To show the rapid growth of Christianity in these islands, we give the follow^ing table, exhibiting the num- ber of communicants in the eastern district, from the year 1840, when the Church consisted entirely of na- tives who came from the Bay of Islands, principally as teachers :
1S40 29 I 1845 14S4
1H41 133 1 1S46 16G8
1S42 451 1 1S4T I960
1843 675 1S4S 2054
1844 946 I 1849 2893
Here we have illustrated the fact, seen in almost all missionary history, that while during the first years of a mission the results are scarcely perceptible and the prospects discouraging, yet, when the Gospel fairly gets a lodgment in the minds of a people, however desperate their case might seem, its progress will be rapid and powerful. After twenty j'ears' labor in New Zealand the number of communicants reported was but 8, and they were all at one station ; but here is an increase in ten years, in one district, from 29 to 2893 !
Since the introduction of Christianity a great change has taken place. The natives have abandoned tattoo- ing, and are now generallj' clothed like civilized men, and possess fiocks, herds, furniture, houses, and cultivat- ed lands. Cannibalism was crowded out, too, by Chris- tianity, and, as Scherzer tells us, " any allusion to this revolting practice is very painful to the New Zealander, as reminding him of his low position in the scale of na- tions. Every time we endeavored to make any inquiry of the natives respecting this custom they witlidrew with an ashamed look." Infanticide also, which pre- vailed largely among them in their days of heathenism, is now universally abolished, and the same is the case with slavery and polygamy. One half of the Maori adults can read and write, and two thirds of them be- long to Christian churches. They general]}' practice agriculture, but will not work very hard. They are good sailors and fishermen, and indeed more than a hundred coasting vessels of a good size are now the property of natives. But from various causes, especially from the introduction of new diseases, their numbers are rapidly diminishing. In 1872 the number of the aborigines, formerly computed at 100,000, was less than 40,000, nearly all in the North Island.
Education has been liberally provided for. chiefly by the Church organizations, and there are good schools in all the towns. In some provinces state aid is given to both national and denominational schools; in others only to the national. A university has been established at Dunedin, and high schools exist in many of the towns. In 1872 there were in all 397 schools, 602 teach- ers, and 22,180 pupils. Among the religious denomina- tions the Church of England has always taken the lead, having sent out the first missionary to the natives, the Rev. Samuel Marsden, in 1814. The first bishop, the Rev. G. A. Selw3'n, was appointed in 1841. At the fifth general synod of the English Episcopal Church in New Zealand, which met at Dunedin in the early part of 1871, encouraging reports were presented of the prog- ress of religion throughout the colony. In addition to the parochial work carried on among the colonists, it was stated that the number of native clergj'men in con- nection with that Church was 14, while about 1000 per- sons were reported as communicants. There are now six bishops of that Church in the islands. The support of the churches comes from home grants, lands set apart for Church purposes, and voluntary contributions. The Wesleyans commenced missions in 1819, and now have 77 chapels, and a larger number of adherents among the natives than any other denomination. In the three districts into which the islands are divided the number of principal stations or circuits is 32, in connection with which 43 ordained ministers are employed, with 2587 members under their pastoral care, and 5000 children in the Sabbath and day schools. Several other religious bodies have been organized and are flourishing. The province of Otago was settled by Scotch Presbvterians, and they are numerous in that part of the islands. In the South Island the North German IMissionarj^ Society has sustained missionaries, and accomplished much in Christianizing the natives of those parts. The Roman Catholics, who began their work in 1837 under bishop Pompallier, have bishops at Auckland, Dunedin, and Wellington. They have succeeded in gathering a large number of adherents among the colonists, and some also among the natives.
See Wakefield, Adventures in Keio Zealand (Lend. 1845, 2 vols. 12mo) ; Polack (J. S.), Manners and Cus- toms of Nciv Zealanders (Lond. 1840, 2 vols. 12mo); id. Neil) Zealand (Lond. 1838, 2 vols. r2mo) ; Power, Sketches in New Zealand (Lond. 1849) ; Thomson, The Story of New Zealand (Lond. 1859) ; Swainson, Neto Zealand and its Colonization (Lond. 1859); Taylor, The Past and Present of Neie Zealand (1808) ; Hochstetter, Neu Seeland (Stuttgard, 1836; Engl, transl. London, 1868); TroUopc, Australia and New Zealand (Lend. 1873); Grunderaann, Missions -Atlas, pt. iii, No. 3;
NEYELAH
43
NIBHAZ
The Missionary World, p. G5, 200, 533; Chambers, ' the increase. For missionary work in Nias, see the art. Cyclop, s. V. ; The Amer. Cyclop, s. v.; LitteWs Living Malay Archipelago. See also Malayan Miscella- Aqe Nov. 20, 1852, art. iii; Blackwood's Magazine, nies,\o\.'\i \ Ilet Eiland Nias, hy H. J. Domis ; Craw-