Stirring Tale Of L.M.S.

In Papua

New Book by Cecil Northcott

SOME fascinating stories of missionary adventure and enterprise in the South Seas have been told by Rev. Cecil North cott; but none bears comparison with Guinea Gold, 100 pages, just received from

the publishers, wherein Mr. Northcott sets out the history of the London Misisonary Society in Papua.

What a drama this is! One is shown the melancholy, cadaverous Dampier driv ing his leaky old tub of a Roebuck along New Guinea’s northern coast, in January, 1700. Then one sees, during slow de cades, scores of other daring navigators adventuring into this strange and danger ous sea. But none can conquer the fierce, mountainous, jungle-clad land of New Guinea. The kindlier islands of the Cen tral and South Pacific soon afford foot holds for Europeans; but, though the cen turies pass, New Guinea remains terra in cognita—the last and the most difficult Pacific territory to be penetrated.

The advance of the L.M.S. upon Papua came from Lifu, in the Loyalties. Captain Banner, of the ship Blue Belle visited Rev.

John Jones there in 1866, and told Mr.

Jones about New Guinea. Mr. Jones told London. On May 30, 1871, there sailed from Lifu a schooner, the Surprise, char tered by the L.M.S. to convey Messrs.

Samuel Macfarlane, A. W. Murray and eight native Lifuan teachers to southern New Guinea, They were to establish themselves in islands off the mainland and thence work their way into the interior.

The first teacher was landed in Darnley Island, in Torres Strait, on July 1, 1871, and others on Warrior and Dauan Islands.

More teachers came from Rarotonga, and started work among the swamps and is lands to the south of the Fly River, and eastward along the Papuan Gulf, in Red scar Bay.

It w r as frightful work. They were con stantly attacked by savage men and relentless disease. In four years, they lost 21 of their number —17 by disease, and four by the clubs of the natives. But they stuck it out. W. G. Lawes arrived on November 21, 1874, and put behind the work the force of a great personality.

James Chalmers, the famous missionary martyr, arrived in 1877.

It is a stirring tale, remarkably well told.

In a preface, the Lieut.-Governor of Papua, Sir Hubert Murray, writes authori tatively of the assistance which Pacific ad ministrators have received from missions of all denominations. Says Sir Hubert:— “Readers wall realise that Christianity is not ‘a creed outworn,’ but is a living force which can nerve men and women, irre spective of race and colour, to deeds of strange self-sacrifice and heroism in the warfare against the powers of evil and darkness-—that long warfare in which there is no truce and in which there can be no discharge.”