“I am,” said he, “Captain and owner of that vessel lying at anchor opposite the _Dayspring_. My wife and I, being too late to get on shore to attend any Church in the city, heard this little Chapel bell ringing, and followed, when we saw you going up the stairs. We have so enjoyed the Service. We do heartily sympathize with you. This cheque for £50 will be a beginning to help you out of your difficulties.”
The reader knows how warmly I would thank them; and how in my own heart I knew _Who_ it was that made them arrive too late for _their_ plans, but not for _His_, and guided them up that Chapel stair, and opened their hearts. Jehovah-Jireh!
At three o’clock, Dr. Steel’s Church was filled with children and others. I told them in my appeal what had happened in the Mission Chapel, and how God had led Captain Frith and his wife, entire strangers, to sound the first note of our deliverance. One man stood up and said, “I will give £10.” Another, “I will give £5.” A third, “I shall send you £20 to-morrow morning.” Several others followed their example, and the general collection was greatly encouraging.
In the evening, I had a very large as well as sympathetic Congregation. I fully explained the difficulty about the _Dayspring_, and told them what God had already done for us, announcing an address to which contributions might be sent. Almost every Mail brought me the free-will offerings of God’s people; and on Wednesday, when the adjourned meeting was held, the sum had reached in all £456. Believing that the Lord thus intervened at a vital crisis in our Mission, I dwell on it to the praise of His blessed Name. Trust in Him, obey Him, and He will not suffer you to be put to shame.
At a public meeting, held immediately thereafter, an attempt was made to organize the _first_ Australian Mission Auxiliary to the New Hebrides; but it needed an enthusiastic secretary, and for lack thereof came to nothing at that time. At another meeting, the first elements of a brooding strife appeared. The then Agent of the noble and generous London Missionary Society intimated that he had just issued Collecting Cards for the _John Williams_, and that it would be unbrotherly to urge collections for the _Dayspring_ at the same time throughout New South Wales. He suggested that I should first visit Tasmania and South Australia, and that, on our return, they would help us as we would now help them. The most cordial feelings had always prevailed betwixt the Societies, and we accepted the proposal, though our circumstances were peculiarly trying, and I personally believed that no harm, but good, would come from both of us doing everything possible to fan the Missionary spirit.
Clearing out from her sister ships, then in harbour, the _John Williams_ and the _John Wesley_, our little _Dayspring_ sailed for Tasmania. At Hobart we were visited by thousands of children and parents, and afterwards at Launceston, who were proud to see their own ship, in which they were “shareholders” for Jesus. Daily, all over the Colony, I preached in Churches and addressed public meetings, and got collections, and gave out Collecting Cards to be returned within two weeks. But here also the little rift began to show itself. At a public meeting in Hobart, the Congregational Minister said,—
“We support the _John Williams_ for the London Missionary Society. Let the Presbyterians do as much for the _Dayspring_!”
I replied, that I was there by special invitation from those who had called the meeting, and that, rather than have any unseemly wrangling, my friend, Dr. Nicolson, and I would quietly retire. But the Chairman intervened, and insisted that the meeting should go forward in a Christian spirit, and without any word of recrimination. To find ourselves, even by a misunderstanding, regarded as inimical to the London Missionary Society, one of the most Catholic-spirited and Christlike Societies in the world, was peculiarly painful. Still the little rift seemed to widen at every turn, and we found ourselves thrown more and more exclusively on Presbyterians alone. But thus also the hearts of _two_ great Communions were concentrated on Heathendom, where one only or chiefly had been bearing the burden heretofore. And the Lord hath need of all.