Mr. Marsden was then absent on duty in the country: on appearing before the bench of magistrates upon his return home, he at once stated that he had given permission to Ring to work occasionally for himself, and that therefore if there was any blame it lay with him, and not the prisoner. The magistrates not only ordered Mr. Marsden to be fined two shillings and sixpence per day for each day his servant had been thus at large, under the assumed plea of his transgressing a general government order, but also ordered Ring to be remanded to jail and ironed; and he was subsequently worked in irons in a penal gang. “At this conviction there was no informer, nor evidence,” (we are now quoting Mr. Marsden’s words, from a statement which he made before a court of inquiry instituted by Lord Bathurst, the colonial minister at home, to investigate the subject at Mr. Marsden’s request,) “but the bench convicted me on my own admission that I had granted indulgence to my servant to do jobs in the town. There were two convictions, the first was on the 17th of May, 1823. On the 23rd of the same month, without a hearing, or being present, without informer, evidence, or notice, on the same charge I was convicted in the penal sum of ten pounds. On the 7th of June, a convict constable entered my house with a warrant of execution, and levied the fine by distress and sale of my property.”
These convictions took place under an obsolete colonial regulation of 1802, made in the first instance by Governor King, to meet a temporary emergency; but virtually set aside by a general order of Governor Macquarie’s, of a much later date, granting the indulgence under certain regulations, with which Mr. Marsden had complied. Mr. Marsden says, in his official defence, that he “was the only person in the colony who was ever fined under such circumstances, since the first establishment of the colony, to the present time.” And he adds a statement which, had it not come down to us thus accredited under his own hand, would have seemed incredible, namely that “the two magistrates by whom the fines were inflicted, Dr.—— and Lieut.——, were doing, on that very day, the same thing for which they fined me and punished my servant, and I pointed that out to them at the time they were sitting on the bench, and which they could not deny.” Denial indeed was out of the question, since, says Mr. Marsden, “one of Dr.——’s convict servants, Henry Buckingham, by trade a tailor, was working for me, and had been so for months. Lieut.—— at that very time also had two convict servants belonging to Dr. Harris, working for him at his own house.”
In vain did Mr. Marsden appeal to the governor; even he was afraid to breast the torrent, which for a time bore all before it. “He found no reason to interfere with the colonial law.” Mr. Marsden prayed him at least to bring the matter before a full bench of magistrates, in whose hands he would leave his character; this, too, the governor declined, whereupon as a last step, he laid the affair before the supreme court for its decision; prosecuting the magistrates, and obtaining a verdict for the amount of the fine so unjustly levied. They now affected to triumph in the small amount of the damages in which they were cast, “wishing,” he says, “to make the world believe that the injury I had sustained was proportionally small.” And thus even his forbearance and his Christian spirit in rendering good for evil, were turned against him; for he had instructed his solicitor expressly, not to insert in the indictment the count or charge of malice, but merely to sue for the recovery of the amount of the fine. He states the case thus in simple and forcible language. “I may here observe, the only error it appears I committed originally was in not prosecuting the magistrates for vindictive damages before the supreme court. Had I alleged malice, I must have obtained a verdict accordingly; but I sought for no vindictive damages; I sought redress no further than to set my character right with the public. To have done more than this would not have become me, according to my judgment, as a minister of the gospel, and I instructed my solicitor, Mr. Norton, merely to sue for the amount of the award which had been levied on my property by warrant and distress of sale. The court gave me the amount I prosecuted for, with costs of suit, and with this I was perfectly satisfied.”
For two whole years this miserable affair lingered on. The unfortunate man Ring at length gave way to despondency, made his escape from the colony, and found his way to New Zealand, but was never heard of more. Mr. Marsden was much concerned for Ring’s misfortunes, and deplored his rashness in making his escape when all his sufferings were unmerited. “I knew,” he says, “if he should return to England and be apprehended as a returned felon, his life would be forfeited.” Such even to a recent period was the severity of our penal code, an escaped felon was consigned to the gallows. With a view of preventing this additional calamity, he wrote to the Right Honourable Mr. Robert Peel, his Majesty’s secretary of state for the home department, under date of July 1824; and having stated the case, he says: “I feel exceedingly for Ring; should he return to England and fall a sacrifice to the law, I should never forgive myself unless I used every means in my power to save him. The above statement of facts might have some influence with the executive in saving his life, if the circumstances of the case could reach the throne of mercy.” The contents of this letter were transmitted by Mr. Peel to Lord Bathurst the colonial secretary, and his lordship ordered the governor of New South Wales to establish a formal inquiry into the case. A court was accordingly summoned at Sydney, consisting of the governor assisted by two assessors, the chief justice and the newly-appointed archdeacon Scott, before which Mr. Marsden was cited to appear. He did so, the whole affair was investigated, and the result was, as the reader will have anticipated, not only Mr. Marsden’s entire acquittal of the charges which wantonness and malice had preferred, but the establishment of his reputation as a man of high courage and pure integrity, and a Christian minister of spotless character.
The Christian reader will probably ask what were the effects of these various trials upon Mr. Marsden’s mind and temper? Did he become selfish and morose? were his spiritual affections quickened? As a minister of Christ, did his light shine with a more resplendent ray, or was it disturbed and overcast with gloom? To suggest and answer such inquiries are the proper uses of biography, especially the biography of religious men. With regard, then, to his habitual temper and tone of mind nothing can be more cheering than a letter, which we now insert, written to a lady in solitude, when the storm of insult and misrepresentation was at its highest pitch.
“Paramatta, December 26, 1824.
“Dear Mrs. F.,—I received your kind letter by Mr. Franklane, and was happy to learn that you and your little boy were well. The circumstance to which you allude is not worthy to be had in recollection for a single moment, and I hope you will blot it out of your remembrance for ever; we are so weak and foolish, and I may add sinful, that we allow real or imaginary trifles to vex and tease our minds, while subjects of eternal moment make little impression upon us. It is a matter of no moment to our great adversary, if he can only divert our minds from attending to the best things. He wishes at all times ‘a root of bitterness’ should ‘spring up’ in our minds, as this will eat like a canker every pious feeling, every Christian disposition. ‘Learn of me,’ says our blessed Lord, ‘for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.’ ‘The meek will he guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way.’ It is for want of this meekness, this humility of mind, that we are soon angry. The apostle exhorts us ‘to be kindly affectioned one towards another,’ and live in unity and godly love, and ‘bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.’ Situated as you are, remote from all Christian society, and from the public ordinances of religion, you will want, in a very especial manner, the consolations which can only be derived from the Holy Scriptures. You are in a barren and thirsty land where no water is; you have none to give you to drink of the waters of Bethlehem, and you must not be surprised if you grow weary and faint in your mind. Though God is everywhere, and his presence fills heaven and earth, yet all places are not equally favourable for the growth of religion in our souls. We want Christian society; we want the public ordinances; we want social worship. All these are needful to keep up the life of God in our souls. Without communion and fellowship with God, without our souls are going forth after him, we cannot be easy, we cannot be happy; we are dissatisfied with ourselves, and with all around us. A little matter puts us out of humour, Satan easily gains an advantage over us, we become a prey to discontent, to murmuring, and are prone to overlook all the great things the Lord hath done for us. Under your peculiar circumstances you will require much prayer, and much watchfulness; religion is a very tender plant, it is soon injured, it requires much nourishing in the most favourable situations, but it calls for more attention, where it is more exposed to blights and storms. A plant removed from a rich cultivated soil, into a barren uncultivated spot soon droops and pines away. I hope this will not be the case with you, though you must expect to feel some change in your feelings of a religious nature. Without much care the sabbaths will be a weariness; instead of your soul being nourished and fed upon this day, it will sicken, languish, and pine. I most sincerely wish you had the gospel preached unto you; this would be the greatest blessing, but it cannot be at present. There is no man to care for your souls, you have no shepherd to watch over you, and must consider yourselves as sheep without a shepherd. You know how easily sheep are scattered, how they wander when left to themselves, how soon the wolves destroy them. It is impossible to calculate the loss you must suffer, for want of the public ordinances of religion. My people, says God, perish for lack of knowledge. You know it is true that there is a Saviour, you have your Bible to instruct you, and you have gained much knowledge of Divine things, but still you will want feeding on the bread of life, you will want Jesus to be set before your eyes continually as crucified. You will want eternal things to be impressed upon your minds from time to time. Though you know these things, yet you will require to have your minds stirred up, by being put in remembrance of these things. As you cannot enjoy the public ordinances, I would have you to have stated times for reading the Scriptures and private prayer; these means God may bless to your soul. Isaac lived in a retired situation, he had no public ordinances to attend, but we are told he planted a grove, and built an altar, and called upon the name of the Lord. This you have within your power to do. Imitate his example, labour to possess his precious faith, and then it will be a matter of little importance where you dwell. With the Saviour you will be happy, without him you never can be. When you once believe on him, when he becomes precious to your soul, then you will seek all your happiness in him. May the Father of mercies give you a right judgment in all things, lead you to build your hopes of a blessed immortality upon that chief corner stone, which he hath laid in Zion; then you will never be ashamed through the countless ages of eternity.
“Mrs. M. and my family unite in kind regards to you, wishing you every blessing that the upper and nether springs can afford.
“In great haste. I remain, dear Mrs. F——,
“Yours very faithfully,
“Samuel Marsden.”
Systematic theology, or indeed deep learning in any of its branches, sacred or profane, Mr. Marsden had never cultivated. His life had not been given to abstraction and close study, but to the most active pursuits. Activity, however, is not inconsistent with deep thoughtfulness, and it affords some aids to reflection and observation, which often lay the foundation for a breadth of mind and a solid wisdom to which the mere student or man of letters seldom attains. Mr. Marsden, too, was well acquainted with his Bible, and, above most men, with himself. Thus, without being in any sense a learned divine, he was an instructive minister, and often an original thinker. His early acquaintance with Dr. Mason Good had led him deeply to consider the question of the deity of Christ and the following letter upon this all-important doctrine proves how capable he was of standing forward in its defence, and how deeply alive he was to its importance. It was addressed to one who had begun to doubt upon the subject of our Lord’s Divine nature.
“Paramatta, June 13, 1825.
“My dear Sir,—I ought to have answered your letter long ago, but was prevented from one thing and another, which called away my attention when I was determined to write. I received the books you sent me. That respecting our Lord’s Divinity I read with care and attention. I found nothing in it that would satisfy me; there was no food to the soul, no bread, no water of life. I found nothing that suited my ruined state. I know I have destroyed myself by my iniquities, that I am hopeless and helpless, and must be eternally undone unless I can find a Divine Saviour who is able and willing to answer all the demands of law and justice. If I were alone in the world, and no individual but myself believed that Jesus was God over all blessed for evermore, and that he had died for my sins, that the penalty due to them was laid upon him, I know and am persuaded unless I believed this I could not be saved. I find no difficulty in my mind in praying to him, because I believe he is able to save. The dying thief did this in the very face of death: ‘Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.’ Jesus promised that he should be with him that very day in paradise. Stephen, we are told, was a man full of faith and the Holy Ghost; he was mighty in the Scriptures, so that none of the Jewish priests were able to withstand his arguments which he advanced in support of the doctrine that Jesus was the Son of God. When he was brought to the place of execution his only hope of eternal life was in Jesus. ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,’ was his dying prayer. He fled to him as the Almighty God at this most awful period. No other foundation can any man lay than that is laid, says St. Paul, which is Christ Jesus. It is to no purpose to quote Scripture on this important doctrine, I mean any particular passage, for Jesus is the sum and substance of them all. I am fully convinced that no man can have a well-grounded hope of salvation unless he believes in the Divinity of our Lord and only Saviour. I would ask you, why should you not have as firm a hope as any other man in the world of eternal life, if you do not believe in the Divinity of our Lord? Admitting that you have the same view as the author of the work you sent me to read, of God and religion, I may put the question to you, Can you depend on the foundation your hope stands upon? Does it now give you full satisfaction? Are you sure that you are right? I believe Jesus to be a Divine person, I believe him to be God over all; I have no doubt upon this point, and I believe that all will be saved by him who trust in him for salvation. This doctrine is as clear to me as the sun at noon-day, and while I believe this doctrine it administers comfort to my mind, and gives me hope of a better state. I envy none their views of religion. I am satisfied with my own, though I am not satisfied with the attainments I have made in it, because I have not made those advances in divine knowledge in all the fruits of the Spirit I might have done. This is matter of shame, and regret, and humiliation. Examine the Christian religion as it stands revealed, with prayer for Divine illumination, and that God who giveth wisdom to all who call upon him for it will impart it to you. I have never met with a Socinian who wished me to embrace his faith, which has surprised me. I feel very differently. I wish all to believe in our Lord, because I believe this is necessary to salvation, as far as I understand the Scriptures; and I would wish all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. I would not change my views of religion for ten thousand worlds. But I must drop this subject, and reply to your last note.
“Our affectionate regards to Mrs. F.; accept the same from,
“Dear sir, yours very sincerely,
“Samuel Marsden.”
He remembered with gratitude his early friends, and was now in a condition to repay their kindness, and in his turn to repeat the Christian liberality which had once been extended to himself. From a private letter to the Rev. J. Pratt, we venture to make the following interesting quotation: “I believe in the year 1786 I first turned my attention to the ministry, and from the year 1787 to 1793 I received pecuniary assistance, more or less, from the Elland Society, but to what amount I never knew. First I studied under the Rev. S. Stores, near Leeds. In 1788, I went to the late Rev. Joseph Milner, and remained two years with him. From Hull I went to Cambridge, and in 1793 I left Cambridge, was ordained, and came out to New South Wales. I shall be much obliged to you to learn, if you can, the amount of my expenses to the Elland Society. I have always considered that a just debt, which I ought to pay. If you can send me the amount I shall be much obliged to you. I purpose to pay the amount from time to time, in sums not less than 50l. per annum. When I close the Society’s accounts on the 31st of December next, I will give your Society credit for 50l., and will thank you to pay the same to the Elland Society on my account. When I know the whole amount, I will then inform you how I purpose to liquidate it. Should the Elland Society not be in existence, I have to request that the Church Missionary Society will assist some pious young man with a loan, per annum, of not less than 50l., to get into the church as a missionary. In the midst of all my difficulties God has always blessed my basket and my store, and prospered me in all that I have set my hand unto. The greatest part of my property is in the charge of common felons, more than a hundred miles from my house, in the woods, and much of it I never saw, yet it has been taken care of, and will be. A kind providence has watched over all that I have had, and I can truly say I feel no more concern about my sheep and cattle than if they were under my own eye. I have never once visited the place where many of them are, having no time to do this. We may trust God with all we have. I wish to be thankful to him who has poured out his benefits upon me and mine.”
The practical wisdom, the spirit of calm submission to the Divine will when danger appears, and the simple faith in Christ displayed in the following letter require no comment, nor will its affectionate and paternal tone pass unnoticed. It appears to have been written to a lady on the eve of a voyage to England. We could wish that a copy of it were placed in the hands of every lady who may be compelled to go to sea.