ADDRESS BY THE CLERGY AND LAITY.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 336, 23 January 1889, Page 4

ADDRESS BY THE CLERGY AND LAITY.

Colonel Haultain, on rising to present the address, explained why he— a layman — had been appointed to perform the duty. Infirmity and illness prevented Archdeacon Mauusell from being present, and Archdeacon Dudley had positively refused to read any address containing a eulogium on himself. He had objected to the sentence being put in the addiess, but they had found it impossible not to make some leference to the extremely satisfactory manner in which Archdeacon Dudley had performed the various difficult duties devolving on him. Col. Haultain then read the address as follows :—: — To the Right Reverend William Garden Cowie, D.D., Bishop of Auckland— My Lord, — In the name of the cleigy and laifcy ot .your diocese, we desire to offer to you and to Mrs Cowie and to your children a hearty welcome home. We trust the travel and change of scene have renewed your henlth and strength, and that intercourse Mifch brethren of your older, gathered from all parts of the earth, and meetings with beloved relatives and fi iends in the mother country, have refreshed your spirit, so that you will resume your labours among us with revived hope and courage. Yon will 3niss the faces of many dear and faithful workers called from this life during the year just endpd. You will find the cloud of depression that hung over us when you left scarcely yet lifted, and you will discover a variety of diocesan matters demanding your early attention, but you will be glad to hear that during your absence the diocese has been most fcatisfactorily administered by your cornmissarj', who has been lcyally supported by members of the Church, both clerical and lay. Trusting that you may be spared to yjreside over us in health and strength for many years to come, and with every good wish for yourself, Mrs Cowie, and your family, we are, My Lord, your Lordship's faithful and affectionate servants, R. Maunsei/l, T. M. Haultain/ C. M. Nelson (Hon. Sec). Auckland, 17th January, 1889. The address was received with hearty applause.

V.M.C.A. ADDRESS. Mr T. Buddie then read the following j address presented by members ot the Young ' Men's Christian Association :—: — , To the Kighb Reverend Bishop Cowie, D.D., Bishop of Auckland : The Committee of the Young Men's Christian Association is de?irious of taking this opportunity of extending to your Lordship a hearfcy welcome back to Auckland, tho scene of your former labours, and in doing so to acknowledge and show our appreciation of the catholic spirit ever manifested by you in all Christian and charitable work in our city, and to tender our thanks for the sympathy you have shown with the work of the Association, of which you have been •for so many years a vice-president. It has afforded pleasure to all to notice how in your public addresses during your stay in England you have lost no opportunity of advancing the true interest of our colony. And we pray that you and Mrs Cowie may be long spai'ed to labour in the cause of our common Lord and Master. — Signed on behalt ot the Association, Titos. Budole, Hon. Sec. ; Wm, Bkakenrjg, Gen. Sec. This address, also, was warmly applauded. Sir William Fox said he had been asked to say a few words by their Honorary Secretary, Mr Battloy. He was a comparative stranger to this part of the land, and he presumed that he stood on the platform in the capacity of a member of the Committee of the Young Men's Christian Association, the objecfcof which was to unite in itself i

all sections of the Christian Church and all true adherents to the great Protestant doctrine:* of the Reformation. It was because their Association sympathised with' all forms of Protestantism, that he had pleasure now in coming 1 forwai d on thisoccasion to express their satisfaction in welcoming the Bishop as the representative of that J great) Christian Church, of England which had plnyod such a great part in the Reformation and in the past history of the world. He piayed that God would prosper His Lordship and those connected with him in the great work. (Applause.)

WELCOME FROM THE WESLAYEN ' CHURCH. The Rev. C. M. [Nelson said that he had that, evening received a letter from one of the lending clergymen of the Wesleyan body, to this ellect : A3 few of us will be able to attend the meeting to-day in consequence of other engagements, I will be glad if you will present the enclosed address to Bishop Cow ie. — (Signed) Edward Best/ (Applause.) The address was us follows :—: — Wesleyan Parsonage, Pitt-street, Auckland. To Dr. Cowie, Anglican Bishi<p of Auckland : Right Rev. Sir,— While regretting the absence of the Rev. R. Bavin, Chairman of the Auckland District of the Wesleyan Methodi&t Church, who, with other of our minister?, has left to attend the annual Conference assembling in Dunedin, we, who remain, cannot allow this oppoitunity to pass without presenting to you our cordial greetings on the occasion of your safe return to our midst. We have watched with no ordinal y interest the transactions of that august assembly in Lambeth Palace, in the deliberations of which it has been your honour to take part. And we earnestly pray that the Divine blessing may accompany its thoughtful and liberal deliverances on the great questions of our time which touch so vitally the interests of humanity and the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Especially do we appreciate those catholic and fraternal views expressed by your Conference, and trust that they will greatly promote the unity of our common Protestantism, so that move than ever we shall be found striving together lor the faith of the Gospel. — Wishing you great and continued blessing in your onerous duties, we are. reverend sir, yours respectfully, Edward Best, William Gittos, John Dukes, James A. Taylor, C. H. Garland, W. L. I S alter. ( The roading of this address was followed . by hearty applause. The Doxology was then sung.

BISHOP COWTE IN REPLY. Bishop Cowie replied as follows : — Arch deacon Dudley, Colonel Haultain, Sir William Fox, and other kind and dear friends, — I thank you most cordially for the very warm reception that you have given me and my family on our return from England. Just before I left a most kind address was presented to me by the clergy and laity of the diocese, and it was read by Colonel Haultain and Archdeacon Maunsell, and on that occasion I asked you to excuse me answering the address in many "words, a& I felt it quite impossible to say what I felt. I must make the same request to-night. I beg you will take for granted what I think many of you know aro the feelings of my heart on this occasion. On some future occasion, or occasions, it will give me very great pleasure to go into some detail as to what I have seen and heard during my absence from New Zealand ; but, for more than one reason, 1 think this is not an occasion for detaining you by any long addresß, even if I felt equal at all to express the feelings of my heart. I thank you all most cordially for your very warm reception. As to the work of the Lambeth Conference, all I will say to-night is that what struck me most in connection w ith it was this, that, notwithstanding the fact that the members of the Conference came from all parts of the world, notwithstanding that they were not all Englishmen and English-speaking men, that rheii- training was most various ; notwithstanding that, and notwithstanding the fact that many burning questions were brought before the Conference, there was not the slightest breach m the harmonious feeling which existed from the n"rso to the last. (Applause.) We all went away greatly encouraged to lincl how entirely we were at one on all the fundamental principles of the Gospel. (Applaxise.) As you probably know, the deliberations of the Lambeth Conference took place in private. That is, there were no leporters present, and no one was admitted but the members and the three secretaries ; therefore nothing that was said at the Conference was published, or ought to have been published. I hcaid from New Zealand of some very extraordinary things which were said to have taken place in the Conference, for which there was not a shadow of foundation. After the Conference was over I was at a very large meeting presided over by the Bishop of Durham. There were many people present who were desirous of knowing what was done in the Conference. The Bishop of Durham got up, and gravely said, "I think I may make a communication to those who are present on this subject." Almost dead silence ensued to enable the people to hear what was coming, and it was : " This is what I may say to you in all confidence, viz., that whatever you may have heard about the proceedings of the Conference you will reject it as altogether without authority." (Laughter.) During our stay in England we have seen and heard much which has given us very much encouragement in all the work in which we are ourselves concerned in this country. We saw the beginnings of many good works in England 19 years ago, of which we scarcely thought in those days that they would come to the position which they have attained at the present time, and 8O I say «ye were encouraged to hope that by perseveran ce and by doing our best to deserve God's blessing 1 the same happy results may come to the labours in which we and our fellow Christians are engaged in this country. Village churches, in which the work of our people seemed greafcly to languish when we were there 19 years ago, village parishes in which scarcely any progress seemed to be being made in Christian work, are now, I am happy to say, quite examples to parishes anywhere, fiom the life that evists in them in all departments of the Church's work. And this notwithstanding the very hard times through which the country clergy are now passing. To give you an instance of the difficulties in which some of the country clergy are at present placed, I'll tell you of one case — A clergyman of high education accepted what was called a fat college living, a few years ago, worth £800 or £900 a year. This income encouraged him to build a large house on the church land so that he might entertain his parishioners and friends. That clergyman told me himself when I was at his house in October la&t that during the present year he had not received one farthing of stipend. That, perhaps, is an extreme case, bub is a sample of the trials the country clergy have been passing through in (England recently on account of the depression in land. Notwithstanding all ibhis ; we saw that the work was making

great progress, and we saw. much to encourage us in our work. You have reI ferrerL in your kind address to the fact that we will miss many dear and valued friends in the Diocese of Auckland. | We have during our absence heard of tho departure from their work on earth to : their rest of those dear friends to whom you refor, and about whom I shall not say more at present, but I may ■say that, as we missed dear friends on our return to New Zealand, so on our arrival in England the most painful part of out experienco was the number of dear friends, relatives, and fellow - workers of former days that we missed. That, of course, was to be expected after so long an i absence. Reference is made in your kind address to me to the commercial depression through which the colony has been passing. Commercial depression, as you know, has also visited othor parts of the world — not that this fact makes tho trials through which you people have had to pass less real — and it is a great satisfaction to know that those well acquainted with tho state of New Zealand express no doubt that brighter times are now coming for the people of the colony. When I left New Zealand I made up my mind, as far as possible, not to trouble myself with the details of the work of the diocese. The late Bishop of St. David's said that it was impossible for any bishop retaining tho charge of a diocese to have a holiday, becauso wherever he went he would take the cares of the diocese with him, and to a ceitain extent his time would be taken up with diocesan work. So great, however, was my confidence in my dear friend and brother Archdeacon Dudley, that I assure you that as far it was possible for an anxious man to shake off his anxieties, 1 did so. (Applause.) I never had the slightest doubt that whatever was right in the judgment of Archdeacon Dudley he would do— (applause)— and that in most cases, if not all, what seetnsd to be right to him would seem right to the most experienced Christians of the diocese. (Applause.) Those who helped Archdeacon Dudley in any particular department of the work helped me in that way, and to you dear friends, who gave special help to my commissary during my absence I now return my most cordial thanks, for without your help I could not have enjoyed the freedom from anxiety which I tell you honestly 1 did enjoy. (Applause.) I heard certain murmurs during my absence about their being some doubt as to whether I was coming back. I told you before I went away that only oue thing would prevent me coming back, viz., a failure in my health. Quite recently three valued bishops of colonial dioceses, prematurely and before they were expected to do so, resigned their charge, and went back to England. This is a ground of much lamentation in some of our sister dioceses, and it is an open secret that these bishops have given up tbeir charges andgone back because they were married men and their wives were ! nor happy in their new home. (Laughter. ) Now, if I had wavered in my duty in thi& matter, you know I had at my right hand a prompter who was always looking towards home in Auckland — (loud applause) — ard four other prompterswho depreciated everything they saw in England compared with what they had been accustomed to in New Zealand. (Laughter and applause.) My own nearest relatives in England did say that after eight years' absence in India and nineteen years in New Zealand it was quite time that I settled down to end my i days amongst them, and they went on to say, " We believe we might overpersuade you were it not for your wife." But they were wrong, and some of you know that years ago, if I had liked it, I could have left New Zealand, and have obtained comparatively light responsibility, helping a brother bishop in England. ; and, therefore, I was a little surprised when I was told that some friends here thought that I might come down and be a suffragan bishop — a "suffering bishop. There is no fear of my ever being a "suffering" bishop. I may say, then, what I said before I left you, that a divorce between me and my diocese will not be thought of by me till the time comes when you give me a hint that I am no longer able satisfactorily to you to do the work of this diocese. When that time comes — when 1 have not the necessary strength to do the work, and I hope I will know it before you tell me — then I will perhaps consent to a divoice taking place, but not before that. (Applause.) It is very gratifying to me to receive the kind address presented to me through my good friend Mr Buddie, from the Committee of the V.M.C.A. 1 look upon the V.M.C.A as I look upon the Bible Society, as a great means of bringing together Christian people who would otherwise know little of one another. When in England I received a letter — I think it was from Chicago — from which I gathered that some American bishop had given it to be understood that to be a member of the V.M.C.A. was incompatible with the position of a bishop. I was asked to state in writing — I don't know why — whether from my experience there was any ground for such a statement, and I was only too glad to be able to write and say that 1 had to do with many branches of the Young Men's Christian Association, and I looked upon them as a most valuable means of bringing together Christians of different sections of the Church. Bishop Cowie spoke at some length in eulogy of the work done by the V.M.C.A., and proceeded : lacknowledgewith very great pleasure the kind address of some of our Wesleyan brethren ministers in Auckland. From the first time of my coming to Auckland I have received great kindness from bhe Wesleyan Church and from its ministers. One of my kind hosts was the Rev. Mr Buller, of the Thames, and in recent times one ot my most pleasant coadjutors in the University College Council in Auckland was Mr Buddie, and afterwards Mr Reid, and on the Senate of New Zealand University I have had the same experience, and therefore I can say from my heart that it is really and truly my desire in all things to work with brotherly cordiality with all other ministers of the Gospel, and certainly with none more so than with the ministers of the Wesleyan Church in Auckland. /'Applause.) I told Mrs Cowie that she ought to say something in answer to the kind words — (hear, hear) — but it wag quite in vain. I may, how ever, say for her, and many of you know it is perfectly true, that she and myself would have very little pleasure in staying in Auckland unless we felt that we could, by blessing, be of some help to our fellowcitizens, not only those of the same section of Christians of which we are members, and unless we felt also that you believed it was really and truly our dosire to do all the good we can in the city iv which we live. The Bishop resumed his seat amidst applause which was hearty and prolonged. After a few minutes had been occupied with general conversation the following selections of music were given : — Quartette, "Oh, who will on tho Downs," by members of Trinity Church choir ; song-, " The Death of Nelson," Mr Hosking; duet, " The Home of the Swallows, "Mrs A. Coates and Mr Gilmer. After this item there was an interval for refreshments, which were served in an adjoining room by the wives and < daughters of the clergy, pre-, aided over by Mrs Dudley. 1; On the

.- -_- _ . qbmpany ( re-assembling in the hall selections were 'rendered as follows:— Song, "La SerenabaJ" Mrs Tebbs, with 'cello obligato by Mr J. A. Beale ; part song, Grafton Orpheus .Quartette Club ; song, "(Job Mib Dir, 5> Mrs Raynes;song, " The Raft," Mr J. T. Knight. The National Anfcnem was then sung and the assembly dispersed a few minutes after 10 o'clock.