our camp on a level}' little plain, bounded on all sides with wood, except on one, where a view opened on a range of distant hills. Below us in a deep valley flowed the infant WanaAvatu, in a very winding channel, with precipitous wooded banks feathering down to the stream. The day was the perfection of New Zealand weather, which is the perfection of all climates — hot, but rarely sultry ; bright, but not glaring, from the vivid green with which the earth is generally clothed. If you could have seen the peacefulness of our Lord's-day camp, and the repose of the Avhole face of heaven and earth, you would have been relieved from many of those fears which seem sometimes to creep into jouv mind when you think of my journeys in this country."* The Bishop returned to Auckland early in January ; and the following entry in his diary ay ill show what sort of condition he was in at the end of his six months' journey by land and by sea. " Tuesday, Jan. 3 : My last pair of thick shoes being worn out, and vaj feet much blistered with walking the day before on the stumps, which I was obliged to tie to my insteps with pieces of native flax, I borrowed a horse from the native teacher, and started at 4 a.m. to go twelve miles to Mr. Hamlin's Mission Station, where I arrived at 7 a.m. After breakfast I sailed in his boat ten miles across Manukau har- bour. A beautiful run of two hours brought us to Onehunga by noon. I landed there with ni}' faithful Maori, Eota (Lot), * Journal (S.P.G.), Part I. Fage 62. * Jounuil tS.P.G.) Part I, Page 68. 16 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. who had steadily accompanied me from Kapiti carrying my bag with gown and cassock, the onlj- remaining articles in my possession of the least value. The suit which I wore was kept sufficiently decent, by much care, to enable me to enter Auck- land by daylight ; and my last remaining pair of shoes (thin ones) were strong enough for the light and sandy walk of six miles from Manukau to Aucldand. At 2 p.m. I reached the Judge's house, by a path avoiding the town, and passing over land which I have bought for the site of the Cathedral ; a spot which I hope may hereafter be traversed by the feet of many Bishops, better shod and far less ragged than myself, "f The Bishop having by this visitation gained acomjjlete know- ledge of the general condition of his diocese, proceeded now to organize the machinery by which he meant to work it. He at first established his head quarters at the Waimate, 140 miles from Auckland, near the Bay of Islands, where he built a tem- porary college for the training of candidates for holy orders, eatechists, and schoolmasters, together with elementary schools for the children of natives and of British settlers. St. John's College opened with seven students " duly arrayed in caps and gowns," of whom four were ordained during the year and sent to different posts in the country. Here too was the Bishop's own residence when he was not travelling about : and he was thus enabled to gain a personal and in- timate knowledge both of the candidates for ordination, and of the young people in the schools. After two years, however, it was thought expedient by the Bishop to remove all these Institutions to the neighbourhood of Auckland, to which he also transferred his own residence. Here were built the Bishop's house, schoolrooms, a library, kitchen and dining t Journal (S.P.G.), Part 1, page 96. s. John's college, Auckland. 17 hall, a hospital, a chapel, a printing house, a day school (kept by Mrs. Selwyu), and a native industrial school in which he gathered New Zealand lads from all parts of the dio- cese. From this College went forth a goodly band every Sunday to serve the affihated chapels, seven in number, within a radius of five miles, after the example of the early Cathedrals in the days of their primitive zeal and efficiency. That the CoUege was considered by the Bishop as the most important part of his diocesan machinery is evident from his letters : he constantly speaks of it as "the key and pivot" of all his operations. He saw indeed in the CoUege the only chance of keeping up a supply of clergy, when his hopes of receiving can- didates from England grew less and less ; and as the sons of farmers were trained there under the Bishop's eye in all things likely to be needed b}^ them in ordinary life, they made good servants of the Church as laymen, even if they displayed no special qualifications for the Ministry. There were however troublous times in store for the Bishop and for all who took interest in keeping up friendlj^ relations between the colonists and the natives. And one of these causes of trouble, the land difficulty, was much increased by the Church Missionary Society's Agents having purchased nearly 100,000 acres — a much larger share than the law allowed settlers to possess. There were also wars between the tribes; and in 1844 the Kororareka insurrection, headed by John Heki, came to a head. The Bishop, hearing that troops had been sent to the scene of action, went after them in his own small coasting vessel. But the British flag-staff was cut down by the natives, and Heki danced a war-dance before the Bishop's face. B 18 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWTN. Another chief, Te Heu-heu, was a source of great trouble. On one occasion however, when H.M.S. Hazard was blown out to sea, and the colonists were left quite undefended, the Bishop and a Government Official went boldly out to the natives; and the old chief met them in a friendly manner, saying "you have acted like gentlemen in coming," and ordered his men to do honour to the Pakehas. So, to the Bishop's great joy, all chance of bloodshed was averted and peace was restored for a time. In 1844 the Bishop's methodical preparation for the self- government of the New Zealand Church resulted in the first Synod of the Diocese, the first experiment of the kind made in our communion since Convocation was silenced in England. There were present the Bishop, three Archdeacons, four Priests, and .two Deacons : and questions of church dis- cipline and church extension were discussed. But this meeting was said to be illegal by English authorities; and in 1847 a second Synod was held, when the Bishop read a cor- respondence between the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Colonial Secretary, Mr. Gladstone, proposing a church-consti- tution in which Bishops, Clergy, and Laity should be repre- sented. The six Bishops of Australasia met at Sydney in 1850, and likewise recommended a Church constitution in which Laity should be united with the Clergy. Two years later the Laity of New Zealand, headed by the Governor, petitioned to be allowed to take part in church legislation ; and at length the first general Synod of New Zealand was held in 1857, at which five Bishops and a large number of Clergy and Laity were present.^ * Among other Financial arrangements, the Bishop's treatment of his Salary ■was 80 characteristic, as to deserve a separate notice. The sum, paid in two moieties by the Government at home, and Church Missionary Society, was £1,200. LOSS OF FELLOW-LABOTJRERS. 19 Before many years had passed the Bishop was deprived by death of the services of almost all the Clergy who had come out with him from England. The loss of Mr. Whytehead, his dear friend and chaplain, was one of the early trials Which befell him during the first year of his life in New Zealand ; and he mentions in his diary how keenly he felt the blow. "When the reality of the blow came upon me, it almost over- powered me for the time ; for we have walked together in G-od's spiritual house so long, that his death will be like the loss of another brother. When I recollected the last scene before I quitted Wellington, the interment of poor W. Evans, my journey seemed, like the re-building of Jericho, to be begun and ended in the death of my children. StiU I thank God that the clouded side of the piilar was not always before my mind ; but from time to time the light would reappear. And I thought I saw in the signal mercies which God has already granted to this country an earnest of greater blessings; and then it seemed as if the death of those whom I loved and trusted most was another proof of His bounty in giving such men to be buried under the foundations of my infant Church for the gener- tions that come after to rememberand imitate."* Mr. Wliytehead had been Principal of S. John's College ; and on March 21st 1843, the students bore him to his rest at the east end of Waimate Church. Out of some funds left by him for the This sum was carried by the Bishop to the diocesan accounts, as if received by the diocese, and appeared in the yearly printed balance sheet as the fu-st item of diocesan income. On the payment side, the diocese appeared as paying to the Bishop £500, thus leaving a balance of £700 for general diocesan purposes. This arrangement went on till 1S52, when the Imperial Government, having transferred to the newly- created parliament of the Colony all colonial charges, ceased to pay its moiety of £600, — and the parliament refused to accept the charge. The salary of £600, as now reduced, (the Chm-ch Missionary Society most honourably continuing to pay it tiU 1868), was carried to the diocesan account as before until 1860, when, upon the Con- secration of Bishop Williams to the unendowed diocese of Waiapu, Bishop Selwyn proposed to his new Brother to throw his salary of £200, drawn also from Chiu-ch ;Mis8ionary Society, into hotchpot, each party to take out half— £400 per ann. The average salary of the Bishoprics which he founded was under £500. * Joztmal (S.P.G.) Part I; Page 98. 20 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWTN. benefit of the College, the site for the new buildings near Auckland was purchased by the Bishop ; and thus his name was inseparably connected with S. John's College of the future. The details of the Bishop's journeyings by land and by water would furnish volumes of interesting matter, even for the general reader, — as may be seen by the portions of his diary already published. His bright descriptions of the scenes through which he passed, the humourous account of his inter- course with the settlers and the natives, and the many contriv- ances to Avhich he and his fellow-travellers were compelled to resort, all form so graphic a picture that the reader is carried on through forests and over lakes, up mountains, to hot vol- canic springs, and along the coast for hundreds of miles in the little sailing vessel, with an interest which never fails ; and it is almost forgotten that the experiences related are those of a Missionary Bishop, until the occurrence of such remarks as the following: "When I form my plan for the summer, I write down all the days in my journal with D.V. against the name of the place which I hope to reach on each day ; if I succeed I add D.G. to the name." He frequently declares that Mis- sionary life in New Zealand had no hardships, and that all diffi- culties could be easily overcome. For instance, when he wished to cross a river and no canoe was forthcoming, he says: "I blew up my air-bed, which is my state-barge on such occasion ; and the natives having made a frame of sticks, Mr. Taylor crossed in safety upon it, as I had done before in the passage of Wananaki." How congenial to his tastes this mode of life was, and how strongly he became attached to the country and its inhabitants, may be judged from the following letter, written in 1848. He thus writes, in 1848, of his continued love for the country and its inhabitants : '' You would not wonder that INSURRECTION OF NATIVES. 21 I love New Zealand, if you knew as much of it as I do. The outline of every hill and the position of every rock is by this time written on my mind. If there be any truth in phrenology, I believe that the map of New Zealand will be stamped on some part of the organic substance of my brain. It is this intimate knowledge of localities, derived from frequent visits, which gives such a peculiar charm to the whole country and makes it seem like one's own. And so it is : for, like the gipsies, I pitch my tent where'er I please, or anchor my floating palace in any sheltered cove ; and wherever I go, by sea or land, I am received as a friend and find some objects of moral and religious interest to leave upon the mind a pleasing recollection of the place. "J This pleasant picture drawn by the Bishop was, how- ever, too soon to be marred by the miserable strife between the two races, which gathered strength year by year until it culminated in war and bloodshed, and gallant young English ofiicers lost their lives in Maori Pas, when the in- surrection of William Tamihana (1863) had at length to be crushed by main force. An eminent colonist who might have been expected to take the part of the English, thus accounts for the growing alienation. " Nothing," he says, "can exceed the kindness and respect with which men like Sir George Grey and the Bishop of New Zealand treat the natives. But the mass of the townspeople give vent to arrogance and contempt, and speak of the Maoris both publicly and privately with dis- gust and dislike, using language peculiarly offensive to them."* Serious results might have already arisen from this unfortunate breach between the two races, if the clergy had not used their influence to promote peace. " Here comes that Bishop to pre- t Journal (S.P.G.), Pages 45, 54. ■» The Maori King, by J. E. Gorst : page 75. 22 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. vent us from jBighting tlie natives," was a saying often heard among the settlers : and " at the time when a general gather- ing of tribes would have destroyed the whole colony, it needed no more than that the clergy should be silent, to agitate the native people from one end of New Zealand to the other."! The Bishop was asked by the Governor to mediate with the Maoris, in the vain hope of persuading them to give up their allegiance to their recently- elected king. Accordingly he presented himself at their meeting, which took place on a Sunday, and heard Tamihana, the king, preach on the text, "Behold how good and joyful a thing it is to dwell together in unity," and insist throughout the discourse on the advan- tages of the Maori tribes being united as one nation under the same king. But in the afternoon the Bishop who had obtained permission to preach to the assembled Maoris, took the same text, and eloquently pleaded for the union of English and native, of Pakeha and Maori, pointing out the im- possibiUty of this union unless they agreed to submit to one law and one Sovereign. His words were these : " Here I am, a mediator for New Zealand : my w^ork is mediation : I am not merely a Pakeha, or a Maori ; I am a half-caste. I have eaten your food, I have slept in jour houses ; I have talked with you, journeyed with you, prayed with you, partaken of the Holy Communion with you. Therefore I say I am a half- caste. We are all half-castes. Your dress is a Maori-mat and English clothes. As we are all half-castes, let us dwell to- gether with one faith, one love, and one law."* But all was in vain. His efforts to maintain peace between the two races were unsuccessful. And at last the political dis- affection of the natives deepened into a religious abhorrence of + Journal, Part V. Page 38. * The Maori Kinf, by J. E. Goi-st. 1864. REIiAP.-E OF NATIVES INTO HEATHENISM. 23 the very creed of the Pakeha, and into a downright apostacy from Christianity. This apostacy took the strangest and most repulsive form. The "Hau-hau" superstition was a compound of all the creeds known to the Maori mind ; and whole tribes relapsed into heathen ways of life, and even learnt afresh their long-forgotten cannibalism. The Bishop's deep disappointment can easily be imagined. His one thought now was to pluck what- ever brands his courage and skill could reach from this disas- trous burning. In 1863 he thus wrote to Bishop Short, of Adelaide : " I have now one simple missionary idea before me, that of watching over the remnant that is left. Our native work is a lemnant in two senses, — the remnant of a decaying people, and the remnant of a decaying faith. The works of which you hear are not the works of heathens ; they are the works of baptized men, whose love has grown cold from causes common to all churches of neophytes from Laodicaea down- wards." It was indeed the heaviest trial that could befaU the Bishop. But how bravely he bore all such trials may be seen from the following words addressed, in 1864, to Bishop Hobhouse (then Bis] top of Nelson), who had told him that his failing health was rendering him unequal to his post : "It may be some comfort to you to know that for seventeen years I laboured in the field divided now between six Bishops, and was sustained solely by that grace which is sufficient for us all, never once really having had a glimpse of satisfaction in any one part of my multifarious work, — Episcopal, Collegiate, Missionary, — but in all falling short of the lowest ideal, yet encouraged to hope that the time would come when the field would be adequately filled. God has justified in a wonderful manner the hope which His grace then enabled me to cherish." How few could labour on, without failing in courage and 24 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. hopefulness under such, circumstances as these ! And yet how great was his success in the end ! " He founded a flourishing Church, and laid its foundations deep on Apostolic models. Like St. Paul the Apostle of the Gentiles he never spared himself in journeyings often, in perils often. * * * He gave the New Zealand Church a Constitution with a Synod to govern it, and saw the one Diocese to which he had been appointed divided and sub-divided into six Sees besides that of Melanesia, — viz. Auckland, Wellington, Waiapu, Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin. A man of noble bearing, open counte- nance, great powers of endurance, with a fund of common sense and an amount of nautical knowledge which would not have disgraced an Admiral, he was the very Bishop for a Diocese where the sea was the ordinary means of communi- cation."* CHAPTEE III. First Voyage to the Melanesia^ Islands : Missionary "Work there: Consecration of Bishop Patteson : 1848 — 1861. In 1848 the Bishop determined to make an effort to reach the Melanesian Islands, which he considered to belong to his diocese. They had indeed been commended to him by the Archbishop of Canterbury ; and the Colonial Office, by a geo- graphical error in his letters patent, had assigned to him a diocese extending from 50 degrees of South latitude to 34 degrees of North latitude. This wide commission he took, with humorous gravity, in a literal sense. And the way in which he accomplished his first sight of these scattered islands * Th3 Timet, April 13, 1878. MEL ATRESIA Stanford^- &eoq. UstabtLoJidoru FIRST VOYAGE IN THE " UNDINE." 25 was very characteristic. H.M.S. Dido being at Auckland, he asked leave of the Captain to accompany him ou his Toyage among the various groups of islands which gem the Pacific Ocean. This request could not however be granted ; and the Bishop had to leave the ship with no prospect of his ardent wish to join her as a passenger being accomplished. But when the ship was ready to start, the Captain was surprised to see the importunate Bishop appear again ; and this time he was successful in his application, for it took the form of a re- quest to occupy the place of the " naval instructor," who was willing to await at Auckland the return of the vessel. The knowledge of mathematics and navigation possessed by the Bishop enabled him to fulfil his part efficiently ; since he was as well acquainted with the art of sailing a ship as many a more practical seaman. Indeed the Captain of a merchant vessel once remarked to a New Zealand clergyman, "It almost made him a Christian and a churchman to see the Bishop bring his schooner into harbour." What he saw of the Melan- esian Islands during this voyage strengthened his determina- tion to visit them again, "should some door be opened by which God may show His willingness that the work should be begun." Accordingly in the following year, (1849) he set off on his first voyage in the little schooner, the 'Undine,' cruising about the islands and tryingto open friendly communication with the natives. His plan was to persuade them to allow him to take some of their children to New Zealand, where they might be civilized and taught the elements of Christianity, while they in turn might impart their own language to their teachers. In the winter the Bishop proposed to return with them to their homes and leave them until the following year, when he would again fetch them if they should be willing to come. 26 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. He went first to Aneiteum, where he visited the Scotch Missionaries already established there. He also visited other islands, never interfering if he found emy mission work going on : but after an interchange of kindly intercourse with the missionaries he would push on farther in search of fresh un- broken ground. This rule the Bishop invariably followed out in his mission work, as he held strongly that divisions were the ruin of the cause which all had at heart. But whilst hold- ing what he called "the Abraham and Lot principle" in ab- staining from occupied fields, he embraced every opportunity of cultivating personal relations with all who were striving to serve the One Master. He conferred a great benefit on the Scotch Mission at Aneiteum in the following year when he returned to the island, by bringing a wooden house with him on board his little vessel for the Presbyterian Minister. This seems a simple act of brotherly kindness ; but it was unfortunately made the source of some annoyance to the Bishop, as it was considered in England that he had needlessly gone out of his wa}' in taking this trouble for a member of another mission. Happily his large heart was proof against attacks of this petty nature, as he had undoubtedly manj- such to undergo from those who at a distance were quite unable to form a correct judgment as to the best mode of action. The Bishop's remarkable influence with the people of the islands is thus described by a naval chaplain on board a man-of-war in the Western Pacific, which was piloted by Bishop Selwyn in the 'Undine.' "He would not allow his crew of four men to have a musket or any weapon of defence. His wonderful presence of mind and dignified bearing, and a certain something quite undefinable, had such an influence over the savage mind that the natives never 27 seemed to contemplate the possibility of his molesting them ; and therefore they never dreamed of carrying out their rule to avenge the shooting of one of themselves by the sandal wood traders, by killing and eating the first white man who fell into their power.*'" On his first voyage the Bishop brought back five boys mth him to Auckland, where they were placed in S. John's College, with the young Maoris ; and after six months the Bishop took them back in the 'Border Maid,' (a new vessel, presented by the Australian dioceses of Sj'dney and Newcastle, ) to their own homes. The hold of this vessel was fitted up as a schoolroom, and the Bishop and his fellow- workers kept school regularly. Everywhere his quick-sighted reading of countenance, his habits of order and of forethought, his calmness and courage, enabled him to go through scenes of danger unhurt. All de- pended on his wisdom, energy and presence of mind. On one occasion when a boy fell ill, the others at once proposed to throw him overboard because, they said, he was unhappy and made others so: his life was "no good." The Bishop how- ever was near enough to prevent this catastrophe ; and he showed the boys that this was not the right way to treat a sick comrade, but that they should rather lessen his troubles and restore him to " happiness" again, f The ' Border Maid' returned to Auckland with thirteen scholars in October, 1851. The joyful news was brought to the College that she had anchored off the coast during the night ; and immediately after morning service a long file of black boys were seen coming up from the vessel with the Bishop and his party. The warm welcome with which they were greeted can be imagined ; and they were soon all settled * Guardian, May 15th, 1878. t The Island Mission, p. 23. 28 LIFE OF BISHOP SEL"W^IT. down quietly at work. "The Bishop's College," says an officer of H.M.S. 'Fantome,' who visited Auckland in 1853, "is a collection of EHzabethan-looking small buildings, with farm establishments (in the same style) attached. The Bishop is, indeed, a wonderful man. The true Christian, the champion pedestrian, the perfect scholar, the polished gentleman, the eloquent preacher and linguist, are united in him. His ener- gies are untiring. I have seen him come out of church, hailed by a host of Maoris all holding out their hands and shaking his with true fervour, and his lordship having a word in their own pretty language for all." * The next year, to the Bishop's great delight, he secured two girls to bring with him to Auckland; and he proudly brought them up the beach, one on each arm, arrayed in gar- ments of his own handiwork made out of a bed-quilt and ornamented with a scarlet bow. Little Wabisane, and little Wasitrutru (the latter name meaning ' Little Chattering Bird') were the names of the girls who were afterwards called Sarah and Caroline, after Mrs. Selwyn and Mrs. Abraham. George was the name most frequently given to the boys ; and the first Melanesian who was ordained was George Sarawia. In 1854, after thirteen years' absence, the Bishop was obliged to visit England to treat with the Government for the sub-division of his Diocese. During this visit he preached at the opening of Cuddesden Theological College ; and at Cambridge ■delivered four stirring sermons. He preached devotion to Christ and self-sacrifice for his cause. " Ofi'er yourselves to the Arch- bishop," he said, " as twelve hundred young men have offered themselves for the Crimean war to the Commander in chief. The voice of the Lord Himself is asking ' Whom shall I send, *Malone, three years in the Australasian Colonies : p. 245. FIRST VISIT TO ENGLAND. 29 and who will go for us ? ' May many here answer at once, ' Here am I, send me ! ' " One young man who heard the Bishop's appeal, being possessed of some £12,000, Avith fur- ther expectations, offered all his money to the mission. Tlie Bishop, however, positively refused to avail himself of this temj)ting offer ; yet its acceptance would have relieved him from the irksome task of going about from place to place begging for help. He refused to benefit by the enthusiasm, perhaps transient, which his own eloquence had enkindled ; and, though always willing unhesitatingly to accept personal service, he would not take any of the young man's money. Another result of this appeal was the offer of the Rev. Charles Mackenzie to head the Universities' Mission in South Africa. And in memory of this visit a new schooner, called the ' ' South- ern Cross," was presented by friends for the use of the Melan- esian Mission, to which also the profits of the " Daisy Chain" past and future were dedicated by the authoress. In March, 1855, the Bishop sailed again to New Zealand, taking with him the Eov. John Coleridge Patteson who had, so many years before, resolved one day to follow him on hear- ing the heart-stirring words of the farewell sermon at Windsor. None of all the faithful band who attached themselves to the Bishop stood so nearly to him in the place of a son as did this devoted chaplain, whom he speaks of "as a sort of divine recompence for my two boys left in England." They left Auckland on their first voyage in the new Schooner, on Ascen- sion Day, 1856; their object being to penetrate into more tropical latitudes than the mission had ever yet realised. This was always the Bishop's favourite dsij for starting on his mission voyages, that so the charge might still be ringing in their ears "Go ye into all the world and preach the 30 MFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. gospel to every creature." Whilst cruising among the Islands to the North, they left Mrs. Selwyn alone at Norfolk Island, to teach and influence the daughters of the Pitcairn people newly settled there, calling for her again as they returned, laden with fresh Melanesian pupils, to Auckland. For Auckland was still the head quarters of the Mission, and continued to be so till 1867, when it was removed to a more suitable climate in Norfolk Island. In 1861, on S. Matthias' Day, at S. Paul's Church, Auck- land, the first Bishop of Melanesia, Eev. J. C. Patteson, was consecrated by Bishop Selwyn, Bishop Abraham, and Bishop Hobhouse. The scene of the consecration is fully described in the "Life of Bishop Patteson," and need not be dwelt upon here. It seemed to aU present to be the crowning moment, full of unclouded happiness and perfect satisfaction, in the life of the Founder of the Mission. CHAPTER IV. Second Visit to Exgland, to attend the Pan-Anglican Synod : Appointment to the Bishopric of Lichfield : Parewell Visit to New Zealand: 1867 — 1868. In the Spring of 1867 Bishop Selwyn again sailed for England accompanied by Mrs. Selwyn, the faithful and un- tiring helpmate in all his labours and anxieties. The pur- pose for which he took this long journey was not to raise funds, nor to enjoy repose. It was at a distinct call of duty that he left his Diocese for " Home," — to attend the first Pan-Anglican Synod at Lambeth, to which the Archbishop had summoned him. and in the success of which he felt the APPOINTMENT TO THE BISHOPRIC OF LICHFIELD. 31 deepest personal interest, regarding it as "the most import- ant event which had happened to the Church since the Refor- mation." In the autumn, after the close of the Lambeth Synod he attended the Wolverhampton. Congress ;j- which was soon followed by Bishop Lonsdale's lamented decease. A period of unusual delay followed : but, at length, the joy- ful news was heard that the vacant See had been offered to the Bishop of New Zealand. Oifered indeed, but not at first ac- cepted. It was some iime before he could make up his mind to abandon the country which he loved so deeply and to which he had dedicated his life. But on special request from the highest authorities in the land he dutifully yielded obedience. His words to the Bishop of Winchester were, " The Prime Minister pressed it upon me as a duty — the Archbishop pressed it upon me as a duty — the Queen pressed it upon me as a duty — and with all my feelings of loyalty what could I do ? " He also said at Oxford, a short time afterwards, ' ' I had no part in it ; I had only to obey. Twenty-six years ago I was told to go to New Zealand and I went : I am told now to go to Lichfield and I go." "He was called upon to exchange the free life he lived and gloried in for the conventionalities of Old England and the manacles — they were little else to him — of a Peerage, a Palace, and the deeply worn grooves of a vast Midland Diocese established by S. Chad 1,200 years ago. What change could have been more unwelcome ! What gilded fetters could have been forged for him more galling ! To some men the baubles that accompany ecclesiastical rank at home t The ready reply m'ulp by the Bishop to a noble Lord at this Congress is worthy of mention. When s-ieatniy- of the affection of the Colonial Churches towards the Mother Church, he was ii;!;'iTU]ited by the noble lord, who said in a low voice, " But you have cut the painter ! " '■ No, indeed," replied the Bishop, " we have not cut the painter, — it bat carted of itself : and we are now eng-agvd in forg-ing a more enduring cable, like the invisible and immaterial bonds which anchor the planets to the sun." 32 LIFE OF BISHOP SEL-WTN. may seem attractive ; but to Bishop Selwyn they were not so."* He lost no time in making himself acquainted with the existing organization of his Diocese ; and at once resolved to make his home at the Palace in the Close at Lichfield, as the centre of the Diocese, and as more accessible to the Clergy than the remote Ej)iscopal Castle of Eccleshall where his predecessors had lived, three miles from a railway station. The Bishop was enthroned in the Cathedral Jan. 9th, 1868, with due solemnity. Upwards of fifty clergy in surplices were present ; and the Tc Detim, sung by the Choir as the procession wound round the sanctuary, seemed a true expres- sion of the thankful and hopeful feeling of all present. Few who saw the ceremony could ever forget it. No doubt, at first, his heart was often sad with thoughts of "the widowed sister diocese," as he termed it ; and he used to pace up and down the terrace in the Palace garden, after the 8 a.m. College-service in the Cathedral — (from which when at home he was rarely absent) — refreshing his eyes with the blue waters of Stowe Pool as a reminder of his beloved far- away ocean. But he shewed no sign of regret. He at once set vigorously to work to improve the Church machinery of his Diocese : following up the preliminary steps taken by Bishop Lonsdale+ to get the consent of the Clergy and Laity to form *Lichfielcl Diocesan Cliurcliman, May, 1878. tBishop Selwj-n quotes, in his Pastoral letter of April 13, 18G8, the express words of Bishop Lonsdale spoken in the Upper House of Convocation on June 4, 1867. " Feeling- the importance of the subject (Diocesan SjTiods) and knowing the strong convictions that were held upon it, I addi-essed a circular to my Rmal Deans at the beginning of the year. They are 48 in number, and I requested them to bring before their several Chapters the general desirableness of Diocesan Synods. I have received a great number of answers; and knowing the different views of different Clergy, I confess I was very much surprised at the extraordinary unanimity of con- currence. I do not think that amongst aU there was a single instance of dissent. They expressed various opinions as to the details of the plan by winch the object might be carried into effect, but they expressed only one opinion as to the desirable- ness of Diocesan Synods in general. I am g;lad to have the opportunity of expressing my opinion, and at the same time con'ecting the statement that I have determined to hold a Synod in the course of this year ; though if it please God to give me health and strength, I shall probably do so some tune or other." LAY CO-OPERATION. 33 a Diocesan S3^nod, and holding meetings in every Eural Deanery for this purpose. How much he valued the concur- rence and help of the Laity may be gathered from a remark made by him at the Archidiaconal Conference at Stafford, May 8th, 1868. In reply to Lord Harrowby's objection to the word Synod, he said "he would rather be in a Conference with Lord Harrowby than in a Synod without him : " and accordingly the word ' Conference' was adopted. This incident may also serve to illustrate his words some years later, when speaking of the division of the Diocese, "I have lived long enough to learn to be content with the second-best plan, rather than to stop all proceedings by insisting on that which appears to me to be the best." Although in some of these meetings he encountered opposition — too often from those who should have been his chief supporters — still his good judgment and patient wisdom overcame all obstacles. It was amusing and instruc- tive to watch him on these occasions, and to notice the never- failing courtesy and kindliness with which he listened to what everybody had to say, charming away all asperities with the wave of his long quill-pen, and accepting the decision favour- able or unfavourable with unruffled temper. As it had been in New Zealand, so it proved to be in Lichfield Diocese. His very presence was a power. And his own energy was caught up by his clergy to such an extent that, probably, in no Diocese in England has so much material and spiritual progress been made within so short a time. He came at a difficult period. But his whole previous life had trained him to cope with difficulties. He came to work, and work he did without ceasing until the close of his life. A characteristic account appeared at this time in a local journal of the way in which the Bishop worked. **The 84 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. Bishop began in the Potteries on Saturday hy preaching a stirring sermon on the Resurrection, and consecrating a new piece of land joined to the Churchyard. Three ser- mons and three Consecrations were his work that day. On Sunday he preached three times. On Monday an address delivered at Stoke from the altar steps, on the Ministry, Avith a celebration of the Holy Communion ; then a two hours' meeting about establishing the Diocesan Synod; in the evening a sermon at Sneyd for the Schools. On Tuesday the bells of Newcastle told by their ringing that something unusual was occurring, and a stately procession of Mayor and Corporation, &c., welcomed the Bishop at the Town Hall and conducted him to the Old Church. After service the Communion was administered to some 200 communicants. A lunch followed at the Hotel, and by three o'clock he was busy again, with exemplary patience, studious attention, and pleasant repartee, hearing and answering objections to his proposal to establish a Dioce- san Synod. A Missionary meeting was held at the Town Hall, attended by all classes, in which he told his simple manly tale how he owned the natives of Australasia for brother-men, and how he had worked among them for six and twenty years of his life ; which was received often with expressions of assent, such as ' that's a good un, he is ! ' So ended the fourth day. On Wednesday the village of Talke witnessed an impressive scene. A little iron Church was that day opened for worship, having been erected by the exertions of some ladies. It only held about 100 people; so the silk dresses and broad-cloth soon filled it. But while the hymn was singing before the sermon, the Bishop was seen leaving the tiny chancel and forcing his way towards the door through the crowded gang- way. People's hearts began to beat, thinking the four days' FIEST DIOCESAN CONFERENCE. 35 work had. exhausted him and. he was obliged to go out for air. Nothing of the kind ! The good Bishop took his stand at the porch and turning to the hundreds of colliers outside, addressed them in the most simple and touching words which went home to their hearts, making them feel he was indeed their own Bishop, a real man like themselves. The Bishop's head was uncovered ; the rough men and lads kept on their hats ; but their looks were rivetted on him and, no doubt, many of them took home to their hearts the Word of life thus made plain to their understandings. In the afternoon the Bishop left for Ham, where he preached twice on Thursday, adminis- tered the Holy Communion, and held a meeting about the proposed Diocesan Synod. "^' The history of these five days is an illustration of the Bishop's labours in his diocese, and of the missionary energy with which he at ouce made himself acquainted with every part of it. On June 16th, a Choral Festival was held in the Cathedral, a bright red-letter day in the memory of many, the sun shining and the bells ringing merrily as the Bishop and Clergy came in procession along the Dean's-walk. On the following day the first Diocesan Conference took place in the Guild Hall, at which about 400 members were present. The Bishop in his address said, " Since I have been among you I have been very happy. I have been received most kindly everywhere, and the difference of opinion I have met with proves that it is possible to difi'er Avidely and yet remain friends. Now the meeting of to-day Avill put the colophon upon our work ; and I trust it is a good and hopeful work. In addition to those already existing, other great works are looming in the distance. You will hear to-day of ^Staffordshire Sentinel, May 4th, 1878. 36 I'TFE OF BISHOP SELWYlir. an organized system of lay-agency, to supplement the scarcity of clergy in our populous districts. Beyond that, and follow- ing upon it, is the subject of the Lichfield Theological College. We shall want a Diocesan Fund, not restricted to special objects, but available, under direction of the Diocesan Council, for Church works and needs of every kind, — the fund not to be frittered away in small grants here and there, but devoted annually to great diocesan works tending to give strength and stability to our system. * * Some of this fund will be applied towards giving free admission to the best of the lay agents to be educated at the Theological College." *' * We want funds to buy unattached advowsons, which circulate through the auction mart from hand to hand, that the Diocese may be able to present livings to its own servants, drawn from its own people, educated in its own College, proved in its own ministry, and found faithful. And, when their strength fails, and they require to be released from duties which they dis- charged so well, we will not leave them to waste the remnant of their lives in trying in vain to be what they were before, but we will supply them with retiring pensions and quiet homes under the shadow of the Cathedral, that they may end their laborious days in peace. * ^ * What is there for Synods to do ? Half our population to be won back to the Church of their fathers, fifty colonial dioceses looking to us for help, two-thirds of the human race to be brought to Christ, — this is a summary of the work to be done. May God give this Conference strength and wisdom to do its part 1" In this address the Bishop sketched out many of the new works which he subsequently organized and set on foot. Other schemes were added from time to time, such as a Mission to the barge-men and floating population on the canals, and the FAREWELL VISIT TO NEW ZEALAND. 37 personal Institution of new Incumbents publicly in churcb, the offertory on such occasions being always devoted to the assistance of students in need of help at the Theological Col- lege. Once when he was challenged as to the possibility of carrying out aU he proposed to do, the Bishop answered in George Herbert's words, "that it was good to shoot at the moon, even though you only hit a tree : and he should be satisfied if he hit a tree." On July 2nd, 1868, the Bishop sailed from England, ac- companied by Mrs. Selwyn and his younger son, to be present at the General Synod in New Zealand and to say farewell to his former Diocese, leaving the Diocese of Lichfield in charge of Bishop Trower for six months. Bishop Patteson came from Norfolk Island to see his beloved friend once more, and to attend the farewell service held at Auckland before Bishop Selwyn started for England. The grief of the younger Bishop in parting from his spiritual Father must indeed have been great. But he says in a letter, " I don't grudge him one bit : there is no room for small personal considerations when the great issues are at stake. I can't yet look at his photo- graph with dry eyes."*" "Perhaps the young Church of New Zealand has never known so sorrowful a day as that which took from her her first Bishop ; a day truly to be likened to that when the Ephesians parted with their Apostle at Miletus. At the last service at S. Paul's Church more than 400 persons received the Holy Communion where there were four Bishops administering in the body of the church and the transepts; but in the chancel the Primate and his beloved son in the faith were partaking together for the last time of the Bread of Life." *Life of Bishop Patteson, II. 309. 38 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. Then ' ' the crowded streets and wharf (for all business was suspended, public offices and shops shut), no power of moving about, horses taken from the carriage as a mixed crowd of Maoris and English drew them to the wharf. Then choking words and stifled efforts to say ' Grod bless you,' and so we parted ! " f Parted, never to meet in this world again. The following is the Farewell Address from the Greneral Synod of New Zealand to Bishop Selwyn. " We, the Bishops, Clergy, and Laity of this branch of the Church of England, respectfully and affectionately address your Lordship on your resignation of your ofUce as President of the Synod. When your Lordship first came to this country, more than twenty-sixyearsago,youbeganworkasBishopof New Zealand. You end it now as Primate by providing for the permanent maintenance of your own Melanesian Mission, off- shoot of the New Zealand Chu.rch. This Synod is itseK the result and witness of your unwearied efforts for organization of the Native and Colonial Church of New Zealand, and of your missionary labours in the islands of the West Pacific Ocean. The Natives of NeAV Zealand, the English Colonist, and the Melanesian Islander, are all represented here. With respect to the native Church, a Maori Diocese has been consti- tuted and Maori Synods have been held; seventeen native Clergy have ministered and do minister faithfully and loyally in different parts of the country ; churches and schools have been built, endowments been provided, clergy and catechists maintained, collections for Melanesia made by Maoris. And noAV we think, my Lord, how twenty-seven years have passed to-day since you received episcopal office, — years marked by extraordinary events in our history — an episcopate, marked in tLife of Bishop Patteson, p. 340. PARTING ADDRESS FROM NEW ZEALAND SYNOD. 39 an extraordinary degree, by your work of faith and labour of love and patience of hope. We humbly believe that, by your wide and varied experience of many forms of human life, bringing you into contact with men in every stage of barbarism and civilization, on lonely journeys in the solitudes of the New Zealand forest and on the waves of the West Pacific, G-od's Holy Spirit has been training you for an even greater work than any that you have hitherto accomplished, for which all that has been done may be but the preparation, the crowning work, it may be, of your life to which He has now called you. It seems as if you had been sent first to warm the most distant members here, and were called now to quicken the very heart of our dear Mother-Church at home, that so the life-blood may circulate with fresh vigour throughout the body. We know full well that yon will never cease to pray and labour for us ; and 5^ou need no assurance from us that we will ever remem- ber and pray for you. How can we ever forget you ! Every spot in New Zealand is identified with you. Each hill and valley, each river and bay and headland, is full of memories of you. The busy town, the lonely settler's hut, the countless islands of the sea, all speak to us of you. Whether your days be few or many, we — as long as we live — will ever hold you deep in our inmost hearts. All will pray for you and yours : the clergy to whom you have been indeed a father in God, the old tried friends with whom you have taken counsel, the younger men of both races whom you have trained, the poor whom you have relieved, the mourners whom you have com- forted, the sick to whom you have ministered, the prisoners whom you have visited, all think of you now and will think of you always with true and deep affection, and will offer for you always their fervent prayers. We humbly pray God, who has 40 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. given you the wisdom to conceive and the power to execute your great designs, that your high and noble example may be ever affectionately remembered and dutifully followed by us all ; that the mind and spirit of its first Bishop may be stamped for all generations upon the Church of New Zealand; and that the multitudes of the isles may learn in years to come the name of their first great ^missionary, and rise up and call him blessed." (Signed by all the Synod.) The Bishop replied in the following words : — ' ' I might well say, in words of Wordsworth, ' the praise of men had often left me mourning. ' It is most difficult and j)ainful to one placed in my position to have to reply to such kind ex- pressions as are contained in the address ; but in this case the pain is much mingled with pleasure. Sufiice it to say that I have sought for support and counsel from many whose services are not so conspicuous as my own, though they deserve equal praise with myself, if not more. I would say, as has been said on a different occasion, ' Give Grod the praise, we know that this man was a sinner.' All the prosperity of the New Zealand Church is the work of God. The iinger of God has been manifested in all that has taken place from the time Samuel Marsden landed here in 1814 until now. It is the comforting prophecy fulfilled that ' the little one should be- come a thousand.' It is a comfort that what one man had begun should become, in little more than half a century, what the Church of New Zealand now is. When I think of the time when I came to Sydney and found Bishop Broughton there with a small band of Clergymen round him, and when I reflect that now that little band has extended into all the provinces of New South Wales with its Dioceses of Tasmania, PARTING ADDBESS FROM THE MAORIS. 41 Western Australia, South. Australia, and these provinces of New Zealand with, all its satellites in Melanesia, I feel that the power and influence of Grod's Holy Spirit is being manifested on earth, and that it has pleased Almighty Q-od to enable us to see His power with, our own eyes, so that we may not walk by faith, alone but also by sight. * * * I leave to you the native Church as a special legacy, and hope that no increase of European population may absorb your interests so as to cause you to neglect that remnant which, though a poor one, is a remnant of the congregation of Christ." The following is a translation of the address from the natives of Te Waimate and the Bay of Islands, in their own language, presented by Rev. Matiu Taupaki, Oct. 5th, 1868. " Sire, the Bishop! salutations to you and to mother (Mrs. Selwyn) ! "We, the people of the places to which you first came, still retain our affection for you both. Our not seeing you occasions us grief, because there will be no seeing you again. We rejoiced at hearing that you were coming to see us ; great was the joy of the heart ; and now, hearing that it cannot be, we are again in grief. " Sire, great is our affection for you both, who are now being lost among us. But how can it be helped, in conse- quence of the word of our great One, the Queen ! ' ' Sire, our thought with regard to you is that you are like the poor man's lamb taken away by the rich man. This is our parting wish for you both : Gro, Sire, and may Grod pre- serve you both ! May he also provide a man to take j^oiir place, of equal powers with yourself ! Go, Sire, we shall no more see each other in the body, but we shall see one another in our thoughts. However, we are led and protected and sanctified by the same Spirit. Such is the nature of this short 42 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. life to sunder our bodies ; but in a little while, when we shall meet in the assembly of the saints, we shall see each other face to face, one fold under one shepherd. This is our lament for you in few words : ' Love to our friend, who has disappeared abruptly from the ranks ! Is he a small man that he was so beloved ? He has not his equal amongst the man3^ The food he dispensed is longed for by me." CHAPTEE V. Life and Woek in thb Diocese of Lichfield : First Visit TO America: Death of Bishop Patteson : 1868 — 1871. The Synod in New Z*ealand had deputed Bishop Selwyn to select a successor in England for the Diocese of Auckland, — for from this time the title of "Bishop of New Zealand" was a thing of the past, Bishop Selwyn having been the first and only Bishop of the whole colony. Accordingly, when he ar- rived in England, just six months from the time he went out, he offered the appointment to the Eev. W. G. Cowie, Vicar of S. Mary's, Stafi^ord, who accepted it and soon afterwards went out to Auckland. During the Bishop's absence, the Diocese had been in charge of Bishop Trower, who had carried on the work faithfully and had left no arrears of duty undone. But the palace was still in a state of confusion and discomfort when the Bishop came to Lichfield ; many of the alterations being incomplete. He established himself and his family however in a portion of the building, arranging things as well LIFE IN THE PALACE AT LICHFIELD. 43 as he could under the circumstances ; and hammering and painting went on with redoubled vigour under his surveillance. Much had been done to the old house ; its aspect having been completely changed by the addition of a chapel and of two large wings in front of the main building One of these wings contained offices for the Bishop's secretary and clerks, with bed- rooms above for the ordination candidates, who would thus in the future be always boarded and lodged at the palace, instead of being obliged to provide their own accommodation at the inns and lodgings about the town. The opposite wing consisted of a large hall for the ordination examinations, for lectures to the students at the college, and for meetings of various kinds. A Missionary Working Party had been started, before the Bishop's farewell visit to New Zealand, with Mrs. Selwyn as president, who told anecdotes of her experiences and adventures in the southern seas, and read letters from Melanesia, while garments were made for the scholars at Norfolk Island. This too found a place at the palace, the Bishop calling it his " Stitchery." What a centre of diocesan and social life that hall has been during the last ten years ! The hospitable long tables spread there at all the Diocesan Festivals, where tired wajrfarers were refreshed with simple viands and cheered by kindly words and attentions, must be fresh in the memory of all. Missionary meetings — prizes for the Sunday school chil- dren of the diocese, distributed by the Bishop himself with a hearty shake of the hand to each recipient — the entertainment of the workhouse children every Christmas, with a social gathering of friends and neighbours afterwards, — it would seem as if the great hall could not possibly have been dispen- sed with. It had become, as it were, the "parish-room" of the Diocese. 44 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. While the Bishop was ahsent in New Zealand, a change had taken place at the Cathedral, owing to the death of the Dean, the Very Eev. the Hon. Henry Howard. His successor, the Eev. William Weldon Champneys, when Eector of Whitechapel, had taken an active part in helping forward the New Zealand mission, by penny contributions from the scholars of his vast schools, whose interest was excited by an address from Bishop Selwyn, in 1864. In memory of this, when the Bishop and Dean found themselves still more closely connected together, side by side in the Palace and Deanery at Lichfield, a window was placed in the chapel looking towards the Deanery, in which was pictured the design of the medal which had been sent out by the Dean to be worn by the New Zealand children, — a map of the world, with England to the north and New Zealand to the south, and on a scroll joining them together the motto written : "Both one in Christ." The other windows in the Chapel were presented by the ofBicers and men who had served in New Zealand during the war, in token of their gratitude for the Bishop's attention to their bodily and spiritual welfare in that campaign. One of the first changes made by the Bishop in the diocesan arrangements was to hold Confirmations annually instead of triennially. With the assistance of his two coadjutors (Bishop Hobhouse and Bishop Abraham) he was enabled to carry out this arduous undertaking. And in his Pastoral letter to the Clergy of the Diocese in 1869, he says, " I venture to hope, in submission to Him without whom we can do nothing, that I shall be able to administer the rite of Confirmation annually in all the larger parishes once in two or three years, by a cycle so arranged that the confirmation may be held in each parish in turn. I hope it may thus be found possible to induce the ANNUAL CONFIRMATIONS. 45 parents and sponsors of the children to attend as witnesses of their confirmation. Upon this plan, no formal notice will be necessary to call upon you to collect your candidates. * ^- * The impulse will not be lost, nor will the dead weight have to be heaved afresh by a new effort ; as the Bishop's invitation to hold a confirmation and the clergyman's continued work in preparing his candidates will be assumed as a matter of course." His words later on, at a diocesan conference, on the same subject were; — "Eeligious education comes to its point in ,the apostolical ordinance of confirmation. In that, the Holy Spirit seals and blesses the efforts of pastors, parents and sponsors, teachers of schools, masters and mistresses of famiKes, to teach the young committed to their charge all things which a Christian ought to know and believe to his soul's health. "With the aid of my coadjutor Bishops, I have been enabled to carry this holy ordinance into almost every parish in the dio- cese. The Confirmations have been held annually, in order that the work of pastoral instruction may never cease, and that the harvest may be gathered in at the exact period of maturity. I desire the united prayers of the clergy, the con- stant teaching of the yearly class, the influence of the newly confirmed on the younger children who are next in suc- cession." A sudden interruption however occurred about this time in the cycle of work which the Bishop had thus marked out for himself, proving the truth of the old adage " man proposes, but God disposes." In the autumn of 1869, in Derbyshire, whilst busily employed in labours for the Church and minis- trations to her " little ones," the Bishop was suddenly dis- abled by an attack of nervous prostration, ensuing closely upon a great family loss, the painful death of his brother, the Lord 46 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWTN. Justice Selwyn, to whose deathbed lie was summoned from the midst of very pressing diocesan engagements. After an entire rest of two months, and a further period of partial work, he returned to his old activity, which never again knew abatement till the end of his life. In 1870 the Bishop issued an appeal to the Diocese for money to buy an important piece of property on the south side of the Cathedi-al, which he wished to be occupied by the Theo- logical CoUeare. Before that time the students had lived in lodgings scattered about the city, and only came to the Princi- pal's house for lectures, and to the Cathedral for service every day. By the new plan the College would be provided with a home of its own, and with accommodation not only for the Principal but also for the Students, who woxlM thereby obtain the benefit of collegiate order and discipline — an element hitherto absent from their training. In connection with the College the Bishop also set on foot a system by means of which he would be able to draw recruits for the ministry from different ranks in society. To explain the working of this system, some extracts from a paper read by the Principal at the Stoke Congress, in 1875, will be useful. Speaking of the increasing number of young men who are anxious to take Holy Orders, but who have not the means to support them- selves at college, he said: " Should such workers be discouraged because they are poor ? That would be strangely forgetful of the first prin- ciples of the Christian Church. In this dilemma a certain Bishop, whom we have heard called a first-rate General or Admiral spoiled, was not wanting to the occasion. He in- vented a scheme, something like tlie Oxford and Cam- bridge local examinations, which secured several good objects PROBATIONER SYSTEM. 47 at once. In the first place, his own Cathedral Chapter was induced to take a lively interest in the matter and to appoint an examining board, which should meet twice a year to test the ' probationers ' who might present themselves. And next, the parochial clergy have been turned into the most able and effective recruiting sergeants all over the country. Sup- pose, for instance, a young man in a parish in Lichfield, or in any other diocese, displays — as member of the choir, or Sunday school teacher, — some remarkable gifts suitable for clerical life, the clergyman of the parish would naturally talk to such a man, would encourage him and try his knowledge. If satisfied, his next step would be to write to Lichfield, to recommend the young man for probation, the clergyman ixndertaking to direct him in his studies, to employ him in parish work and to certify every half-year his diligence and good conduct. And then at the end of two years, if each stage diiring that time has been passed without failure, he would be admitted to the Theological College for one year's final training, in which he would have financial assistance (if neces- sary) by means of Exhibitions supplied from the annual sur- plus of the college fees. This is the 'probationer system, ' — which we are Dy no means anxious to keep to ourselves ; but we desire to submit to this Congress the question whether some such scheme is not demanded by the necessities of our time ; whether we may not, by such a plan, draw gradually under training for the ministry a large number of earnest able men whose services would otherwise be lost ; whether the clergy far and wide would not thereby be interested in recruiting their own order ; whether the central influences of the Cathe- dral, with its staff of highly educated dignitaries, might not thus be made to vibrate in the bank parlours, counting-houses, 48 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. schoolrooms, and even workshops, throughout the laud ; and above all, whether the true ideal of the Christian ministry, as instituted by Christ himself, would not be b}^ this means strik- ingly represented, each class of society being allowed to offer its sons for His service, and finding in the Church a common interest and a common field of labour. The Bishop eventually secured the house in question for the diocese, to be held in trust by the Diocesan Council, from whom the Theological College now rents the building for its own use. The new collegiate life began in January, 1871 ; and a gathering of students at the end of the summer term this year was attended by a goodly number of the former members, who came to see the new home of their College. A celebration of the Holy Communion took place in the Cathedral at eleven o'clock ; after which all assembled at luncheon at the College House. In the afternoon a garden party was held at which the Bishop was present, bringing with him the Derbyshire Rural Deans, who happened then to be assembled at the Palace ; and at a crowded Evening Service afterwards in the Lady- Chapel he gave an interesting address. He always took great pleasure in visiting the college, and was especially gratified when he found the young men occupied in the garden, whether mowing the grass, or trimming the borders, or water- ing the flowers. Any man seemed instantly to acquire a claim to his respect who did what he could for himself, instead of making use of the services of other people : and he often re- lated how the Maoris in New Zealand used to say, — " Gentle- man-gentleman does not mind what he does ; but pig-gentle- man is very particular." Once when a colonist of rank, desiring to have his children baptized, wished the ceremony to be performed in his house, on the plea that there was no «""t«^ii;^^^ THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE. 49 road by which to drive them to church, tlie difficulty was promptly met by the Bishop, who offered to carry two, if the father would carry the third. Indeed in England, no less than in New Zealand, two sorts of "gentlemen" came frequently before Bishop Selwyn's notice and were easily discriminated by his searching glance. The pretentious, the conceited, the self-indulgent never found the least respect or sympathy from him ; and he may even have erred sometimes in giving hasty expression to the impatience he felt towards characters of this shallow type. For he was little tolerant of sloth or self-indulgence. If a student lay in bed when he should have been at chapel and pleaded "a cold," the Bishop's reply would be "That is no excuse at all: you are seeking to be a clergyman, and if you care for such things as that, you will be saying, when you are knocked up at three in the morning to visit a sick man or baptize a dying infant, that it is too cold to go out." And, if a candidate for Holy Orders urged "his own experience," or, "his deliberate opinion," or "the result of his own researches," as an argument against following the customs or teaching the plain doctrines of the Church, it is not surprising that he sometimes found himself a mark for the Bishop's trenchant sarcasms or humiliated by his searching rebuke. On the other hand, for a true "nature's gentleman" — under whatever disguise of threadbare clothing or imperfect education — Bishop Selwyn felt the instinctive attraction of a manly and Christian sym- pathy. Even from the plough or from the forge, such were ever welcome to all that he could give them and all that he could do for them. And among those to whose ordination he often referred with the most genial and hearty satisfaction D 50 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. ■vrere several men of this stamp, "gentlemen" in the truest and highest sense of the word. In the autumn the Bishop resolved to visit the United States, accompanied by his second so a and some other Clergy of the Diocese.* He was an honoured guest at the General Convention at Baltimore, not only for his own sake, but as being the first of the Home Episcopate who had visited the daughter Church in the United States. He afterwards made a short tour through the Dominion of Canada ; and, as occasion offered, spoke at missionary meetings, addressed the young people of either sex in their colleges, or preached ser- mons to overflowing congregations. The enthusiasm which he awakened in the United States was so great that the American Church determined to commemorate this visit by the gift of a magnificent silver alms-bason, f to be presented to the Archbishop of Canterbury by the hands of Bishop Selwyn, and to be kept for ever as a visible eml^lem of the love of the sister-church. The presentation accordingly took place in S. Paul's Cathedral, at the anniversary service of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in 1872 ; and the ceremony was afterwards described by the Bishop, at a subsequent visit to the General Convention in 1874, in the following words: "It was my happiness to present that alms-bason to the Archbishop of Canterbury in concert with one whose loss *They sailed in the Java ; and in crossing the Atlantic, in both voyages (1871 and 1874) his tact and judgment were very remarkable, as seen in providing for the due order of the Sunday and week-day services for the passengers on board. As soon as possible after the vessel got under weigh and after consultation with the Captain, ar- rangements were made for prayer. At the exact minute fixed for moi-ning prayers the Bishop was at the head of the table in the end of the saloon, where a congrega- tion of from ten to thirty passengers (according to the state of the weather) quickly gathered round and joined in the Prayers and Psalms and Hymns. On one Sunday on board the Nova Seotia, 1874, imder the Bishop's aiTangement all were provided for thus : There was the full morning and evening service in the saloon, a separate ser- vice conducted by the Bishop for the firemen and others in the engine room below, whilst in the forecastle a score of Cornish workmen were confided to a Wesleyan Minister, and a Roman Catholic Priest took charge of the passengers of his own creed. t See Appendix. FIRST VISIT TO AMERICA. 51 we all lament, who is now with God in liis rest, Bishop Mcllwaine of Ohio ; who, hand in hand with me, each of us holding it by one hand and on bended knee, presented that alms-bason for the Lord's Table in S. Paul's Cathedi-al, July 3rd, 1872." In compliance with a resolution of both houses of Convoca- tion, the words of the Archbishop were to be " synodically communicated to the Bishops, Clergy, and Laity of the sister church." So Bishop kSelwyn at once despatched a telegram to Bishop Potter of New York, after the presentation, with these words : " July 4 : Alms-bason presented in S. Paul's Cathedral. Independence is not dis-union." This last sentence alludes to the well-known fact that the 4th of July is the anniversary of the declaration of American independence. Bishop Potter in publishing the message observes, " It was a kindly and grace- ful impulse on their part to give such dignity to the reception of our offering of love, and to send us such a message on such a day. And I am sure it will be warmly appreciated by all the members of our communion on this side of the water." When the Bishop returned from America in the autumn of 1871, he was welcomed with a display of fireworks by the students of the Theological College, who had also prepared a torch-light procession to meet him in the Close, whilst the Cathedral bells were to ring out a joyful peal. But unfortu- nately the Bishop reached Lichfield by a later train than was expected, and drove up quietly in his one-horse vehicle, the only one he possessed, commonly known as his" baker's cart." The close of this year was saddened by the tidings of the death of Bishop Patteson, who was murdered by the natives of one of the Melanesian islands near Santa Cruz, and was buried at sea on S. Matthew's day, 1871. The grief felt by the 52 LIFE OF BISHOP sEL"vmsr. Bishop on this occasion was very deep ; and at first he seemed qiiite bowed down with the great calamity which had come upon him in the death of this much-loved son in the faith. He requested the Cathedral organist to play the " Dead March" after service every afternoon for several days in succession ; and when at early Communion he was reading the Prayer for the Church Militant, his voice trembled audibly, and he paused for some seconds at the words "we also bless Thy Holy Name for all Thy servants departed this life in Thy faith and fear," — then slowly added, "especially for John Coleridge Patteson." The Bishop looked ten years older after this trial had passed over him. He felt it most keenly, not only on his own account, but also for his beloved Melanesian mission, which had sustained such an irreparable loss. CHAPTEE VI. Bishop Eawle Consecrated isr Lichfield Cathedral: Eev. J. E. Selwyn leaves England for Melanesia : the Bishop's second visit to America. 1872 — -1875. In 1872 a striking ceremony took place in Lichfield Cathedral. The Eev. Eichard Eawle, Yicar of Tamworth, was consecrated Bishop of Trinidad. Nine Bishops were pre- sent at the service, the sermon being preached by the Bishop of Peterborough. It was a source of great thankfulness and pleasure to Bishop Selwyn that the Archbishop of Canterbury had allowed the consecration to take place in the Cathedral of the Diocese where the newly elected Prelate had been a parish priest ; and no pains were spared to make the whole cere- mony assume the air of a high ecclesiastical festival. EEV. J. E. SELWYN GOES TO MELANESIA. 53 About this time the Bishop was much troubled by disturb- ances at St. Greorge's, Wolverhampton, on the subject of Eitual. And, in order to restore peace to the parish and congregation, he removed the Incumbent to another charge and sent one whom he could not but regard as the , choicest gift he could offer to them — his younger son, John Richardson Selwyn, who had been ordained by himself, first as Deacon and then as Priest, in his own Cathedral. The new Vicar soon restored harmony to the parish ; and both he and his wife created a deep attach- ment on the part of the people among whom they worked during the short time their home was at "Wolverhampton, before responding to that higher call which awaited them to go forth to the distant diocese of Melanesia. For, in 1873 this true son of his father resolved to follow his father's steps ; and left his English home and friends, with a cheerful heart and a good courage, to cross the seas with his wife and infant (born at the Palace three months before and baptized in the Cathedral by her grandfather, the Bishop) to labour amongst the Islands of the West Pacific Ocean. With them went the Eev. John Still, for some years Curate at S. Michael's, Lichfield, who had been formerly a college-friend of Mr. Selwyn. In 1873 the alterations in the Theological College were completed. The spacious stables adjoining the dwelling-house had been converted into rooms for a Vice-Principal and twenty- five students, together with a large lecture-room. This was a work of great interest to the Bishop, who used constantly to bring his visitors to see the buildings, explaining to them with what ingenuity the previous owner's "stud" had been con- verted into "studies." At one end of the lecture-room a small apse was thrown out to serve as a chapel. This apse was the 54 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. gift of a former student, the Eev. Frederic Beaumont, who also supplied it with suitable fittings. The Bishop opened this building with a special service, which was attended by the Choristers and several of the Clergy of the Cathedral : and ever since that day the sound of its evening-bell has been recognised by the inhabitants of the Close as a signal that " the toils of day are over" and the hour of rest has come. A large gathering of the former and present students of the College took place that summer, at which the Bishop was again present ; and in the evening he gave in the Lady Chapel ' one of those telling addresses which always comprised so much in few and simple words. This was the last service held there for some years, as it was closed immediately afterwards for restoration, and the early College-service was transferred to the Bishop's private Chapel. In January, 1874, on the death of the Chancellor (Eev. Thomas Law), Bishop Hobhouse was appointed to the vacant post. The Bishop, when instituting him to the office, said that his reason for appointing him instead of a barrister, was that in all differences that might arise between the clergy and their people he much preferred exercising the Christian principle of conciliation and arbitration, rather than appeal to litigation. He then went on to say, " As I have known Bishop Hobhouse for many years, and have seen his power of conciliation and peacemaking among his brethren, I believe he may be very serviceable in carrying out a system of prevention which is always better than cure. At the same time, I know him to be well acquainted with ecclesiastical law and precedents." After this, Bishop Hobhouse knelt down and the Bishop of Lichfield said ' ' The Lord God, the righteous Judge of all the earth, who is no respecter of j)ersons, give thee a right judgment in all things, through Jesus Christ our Lord ! Amen." THIRD DIOCESAN CONFERENCE. 55 The idea here dwelt upon by the Bishop is one which was well known to be a prominent consideration with him. Indeed it formed the key-note of his address at the diocesan conference held soon afterwards at Lichfield, June 4th. The law of love, in his judgment, should be the only one needed by the clergy in their relations with their people, and still more with their Bishop. In the concluding words of his address at the con- ference he said, " The Church of England has its own special mission. The duty of the Anglican Church is to approach as nearly as possible to the standard of the Primitive Church, holding fast all Catholic doctrine and all essential points of Christian worship, but claiming and exercising the power to or- dain rites and ceremonies as a particular and national Chui'ch. Let us have a standard of our own — an Anglican standard — admitting as much flexibility and variety as the Church itself may direct for the good of the souls of her people, — Cathedrals, parishes rich and poor, in town and country, missions at home and abroad, special services for every especial need, each (like the various sections of a mighty army) having its distinctive uniform and its own drill, but all alike 'under authority.' I go this autumn to the Synod of Canada and to the Convention of Bishops in the United States. What message shall I take to them ? Shall I tell them that as a united diocese we greet them in the name of the Lord, who would have all men to be one ? Shall I tell them we are all — men in authority and men under authority, — Bishop, Clergy, Laity, subject one to an- other in the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace, and that we pray for them (as we pray for ourselves) that that out- pouring of the Holy Grhost which, like the oil upon the waves, calmed down the troubled sea of human passions in the Apos- toKe Church, may unite us aU in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity ?" 56 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. Indeed, as it has been truly said, " he was ever calling people to unity, while he was the last to make light of fundamental truths : and within the last few months of his life, on two occasions — with a courage not less noble than that which supported him often in perils among the heathen — he sheltered faithful incumbents from their enemies and declined to deliver them over, on the testimony of three puppet parishioners, to be harried by the Church Associ- ation."*' An account of an Ordination- week, at Lichfield, in 1874, may serve to remind some readers of happy days spent, on this or on similar occasions, at the Palace. "Few, save those who have ex- perienced them, can have any idea of the deep anxieties of an Ordination-week. It is, however, permitted to those who live in the Cathedral City, and are acquainted with the Candidates, to form some conception of what those anxieties must be- The positive hard work of the examination ; the uncertainty, in some cases, about the final result of it ; the excitement of the private interviews with the Bishops ; to say nothing of the ever- deepening appreciation of the solemn step about to be taken — all combine to make Ordination- week a time which most men would be sorry to pass through more than twice in their Kves. It would, however, be impossible for any one to pass an Ordin- ation-week at Lichfield, especially at this time of the year, without carrying away with him many pleasant memories. The Close is most lovely with its fresh spring foliage, and the refreshing breeze from Stowe pool contrasts pleasantly with the oppressive closeness of the Examination room. Then, with some of the candidates, there is the sight of old faces ; and what a world of pleasant thought an old face often brings with *SatTirday Review, April 20th, 1878. ORDINATION WEEK AT LICHFIELD. 57 it ! There are the early moraing prayers in the Cathedral before the day's toil begin, and the evening services in the Bishop's chapel when they are 'past and over.' There are the addresses given by men of large sympathies and varied experience ; — by Dean Champneys, who laboured so hard and so well in the parish of S. Pancras ; by Bishop Abraham, whose best years were given to New Zealand ; by the aged Bishop of Newfoundland, who is on the eve of returning to the wild diocese over which he has presided for thirty years ; and yet again by our own Bishop, who spoke as he only can speak, and whose words made a deep impression on all who heard him. All these things will remain very pleasantly in the memory, long after the anxieties of the Ordination-week are forgotten. The examination was finished on Thursday, the result being j)ublished early on Friday morning. Friday and Saturday were spent in private interviews with the Bishops, pastoral addresses, and in taking the required oaths. On Sunday morning there was morning prayer in the Cathe- dral at nine o'clock, at which the candidates were present. The great service of the day began at eleven o'clock. The candidates were seated under the central spire on either side of the screen gate, and after the ' bidding prayer,' the service was at once commenced by Archdeacon Moore, who preached an excellent sermon from the words " How can these things be?" (S. John iii. 9.) At the conclusion of the sermon, the candi- dates were ushered into the choir, and the Ordination service began. Every English Churchman ought to witness an Ordin- ation ; and, perhaps, nowhere is the ceremony more solemn and affecting than in the Cathedral at Lichfield. The choir was occupied by the choristers and the students of the Theological College. The Bishop sat in his chair before the Holy Table — 58 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. the Coadjutor Bishops occupying seats by Bishop Lonsdale's monument, and the Dean and Canons sitting opposite in the sedilia. The service was most effective. The questions were answered by each of the 24 candidates separately. The Bishop's manner was very grave, and both he and those on whom he laid his hands seemed to feel the solemnity of the act in which they were taking part. No one could have witnessed the ceremony without being sensible that if any of the English Clergy appear to be unfaithful Pastors, it is no faidt of the Church that they are so. Every care which can be taken is taken : every promise, which can lawfully be asked is asked, and given : and the fact that the Ministers of the Church are sometimes other than they should be, simply proves that it is impossible to keep the field free from tares so long as there is an enemy to sow them."*" Nor were these the only occasions on which Bishop SelwjTi's animating influence was felt within the precincts of his ancient Cathedral. The meeting of the full Chapter, — consisting of the Canons Residentiary, and of the Prebendaries scattered throughout the diocese, — had almost fallen into desuetude, having been rarely held of late years except for an official purpose, such as the election of a Bishop. But it was now no longer allowed to remain dormant. It was summoned to meet annually by the Bishop as president : its Statutes were revised : committees were appointed for various diocesan pm-poses : and the Cathedral Chapter was thus elevated once more to the ful- filment of its true functions, as a standing-council of the Bishop and as the heart of the whole diocese.f In August, 1874, the Bishop started for his second visit to America, accompanied on this occasion by the Eev. Edward "Lichfield Diocesan Churchman, June 1, 1874. tSee Diocesan Cycle. Appendix. SECOND VISIT TO AMEEICA. 59 Jas. Edwards (Trentham), Rev. Nigel Madan (Polesworth.), and Mr. Hodson, the Bishop's legal secretary. After touching at 8. John's, Newfoundland, they arrived at Montreal, and attended the Provincial Synod of Canada where the presence of the Bishop called forth the most enthusiastic welcome. He gave a short address in which he spoke of himself as the repre- sentative of church missions, and as earnestly desiring — with his companions — to extend to sister churches the right hand of fellowship and unity. Addresses were also read from the Ai'chdeacons and Rural Deans of the Lichfield diocese inviting the members of the Canadian Synod to attend at the Church Congress to be held at Stoke-on-Trent in the following year. After this the Bishop took a short tour in the north-west. His travels extended to Nebraska (500 miles west of Chicago) where he was entertained by Bishoj) Clarkson, at Omaha. While he was staying with the Bishops of Huron and Minne- sota, he addressed some Indian tribes by means of an inter- preter, touching on those circumstances of his experience in New Zealand which bore uj)on themselves and their own gathering into the Christian church. To this their chief made a short reply on behalf of his people, expressing his own and their gratitude to the English for having brought the gospel to them. No doubt their gratitude was not undeserved. But still it cannot be said that the English church in bygone times had really done the best she could for America. For, as the Bishop said when addressing the missionary meeting at Montreal, the early system of sending out only Presbyters to America was one which had starved the Episcopal church. The true plan was to send out a Bishop first, who would build up a church. "Let him, if necessary, be bishop, priest and 60 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. deacon all in one. And let him not only visit Churchmen, but if a man is said to be an infidel don't believe it, but go and talk with him, and you will find he is no more an infidel than yourself." As to the support of missions, it was their duty to give, a duty which they could not cast off. It was a mistake to say that what a man has is his own. As John Wesley, that good presbyter of our Church, repKed to a man who asked if he could not do as he pleased with his own, " There is the mistake you make ; it is not your own." He then spoke of the great work in store for the people of the Dominion ; and prayed that they might be guided to do it well. Soon afterwards the Bishop preached at the opening service of the Convention of the American church in New York at which fifty Bishops were present ; and he and his party were afterwards introduced by the president to the Convention, who received them as warmly as before. The president's words were these: "I introduce the Eight Eev. the Bishop of Lichfield, whose name is as dear and familiar beyond the bounds of Christendom as within them, and es- pecially dear now to the American church." The whole assembly remained standing whilst the Bishop — who was greeted with loud applause — responded in a few words refer- ring to his former and to his present visit, and giving an account of the presentation of the alms-bason which has al- ready been mentioned. He then read the addresses from his diocese, which were similar to those sent to the Canadian Synod, inviting the Convention to attend the Congress at Stoke-on-Trent in the following year. After this, the rest of the visitors were severally introduced, and were received with that courtesy which is so welcome to the stranger and so well understood by the members of the American church. HAPPY EESULTS OF THE BISHOP's VISIT. 61 The following letter to Mr. Edwards fi-om the Eev. Dr. Whitaker, Provost of Trinity College, Toronto, shows how the Bishop's visit to the Synod of the Church of Canada was appre- ciated. He writes, "I am unwilling to let you leave this con- tinent without endeavouring to convey to you my impression as to the happy result which we may hope to follow the visit of the Bishop of Lichfield, as the representative of the Church at home, both to ourselves and the sister Church in the United States. Assurances in writing of Christian sympathy, conveyed to us across the Atlantic, are by no means valueless or ineffectual. But, when a leader of the church, like Bishop Selwyn, honours and gladdens us by his revered and genial presence — 'drawing us with the cords of a man,' by look and tone and gesture — far more is done than can be achieved by the wisest written words, to impress on the hearts of men the great lesson of Christian love, the reality of the Communion of saints. The Bishop's sound wisdom and delicate sense of the relation in which he stood to those whom he was addressing led him to give counsel indirectly, by narrating what the church in New Zealand had done under similar circumstances ; and the Synod was well aware of the exceptional privilege it enjoyed in hear- ing from Bishop Selwyn' s own lips the results of his long ex- perience and having the plans of this wise master-builder submitted to it by himself for its guidance. I am satisfied that whether from the far west, from Fredericton, or from the assemblage at New York, the like testimony will be borne as to the happy results of this noble endeavour to give a sub- stance to that which men too often regard only as an attractive shadow, and to present before us by living word and deed an impersonation of christian love." A correspondent to the "Lichfield Diocesan Chui'chman," 62 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. October, 1874, gives an account of the last day spent in New York by the Bishop and his party, which also illus- trates the kindly feelings of the American church on the occasion of this second visit of the Bishop to the Conven- tion. " ' The Russia' in which we had taken our passage, was to sail on Wednesday, September 7th, and on the day previous, the Bishop with ourselves took leave of the House of Deputies. At the conclusion of his lordship's short parting address, the whole House, at the instance of one of its members, went down on their knees to offer up a prayer to Almightj^ God, which the president read aloud from the American prayer book, for our safe return to England, con- cluding with the Lord's Prayer. I know not that I ever felt so truly the power of church unity as on this occasion, when, in the midst of the ordinary discussions of this great assembly, all business was suspended, to offer this farewell prayer for strangers (as we must call ourselves with an ocean to separate us) yet felt to be friends in the triple ties of blood, language and religion. In the evening of the same day, Tuesday, we were present by invitation in the Academy of Music, — a vast interior with its orchestra, pit, and great galleries, — in which three to four thousand people of all ranks were met. The subject of the evening was ' Missions to the Indians,' and the Bishop made his final address to the Protestant Episcopal Church of America, and was received, as ever, with the same cordial welcome. Then, once more, at a sign from the presiding Bishop, this great multitude knelt down and prayed that T\e might return in safety to our homes. Such an incident as this leaves a sense of the strength of church heartiness and sympathy on the minds of those present like ourselves, which we never can and never ought to forget." DEATH OF DEAN CHAMPNEYS. 63 In memory of this visit to New York, £200 was subscribed by the clergy and laity of the diocese of New York for the found- ation of a " Potter-Selwyn Prize," iu Taehfield Theological College. This was awarded for the first time at Midsummer, 1878. CHAPTEE VII. Death of Dban Champneys : Church Congress at Stoke- on-Trent : Visit to the Isle of Man : Fourth Diocesan Conference: J875 — 1878. The early part of 1875 was saddened by the death of Dean Champneys, a man whose gentle loving natiu-e had drawn the Bishop's heart to him in a remarkable manner. And when the grave was made, deep in the solid rock on which the Cathedral stands, on the south-east side of the Lady Chapel, Bishop Selwyn pointed out that spot as the place where he wished to be laid himself, close to the remains of his beloved friend, whenever his own time should come. In illustration of this wish he made allusion to a weU-known double tomb in Hereford Cathedral, where some ancient bishop and dean are sculptured side by side, hand grasping hand with a friendship not broken, but secured, by death. In June of the same year, the triennial Foreign Missionary Festival* was held in the Cathedral, the sermon being preached by Bishop "Webb of Bloemfontein in South Africa. A public meeting was afterwards held in the palace garden ; where the Bishop stationed himself under a laburnum tree laden with golden blossoms, while the Bishops of Brechin, Bloemfontein, *The Diocesan festivals at Lichfield are held in a cycle of three years : 1, Choral festival : 2, Home missionary festival : 3, Foreign missionary festival. 64 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. and Nassau stood near him, each addressing the meeting in turn. The collections were divided between the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and the Church Missionary Society by the Bishop's special desire. This was almost the last appear- ance of the Bishop of Brechin in public before his death. The Bishop of Nassau too has since been taken to his rest. In October of this year the Church Congress was held at Stoke-on-Trent. Careful preparation had been made by the local committee, assisted by the judgment and energy of the Chairman and Eector, the Eev. Sir Lovelace Stamer; and under the Bishop's guidance it proved one of the most success- ful of these gatherings of clergy and laity that has as jet taken place. The Guardian, (October 13th, 1875), remarked that the chief characteristic of this Congress was its cheerful hopeful view of the future, and an absence of anything like despondency. In education, the modern advances were cor- dially accepted ; and in mission work, both home and foreign, the whole effect of the discussions was decidedly encouraging. That the success of the Congress was due, in a great measure to the management of the president, all were agreed ; as any sign of disturbance at once stopped on the slightest hint from him. In his opening address the Bishop said, ' 'I cannot doubt the Anglican church is the true centre round which may be called, in God's own time, all the scattered forces of those who agree in accepting Holy Scripture as their standard of faith and the creeds of the undivided church as their summary of doctrine. She stretches out her arms to the great English-speaking race now widely scattered round the earth, welcoming to her com- munion the old Catholic, the Greek, the Russian, the Lutheran, the Scandinavian, the Wesleyan, bearing with any errors she CHURCH CONGKESS AT STOKE. 65 may discern in other branches of the church as she hopes her own may be forgiven." Amongst the earliest speakers at the Congress were a Bishop and two representative members of the American church. They bore testimony to the cordial good feeling which had sprung up between their Church and our own, as a direct result of God's blessing on Bishop Selwyn's visits. The working-class was largely represented at this Congress, especially at the evening meetings when the larger part of the audience consisted of artizans and their wives. The churches at Stoke — as weU as those of the neighbouring parishes in the potteries — were also crowded every evening to hear the special preachers ; and the whole town seemed to share the enthu- siasm generated by the meetings in the large hall. At the conclusion of the Congress the Bishop spoke a few words on the offering of praise to Almighty Grod. As he passed on to speak of the soul's best time of praise, the holy Eucharist, the Congress became more and more reverently attentive ; and when he concluded with the glorious words of the Ter- sanctus, ' Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord Q-od of Hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory : Glory be to Thee, Lord most high I ' the whole meeting rose simultaneously to its feet, standing with bowed heads while he recited them. The Benediction followed : and when, after a marked silence, the multitude rose from their knees to depart, many must have felt that the Congress had indeed been a means of grace and a blessing to them. In June, 1876, the Home Mission Festival was held in the Cathedral. The Bishop preached a heart-stirring sermon in the Cathedral to the vast crowd, who felt that, well as the Bishop was used to plead for foreign missions, he could also 66 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. make an irresistible appeal for cliurch.-work at home among tlie almost heathen in our own land. The money collected was divided, by the Bishop's wish, between the " Additional Curates' Society" and the "Pastoral Aid Society," testifying (as usual) to the breadth of his sympathy with all good works. Besides the hospitality afforded in the large hall at the Palace on this occasion, a tent was erected in the garden, in the old moat of the Close, where large numbers of Sunday school teachers and Church-workers were entertained : and could the Bishop have heard the expressions of hearty satisfaction with which all who were present described their enjoyment of this festival and the kindness they had received, he would have felt more than repaid for his trouble in thus amply providing for these many pilgrims to the mother-church of the diocese. The same month witnessed the annual prize-giving to the children who had been successful in the diocesan religious examination. After service in the Cathedral, a crowd of happy faces gathered in the palace-garden and the Bishop distributed the prizes to the children with a kindly shake of the hand to each in tiirn. All were afterwards liberally pro- vided with refreshments, the children sitting in picturesque rows on a grassy bank, the teachers at long tables in the Hall, where part-songs and hymns formed afterwards a pleasant conclusion to the day's proceedings. The month of September was spent by the Bishop with a large family-party (over twenty in number) in the Isle of Man.* He lived in the official residence at Bishops-court, and held Confirmations for the Diocesan who had for some time been invalided. Among other interesting events was a '■'A characteristic anecdote was afterwards currently reported in Lichfield. When the party were preparing to start for the Island, the servants asked Who were to do the work for so numerous a party .' " Do it amongst you," replied the Bishop, " and what you can't do I wiU help you with." CONSECRATION OF REV. J. R. SELWYN. 67 Choral Festival, held amid the ruins of S. Germain's Cathe- dral within the walls of Peel Castle, at which the Bishop preached; and his clear and powerful voice was distinctly heard by a large concourse of people thronging every part of the unroofed church. It was in this year that an important event occurred in the southern hemisphere. The General Synod of New Zealand elected the Bishop's second son, the Eev. John Eichardson Selwyu, to succeed the martyred Bishop Patteson in Melanesia ; and the consecration took place at Auckland, Peb. 17th, 1877. Here he was joined by his wife and youngest child, on their re- turn home from a visit to England — two little daughters having been left at Liclifield to be brought up with Lord Justice Selwyn's orphan children, who had already for some years found their home at the palace. The day of the consecration of the younger Bishop Selwyn was one of unusual interest at Lich- field. At 11 p.m. — the hour which accorded with that of the solemn laying on of hands at the other side of the globe — a simultaneous service was held in the Cathedral. The Bishop preached in words that were few but weighty and touching, and caused the hearts of all present to beat in warmest sym- pathy with the father and mother of one now consecrated to so high and perilous a duty. Tidings uf this special service at Lichfield reached the new Bishop on Sunday, August 19th, when he was on a voyage among the islands ; and he writes of it in his journal as " a very bright Sunday indeed." On Sept. 27th, the fourth Diocesan Conference was held at Lichfield : and the Bishop in his opening address spoke as follows, "The meeting of our fourth diocesan conference reminds us that nine whole years have passed away since we first met on the 17th of June, 1868. Solemn thoughts must come into the 68 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. mind of every one who reflects upon the changes which have happened in the diocese since that time, — namely, two Deans, two out of three Archdeacons, three out of four Canons-Resi- dentiary, twelve out of nineteen Prebendaries, and twenty -four out of forty -nine Rural Deans, This record of changes, caused chiefly by death, cannot fail to warn us who are aHve and re- main that we must ' Work the works of Him that sent us while it is day ; for the night cometh when no man can work.' The personal warning thus addressed to each of us ' Set thine house in order' must be followed by another lesson of the same kind and no less important. The rapid change of office- bearers in the diocese points to the need of fi:sed principles upon which our work may be securely- built uj). As short- lived men, who know that we must soon die, we learn the value of institutions which may last for ages. Private opinions pass away with the mind which conceived them, unless they have been stamped upon the permanent records of the Church. Our own views of doctrine and forms of ritual may satisfy us in our life-time and comfort us on our death-bed : but if they are merely our own, they are like a life annuit}- which Avill expire with us.'' The Bishop then went on to speak of the Sub-division of the Diocese, (for which he asked £50,000), the establishment of a Diocesan Sunday with offertories for Diocesaa pur- poses, the Probationer-system, the Clergy House in the Close, the Barge Mission lately started with a Church-barge attached to it, the establishment of Working-men's Clubs, and the pastoral charge of the workmen and their families employed at the new barracks on Whittington Heath. He concluded with some remarks on the churchyards. These, he said, "undoubtedly belong to the Church, and are only to be yielded up if ParHa- PROTEST AGAINST THE BURIALS BILL. 69 ment insist upon such a course, — in fact, if it take them by force from the Chvirch. Then, as loyal subjects we must sub- mit." Words of weight, which seem to bear a double power now that the voice which uttered them has become so unex- pectedly silent in death : for many who heard this address may have thought of their own death as possible before another Conference should meet ; but that the vigorous frame of the Bishop, which seemed to give promise of many years of service to the Church, should be laid low before many months were over — this thought probably never crossed the mind of anyone who was present. A few months later, his words on this "Burials" question were even more impressive. In Con- vocation, on 12th of February, 1878, he presented a declar- ation to the Archbishop of Canterbury, signed by 15,000 clergy and more than 30,000 laity, against Lord Harrowby's proposal in Parliament to throw open the churchyards in- discriminately to dissenters. On presenting this address he said, "In administering for ten years a diocese with a popu- lation of 1,300,000 souls, I have never met with a single grievance in connection with this burial question. The grievance now alleged as so important for furnishing a claim to break the ancient laws of the Church of England has never come within my knowledge. I have made many inquiries on the subject among the clergy, and have never yet found a single clergyman who could tell me that, in the course of his ministry, he has met with such a grievance as that which has been put forward as a justification for this alteration in the Burial Laws. On the other hand, the grievance proposed to be inflicted on the clergy is so great, that I, for my part, should concur with the whole body of my clergy, in offering the utmost possible opposition to the bill in all its stages." 70 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. The sad news of the death of Mrs. John Selwyn at Norfolk Island reached Lichfield by telegram on the 15th of Feb., and was received by the Bishop during the session of Con- vocation The blow was a heavy one, especially as it came suddenlj^ by a bare telegram without the possibility of a letter for some weeks. But he continued his labours un- ceasingly, althovigh the thought of his dear son in his lonely widowed state, far from home and relations, must have been ever present to his mind. It was beautiful to see his tenderness to the little ones thus suddenly left motherless ; and to watch him as he pressed them to his heart — like the Grood Shepherd " gathering the lambs in his bosom"— saying, "Poor little things, the}' have no mother now!" As if the sense of their orphaned helplessness had made him resolve, with a stronger determination than ever, to shelter them from every stormy blast, and to extend to them every needful care. Nor was it only for the children of his own family that the Bishop seemed to have a special tenderness. All " little ones" and all who were poor or Aveak, at once called forth his sym- pathy and offers of fatherly help and guidance. Bishop Patteson mentions how on one occasion he paced the deck of a ship with a little sick boj' from the islands in his arms. A story is also told of his taking charge of a baby during one of his voyages, the mother being incapacitated from looking after it : and how with the help of an English lad he fulfilled his task so efficiently that not only did the little one flourish under his care, but at the end of the voyage it was unwilling to leave its temporary guardian to return to its own mother. In the same spirit, when driving along the high road he would stop his carriage to take up a woman laden with a heavy child ; and he would frequently lend a hand to help a poor HIS SIMPLICITY AND GENTLENESS. 71 person carrying a basket from the railway station — or, on one occasion, across Cannock Chase. On Easter Uaj^, 1877, he gladly embraced an opportunity of conducting the children's service at the Cathedral, and gave a graphic account of a funeral at sea, such as he himself had often witnessed. He once held a special Confirmation in the Lady chapel for a sailor lad called away suddenly to his ship. During the last few months of his life he went constantly into the Black Country, to hold services for the barge men, where he might often be seen with the Mission Chaplain sitting on the cinder heaps to partake of some simple refreshment. Many will remember his visits to the grief-stricken crowd round the mouth of the pit at Pelsall after the accident there in 1872. And not long before his final illness he walked out frequently to minister at the quiet bedside of a d}dng clergyman at the neighbouring village of Wall. It is not the first time that the strong hand and the tender heart have been found in close conjunction ; nor, thank (lod, is it likely to be the last. But examples like these serve, assuredly, to maintain that Christ-like spirit of gentleness and simplicity which, through all ages, forms the leading charac- teristic in the religious life of the Church. CHAPTER Vin. The Bishop's last Illness and Death : the Funeral : Proposed Memorials at Lichfield and Cambridge : Conclusion: 1878. His own end was now approaching. In the early part of the year CMarch 1878) as he happened to be in London, the 72 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. Bishop consulted an eminent physician, in consequence of an un- usual sensation of weakness which troubled him. No serious cause of mischief, however, was discovered ; and the patient was dismissed with a simple recommendation to "rest." This simple remedy might possibly have availed, at least to pro- long his life for some years, had it been in the Bishop's nature to use it. But he had several Confirmations impending in Derbyshire and Shropshire : and such engagements as these he was always determined, if possible, to fulfil. The symp- toms of indisposition soon became more apparent. But even yet no serious apprehensions were aroused, as it was still con- sidered that the Bishop was suflPering from overwork, and only needed repose to restore him to health. On the 18th of March he was present at a meeting of the College-Council at Lichfield ; and although he looked ill he seemed as cheerful as usual, humorously observing that the lawn which the Students had left half-mown was like the king's half-shaven beard in the Eastern story. But in Shropshire the Confirmations told heavily on his already over-taxed powers. At one church he seemed to feel unusually cold and asked for something to throw over his shoulders, saying " I feel as if I had got my death-chill, I am so shivering." On another occasion he asked to have refresh- ment in a separate room after the Confirmation, feeling too ill to join the party gathered in the Vicarage dining-room to meet him. At Shrewsbury he was again very unwell, but with characteristic determination he rose from his sick bed to attend the Confirmation at 8. Mary's on March 24th, — where he performed his last act of pubKc ministration. On this occasion Bishop Hobhouse was present to help him ; but he persevered to the end, though he had 1o retire for rest three times during the service ; and at length he concluded an affec- HIS LAST ILLNESS. 73 tionate and fatherly address with the words " Safe in the arms of Jesus." Bishop Hobhouse — being aware of his enfeebled state of health — afterwards made some remark on the length and vigour of the address. " Yes," said the Bishop, who had been suffering great pain throughout, ' ' it was like holding on to a ship in a storm ; I held on by my hands and my feet." He then laid his head back in a chair in the vestry, saying " The end is come." On the following day he returned to Lichfield, feeling seriously ill and suffering from nausea and inability to take food. As the remedies hitherto prescribed for him seemed of no avail, a new medical adviser* was called in, whose ex- perienced eye soon discovered the serious subtle malady which was undermining the Bishop's powerful frame. He could not, however, at first determine how far it had taken fatal possession ; and for a whole week the patient fluctuated, sometimes better and sometimes worse, till on the 4th of April a consultation was held with Dr. Heslop, of Birmingham. They both agreed in their opinion as to the critical nature of the case ; but they hoped that the Bishop's fine constitution might pull him through. On Saturday morning he received the Holy Communion with his family and servants, and was able to speak a few words of Christian exhortation to them. But in the evening he became worse, and on Sunday morning Dr. Browne had but little hope of his life. Prayers were offered on that day throughout the Diocese on his behalf — even Dissenting Congregations uniting their intercessions with those of Church- men — and at the Communion Service in the Cathedral all hearts were full with thoughts of their beloved Bishop's danger. During several days the Cathedral bells were hushed *Dr. Browne, of Lichfield. 74 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. for fear he should be disturbed, and a steady gloom settled down on the anxious City as the critical state of the Bishop came to be realized. On Sunday night however, he slept more comfortably : and on Monday he seemed to have rallied con- siderably, until the evening brought signs of fever and de- lirium ; and then all hope died down in the hearts of those who loved him, and they resigned themselves to yield him up to Grod. Since the beginning of his illness it had been nothing but ebb and flow : but now the ebb steadily proceeded until the end. Early on Tuesday morning he asked for the child- ren, and the little ones were brought out of their beds to see him. His words to them were plaj^ul and loving as of yore : " I wish you were little robins, so that you might sit on my finger." Then, recognizing Sir William Martin, he remarked it was like the old days at Auckland, and talked in cheerful strain with his sister and all the members of his family who were gathered around him. He even remembered that Bishop Abraham was going to a Confirmation at Sudbury that day, and mentioned what he wanted said and done. He then said 'good-bye' to all and relapsed into quietness and apparent sleep. The nurse who attended him was heard to say, "He is such a good patient ! Whatever has to be done, even if it is painful to him, he makes up his mind to it at once." For him death had no terrors, and pain no bitterness. More than once he was heard to say "Thank Grod for pain! thank Grod!" The habit of living in close communion with God, which he had formed during his days of health, was evident through- out his last illness ; and even in his unconscious wanderings such words as " A light to lighten the Gentiles," and passages fi-om hymns, were constantly on his lips. On Tuesday he was unable to take the food which was offered to him, and shook PAREWELL 'WORDS AND DEATH. 75 liis head, saying "don't ! don't! you are only keeping me from happiness." Nearly his last words of consciousness were spoken to Sir W. Martin, words by which the dying Maori Christian is wont to tell his friends that he sees Heaven clearly before him; they mean in the Maori language "It is light." Throughout Wednesday he was tranquil, his life ebbing slowly away. On Thursday the 11th of April, he spoke some few words of faith in God and love to his wife, and about noon he calmly sank to rest. Many w'ho had loved him came to take a farewell look at their Bishop, as he lay in death, with a smile of singular beauty on his placid countenance, though all xiueonscious of their presence and for the first time unable to greet them with kindly words of welcome. On Palm Sunday, Bishop Abraham preached a touching sermon, in the Cathedral, about the bereavement which all had undergone ; and in every pulpit throughout the Diocese reference was made to the sad event, and attention was directed to the noble example afforded by the late Bishop's life. At length the funeral-day came. On the previous evening the cof&n had been removed into the private Chapel at the Palace ; and on Tuesday, April 1 6th, several of the fi"iends and near relations gathered together in the early morning, and kneeling beside it partook of the Holy Communion. Offerings of flowers — amongst others a Cross from the Stu- dents of the Theological College, and wreaths from the Missionary Work Part}^ — were placed during the Service on the Altar. On the eofiin was laid the Pastoral Staff of ebony and silver, which had been presented some years before, as a parting gift from the Church of New Zealand. 76 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. After the usual morning service at the Cathedral, prepara- tions began to be made for paying the last honours to the deceased prelate. "It is probable (says a local paper) that such a scene as that enacted in Lichfield Close, on Tuesday, was never before there witnessed, when all that remained of Bishop Selwyn was laid in its last resting-place by the side of his own Cathedral. A general invitation had been forwarded to the Clergy of the Diocese, and the laity were also invited to attend. The morn- ing rose over the Cathedral-city with a perceptible heaviness which well accorded with the sad nature of the day's proceed- ings. People moved to and fro with a serious demeanour, and on every side the outward emblems of mourning were apparent. Everyone seemed to have lost a friend, a pastor, a head. The form of the Missionary Bishop would be seen no more. People would fain tell each to the other of their own personal experi- ences of their late Diocesan. During the morning the church bells tolled in a solemn manner ; and the gloom seemed to darken, for it began to rain sharply just as the clergy and laity began to assemble. By eleven o'clock — two hours before the funeral — the Cathedral was well filled ; and from that time until one, the clergy were assembhng at the Palace, the entrance to which was thronged with spectators, the working- class being very perceptible. A few minutes after one o'clock the procession began to move from the Palace. At the same moment the organ pealed forth from the Cathedral, producing to those without a very impressive efi'ect. The pall was borne by Archdeacon Allen, the Provost of Eton, the Earl of Powis, Lord Hatherton, Sir Percival Heywood, Sir William Martin, and the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone ; and the Pastoral Staff was carried before the coffin by the Pev. F. Thatcher, the THE FUNERAL. 77 Bishop's Secretary. The procession left the Cathedral in the same order ; and on approaching the grave the choir broke into the weR-known hymn— "We are but strangers here, Heaven is oiu' Home ;" As the body was lowered into the grave, the sentences com- mencing ' Man that is born of woman ' were sung by the choir : and at the conclusion of the service, a hymn was sung by the choir and people together — ' The strife is o'er, the battle done.' Bishop Abraham then gave the blessing, and all was over." So closed the grave over all that remained of Bishop Selwyn. All the arrangements for his funeral were as simple as possible, in accordance with the simplicity of his life.* The crowded attendance, the long procession of clergy and laity, were but the spontaneous outcome of the heart's reverence and love. It was this feeling which brought one young workman from the Potteries to pay the last tribute of respect to the Bishop who had confirmed him, and who had made such a deep and lasting impression on him that he had been a steady communicant ever since. To him, as to all his class, — the mighty army who toil with their hands — the words and acts of the Bishop came home with a peculiar power, from their simple straightforward manliness. The poor who were present at his funeral testified their affection for him by their quiet reverential demeanour, and many held up their little ones to see him as he was carried by, saying ' ' Look at him, we shall never see his like again." They, in common *Oii the occasion of consecrating' a cemeterj' at Longton, 1877, the Bishop made use of the following words : " There is nothing more out of place than ostentatious pomp and ceremony at the funeral of the dead. A feeling in favour of doing- away with the numerous sm-roundings of ordinary funerals is growing in the coimtry, and I would urge all Christians to unite for the purpose of conducting interments at as little cost and with as httle ceremony as possible." 78 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. with all who were present, felt that it was not merely a ' Bishop ' who had been laid there to rest, but that in the well known words — " His life was gentle and the elements So mixed in him that nature might stand up And say to all the world ' This was a man.' Bishop Selwyn will no doubt be always especially remem- bered as the great Missionary Bishop who — like Theodore of Tarsus in England — organized, though he did not found, the Church of New Zealand ; who welded together two incoherent races into a nation ; who pioneered a way for future missions among the North Pacific Islands with an intrepidity and skill which astonished even the sailors of her Majesty's navy cruising in those unknown waters ; and did more than any man of his own day towards moulding into one body the whole Anglican Communion. Indeed it was in graceful recog- nition of such services that her Majesty last year (1877) selected him as the first Prelate of the new Colonial Order of St. Michael and St. Greorge. But still, when all has been said, there will remain, in English hearts — especially throughout the Midlands — the memory that he had also poured a new life into the old organization of the Church at home, and, — in the words of a preacher on the Sunday after his death — "it may be that, fifty years hence, men will trace wp to its source in Bishop Selwyn' s Episcopate at Lichfield a grand system of synodical action, a regular cycle of diocesan visitations by means of annual Confirmations, a probationer-system for rear- ing up young sons of the Church for her Ministry, and other such works, all spreading through the length and breadth of our land, — ^perhaps of our communion." PROPOSED MEMOKIALS. 79 After the funeral a meeting was held in the large hall at the Palace, to consider the question of raising a Memorial to the late Bishop; and Mr. Gladstone speaking of him said, " I have known him from his boyhood upwards, and I will only now say that there is one epithet which I hope will always be associated with his name beyond any other in the recollection of those who loved him, and that is the epithet of 'noble.' This epithet attached to him by so distinguished a statesman is of itself a memorial ; and its appropriateness has been evidenced by the almost universal adoption of the title, when subsequent speakers and writers have had occasion to mention Bishop Selwyn's name. But in order to meet the universal desire for a substantial and enduring monument to his memory, a committee was formed to consider in what way it could best be carried out. At a meeting of this committee held on April 26th, in the Chapter House of the Cathedral,* it was agreed that part of such memorial should be the restora- tion of the mortuary chapels near to the Bishop's grave, in one of which an effigy of him should be placed. The restora- tion of these chapels had been a favourite idea of the Bishop's, and he had caused plans to be made for the purpose by the late Sir Gilbert Scott. A further proposal was then made for a memorial of a wider and more general character : and, on the suggestion of Bishop Abraham, it was agreed in the terms of a resolution proposed by Lord Bagot and seconded by the Earl of Dart- mouth, "That the foundation of a College at Cambridge, to be called the 'Selwyn College,' be submitted to the Church at home and abroad as a worthy object by which to per- petuate the noble name and labours of the late Bishop of *See Appendix. 80 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. Lichfield, such College to include provision for the edu- cation of the sons of clergymen and others to fill posts of mis- sionary work, whether at home or abroad." Subscriptions to the amount of £2,210 were promised before the meeting separated ; and there is every reason to believe that this scheme for worthily perpetuating the name of one who has done so much for the Church will be carried into effect. But besides the gifts of the noble and the wealthy, the widow's mite and the school-children's offerings must be allowed to have a place in a work of such common interest to rich and poor, old and young. For it was to the service of the poor and of the young that Bishop Selwyn's life was more especially devoted. The poor in the workhouses, the hospitals, and the prisons, all received his unwearied care ; and it was to the 3'oung, in the crowded congre- gations at Derby and at Shrewsbury, that his latest min- istrations were given. In confidence therefore, that many of those who have been confirmed in the Diocese during his ten years' Episcopate (nearly 100,000 in number) will desire to contribute to the Memorial, a movement has been eet on foot to offer to all who were confirmed between 1868 and 1878 an opportunity of giving what their means may allow. Amongst the long list of subscribers — some it may be among the highest in the land, — no greater interest will attach to any contribution than to that of the "Confirmation Candidates;" for it will represent the joint offerings of many a "little one," (in the Lord's own sense of the word) many an heir of future glory, gathered in by the loving hand of Bishop Selwyn, and kept from after-wanderings by the memory of his simple loving words who " being dead yet speaketh." APPENDIX. DIOCESE OF LICHFIELD, 1878. "Diocesan Cylcle." The followiug circular, drawn up by Bishop Selwyu at the beginniiig of the current year and sent by him to every Parish in the Diocese, is here reprinted as a specimen ot his annual scheme of work. CO CO Q J ^ M ^ « M o ^ h-1 O O O I— I Q o o ut lit) h a • m o 08 o -c •^ o t(H «(H o o ti iH . o o > •'^ •r-l ^ -"^ +J Q 03 03 S d fl [tJ 'rH •IH i 3 CD a R 03 cS 1 « ^ H Z S H 2 O ^H pM »^ >^ • « .s c4 - " - ID U CD Ti U O m o o d o a o o ■d o 6 bO o o o bO a •fH a •i-i U Eh C3 M W D M Hi HJ <1 t> M Eh ft O M CQ 02 M O 2 g c3 a •IH 03 CO 05 ffl t N o O fi fM O P P BO. U ® ■d u O o K .2 t^ M ^ .^ -S . M n M C4 M 93 © o •r^^ o u Ph d O ■i-i P) •iH a C3 OQ •IH ^ ^ P M . W-S © o hDrd o o i-2 DC +J o cs d o3 o CO ON oo" O O to d d fH .2 EH a c3 « „ '-' N N <^ 3 a. V) 03 d o •iH td d o O o Co >-) te C to I u -s IS 6 1> « O Z o E ID W 03 © © d © d o Q fH 00 (H © ■d O OQ O % -d •fH d 03 o o d o •iH -*^ d •rH a c t»H w u o a:. C3 c3 CO CD or - CO fO o ON 00 u o o o o o o - «> APPENDIX. 85 B. Description OF THE Alms Bason. {From cm American Journal) "In the centre is the hemisphere, showing the Atlantic Ocean, "with the Old World on the east of it and the New World on the west A scroll on the oceans bears the inscription, which expresses the spirit of the gift : " Orhis veteri novus, ocddens orienti, Filia Matri,^ At the South Pole is the date, 1871, of the Bishop's visit. In the upper part of the hemisphere is a circular chased medallion, which covers nearly the whole of Great Britain, and bears a ship typical of the Church, having the Cross at its prow, the Labarum on its sail, the Pastoral staff of the Apostolic Episcopate at its mainmast, upheld by two ropes on either side for the other two orders of Priests and Deacons; and 'S.S.' on the rudder, for the 'Sacred Scrij)tures.' This ship is leaving England, and is headed towards the New World, indicating that our Church received its existence from the Catholic Church through the Church of England. Outside of this hemisphere is a band about an inch wide, with the names of the six undisputed General Councils of the ancient Church, separated from one another by six hemis23heres of lapis lazuli. As the word 'Catholic' signifies 'all the world over' so this band runs all around the globe. From this band, on the oiitside, spring twelve oak leaves, and between them are twelve twigs, each bearing three acorns with burnished kernels. This use of the English oak sets forth the English Church growing outwards, and carrying her Catholicity with her wherever she goes, in every direction. The twelve is the number of Apostolic fulness and perfection, and the three is reference to the doctrine of the Trinity. From behind the oak leaves and acorns spring alternate maple leaves and palmetto leaves, the former sym- bolizing the North, and the latter the South, — thus representing the historical truth that both parts of our American Chui'ch are the outgrowth of the Church of England. 86 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. The rim bears the inscription, ' It is more blessed to give than to receive.' It begins and ends at a jewelled cross, composed of five amethysts, four topazes, eight pearls and eight small garnets, all clustered within a circle, the cross itself thus forming a crown of glory. The words are divided by large stones, more than an inch in diameter. As they refer not to the faith, but to gifts, which are of infinite variety, no two are alike. They are all (within one excep- tion) American stones, the one exception being a species of praise from New Zealand, which was found in a lapidary's shop in Phila- delphia. As Bishop Selwyn has done more than any other one man to organize the system of the Colonial Episcopate, the piece of that New Zealand stone was secured, to be placed first in the series. Outside the inscription is a very bold cable moulding, the finish of which shows that it is a threefold cord, not easily broken. This means the three Orders of the Apostolic ministry ; one strand being burnished bright, to represent the Episcopate, the next under it having twelve cross threads representing the Priesthood, and the next below that having seven longitudinal threads, signifying the Diaconate, the original number of the deacons being seven. Out- side this cable moulding, again, is a margin of leaves all growing outward, showing a vigorous outward growth of the Church all the world over. On the under side of the rim is a jjlain Latin inscription, more specifically detailing the circumstances of the occasion which called forth this gift from the American to the English Church. It runs thus : — " >J< Ecclesise Anglicanse matri, per manus ApostoHcas rever- endissimi Georgii Augusti Selwyn, Dei gratia Episcopi Lichfield- ensis, pacis et benevolentise internuncii, ejusdemque auctoris, hoc pietatis testimonium filii Americani dederunt.>J< " On the case there is a circular silver plate ; in the centre is a shield, bearing the Union Jack and the American arms quartered APPENDIX. 87 upon a Cross (shaded (julcs), and with a dove for a crest, whoso rays of light and heat fill the circle. This means that the true unity of England and America is a spiritual unity, in maintaining the doctrines of the Cross of Christ. C. Letter from Bishop Whipple (of Minnesota) TO Eev. E. J. Edwards. The following letter, amongst many others, received whilst these sheets arc passing through the press, testifies to the deep sorrow which the news of Bishop Selwyn's death caused to the Bishops and other members of the American Church. Faribault, (U.S.) June 3, 1878. Dear Brother, — I have received your kind letter announcing the death of that noble servant of God the Bishop of Lichfield. It was very sad news to us. For among the pleasantest memories of my Diocese is the memory of his visit, and his name will long be a household word. Few men in our day and generation have so in- tertwined their memory with the Church, and none have wielded a greater power in deepening her spiritual life. We shall miss him everywhere save from our hearts. It will be a work of love for American Churchmen to unite with their Brethren in England in rearing some fitting memorial of this great and good prelate. Owing to the straitness of the times and the condition of our missionary work we can do but little, but that little will be an offering of grateful love. I regret that I shall not be able to attend the Lambeth Confer- ence, partly on account of my health, and pressing claims which I cannot disregard. 88 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. I pray God that it may be over-ruled for His glory and the prosperity of His Church. Assuring you of my loye, I am, Faithfully your Friend and Brother, H. B. WHIPPLE. Eev. E. J. Edwards. D Extract from the Archbishop of Canterbury's Speech at the Missionary Conference held in S. James Hall, June 28, 1878. The following words may be regarded as an honourable testi- mony to the loss, which it was known beforehand the approaching Pan-Anglican Synod must sustain from Bishop Selwyn's absence. And letters from those who had come from afar to attend this Synod bear witness that, after its meetings were closed, none had been found to take that leading place in its counsels, which all were prepared to assign to one whose practical wisdom and long experience had been recognised for the last thirty seven years on all questions affecting the organization of the Church and her Missions. " At this our first anniversary meeting since the death of the Bishop of Lichfield, I should forget my duty if I did not in the presence of the Church testify what we owe to him. Other men m.ay have had as difficult a sphere of work : other men, —as Bishop Broughton when he undertook his work in Australia, or, as Bishop Middleton when he planted an Episcopal See of oui- Church on the vast continent of India, — may have had as difficult a task before them, and may have done it as conscientiously. But there was APPENDIX. 89 something in tho man we dei^lore which boars us beyond calcula- tions of the exact work he did, and which stamped him as one of God's heroes. His personal appearance, his look, his mien, his voice carried away the young and enthusiastic, or at least made them ready to follow him in any difficult work. He has left a great inheritance to the Church of Christ, and we shall endeavour in the work which is before us in this Society to follow him in that large-hearted spirit which characterised all he did." E. Extract from the Appeal put forth by the Committee ON behalf of the proposed selwyn memorial, at Lichfield and Cambridge. "The Committee appointed to give effect to these Resolutions desire to lose no time in submitting them for the approval and Hberal support of the members of the Church of England, and of all the Churches in communion with her, and of aU those every where to whom the memory of Bishop Selwyn is dear. The First Resolution speaks for itself. It aims at providing a Monumental Effigy, to be placed in one of the Mortuary Chapels in the Lady Chapel of Lichfield Cathedral, which shall hand on a faithful likeness of the great Missionary Bishop to future gener- ations, long after those who have known him on earth shall have passed away. This Proposal will include the restoration of the Mortuary Chapels, so that they may furnish a suitable setting for the Bishop's Monument. It may be added that the restoration of these Chapels was an object which the late Bishop had much at heart. With regard to the Second Resolution, the Committee desire earnestly to recommend the establishment of a College in the University of Cambridge, to be called the "Selwyn College." 90 LIFE OF BISHOP SELWYN. The distinctive features of tlie proposed College would be that it should be founded upon the broad but definite basis of the Church of England, neither less nor more ; and further that its aim should be to encourage habits of simple living, and to develope the Christian character, in the Students. The Committee have reason to think that large numbers of the Clergy and Professional classes generally would be glad to have it in their power to give to their Sons the advantages of a University Education at Cambridge, in a College founded on these principles. It would also include pro- vision for the special training of those who may desire to devote themselves to Missionary work, whether at home or abroad. The Committee believe that there is room for such an Institution in the University of Cambridge ; and they have already received encouraging assurances of support from some distinguished residents in the University, and from others who, though non-resident, may be supposed to be acquainted with the circumstances. They confidentlj' recommend this proposal to found in the University, of which the late Bishop was so illustrious a member, a College which shall aim at fashioning its students after the example of the burning zeal, the high courage, and the manly Christianity, of Geoege Augustus Selwyn." C. HICKSON, PRINTEE, NEWCASTI^E. f ■■■: ' r'-