WESLEYAN ANNIVERSARY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1252, 13 May 1884, Page 2

WESLEYAN ANNIVERSARY.

Th# enthusiasm which has ch&rac* terised the Wesleyan Church anniversary celebration from its commencement this year in no way abated at the concluding festivities last night. That very Indiapenseble requirement to successful gatherings, namely, fine weather, favored the occasion, and to this and a moonlight, night may be attributed the presence of - ' so many country people The Oddfellows' ■; Hall, which it may be remarked is a’most \ convenient and commodious building foe - tea meetings, was packed to overflowing, and the ladies were kept busy in the con- ' ? genial work of attending to the necessities of the numerous visitors. The boohs- - lots’ table was presided over by quite a bevy ot fair maidens, and the undermentioned ladies had charge of the other tables ; Mesdames Standage, J. Orr, Collins, Jones, Causey, 0. Baker, Bay, Lucas, R. Alcorn, H. M. Carson and f Gamble. The edibles were only equalled in quality by their quantity, and the whole arrangements appear to hare given - " satisfaction.

In the evening every seat in the Oddfellows’ Hall was crowded, while many had to be satisfied with standing room, so great was the interest shown in the lecture to be delivered by the Rev W. J. Williams on Father Matthew. The chair was occupied by the Rev 0. H. Standage, and at the back of the platform ware ranged the choir. The Rev Mr Williams commenced his : lecture by giving an account of the early years of the great temperance reformer, Father Matthew, detailing the main incidents of his life. He spoke in eloquent terms of the works carried on by Mat- ' thew, and said that r. >t Pc'erthe Hermit, who preached the firt.l Ordsadb,* nor William Tell, who liberated hia country from the hand of the tyrant, had done so much good in the world as had this apostle of temperance. It had bean truly said that no man was a hero to his valet de chambn, and although Matthew had converted millions he could never succeed inconverting his serving man John. The latter was in the habit of keeping his pots and paHS«ernDn- |||in n lously clean, and he found it use a drop of real old Irish whisky for tbii ; . purpose. This he did not keep for oatwardapplioation only, and hisjuaster never . could convince him to 'believe in cqld water. The lecturer then drew a graphic picture of one of Matthew’s meeting!, where an immense excited crowd had gathered together in a large public building. The assemblage was representative in every sense of the word, the rich lady in silk sitting side by side with” the poor woman in rags. Mr after describing the method which Father Matthew followed in his conversions, said that he had a special powet for getting hold of converts. He recognised that it was necessary to secure the assistance ot the ladies, and in Dublin 500 of the „ . gentler‘sex were enrolled in the ranks and did good service. Matthew never paid any attention to creed, and everything was taken into the net he spread. The lecturer narrated several anecdotes both amusing and apposite, and quoted statistics to show the great good wrought by the temperance reformer in Ireland. At one time a distiller came to Mat* thew and asked him how a_ good man like hiin could fin'd, it in his heart to do harm to_ worthy business people and interfere with their trade. Matthew answered by narrating a fable of a fox meeting a duck who had filled . its crop full of worms. The animal wished to devour the bird, and on the latter appealing for mercy the fox pointed out that the swallowing of the worms showed a disregard in the destruction of life that deserve I punishment. Whenever he (the lecturer) heard the argument that the liquor traffic should nanced on account of the injustice which would be done to the drink purveyor, he thought of the quack of the duck with . its crop full of worms. It would be better to have every drink-maker and distiller ruined than incur the far more serious ruin that was caused by .' the consumption of alcohol. Mr Williams then gave a detailed account of Father Matthew’s journeys through the United Kingdom, and as an example of his power referred to his conversion of Daniel O’Connell to the cause of temperance, and said that the social leader was greater than the political leader. We • have given only an outline of Mr Williams’s leccure, which was an admirable one throughout, showing both humorous and pathetic power, and welldsssrved the loud applause which frequently interrupted its delivery. Daring the evening the proceedings*. were diversified by the introduction of. Federal musical selections rendered by the . choir, under the leadership of Mr J. Gamble, Mias Murray acting as accompanist. A t the conclusion the Benediction was pronounced by the Rev. B. A. Scott.