he explosion of 1848. The Church must
show the true principle of brotherhood in active operation, and he hoped
to attract to his community young men from the English universities, who
were going over to Rome through discontent with the comfortable
worldliness of the mother Church. "I have at command," he wrote, "a rill
of water, a shady wood, a rocky cave, and roots of fern, for every one
of these would-be anchorites." But the would-be anchorites found no
attraction in the hard work which New Zealand offered, and the bishop's
college was recruited chiefly from the grey-haired missionaries or their
sons. From these he replenished the number of his clergy, which had been
reduced by the drowning of Mason, and by the withdrawal of two other
priests to England. His first ordination was that of Richard Davis, the
farmer-catechist, in June, 1843; while in September three more students
were admitted to the diaconate (Bolland, Spencer, and Butt), and thus at
least for a time the ranks were filled.

With the ordination of these students closed the first session of the
college. The bishop had arranged to spend each winter with his students,
and each summer in travelling about the diocese and planting out those
whom he had ordained. During the first term he had often found time to
hold large confirmations at or near the Bay of Islands, as well as to
open the new church at Auckland; now with the spring he set out on a
journey even more far-reaching than that of the previous year. His route
lay at first through the interior of the island, and intersected his
former line of march. His object was to visit the Taupo and Upper
Wanganui missions, which he had not as yet seen, and afterwards to lift
the veil which hid the farthest south.

The first stages of his journey were marked by some memorable
experiences. Near Lake Tarawera, "on turning a corner of the valley, we
saw before us what appeared to be a large waterfall, apparently 50 feet
in height and about the same in width. As we came nearer we were
surprised to hear no noise of falling waters, but still the appearance
was the same in the moonlight. In a few minutes we found ourselves
walking upon what had appeared to be water." The bishop had in fact
found the famous White Terraces, which were afterwards destroyed in the
eruption of 1886. After leaving one of his deacons (Spencer) at Lake
Taupo, the bishop and his party were weatherbound for a week in the
mountains near the head wat