XII.
Hokitika,
My dear St. John,
Things are changing here; many have left for other fields in Australia, and the population, which once ran into tens of thousands, is rapidly diminishing. This seems to be the story of all goldfields, as the production of alluvial gold declines, and deep sinking or quartz mining takes its place. Capital is needed; companies employ labour; individual enterprise disappears, and, for a time at any rate, the yield of gold is small.
Moreover, this country of forest and soil, like the primary formations of Scotland or Wales, gives little promise of successful agriculture. Coal, which is found here of excellent quality, and timber, will in future be largely exploited, but at present they are only used for local needs.
With this in view, the Bishop came to the conclusion that, as the pioneer work of the Church in Westland, to a great extent, had led to a well established order of things, my services were needed in South Canterbury, where hitherto little beyond mission work has yet been attempted. He wishes, therefore, to remove me to Timaru, the centre of South Canterbury, a large agricultural and pastoral district, but
