OBITUARY OF RAPU, 
294 
I buried liim, at Waimate, on the 4tli of December 
1833, in sure and certain liope of a joyful resur- 
rection at the Last Day ; and with a thankful ac- 
knowledgment of God s mercy, in adding another 
seal to our ministry, from among this people ; — 
thus putting beyond all controversy, that the 
New Zealanders are neither too ignorant nor 
too savage to be made the subjects of the saving 
and sanctifying influence of the Gospel. 
Rapu, the brother of Titore, was a man of great 
consequence in his tribe ; lie was of a disposition 
rather peaceable and mild, compared with many 
other of the natives : but he was sly and designing, 
and would not stick at any actions, however mean, 
by whicli he could promote his own views, or ag- 
grandize himself or his party. He was a bitter 
adversary to the Truth, always ridiculing the 
Gospel when an opportunity presented itself. He 
had a lame hand, which prevented him from using 
tlie musket with any effect ; and he was thus kept 
out of many broils, in which doubtless he would 
otherwise have been engaged. He was another 
of those persons who laid the foundation of fatal 
disease, during a war expedition to the south- 
ward: he was ever, after his return, subject to 
repeated and frequent attacks of cough ; and his 
last illness was one in which he suffered the most 
excruciating agonies. I first became aware of 
the serious nature of his disorder, on my return 
to the Kerikeri, from an excursion among the 
natives in the interior. I met him, carried on the 
