"waste and worthless
acres" threatened to mar the success of his schemes. "Catechism and
bread and butter" should be enough for missionaries' children; and when
these grew to manhood, was not St. John's College open to them, with its
farm and its technical training, besides its invitation to the offices
of schoolmaster and deacon? If the missionaries' sons were endowed with
land of their own, would they not be so much absorbed with its
management as to be insensible to the charm of community life and the
call of the ministries of the Church? Such thoughts seem to have been
working in the mind of the bishop from the time of his arrival, and he
had corresponded with the C.M.S. from time to time on the subject. He
had hitherto said nothing, but when the governor appealed to him with
the plausible reasoning which he--an idealist also--could so skilfully
use, the bishop fell in with the proposal, and broke through the reserve
which he had hitherto maintained. Such, at least, is the explanation
which is suggested by a careful study of the facts. The conflict was one
of principles: communism against individualism. Like many other
reformers, Bishop Selwyn was strong when he exhibited the positive
aspects of the communistic ideal; he failed and became unjust when he
tried to force others into the same method of life.

The attack was made with great suddenness. The bishop brought the
archdeacon from the Bay of Islands to St. John's College, and there, on
September 4, in the midst of his own disciplinarian surroundings, handed
him a lengthy letter in which he revealed his long cherished opinions,
defended the Blood and Treasure despatch, and called upon the missionary
to accept the governor's terms. The startled archdeacon asked for proof
of the episcopal charges, but of course no proof was forthcoming. It was
a matter of prejudged guilt. The bishop was not skilful in the
negotiations, and at last lost his temper and demanded point-blank the
surrender of the deeds.[9] Henry Williams felt that he was unjustly
accused, and, still holding out for "substantiation or retractation,"
left the scene of the conference in a fit of indignation, which was
still further increased when he found that the unscrupulous governor had
been trying to stir up the Maoris of the Bay of Islands to claim the
restitution of their lands. Nothing but their strong affection and
loyalty towards "Te Wiremu" could have enabled them to resist this
appeal to their