diamond; and whatever changes may take place, and wherever my lot may be cast, you will continue to live in my affections and prayers. True friends can never part: our prayer is one, our hope is one, and we are one in heart; neither time nor place can really divide us. I am, my dear friends in our blessed Lord Jesus, Yours, &c. LONDON, March 29th, 1838. You must not be angry with me, but it is now finally fixed that I go to New-Zealand, in company with Mr. Waterhouse, in August or September next. I assure you this step has not been taken without great searchings of heart, and most sincere prayers to God for His guidance and blessing. Nothing could induce me to leave the land of my birth, and the land of my friends, but a deep sense of duty, and an impression which I have frequently had upon my mind, that to refuse to do so would be to endanger the salvation of my soul. I am sometimes all but overwhelmed at the prospect of the arduous and responsible work which I have undertaken; but He who has been with me as my Father and my Friend all my life long, and particularly since I became a Christian and a Minister, will not now forsake me...... Never did I need your affectionate sympathies, and fervent, believing prayers, as I do now. This must be the test of your love, that you pray unceasingly to God for me. O, if I can be instrumental in recovering a few souls from death in the islands of the sea, who shall be my joy and crown of rejoicing in the day of the Lord Jesus, what an ample recompense shall I have for any sacrifices and privations which may await me in the course which Providence has marked out! Thank God, I feel particularly supported and comforted in connexion with the engagement I have made. It is the will of God, and all will be well. Commending you to God, and praying that you may have abundance of consolation, and inherit all things, I am, in great affection, Yours faithfully and for ever, &c. The Conference of 1838 was held in the city of Bristol. The Rev. Thomas Jackson, at that time Editor of the Wesleyan publications, was chosen as President; and by his luminous wisdom, dignified bearing, and fervent zeal, he gave a character to the sittings of the assembly which will not easily be forgotten by those who were present. The examination of the candidates in the presence of their fathers and brethren, and their subsequent ordination to the ministry in public, were ordinances that were conducted with uncommon solemnity and power. The prayers that were offered on the last occasion by Mr. Samuel Jackson and Mr. John Anderson, were memorable for the enlargement of heart with which they were poured forth, and the glorious unction which seemed to be the pledge of the answer. Mr. Anderson's spiritual state, in particular, seemed at that time to fulfil the beautiful predictive language of the opening of Psalm xci. : "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty;" for, in every place and company, he seemed to possess great heavenliness of perception and demeanour, and never went through a public exercise without powerfully arresting the attention and affecting the hearts of his hearers. This baptism of fire, which melted his naturally fervid constitution into love, abode upon him to the close of his career, which took place not very long after. The charge to the newly-ordained young Ministers was delivered by the Rev. Edmund Grindrod, the ex-President, and founded on Zech. iii. 6, 7: "And the Angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If thou wilt walk in My ways, and if thou wilt keep My charge, then thou shalt also judge My house, and shalt also keep My courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by." The Preacher, taking advantage of the typical veil which was cast upon the prophetic vision, so directing the thoughts to its deeper Christian meaning, found no difficulty in transferring the whole force of the charge to the Ministers of Christ; and then, with his well-known chaste and lucid diction, and his comprehensive range of theological thought, he enforced the cultivation of an ardent and serious piety, a blameless and holy walk; and offered to the faithful shepherd, on the authority of the text, the reward first of influence for good in the church below, and then the society of holy angels in the presence of God for ever and ever. Such were the delightful and edifying services of this annual gathering. Mr. Bumby attended them, and participated in the blessing they afforded with peculiar emotion. He deemed it might be the last time he should ever mix in the society of his fathers and brethren on earth. Mr. Waterhouse knew that it was his own final interview; for he had no purpose of returning. Many serious and affectionate greetings took place between both of them and their immediate friends; for although Pastors in their circumstances pass through much which chafes and often chills their affections, yet, after all, there is a bond of hearty and manly love uniting those who have laboured and suffered together, which grows stronger until death, and which even the coldness of the world tends rather to strengthen than destroy. As the business of the Conference drew towards a close, they were especially commended to the faithful remembrance and prayers of the brethren assembled. At the call of the President, Mr. Waterhouse arose, and said, "I feel I make a great sacrifice in thus leaving my brethren and my country, for I go for life; but since I made the offer, I have been in a delightful state of peace. I only regret that I have not more to give to God and His church; that I am not better qualitied for the great work. Still I have some experience: I am not a young man, and this may be of some advantage." Mr. Waterhouse went on to say, that he felt very much at parting with brethren whom he had met at so many Conferences; that he should always remember them, and trusted that they also would remember him. He said, they knew him, and his principles of Wesleyan conservatism; and he believed they could trust him in a far country to carry out the principles which he had endeavoured to act upon at home. He earnestly begged for their prayers, that, as they had reposed a great trust in him, he might have grace to be faithful. He would endeavour to do the work of God for which they sent him, and fully confide in them for encouragement and support. As a Mr. Bumby endeavoured to address the Conference, but did it with great difficulty. He said, he reiterated what his esteemed friend had said. He was the servant of the Lord, and of His church. He was fully persuaded of his call to the ministry: that was his path of duty. As to fulfilling it in the Mission work, his way was clear, not only from inward conviction, but concurrence of providential circumstances. He yielded to no one in love for his fathers and brethren. young man, he had all his heart could wish; but he felt he must devote himself to the work of God in a foreign land. He knew what he was about. He did not expect to escape privation, perils, and hardships : he trusted he could say, "None of these things He concluded by very solemnly, and with unaffected but powerful feeling, repeating the lines, move me." "Thine I live, thrice happy I, The President then said, that they could not but acknowledge that the spirit of their beloved brethren was indeed from God. They felt at parting with such men; but they parted with them for the sake of the cause which was more dear to them than life itself. These excellent men would be blessings to nations yet unborn. "They will be far from us; but we shall be one in affection and one in heart," continued Mr. Jackson; "and not many years will elapse before we shall all be one before the throne of God." He then took leave of them by shaking hands with them in the presence and on behalf of the Conference. Perhaps more powerful emotion was never felt in any Conference. The Ministers seemed to be for the time unmanned, and wept audibly. Mr. Bumby then returned to the circle of his friends at Birmingham, and made arrangements, amid the regrets of all the people, for concluding a most successful and honoured pastorate. CHAPTER IV. NEW-ZEALAND,-HIS DESTINATION. NEW-ZEALAND, the scene of labour to which our attention must now be directed, consists of two principal islands, and a small one to the south, called Stewart's Island: they lie between 34° 30′ and 47° 20' S. lat. The total area has been estimated at 62,160 square miles, or 39,782,400 acres. The northern island is called by the natives Ea-heino Mawè, "The Child of Mawè;" and the southern island, Tavaipoenamoo, "The Land of Green Stone," from the green talc-stone found there, of which the inhabitants made their battle-axes, hatchets, and chisels, before they became possessed of iron, The northern island has the finest soil, and is marked by natural features of the grandest description. A high mountain-chain runs through the principal extent of both islands, which to the north rises to the height of 12,000 or 14,000 feet above the sea-level, covered with perpetual snow, and presenting on a large scale all the phenomena of Alpine scenery. In these regions are the sources of numerous streams, which flow into the most fertile and enchanting valleys, watering with their tributaries the productive tracts that lie in their course. The huge glaciers of the summit, gleaming in faint blue and white; the rapid floods which pour from them in stream and cataract, the lofty woods which mantle the mountain-sides, the undulating lands around their base covered with richest vegetation; the bold cliffs and promontories which breast the billows of the great Southern Ocean; the beautiful bays and |