"I am, yours affectionately, "SAMUEL MARSDEN. "To Avison Terry, Esq."
Aborigines--South Sea Mission--Fresh Slanders on Mr. Marsden's character--His Pamphlet in self-defence--Letter of Messrs. Bennett and Tyerman--Libels and Action at Law--Verdict--Case of Ring--Pastoral Letters of Mr. Marsden: To a Lady; On the Divinity of Christ--Fifth Voyage to New Zealand--Letters, etc.
Scarcely had Mr. Marsden returned to Paramatta when we find him in correspondence with the new governor on the subject of the aborigines of Australia. They were already wasting away in the presence of the European colonists like snow before the sun. Their restless and wandering habits seemed to present insuperable difficulties, whether the object were to convert or merely to protect them. His memorandum to the governor, and subsequent correspondence with the Church Missionary Society, show his anxiety for their welfare and the largeness of his heart. Each new project, as it came before him, was welcomed with serious attention, while at the same time there was no fickleness, no relaxation of his efforts in his old engagements and pursuits. But he was not allowed to connect his name with the evangelization of these poor heathen. Various attempts have been made by different denominations to bring them into the fold of Christ, but hitherto with very small success. It seems, at length, as if Christians had acquiesced in the conclusion that their conversion is hopeless, that we can do nothing more than to throw over them the shield of the British government, and prevent their wholesale destruction by lawless "squatters" and "bush-rangers." We shall return, however, to the subject hereafter.
His interest in the mission to the South Sea Islands continued unabated. The London Missionary Society had deputed the Rev. Daniel Tyerman and George Bennett, Esq., to visit these missions, and bring home in person a report of all they might see upon the spot. On their voyage, they stayed awhile at Sydney, and Mr. Marsden addressed a letter to them, which shows his own zeal in the cause, and the painful apathy or profane contempt of others. Such memorials, in this day of comparative fervour, ought not to be forgotten. When a Livingstone returns home to receive a shower of honours from a grateful country let us not forget the venerable pioneers in the same missionary work, and the different treatment they experienced. The contrast will call forth emotions both of gratitude and of shame.