among the Maoris. He was desirous of marrying the daughter of a
chief, but he wished that she should be a Christian, and, as there
was no Catholic priest nearer than Sydney, he sailed to that port
with the chief and his daughter, called on Bishop Polding, and
informed him of the object of his visit. A course of instruction was
given to the father and daughter, Poynton acting as interpreter; they
were baptised, and the marriage took place. After the lapse of sixty
years their descendents were found to have retained the faith, and
were living as good practical Catholics.

Bishop Pompallier celebrated his first Mass on January 13th, 1838,
and the news of his arrival was soon noised abroad and discussed.
The Methodist missionaries considered the action of the bishop as an
unwarrantable intrusion on their domain, and, being Protestants, they
resolved to protest. This they did through the medium of thirty
native warriors, who appeared before Poynton's house early in the
morning of January 22nd, when the bishop was preparing to say Mass.
The chief made a speech. He said the bishop and his priests were
enemies to the Maoris. They were not traders, for they had brought
no guns, no axes. They had been sent by a foreign chief (the Pope)
to deprive the Maoris of their land, and make them change their old
customs. Therefore he and his warriors had come to break the
crucifix, and the ornaments of the altar, and to take the bishop and
his priests to the river.

The bishop replied that, although he was not a trader, he had come as
a friend, and did not wish to deprive them of their country or
anything belonging to them. He asked them to wait a while, and if
they could find him doing the least injury to anyone they could take
him to the river. The warriors agreed to wait, and went away.