Presbyterian Assembly of Victoria.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 179, 20 November 1886, Page 2

Presbyterian Assembly of Victoria.

The annual Bession of the Presbyterian General Assembly waB opened at Melbourne to day. There was a numerous attendance. The Rev. J. G. Paton was elected Moderator for the ensuing year. He had a cordial greeting on taking the chair. The chief item of his inaugural address was the New;Hebridea. He appealed to the wealthy members of the church to liberally eupporf. the mission to the heathen, and he reminded the congregation of their duty in the matter. He invited the aesembly to renew its protest in the strongest terma against the French occupation and annexation of the New Hebrides, on the ground that the continued presence of the French would be ruinous to the missionary cauee and dangerous to British and Australian interests in the islands. He incidentally alluded to the necessity of averting from these colonie* the evil influences andtyranny of the continental Sunday, with its incessant toil and demoralising round of godless pleasures. He also expressed the conviction that Protestant Christians should unite more firmly in agitating for the re-introduction of the Bible into the State schools. A school without prayer or without tho Bible was a school without God, and nothing more could be expected from children educated in such schools that than they should grow up infidels.