UNKNOWN.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 3781, 7 January 1908, Page 2

UNKNOWN.

Mronollaj At the local Qitrcn^^ on Sunday last, the. evening services Vere’ by the Rev. J. Paterson, of WM lington, one of th£ fathers,of the Presbyterian in New Zealand, and friend of the late Jas., Duncan. It was lore, that he should' memorial service. large congregation at the service. The hymns and. of scripture were the occasion The Rev:' preached from the text ;" ■* ‘ 'Ble&edi&l are the dead who die in the (Rev. XIV. v. 13). He .referred'|H to the privileges of, Christians aridl ■ urged the necessity of living .oml well as dying to the Lord amM elaborated his arguments wltMi® feeling and simplicity of language:Ol| Referring to the late pioneer. Hi minister he said: r We mourn to-day the departure-illl from ipopgst us'of an aged aWSS venemae’ servant ofc God;- long,t£ls resident in this district, and cured by the Master to do goodsflP. work dnring a long series of years both among the native andthelojP European population. He was’,'® greatly esteemed and belovedonly by his more intimate friends, ■’ ill but also by the old this district, who knew : hishigh Christian character and-His faithful labours in the service of Lofd. Spared to an ad : - he enjoyed up to a short time be- - '.■*]’ fore his death, robust health. He < < ’ was prepared, as a 'ripened.' Christian, for the great change, and we feel that t there. is,: inore ’•, *■ ground for thankfulness than for grief, that God has now tajM him home to Himself. He was saved from prolonged suffering and was-s' surrounded with every comfort, and received all the kindness and tender nursing that the most devoted affection could render. ‘ The extreme weakness and pain he felt ;t s j immediately before the end came,' h| he bore with wonderful and without murmur or entirely submissive to the God. When the end came ready to go forth and and through death, enter blessed life eternal. “He with God and he was not — took him.” . • • At age he entered the Univerftl* r ( Glasgow, and went credit, the usual Arts’ coui&Yparatory to the study of required for the Preslr£t ’MB ministry. His parents to the Reformed Church—the Church par. exoapj lence representative of the nanters of Scotland, who persecution, many ‘of •'?. in the time v Stuaris, for freedom of Mr Duncan was brought educated in connection with Church, and from .it license as a preacher of the and ordination as a miss the heathen. His the Presbytery of Glasgow tdwg® place in 1843. That year memorable one in the the Church of Scotland. — the year of the Disruption Church and of the formation Free Church with which,-.a years after, the Reformed terian Church ‘became rated. In that same , year Dtmtan married Miss Struthers,o£vf. l S Blackness, Scotland, and came;OUt";'.-?| with his young wife to New | land. After a veamfM of try in Wellington* hesettled on ? fSTl)anks of River, and Mr and Mrs Duncan;;-’|| then began what was life work. At that time^ there were *, many natives in this district —far more than now —and at once .Mr Duncan gave himself up to honiest;']..| mission work amongst, teaching their young people' afejlrj even the older people, not omy- i rudiments of English, but also itbei -truths of Christianity and’,|tHe»'i‘ principles of true Christian cilffi.V.'i sation. . He taught them difongf 1 ,; the week, and ministered tofeb em r : on Sundays. Having atfasterpdt-.' their language, he was I, able to speak home to their hefeitsi having a thorough knowledge of * their ways and- customs of-' theirs 1 prejudices superstitions, 'and skill to turn his knowledge to account, he secure# their and affection; and soon gained. great lucyral influence .over (j he evgr their welfare and in the intendm/o'f peace. His efforts and kindly seconded by-his excel- " lent wife, and so they won the of the natives, who were ever and true to them, even id.tbej^y^t

He P][MCwra[" their' request and,thus RtiSSp' to Sbnduct services lifEtiglistt it Foxton.- * v Through ■whis instrumentality, 'thfc bhurch in jl, they ~*w orsfripted ~waa "! It was the iirstfthurch in -V the township, Mr the first and the'Jco|gtegation ; consisted of members of, all the 'cal union ! As the population increased, other ministers [ came, other churches were built, other congregations established, and thus :the little community became ecclesiastically divided. Tor some years Mr Duncan held services on alternate Sabbaths at para wan m, Lower Raugitikei, got a mce little church built there, andjhad a substantial congregation 0* the residents of that district. On those alternate Sabbaths when he was absent at Parawanui the pulpit at Foxton was often occupied by the Rev Mr McWilliam, Anglican minister of Otaki at that time. It was?, early in 1869—a few months after tip speaker’s arrival in the colony—that the preacher made acquaintance with Mr Duncan. At that time Wanganui, with all intervening districts, was included in the hounds of the Wellington Presbytery, which met alternately at Wellington and Wanganui. The ■ preacher made a potat of attending regularly the meetings at both places, and Foxton was always a halting place going and returning, and a cordial welcome and kind hospitality were always accorded —and very pleasant was our intercourse in those earlier years. In later years, after the Presbytery was divided, it was still a joy to

pay a visit to Mt Duncan’s home —the quiet restfulness of the place, the intelligent conversation, the genial fellowship, the genuine kindness, all made the visit most enjoyable and refreshing. Mr Duncan was brought up and educated for the ministry in the 1 Reformed Presbyterian Church —a Church thoroughly sound in;, the evangelical faith and very conservative. He, too, was thoroughly ' evangelical and very conservative in regard to all the essentials of the Faith, and at the same time wonderfully liberal in regard to all non- essentials— wonderfully so, considering the school ih which he received his first Impressions and convictions., He kept abreast of the reading and thinking of the day, and his mind was open to the light from whatever sources it came—the condition... of mind we ought all to cultivate He loved the truth, and he sought to live the truth. Mr Duncan was well known, and much honoured right throughout the Presbyterian ' Church of these Islands. He was

also well known throughout all . the Churches, by-4iis- longTesi- , deuce here, and the work which he accomplished. Twice he was called to occupy the Moderator’s chair of the Northern Assembly—- ; the highest honour which the ;■■■ Presbyterian , Church can bestow on any of her ministers. He was , Moderator in 1863, when the Assembly was but recently formed, and again in 1888, when it had much grown. Age and infirmity rendered him unable to undertake the duties of the Moderatorship in the Church after the union of the Northern and Southern. Churches, otherwise he would have been undoubtedly called tirdti All , who knew Mr Duncan,.will testify ’that he was a, good and ilpright man—one “who feared God and eschewed evil,” and all who knew him intimately, know how closely he sought to walk with God, and through God’s grace to adorn in his character and life, the Christian profession, sq that when ’ the end came, and he was called to the higher life andj the higher service, Divine grace; had made him ready to enter upon it. He lived in the Lord, and he died in , . the Lord, and we cannot doubt that he is, and will be. for ever blessed—that; his glorified .spirit has joined the who are before the throne of God and of the Lamb, and -who serve Him day and nignt in the Heavenly Temple. “Blessed are , the dead who die in the Lord—yea saith- the Spirit from thenceforth, ■for they rest from their labours ,and their works do follow them.” - In later years Mr Duncan often .expressed his thoughts 6u religion, ; and on the hopes aad.aspirations J ;bf the Christian souk in verse. L The first’ of: these yer^L^JSrote. , are preserved, and y|ith them the preacher closed the memorial service• For the mercies of the night, For the gift of morning light, , Thanks to thee, O Lord, I give, Help me to Thy praise |o live.

; Fill my mouth with joyful song, Shine upon me all day long, :■ : Guide the daily steps I ‘taCEste, ,V if Faithful to Thy will, me make. ~ %Whate’er trials be my share, I’ patiently to beair; ■ ■ ;|teMay they all effective be jjfSTo bring closer life’s work comes to it’s v*'., 1 end, j i ?tSV3pecial grace unto me send for death’s solemn hour, ?V?' *Xlnafraid to face it’s power. : ."f /perfect peace let then be given, ? -:; ; ":%i,vely hope o£ ,bliss in. heaven, . ( from earthliness and sin ||jjpjkay my soul then enter:*m— glorious realms alfove, reigns giadness/peace and love; ' 1 the ransomed spirits raise 'io'the Saviour praise.