238 PUBLIC THANKSGIVING-DAY. 
to witness the ceremony; many of whom were 
seated on the shoulders of their friends. At this 
wedding I was prepared for a disturbance ; for 
although the parents on either side had given 
their consent, it is contrary to the usage in this 
land for a man to marry out of his own tribe : 
but, by breaking through this custom, we gained 
a point — uniting those tribes which would other- 
wise, in all probability, have been envious or 
jealous of each other. I w^as agreeably surprised 
to find that nothing occurred, but a little talk; 
without which nothing is ever done in New 
Zealand. I gave every publicity to the mea- 
sure, some weeks before the ceremony was per- 
formed. 
As illustrative of the influence of our Public 
Religious Services, I w ill only add the following 
account of an occasion much to be remembered 
by our Missionary friends, for the signal instance 
of the Divine favour, in averting the horrors of 
w’ar. On the 8th of August 1832, two sermons 
w’ere preached to the Europeans, and two to the 
natives ; the day having been set apart for the 
purpose of returning thanks to Almighty God for 
His great mercy, in bringing back the Ngapuhi 
in safety, without permitting them to effect their 
bloody purposes with respect to Tauranga. Many 
of the people w^ho headed this expedition were 
present ; and after the conclusion of the service, 
they said, that they had all along attributed it to 
our prayers, and to the interference of our God, 
