TESTIMONIAL TO THE REV. GEO. A, TURNER, M.D., C.M.

Samoa Times and South Sea Gazette, Volume 3, Issue 114, 6 December 1879, Page 2

TESTIMONIAL TO THE REV. GEO. A, TURNER, M.D., C.M.

On Saturday evening liut n number of w persons interested in the presentation of j. a testimonial to the Roy. Geo. A. Tumor, i. M.D., CM., upon the ovo of his departure for Scotland, upon a leave of absence, a after a rwtidoucu in Samoa of nearly twelve yearn, met is the Foreign Church, at Apia. K Mr. J. E. V. Alvord was unanimously 1, called upon to occupy the chair, and after stating tho object, of tho meeting, and „ making a few appropriate remark*, read r <h» foUowiug address and presented it, tl together with fho aoonnipanyhig punw, to the rev. gentleiuauj—

The Rev. G. A. Turner,. M.D., from the Foreign Residents in Apia Reverend Dear Sir, —The occasion of your depart- ; ure from these shores on a lengthened leave of absence, —a furlough which, in i ourconsideratiou has l>oeu uobly earned—has seemed to the imdei-sfgned residents of the Samoan Group a fitting opportunity to place on record through the mej dium of this Address and accompanying j Testimonial, our appreciation of your in* j valuable services to tho community I during a residence of twelve years, Wo j know that you look for a hig'lya: reward I than any th-.i: can ':•■■ tendered you bv ; yonr iclp, -. e.v ::es. ■ -',■ aho* know ' cany wit:, i. it: ~v:. ward, but as your connection wiiii a . i.:!.. Society—a" Society which has wield-, i an immeuso influence for good in the Pacific lias debarred you from reaping any substantial benefits from the exercise of your eminent Medical skill, and as the exigencies of this life are many, we beg that vou will accept the farewell gift which accompanies this. We trust that your health which, we regret to know, has been impaired by your varied labours and a lengthened residence iu this tropical climate will bo restored by the bracing air of the land of your fathers which we understand it is your purpose to vigil. Should you return to our midst whore you will be ever welcomed wo sincerely hope it will be with increased powers to carry on the noble work to which you have already devoted so much of your energy and talent; or on the'dther hand should you bo called to labour in another sphere we pray that Ho who rules all our destinies may grant you every good gift. Your amiable partner, your family and your self cam- with you our heartfelt sympathies and earnest regard where ever Providence may guide your steps. The above was accompauiod with a puree of $723 50c. We find a difficulty in expressing ourselves when we endeavour to givo that ample praise which the highly artistic illuminated address so richly deserves ; while it is a still more difficult task to give, to those who had not the pleasure of feas'.iug their eyes upon it, an adequate idea of its varied colours, numerous details, and the wonderfully harmonious blending of the whole. The address, inside the frame, which was also a handsome one, measures 2ft. 5 inches by 2fc, i.i written in Elizabethan text, tiie commencement of paragraphs en gold, white and black, and the capital letters in gold. The penmanship is equal to lithographic work, notwithstanding the difficult text in which it is written. This is surrounded by a most beautiful i broad border in which we recognised more than a dozen colours and tints, the prevailing one being, of course, gold. On the four corners oi the border are four medallion-:, two of angels. a:M two of allegorical animals, each with a scroll in its mouth, the one "St. Lucas,'' and the other "St. Joannes.'' In tho centre of the left hand border is a beautiful representation of Christ healing tho sick, with the text—" Who had disease in the islands came and were healed.—Acts xxviii. fl. On the opposite side of the border is an equally beautifully designed picture of Christ blessing the children, with the text " Suiter little children to come." In the back ground are cocoanut and breadfruit trees. In tho centre of the top border is an allegorical winged beast, the Communion Cup and on open Bible revealing the following text, " And thoy shall come from the south and sit down in the Kingdom of God."—Luke, xiii. 29. But beautifully done as these undoubtedly are, there are two more pictures iu this magnificent border, which claim perhaps more attention than the rest on account of their singular appropriateness, and the faithful manner in which they have been executed. One is a very pretty view of Dr. Turner's house ; as scon from the beach nestling amidst the tropical foliage which surrounds it. i Xo one who has once seen tho house | could help at once rcc ignising it; jand ■ when tho Doctor and his family look ut i 'it in thoir Scottish home, it will vividly remind them of their old home in Samoa. There is n little, tasteful border of the i Rose and Thistle, together with the cocoa- , nut, bannaua and pine-apple, as the Kii- ! moan emblem. The other picture is in i the centre of the bottom border, and is an excellent representation of the mission barque John Williams, conveying our reverend friend and his family from these shores. They are standing on tho jioop bidding us "Tofal" as thu ship slowly glides from hor anchorage; while tho ' beach is crowded with natives and white residents who are waving their farewells , and answering in response,—"Alofa!" These two pictures are really very touching little scenes, and the' idea of the artist could not have been more beautifully worked up. They ore the two gems amongst tho rest of tho precious stones embedded in this border of cold. Native birds and tropical plauts relievo tho bonier at intervals, and the names of tho subscribers are neatly written at tho foot of the address. Tho artist is Mrs. O'Byrno, who deserves far moru praise for this most excellent piece of workmumdiiu—thu like of which has nover before been seen in Samoa, and which would stand its own against any of tho work of thu Colonial professional illuminating writers—than wo can find words for; mon. especially as wu know that, owing to the arrival oi the John Williams some fourteen days before she was expected, this lady worked for uiauy nights in succcttion until 5 and 3 o'clock in tho morniug, ofter attending to her school dutux ail ds„v loug, iu crdcr to g«t it

finished in time. The light she thus worked by—kerosene—is moitdistressing in a piece of illuminated work'like this, and it is a matter of surprise equally to ourselves and others who knew the disadvantageous circumstances under which she'laboured, that one of the principal features of the address is the beautiful and most perfect maimer in which all these colours blend. No wonder the reverend doctor said at tho meeting that ' ho dared not again look (it the testimonial i of lie would not be able to say ono word ,t) the meetjug. Mrs. O'ltyrnc deserves ;the highest eiieouiums from, and the warmest thanks of every individual wbnsi) iifiuiß is inscribed npon that very . itifuily worked address. Dr. Turner, who appeared very muok affected, said ihat be dared not look at the address; he looked at it when it was handed over to him, and the first thing that caught his eye affected him more j than all that Mr. Alvord had said and read. The second thing that he saw nf- : feeted him more than any one present could conceive, and he dared not look at it again.He had not scon the address in its present form till that moment; and lie would not have known that it was intended to present him with an address or testimonial at all hail it not been for one or two accidental circumstances. He was not aware that it was intended to make the presentation that night until he had seen the notice in the newspaper that very morning, and he had been hard at work preparing for his departure till a few minutes before ho came to the meeting; and he dared not again look at the testimonial or he would not bo able to say one word to the meeting. Ho thanked those who had prepared that beautiful address, with its magnificent illumination and beautiful frame: ho would examine it carefully in his own privacy, and return his thanks ten-fold to those who had exerted themselves to get it up. The niinutia of the border around the address he felt certain, by the glance that lie had had of it, would touch him very much. He never oxpectod such a recognition of his services on leaving Samoa on n furlough earned after a lesidence of nearly twelve years. The rule of the Lyndon Mission Society was that when a missionary had been out ten years he was allowed sixteen months in England independent of the time occupied upon the passage home and out again; for twelve year's service they were allowed eighteen months in England : ami after tiftoeu years the Society insisted upon them going home. He was born in Samoa, and as a Samoau all his interests were centn-d here ; but his wife's relations were in Scotland, and although he would be glad to remain here for the full term of fifteen years, yet for the sake of bis wife who had lately been in very delicate health, and who was anxious to see her dear father, who was now upwards of seventy years of age. he deemed it his duty to go to Scotland, and he had made up his mind for these reasons, two years ago, to go home. He hoped and expected, everything being favourable, to return again to Samoa. flis position in Apia had been more arduous than that of any other missionary in Samoa: he hail duties to perform that no one knew anything of. which have kept him hard at work until late in the night. Many people, and no doubt there were some present, have thought that they have been hardly dealt with when he was unable to visit them or theirs in time of sickness as quickly as they thought he ought. To those he would say ho had always done what he had felt to be his duty, and no person overcame to him in such a time when it was possible for him to attend to them when he did not. He was only mortal, and no mortal was perfect. He had hoen froi|uently called up at night to attend to somebody who was unwell, and yet he had been complained against as not doing his duty. His duty was that of a missionary to the Sanioans. Hi" has received letters, from tho Society at home, and he could show numerous minutes in which he had been told that if he found it too much for him that he was to give up his preaching to the foreigners, and to give up attending to foreigners in the capacity of medical man. That his first duty was the mission work, and all else was secondary ; but he had considered it his duty to preach to the foreiguors whenever he could, at least once every Sunday. Ho did nut refer to this complain ingly, but only to show those who may have coinplaiuts against him that whatever ho did for them was in addition to his dutv as a missionary. The Kev. gentleman thou referred to how he had been complained against by the natives for attending to foreigners when they came, in preference to the native, because he know the difference in tho value of the time of tho two parties. He olso referred to tho fact that when he was appointed to Apia it was upon the understanding that ho was to bo ono of two, but tho second ono had nob even yet boon appointed. Altogether ho had spont a pleasant life here, and h«d endeavoured to do his duty before God and man. No man living in Apia could ploaso everybody. This testimonial proved that "ho had dono some good, and ho felt thankful that what services ho had been ablo to render to tho white population had beon appreciated. Another matter that ho had boeu olmrgod ■ with was that of entering too much into i polities ; he challenged any mon toohargo him with interfering in polities contrary I to tho best interests of Samoa. He thou ' fully explained the part he had taken in < the course of which ho stated that it was i plainly teen yoars ago that it was imnos- I •ildo for uuy stablo Bovornment to bo 1 formed by tho SamoauH ulunn, and that ! in tli« intercut of Samoa, mid th'nkiirg 1

;la"nd would not entertain the mutter,

; they endeavoured to obtain a rrotocto- , rate from America, but that having been > refused they looked to Germany for kelp, - bat &s an Englishman he must say that 1 he preferred England to Germany. After 1 a few more remarks, the Rev. gentleman 1 again thanked those who had interested 1 themselves in getting up the testimonial, 3; and said that this would be a red letter t day in his history. (Applause.) ' j Mr. Davis, in a few appropriate and eulogistic remarks, proposed that tho ' 1 thanks of tho foreign residents were due j | to Mrs. O'Byrno for the very beautiful J j and suggestive manner, and foi the time and trouble expended by that lady in I illumination of tho address now before { | them. This having been seconded, it . was carried unanimously, i A vote of thanks to tho chairman conr oluded the meeting.