SOIREE AT RAKAIA

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1344, 17 September 1886, Page 2

SOIREE AT RAKAIA

A soiree under the auspices of the Presbyterian Church was held at the Town Hall, Ilnkaia, on Wednesday evening There was an excellent attendance the hall being comfortably filled with an- assemblage of at least '250 persons. The tables, with the usual decorations, presented an excellent and attractive appearance, and ; much care and taste must have been expended to produce such a finished result. The tables were presided over by ; Mesdames Bruce, Drummond, Stewart, Harvey, Oakley, Ross, Primmer, and tin Misses Cox, Hood. Johnston, Bruce, Young, and Stevenson, and wiien U is stated that all the delicacies of the season were procurable in abundance, and that the fair ladies in attendance were indefatigable in their efforts to entertain all and sundry, enough is said to show that the “ spread” was of a firstclass order, and that the Rakaia ladies who looked after the commissariat department fairly excelled themselves. Tim Rev Mr Beattie, of Ashburton, occupied the chair, and delivered an excellent and characteristic address on “ Christian character and the influence at work in forming it.” The Rev Mr Stewart followed, and his address was an elaborate resume of the position in which he found the church on his advent into the district, and its progress since. Order had, arisen out of chaos, and the position of the church had materially improved. The debt upon it had been reduced from £520 to £4OO, and considering the hard times everything looked promising for the future. The Rev Mr Blake then addressed the meeting on the “Importance of learning religion young ” This was a most interesting speech, and was thoroughly appreciated and well received. The Rev Mr McNeil was the last speaker, and he discoursed most pleasantly upon what is to him evidently a congenial subject, •* Christian cheerfulness.” During the delivery of the above--1 mentioned addresses the audience was in the highest degree attentive, appreciative, , and orderly and perfectly en rapport with t ttje reverend speakers. An excellent choir discoursed at inf<n-vals during the evening ! some of the hymns from Moody and Sankey’s co’lection, and solos were given by Mrs B rod bent and the Misses i Young and B nee The features of this j part of the oMortainment were, perhaps, j Mrs Broadbeuts song “The Reaper and the Flowers,” accompanied by Miss Hardy, c and the duet “Pulaski’sßanner,” sung by 3 Mr and Mrs Stewart Miss Bruce acted as organist and in that capacity rendered j effective and valuable service. At the termination of the proceedings, * Rev Mr McNeil proposed a vote of thanks • to the ladies for their catering on the 7 occasion, and the Kev Mr Blake paid the same compliment to the choir and soloists, j who had done so much to add to the pleasantness of the reunion. A vote of thanks to the speakers, proposed by Mr 3 J. MqDowell, was also carried. Altogether 3 the meeting was a very successful one, and affords good grounds of hope that , the Church will progress as satisfactorily in the future as it has in the past.