ed on an effective and successful
system of denominational schools. But nothing like this could be shown
elsewhere. Canterbury had renounced church schools in 1873, and had
reduced the religious instruction in its provincial schools to a minimum
of "history sacred and profane"; Otago and Wellington had retained
Bible-reading, but were greatly divided as to the necessity of its
continuance; Auckland had compromised with the Roman difficulty by
adopting secularism pure and simple.

Three solutions of the "religious difficulty" were thus before the House
of Representatives. No reference was made by any of the speakers to the
blessings which the Christian religion had conferred upon the country.
The torn and bleeding state of Maori Christianity prevented one side
from pointing to it as an example; the other side--if mindful at all of
its existence--was too generous to point at it as a warning. Fear of
Rome seemed to be the dominating motive with most of the members, but a
small secularist minority made itself conspicuous. The Nelson, or
denominationalist, system had broken down in the larger settlements
through want of good leadership and generous co-operation; the
government scheme of elementary Bible-reading, though more widely
favoured, was so feebly advocated that its opponents could with some
justice pronounce it a "farce"; and finally the secular party won the
day by a considerable majority. Nothing was left to the Churches of the
land but the opportunity for their ministers to enter the schools,
before or after school hours, and to give instruction to such children
as might choose to attend.

But the period through which we have been passing was not all gloom. In
the diocese of Auckland, Bishop Cowie was able to re-open St. John's
College, and to place it under the charge of Dr. Kinder. Immigrants were
pouring into his diocese to settle upon the confiscated lands, and the
bishop set himself to follow them up into the remotest settlements. In
small schooners and rough cattle-boats he journeyed round the coast; on
bullock-waggons and on horseback he traversed the almost impassable
roads. Thus he made himself the friend of the settlers, and gradually
provided them with the ministrations of religion.

In the South Island, Bishop Suter, who was appointed to succeed Bishop
Hobhouse in 1866, worked vigorously and successfully in the rough mining
settlements of the west coast, as well as among the sheltered valleys
around