WESLEYAN CHURCH ANNIVERSARY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 149, 21 June 1873, Page 2

WESLEYAN CHURCH ANNIVERSARY.

The anniversary services of the Wes- . leyan Church were held on Sunday and ' TuesdayJas^. \ Sermons were preached in the Churcbj Hardy-Btreer, on Sabbath morning and evening, by the Rev. T. Buddie, in the morning from Haggai, i, 1-4, and in the evening from Psalm xviii, 30. A tea meeting was held in the Schoolroom- on Tuesday evening, and a public meeting was afterwards held in the Church. The congregations at all the meetings were large, and the services interesting. The public meeting was opened by the Rev. T. Buddie, the Superintendent of the Nelson Circuit, giving out a hymn, after which the Rev. E. Thomas engaged in prayer. Mr Buddie then stated that. he had an unexpected pleasure, in having to announce that their old friend A. Saunders, Esq., was present and had kindly engaged to take Ihechair. ;Mr Saunders needed no introduction from him toH Nelson audience, and he would now take 'possession of the meeting. (Applause.) „'"'' / Mr Saunders^ on taking the chair, expressed the pleasure he felt on being • present 1 with -old friende, and. at meeting with Mr /Buddlej well" known in New Zealand, on whose appointment to the paß(orehip of (he'church he congratulated ; the. congregation. He referred, to the fact that the day on which they were holding this anniversary was the anniversary also of the mournful Wairau tragedy, .when so; tpany, jof/.the; first Nelson settlers met an untimely death, and to the services of ihe Rev. Samuel Ironside, who hastened to the : place of slaughter and gave to the dead the rites of. Christian sepulture. He remembered, the/ joy they had on the erection of the first Wesleyan Chapel in Nelson, and. rejoiced to be with the congregation j at,., this anniversary.. .Mr Saunders made reference also to the attack lately -made pnDr. Suter of the Anglican Church, which i"h'e did not hesitate to characterise as most scurrilous and. unjust; ' and not likely ' to meet withany sympathy inthe Nelson Province, where the c Bishop is so weil" knojvn as a faithful/evangelical, and devoted rmcister of 'Christ. 'The chairman's excellent find appropriate address was received wtth,grjeat applause. r , , Mr K. Lucas then r read the financial

repprt>; which yve ha,ve already published.

The choir sang with effect "Eternal Mansions,'' \ after ■ which, the chairman called on tho Rev. T.ißuddle to address -the meeting* who saidu The report juet read presents the financial position of the Churcb,(but x does no^refer jio its spiritual progress, and my brief acquaintance with the .Circuit disqualifies me for giving any report of, tbpt.. progress. From all I have been able to see aud'hear I fear there has not:been; much progress made for the last few-years.: The causes of decline in the numb 7 ef'bf , Church members I am not in a position 1 tb determine.' : I daresay explanation''can be given., whether of a satisfactory 'nature to all- I : do not know. This I know that Christianity is essentially pro- ' gressiy^ and Methodism 'should be. ' The Kingdom of Christ,' by prophetic symbol, was ft t Httle stone destined to grow and enlarge Hill r it fills the whole earth. The Saviour's type was a leaven, diffusive and aggressive, spreading through the meal till thtf lump- is leavened; With the remarks "of the chairman on' the attack roade on Bishop Suter, I fully sympathise. For whatever differences of opinion may exist betweon us on. ecclesiastical matters, we ..can • fully -appreciate the, benevolence, piety and labors of such a man. Bishop 8 u tec's; praise *as an< evangelical jminister is in all (he churches of this country, and the coarse. JsourrilUy; with which he has been; assailed will certainly ; meet with nothing but reprobation in the province where bo is so well known. For tho AOhufch/\l ? ' .rfcpifesentj;! unhesitatingly say we haye ; ,np rsympatby wjth it. We are living^ MF Cb.airmari, in earnest times; ..th : e,worjd f is j,n earnest, more in earnest i.thqn^eTey.'^.Jt'/s^emsimpre. in haste to fulfil its'destiny. than -ever it has been, as ,th6,ughitf6lt'th ; aj;;t is hastbning toils grave, arid must dowhateyer is to be done; 'with its- might. Tj^egreat^ changes that have taken place 1% <this "country since' I first .knew^ it fare wonderful. If, when I first stood ou these shores, and looked on nothing but ferja-cl&d\ hills, -or on the solitude of rtheiforestjswhen. ho pounds of civilisation%'ere heard, nothing but the occasional tangi of -the {Maori toki, or the loud laugh- of the Maori kainga t or the low mournful chant of, the p\d-. women at their weaving, or the':Bnerr.y< -soiog iof the -c^'nqe,<and the, splash of the paddles, if any one had said to me that " before forty years loTe gone) you will r see ; these valleys covered with" smiling farms, with green pastures' and: waving fields] of ripening /grain, ondflocks ;and herds grazing those hille, towns | built on these harbors, with all the bustle of commercial ilife, and all the accompani- | raents of European civilisation, and. large steamers running in and out -qf these, rivers, and telegraph wires carrying .messages from end to end,of .these Islands, even through theseas'of the boisterous Cook's Straits," I should, have beeo disposed to ask if he : came.., from, dreamland, or was in delirium tremens, or* was demented, and preparing I fpr.a ; home in a asylum, Why> sir, when I^s.tarYed for .New ZsalarTd but few ahips^ started from. England direct for jthis land orga l vage|. New Zealand was "'then a dymbolof 'alt that was oiuel and KtefUible «in savage nlife.;:. We,. sailed in a spliQ^qne^i of; 130 tons, H^was^tbe first missionary snip that bur Missionary

..Society had equipped and sent out, — the old Triton — arid a precious old tub she wss as regards her sailing qualities, and >he brought us safely to New Zealand in nine 'months— orily.?thi*eo months longer than the usual passage in those days. This good but slow ship Triton, after n long voyage, during which we suffered a few privations, -from want of fresh provisions, bread, sugar, &c. ; . It was the firet vessel of the size that had entered the Kawhia harbor, then little known. We had no " Cross " the Pilot to take us over the bar; we had picked up a Kawhia native at Hokianga, who piloted us down the coast and took us into harbor during a' pelting storm and foggy weather, and brought us to safe anchorage, for which we were very thankful. My first appointment was Raglan, then called Waingaroa, —to this place we had to travel overland; I had a young wife who was amoed in Maori fashion. She no sooner left the boat on the northern shore of Kawbia, (ban the Maoris placed her on her amo and were off iv a jiffy. I made after them as fast as I could, but did not overtake them till they had halted at Aotea. Then we had to get our baggage over, which could only ba done by sea in open boat The Rev. J. Wallis, myself and six natives accomplished this at grsat risk. We had two har harbors to enter, and in returning to Waingaroa with our rather heavily-laden boat we were unable to cross the bar, and had to run for land under Woody Head, having thrown a part of cik cargo into the sea to lighten the boat which was no small loss to us in thosetimes. After three months residence in Waiugaroa, I was appointed to Open a new mission at Port Nicholson (there was no Wellington then) and Porirua. We chartered a small schooner, of about GO tons, for the purpose of conveying us south, and were wrecked on the Kawhia Bar. We had called there for Rev. S. and Mrs Ironside, who were appointed 1 to Cloudy. Bay, and .thus was our project frustrated. Having no means of getting south I was sent over to Waipa to form a mission there, and pitched my tent and built my house at the Kopua", the place so often mentioned in connection with the Maori King and Waikato troubles ; the country in which the King and his adherents now reside, forming a part of my first New Zealand Circuit. Then our postal arrangements were very different to the present ; our nearest postoffice<<was Sydney, and the first letter I received in New Zealand was nearly two years old ; before it reached us. Now we must have communication with England by letter within six weeks or we are nofc 'satisfied; nay, we are receiving intelligence from the Old Country by wire in six days, and we shall not be satisfied till we know to-day what transpired in London yesterday. And pur means of transit for goods and passengers — how- greatly altered. We use to be depending on a chance trader from Sydney for supplies, and on native backs for carriage from harbor to station. Now we must have rail through the country. The idea would have been laughed at but a few years ago. I heard two Scotchmen chaffing each other on the subject as , we came from an evening service on one occasion in the north : Looking on the lull surrounding the harbor Tone said to the other — "Fine country^ this for .railways." "I should think it more suitable for balloons," said his friend, " blown from mountain peak to mountain peak we should skip the gorges." YAh !" rejoined the other, Vit wad na want a big blaw to blaw the like b ye

aboot." NotwUhß(audjpg;^tho^Scotcl>^ men's chuff, railways in'^ew;Zeiaia'n4fßre t? becoming a greM^ct,' whejfer . to enrich. / the country or^ impovefri^hv; i£ '■'■foi:'\ time .- : ; remains Co, be i tblcf; At any rVte, the pro -/4 ject iajikely to bring us a large increase of: r population, and this will bring work for. Christian Churches. I was pleased with - the judicious remarks of Judge Richmond ■ on the probable effects of- this immigration' on ihe criminal statistics of the country, as given in last night's Mail.: His Honor's address contains a 'timely warning to us all, against allowing a grasping spirit after material wealth, to induce/neglect of great For remainder of news see fourth page.'

questions that are important to the v^well-beings pf the Community. We have to look at the subject as a Christian Church. Increasing population will bring work for Christian people, and we shall require Churches for the times ; Churches that will took after the education of the youth, the > morals of the community, and the religious interests of families and individuals. What sort of Churches must they be ? They must be Churches wellofficered; Churches with suitable ministers for the times. We hear a good deal on the subject occasionally. Ministers are said to be behind the times. Men of broader views, larger intelligence, of attractive address, men of eloquence, men abreast with the progress of education and science are wanted. These old-fashioned square-toed prosy theologians, with their long cut and dry sermons travelling along iWthe old grooves don't suit the tastes of the times. Query, which is at fault the tastes of the tiroes or the old theology ? The Gospel of Christ is the same, it never alters, and those old theologians were men that found their way to the hearts of their hearers along the old grooves. Ministers for the times are men of piety and prayer; men full of Gospel truth, and Gospel faith, and Gospel power, and Gospel zeal; such were the men that first planted the Gospel in : the wilds of America. They were not men of great erudition, but they Were men for the times; they had to rough it hi the backwoods, and they knew how to do it, and how to' ( preach the Gospel of Christ; such men as Peter Cartwright — "That is the style of man for this country." I once heard Sir George Grey say, after reading Cartwright's life, "Your lily-handed, kid-gloved men with white ties and lavender-water are not the men to do the work that is to be done here ; the country wants men like Peter Cartwright and John ;Whitely, and the old Missionaries." Sir, we shall want men who are able and willing to go into the bush and follow the settlers in outlying districts and plant the ordinances of religion in the new settlements. And our Churches must be well-officered in all their departments. The Ministry must be well sustained by earnest laymen who will look after the finances of the Church, and take all financial burdens from the minister, that he may give himself to prayer and to the: Ministry of the word. The state of the Church's finances has often a great deal to do with its aggressive work, and the lay-officers should take care that these matters are kept in & healthy state ; not only so, but the officebearers in Christian Churches must aid the minister in spiritual matters. It is often difficult to get Church meetings attended by lay-men; in these times of all engrossing worldliness men will find tijjhe for political meetings and other public, business who won't attend religious meetings ; the Church can .never do her work where there is not united effort. When Church officers are absent for weekly meetings for prayery and other services of similar nature, ministers are discouraged, and private /members are encouraged to absent themselves after the example of their officers. - A few active, zealous officers in a Church often do as much to spread the work of God as the minister himself. Serious responsibility rests on members of Christian „ congregations who stand aloof from the work of God. Again, Churches for the times should be intensely spiritual. These are days of profession, it costs little of self-denial in these times to profess religion; nay, it is almost fashionable to be a professor; but with all this profession there is excessive worldliness. The ' world and the Church are linked, and many try to unite the service of God and the service of Mammon, but the parties are not agreed, and the banns . are forbidden, and worldly professors are not the parties that are to do the work :of God. Worldliness is the bane of the Christian Church, and sadly obstructs "•its 'aggressive work. It is a greater enemy than open infidelity. Christianity " fears sot the open attacks of her enemies, their arrows bound from her bosom as from a. shield of triple brass, and. fall at her feet to be deposited with the trophies of. tier, victories, but she has cause to dread the treachery of her professed friends, who often lead her forth bleeding and dejected before a scoffing world. Spiritual Churches -, are wanted to do God's work; the fields are white to the harvest; sturdy reapers are needed— men of bone and .muscle, men of undoubted Christian principle and deep piety. 1 And Churches for the times must be united Churches, and praying Churches. The strength of God's Church lies in its union; union is strength, and prayer is power j it has power with God, and bjings down- 'his , promised blessing. Give us such Churches in this country, and the

righteousness that exalte th a nation will distinguish it, and New Zealand will : become a praise in the earth. After the Choir had sung another anthem, The Rev. P. Calder addressed the meeting, expressing his sympathy with the remarks that had been made in reference to Bishop Suter, and his congratulations to the congregation and minister. The Bevds D. Dolamore and E. Thomas also addressed the assembly in a style that indicated much friendly feeling, and exhibited the union of spirit that exists ' among the different religious denominations in this City. The Choir having very creditably rendered other, anthems, a very pleasant meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the chairman, and the usual benediction.