Researchers are used to the bulk of the early records from the Church Missionary Society only being available on microfilm unless one is willing to travel to Birmingham, England.
However, amongst the records of the General Synod are a few volumes that provide copies of correspondence from the London based Church Missionary Society to the New Zealand Missionaries and Settlers. The first letter, dated July 20 1820, is from Josiah Pratt, and is written after the report of Samuel Marsden’s visit to New Zealand in November 1819 reached London.
Extract:
To the Missionaries & Settlers at New Zealand. Dear Brethren, We rejoice to learn your safety and welfare when Mr. Marsden quitted New Zealand in November last. The circumstances under which Mr. Marsden found the Settlement on his arrival, has however, in some respects given the Committee much pain.’ …
There are two volumes:
Leather bound letter book titled ‘Public letters from the Society’ containing copies of letters starting July 20, 1820 and including extracts from minutes of the CMS and Committee of Correspondence (Archives ref: ANG 63 Series 1, item 6)
Letter book containing copy Public letters from the Society: The secretaries of the Committee of Correspondence, CMS, London to the Missionaries of the CMS, New Zealand, p 1-476 (Archives ref: ANG 63 Series 1, item 7)
The letter books with the CMS copies of the letters they sent are held in the Cadbury Library Special Collections, University of Birmingham, and are also available in New Zealand as microfilm.
CMS Archives reference CN L1 to L7, and on the AJCP microfilm as Reels 238 and 239 (JKTL Ref MIC14).