Show NEWS FROM NEW HEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND N Z feb 1897 elder F D richards my dear father it has been some time since I 1 have had the pleasure of reading a letter from you but no doubt you are rushed with business continually of a more important and profitable nature than corresponding with me too often I 1 also find a little to occupy m my I 1 time out here and I 1 would have cro crowd ed this letter off one more mail if I 1 had bad been sure you would have seen my letter to first presidency I 1 trust these then few lines will find you in the enjoyment j 0 y nent of health and strengths th and tb able le to carry cam on your multiplied i duties elder gardner undoubtedly gave you an idea of the work ire in tm th land an account of our travels through the mission together and how we found it generally and I 1 am happy to say the work has been progressing nicely ever since As high as fifty additions have been reported in a month and our re port for the year ending december ast 1896 showed a net increase of souls between thirty and forty europeans have been added in australia and tasmania since elder gardeners gardners Gard ners return a number of whom have emigrated to zion mon I 1 have been on the go almost continually having visited all parts of the mission aion except the wairau kairau district at least once and some two and three times over there seems to be a general demand ifor elders we have sixty one EOW cow booked five more are supposed to have just arrived in australia and we could use a good food many more if we had them z I 1 the semiannual semi annual conference of the mission has just been held in waikato Wai kato it had been postponed on account of scarcity of food twenty three elders were in attendance and perhaps two hundred and fifty to three hundred saints and friends we were blessed with good weather though it looked very threatening ten meetings were held in three days besides the elders meeting which lasted six six hours and a half balf the conference was particularly noted for the peace and quietude which prevailed throughout the lord favored us with his spirit t in rich abundance much valuable instruction was given and we had bad a time ot of general rejoicing jo icing and one long to be remembered A maori band was in attendance which I 1 favored us with a number 0 of f selections between meetings elders C H embley and moroni lazenby were released to return home by the march boat they will have been away three and a half and two and A hill halt years respectively the general health of the elders remaining is fir strate so far as I 1 am posted and they are earnestly endeavoring to dp do whit what they can to ac acquit u t themselves honorably and accept acceptably y before the urd lord from the to the aist alt a te terrible r rain and wind storm prevailed in and around new Zea zealand lind causing much destruction st of property and some loss of 14 life trees were thrown down and uprooted chimneys fences etc thrown down and many yachts and other boats cast ashore A captain was killed near napier the ne first mate got his leg broken and four of the crew were badly injured another captain was killed in auckland harbor I 1 happened to be near te aroha at the time and fortunately in good quarters the river ah is higher ig h than tor for years crops are badly damaged ma az on the lower lands in some instances being washed out and in other cases cam buried up falling timbers changed the I 1 course ot of freshets fresh ets and the water in some houses was from two to four feet deep running out of the windows the best of furniture was all afloat and one man is reckoned to have been damaged to the amount of sels cete were washed down out ot of the mountain streams in great abundance sn nd people ople wound around the streets gathered them upeor up or food another three days avd balnis is trailing pi Ot Tailing now tio the fore part of the he season was very dry an d people tigan to rear fear their crops would be a failure from drouth and they are very light I 1 expect to start south next week and to attend conferences in poverty bay mahia and hawkes bay districts and reach Waira W aira repa to hold bold our general annual conference of the mis sion on april ath ath and ath my health is good at present and I 1 have been greatly blessed of the lord thus far for the multiplied and complex duties which I 1 have had to perform for which I 1 feel truly grateful to him it has been indeed a great testimony to me the manner ile he has opened up the way before me and has blessed and magnified me as circumstances and my labors and aties have required some one was thoughtful enough to send me a good many papers of different kinds this mail some of which I 1 sent to the auckland reading rooms for which the manager beeme quite grateful E F RICHARDS |