Читать книгу History of Tasmania - John West - Страница 20

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The ecclesiastical notices contained in this work, will relate chiefly to external and material interests. The eye of a stranger cannot be expected to survey with impartiality the peculiarities of systems. It will be attempted to supply a few general facts acceptable to the community at large.

During the first years of this colony the duty of providing religious instruction, was both admitted and neglected by the state. The clergy were limited to the towns, who with the clerical functions united the business of agriculture and the administration of punishments. The church of England was then regarded by statesmen as the religion of the empire, and to clergymen of the episcopal persuasion the spiritual interests of the settlements were confided.

The first clergyman of New South Wales was the Rev. Richard Johnson: his labors were prosecuted under many discouragements. The priest of a Spanish vessel raised his hand with astonishment when he found (1793) no sacred edifice had been provided, and that the clergyman sought some shady spot to evade the burning sun in the performance of his ministry. He remarked, that the first house his own countrymen would erect, would be a house for God.[121] The habits of the officers discouraged a moral reformation. Earl St. Vincent had prohibited the marine officers taking their wives. A lady, who followed her husband in the disguise of a sailor, was sent home by Governor Phillip, when half her voyage had been completed.[122]

Four years having elapsed, in vain expectation of official help, Mr. Johnson erected, at his own cost, a wooden building: strong posts were driven into the ground, the walls consisted of wattle and plaster, and the roof was thatched: thus the first Christian temple in this hemisphere was raised by a voluntary effort. This building was maliciously destroyed. After a long season of slumber, the governor resolved to enforce the observance of the Sabbath, which had been commonly spent in "abominable dissipation." The prisoners were compelled to attend on public worship, and their officers enjoined to accompany them: a few weeks after, the church was in flames. The governor, irritated, threatened to employ the workmen on Sunday to erect another church; but a large stone store being available, it was fitted up for the purposes of devotion, and the weekly penance exacted in another form more suitable to the day (1778). Mr. Johnson returned to Great Britain: he was the first who reared orange groves, from which he realised considerable wealth.[123]

Before Mr. Johnson's removal, the Rev. Samuel Marsden arrived: a man of great intellectual and physical energy, who while he accomplished much for his family, effected more as a clergyman. Mr. Marsden was a graduate of St. John's, when he received his appointment, which was pressed upon him. His mission excited great interest. He was about to address a large assembly at Hull, when the vessel fired a signal to weigh anchor: the service was suddenly stopped, and Mr. Marsden proceeded with his bride to the boat, followed by the whole congregation, who covered the young adventurers with benedictions.

Mr. Marsden resided at Parramatta, where his agricultural success was conspicuous. Perón exclaimed—"The whole of this spot was covered with immense and useless forests. With what interest have I trodden over these new meadows, through the midst of which this respectable pastor conducted me himself with the most affectionate kindness. Who could have believed it! This residence is seven or eight miles from Parramatta, in the midst of woods; and it was over a very excellent road in a very elegant chaise that Mr. Marsden drove me. What exertions must have been taken to open such communications: these pastures, these fields, these harvests, these orchards, these flocks, are the work of eight years!" In his spiritual husbandry Mr. Marsden was not at first equally successful.

He returned to England in 1808, and the colony was left for some time without any clerical instructor. The Rev. Mr. Fulton, a protestant clergyman of Waterford, transported for sedition, was stationed at Norfolk Island, and Father Harold, an exile, a catholic priest, had returned home. "There was," says Holt, "no clergyman to visit the sick, baptise the infant, or church the women. So we were reduced to the same state as the heathen natives who had none of these ceremonies." At this period, however, many missionaries, driven from Tahiti, took refuge at Port Jackson. Some were employed as preachers, and others as schoolmasters, and several rose to considerable station and wealth, while others resumed their mission under more favorable auspices.

Mr. Marsden succeeded in arousing the attention of the ministry: additional clergymen were procured, and schools were established. The country-born children displayed an aptitude for instruction which kindled the most pleasing hopes. They exhibited a feeling, approaching to contempt, for the vices of the convicts, even when manifested in the persons of their parents.[124] "These feelings," said Sidney Smith, "convey to the mother country the first proof that the foundations of a mighty empire are laid."[125]

It is scarcely possible to imagine a condition more unfavorable to the rising race; and yet the aptitude for instruction, and the self-respect observable in the Australian youth, have been remarked by every visitor from the earliest times, not without astonishment. It is not uncommon to see children of the most elegant form, and with an open countenance, attended by parents of a different aspect, as if a new region restored the physical and mental vigour of the race.

A pleasing instance of the love of knowledge occurred during the early ministry of the Rev. Mr. Cartwright, which he related to Governor Macquarie. The river which separated them from his dwelling was swollen, and knowing the ford was impassable, he saw with great amazement his young pupils approach his Sunday school: they had tied their clothing on their heads, and swam across the stream.[126] It is asserted, that without any other instruction than a casual lesson, some learned both to read and write.

The Rev. Robert Knopwood, who arrived with the first settlers, was long the sole chaplain of Van Diemen's Land. In addition to his clerical functions he regularly sat as a magistrate. He had not much time to care for the spiritual interests of his flock, and of his success in their reformation nothing is recorded: his convivial friends are the chief eulogists of his character. His little white pony was not less celebrated. Mr. Knopwood received a pension, and was subsequently appointed chaplain to a country district: he died in 1838. The gaiety of his disposition made him a pleasant companion and a general favorite; and conciliated whatever esteem may be due to a non-professional reputation.[127] Mr. Knopwood was not, however, unwilling to tolerate the assistance of a sect whose zeal wore a different aspect from his own. The wesleyan ministers found a kindly welcome and an open field.

In the absence of clergymen, it was customary for the magistrates to conduct public worship, or where that was not possible, to assemble the prisoners and accompany the inspection with a few words of advice.[128]

The attention of the London committee of the wesleyan mission was aroused by their agents stationed at Port Jackson, who referred to this colony as "a settlement called the Derwent, two weeks' sail distant." The Rev. B. Carvosso, on his passage to New South Wales, touched at Hobart Town, in the month of May, 1820. He embraced the opportunity thus offered. He was introduced by the Rev. Mr. Knopwood to the governor, who authorised and protected his teaching. Mr. Carvosso stood on the steps of a dwelling-house; his congregation partly within and partly without: his wife conducted the psalmody. The text which initiated the wesleyan ministry was characteristic of its style and results: "Awake thou that sleepest!" The colony required such addresses. Mr. Carvosso's description of the inhabitants may be imagined: they were kindly, but dissolute. At New Norfolk and at Pittwater, with a population of several hundreds, no religious service had been performed. A seriously-minded soldier, by diligent inquiry, found out a settler said to be religious. To converse with this person, he took a journey of fifteen miles, and found him swearing!

Shortly after Mr. Carvosso's departure, several soldiers of the 58th regiment, who at Sydney adopted the sentiments of methodism, were quartered in the island. They prompted a Mr. Noakes to obtain a room for worship: eight persons met on the 29th October, 1820, at a house in Collins-street, Hobart Town. They next removed to the residence of a Mr. Wallis: the soldiers and their coadjutor filled up the hour with singing, exhortation, and alternate prayer. Corporal Waddy appears to have been the leader of the band. They were assailed with great, though transient fury: their devotion was stifled by hostile noises. The governor, however, interfered, and the disturbers were intimidated.

But the landlord of the house growing weary of their company, they sought a place of refuge. Donne, a carpenter, whose skilling formed a workshop, was entreated to arrange it for worship. At first, he gave a hesitating consent: his wife, a woman of vigorous temper and "a Romanist," violently interdicted the project; "but," says the chronicler, "that night there was a dreadful storm; the house rocked: she awoke in terror, exclaiming, 'the methodists shall have the room!'" The building became too small: it was enlarged to accommodate three hundred persons: a society of fourteen members was constituted. On the 13th May, 1821, a Sunday school was established; the first in Van Diemen's Land. All this was done in the absence of a minister. Waddy, who was made a sergeant, went to India, where he soon died. He was mentioned with admiration by his brethren. Donne had been a prisoner: he lived to acquire the respect and confidence of his neighbours. His proper name was Cranmer: he was descended from the family of the illustrious archbishop.[129] He remained in membership until his decease. Mr. Noakes, the organiser of these wesleyan victories, became dissatisfied with their results: the Gazette, of 1823, announced that he had withdrawn from their fellowship. To him, however, belongs the honor of gathering the first school for gratuitous instruction.

In the year following, September 21st, 1821, the Rev. Mr. Horton arrived. His labors were fatiguing and minute: he read the scriptures to "four persons in one place, and addressed twelve in another; chiefly old people and young children." He describes the social state of the country: "The wretchedness of Launceston is past description:" "of the deaths at New Norfolk, all except two are attributed to accident or drunkenness."

Mr. David Lord gave Mr. Horton a plot of ground, and he resolved to build. He was indefatigable in his collections; and by contributions, then thought liberal, obtained £400.; but chapels are not built by cautious men. Having raised the walls his money was gone; and they remained long uncovered: a reproach to his calculation, but not to his faith. The Rev. R. Mansfield, two years after, obtained timber and labor from the government: gifts and loans were provided by the society in England, and the building was completed.[130]

In 1822, a considerable religious immigration took place. Carvosso transmitted accounts of the material and moral prospects of the colony, which determined several of that class to settle in this island. They embarked in the Hope, and encountered great dangers in the British channel. On their complaints the vessel was seized, under an act for the protection of passengers; and the Heroine being chartered for the purpose, they were transmitted at the expense of the government. The owners successfully appealed against the seizure, and accused the passengers of conspiracy; who, however, themselves suffered considerable detention and loss.[131] Many still survive, having largely contributed in their various spheres towards the social improvement of the country.

Mr. Knopwood was superseded, as principal chaplain, by the Rev. William Bedford. This gentleman received his appointment by the recommendation of persons who had been impressed by his zealous attendance on criminals awaiting execution in the metropolitan gaols.

The presbyterian church was founded the same year by the Rev. Archibald Macarthur. He was cordially received as a representative both of his country and his religion: though not himself of the national church, most Scottish names are appended to the first subscription for his stipend.

The co-operation of the various bodies was not prevented by their differences. Of the first annual meeting of the wesleyan mission, Mr. Bedford was president, and the whole community joined in the support of a bible society, the first religious institution of the colony.

The missionaries who fled from Tahiti a second time, formed at Sydney a bible society, under the patronage of Macquarie, and transmitted a considerable supply to the care of Mr. Knopwood. In return for the liberal gift, an auxiliary was formed, of which Messrs. Birch and Dry were the lay officers. The meeting held in May, 1819, contributed £100 on the spot: £300 during the year. This munificence was avowedly for the credit of the settlement. Not only did the institution unite all sects, but it was the first instance of friendly co-operation between the emigrant and emancipist classes.[132] Among the contributors were twelve who, giving 5s. each, designated themselves the "members of the free and accepted masons of St. John's Lodge, Hobart Town." An early general meeting of the society was an example of dispatch: the governor took the chair, the report was read, the resolutions passed, and the meeting dispersed within ten minutes. With such celerity were pious labors finished in those days.

The erection of the archdeaconry in favour of the Rev. W. Scott, in 1824, was the result of his visit to the colonies, as secretary to Commissioner Bigge, whose reports were attributed to his pen. His alleged hostility to the emancipists excited resentment, and detracted from his usefulness. When delivering his charge at Hobart Town, the governor required the attendance of all officially connected with the government, whatever their faith. New South Wales was within the diocese of Calcutta, but the relation was nominal; yet the newspapers did not think a visit from Bishop Wilson improbable.

The Rev. John Youl, formerly a missionary at Tahiti, was the chaplain of Port Dalrymple. His labors were divided between George Town and Launceston, and until his arrival no clergyman had ever visited the northern districts of the island.[133] In 1819, he made a tour, and baptised sixty-seven children, and married forty-one couple; many of whom were recognised as such before his interposition.[134] He was accustomed to call his congregation together by the sound of an iron barrel, which was swung to a post, and struck by a mallet; or he announced his arrival by walking through the settlement in his canonical dress.

Launceston was destitute of a clerical resident until 1824, when Mr. Youl returned with the establishment from George Town. The people were sometimes weeks without a service, and three years without a clergyman. Shortly after, during a visit of the governor, the church was crowded; an event said to be unparalleled in the history of Launceston. The church was a wooden building of small dimensions: sometimes occupied as a court, sometimes as a temporary sleeping place for prisoners; sometimes as a stable.[135]

The disposition of Mr. Youl was amiable, and his professional reputation unblemished: placed in a station of little promise, he cultivated the minds and affections of the young, and discountenanced vices he could not extirpate.

The first Roman catholic priest established at Hobart Town, was the Rev. Peter Connolly. Less polished than his protestant friend, Mr. Knopwood, he was not less genial in his temper: the pastor of a people drawn chiefly from the Irish peasantry, he well understood their character. He received a grant from the crown, and erected a humble chapel and dwelling-house; which he ascribed partly to the charity, and partly the penance of his flock. He used a common brush to sprinkle them with holy water, and spoke of their faults without much softness or reserve. Occasionally an execution required his services at Launceston, otherwise a place long overlooked by the priesthood.[136]

The return of the Sabbath was unattended in the country with a religious welcome. Many employed their time in hunting: the more scrupulous in visits, and the profane in labor or intemperance. A gentleman, now distinguished among the wesleyans, was found by his neighbour ploughing by the road side on Sunday morning: both himself and his men had forgotten the day. Yet at the houses of all, a minister of religion, of any name, met a cheerful entertainment and a willing audience. Whether that the presence of an intelligent stranger is itself a grateful interruption to rural solitude, or that the miseries resulting from sin were too apparent for dispute, the utility of religion was never openly questioned; and it is certain, that few people were less inclined to reject the instructions, or to affront the ministers of religion.