ent
entirely. Yet, a well-meant act of this very kind had already
contributed to the series of events which was destined to mar the godly
harmony with which the young Church of this land had hitherto been
blessed.

One of the concluding tasks of the Waimate period had been the revision
of the Maori Prayer Book. Archdeacon W. Williams must of course be
brought from the east coast for this work, and the bishop despatched the
elder brother to take his place there for the time. The step was an
unfortunate one, for never was the old peace-maker's influence more
needed in the north than at this juncture. The Maoris were becoming
restless under the regulations of the new government, and their
discontent was fanned by Americans and other foreigners, who told them
that the flagstaff upon the hill overlooking Kororareka (or Russell) was
a symbol that the country had passed away from the native race, and that
soon the Maoris would be reduced to slavery. These taunts made a deep
impression upon the mind of Hone Heke, a clever man who had learned in
the mission school at Paihia and in Henry Williams' own household to
read and understand something of what was passing in the world. The
American whalers had instilled into him an ardent admiration for George
Washington, while the British Government had just become discredited in
the eyes of all good men through the "Opium War" in China. To shake off
its yoke became to Heke the part of true patriotism, and to fell the
flagstaff was to strike at the symbol of Babylonish idolatry.[7]

[7] In the negotiations which followed the war, Heke addressed the
British commissioner as "King of Babylon," much to the embarrassment
of Henry Williams, who was acting as interpreter!

The one man who might have dissuaded Heke from his purpose was his old
master, Te Wiremu, and it was just in the months of Te Wiremu's absence
that the flagstaff was first cut down (Sept. 16, 1844). It was felled
again in the following January, and in March came the real struggle.
When Henry Williams returned to the Bay, shortly after the first
outbreak, it was too late to change Heke's purpose. The die was cast.
But he was still able to do much with those Maoris who had not yet
declared themselves on Heke's side. By circulating and explaining the
terms of the treaty of Waitangi, he won over the great chief, Tamati
Waka Nene; and it was this man's force that eventually turned the scale
on the British side. Williams a