THE ORANGE INSTITUTION.

Te Aroha News, Volume VIII, Issue 490, 19 July 1890, Page 4

THE ORANGE INSTITUTION.

o' THE BATTLE OF THE BOYNE. I CELEBRATION YESTERDAY. p§%; Auckland, July 14. K;. Yesterday the members of the Auckland p? branch Lodges of the Orange Institution gathered in force in the Choral Hall, the memorable Battle of the Boyne being ;: r commemorated by a religious service. *■- The Orange brethren mustered at the Protestant Hall, Newton, at 2 p.m., and marched in procession to the Choral Hull, headed by the Newton Brass Band. The £ - Orange Grand Lodge was represented by p Bio. R. Farrell, R.W.O.M. ; Bro. J. Jamieson, D.G.M. ; Bro. W. Thorne, G. Secretary ; Bro. Hazard, G. Treasurer; Bro. i Shersou, J.P.G.M. ; and Bro. D. } Cromarty, Bible - bearer. A large L - crowd accompanied the } rocession. f There were upwards of eight hundred I people at the service, which was conducted I by the Rev. J. H. Simmonds, who was l;. supported on the platform by officers of the A Grand Lodge and the Rev. A. J. Smith, Grand Chaplain. Mr Simmonds took as text Romans xiv., sth, •* Let every man fully persuaded in his own mind.” He that to-day Orangemen had not to force by force on the battleiield, but to carry on the contest with peaceful in a peaceful way in social and life, without the hatred and-bitter-which characterised civil war. One .which dovolvcd on Orangemen was to the national system of secular educauntampered with, though at the same there was too libtle reverence the youth of the country. It was and inpractiablo to try and force wholo Bible into the public schools, but best [iassages could be selected from it. This evening the usual Orange soiree conceit will be held in the Foresters’ BBHnll, Newton. ■ . SOIREE AND CONCERT. Auckland, July 15. evening the two-hundredth anniverof the Battle of the Boyne was celoby the Auckland lodges of the Loyal Hpin the Foresters’ Hall, Newton. The inKpterior of the hall was gaily decorated with the banners of the various lodges, and thero ■|s|was a very large attendance, the building being crowded to the doors The members B of the order,including a large number of the B fair sex, alLwore their regalia. There was a very crowded attendance at the 6.30 tea, ■ which had to be served in relays, the tables V being presided over by the ladies of the ■ Female Orange Lodges. V After the tea, the public meeting was ■ held, Grandmaster Farrell presiding. The ■ Chairman was supported on the platform Hby Bro. J. Jamieson, D.G.M., and ■ the Revs. A. J. Smith (Grand Chaplain), ■E. Best, R. Scott West, and a number of ■| ( chief officers of the various lodges. The ■ \Rev. E. Best opened the proceedings with ■•prayer. B The Chairman expressed his great plea- ■ sure in presiding over that meeting, as it was the 200th anniversary Battle of the Bovne. He felt sure ■■■Bgif present felt pleased that such peace B - monv as now existed prevailed, and was no likelihood of a repetition W of the events they were about to celebrate, r There was no doubt the spread l of education was convincing people k that the mere chance of birth should be 1 no barrier to true and valued friendship. LHe had a surpriso for the meeting in the of a very interesting memento of the of the Boyne, which he first saw in native village, near Enniskillen, 28 ■Bars ago—a cuff of the coat which King wore at that memorable struggle. B 1863 he was a fellow-passenger out to with the owner of the relic, Mr Keary, for years well known at the and Auckland. The wristband of coat had been torn off in alarm BBb the King was wounded by an Irish that grazed his arm. It had since handed down from father to son until jSHßras now in possession of the late Mr son, residing at Arch Hill. then exhibited the ancient

Hrelicj amidst much enthusiasm. He then B called upon the Rev. E. Best, who was preKsent on the platform, to move the first resoKlution of the evening. ■■■Biie Rev. Mr Best was received with apHe said that he was sure no who had the good fortune to visit old would ever forget it. He himself very vivid remembrances of the scene the memorable Battle of the Boyne KM fought, which he had visited many ago. He spoke of the manner in the fight took place, describing the of King James’s and King armies on the river banks, and in which the gallant OrangeHHBi’s trnops crossed the river and routed ■the enemy, thus winning one of the most ■ memorable battles in English history. He ■ thought it was a favouring Providence I that ordained it so that when ■ King William’s infantry entered the BBpyne to cross to tho enemy’sposition under Htftr*:ibie fire, there was a very low neapBc, thus enabling the soldiers to ford the in safety, which would have been imhad the tide been any higher. In Battle of the Boyne the Irish were said fought like devils. Perhaps they Bid, but then the Old Book commanded Hbem to “ resist tho devil and he will flee >ffroni you ” (laughter), and they did flee. j/Chat great battle was one of the turning .* points in English history, land they should be ever grateful for the ■face that from that time till now jtbey had lived under a benefiProtestant reign, which had been secured to them by the accession of | William of Orange. And he did not like : to leave them without speaking of our Gracious Sovereign, Queen Victoria, who now. attained a good old age, and who, Ba sincerely hoped, would have many more Hears of life and sovereignty. With referHnco to the latter portion of tho resolution He was to move, that relating to the present Bata of Ireland,he wished to say something. Borne ridiculous statements had been made certain people regarding the present state of Ireland and tho wrongs of her people. Well; ho himself could claim to know something about Ireland. Ho was an Irishman born and bred ; his immediate ancestors had lived in Ireland, and he was an Irishman himself bj birth. -In Ireland ho had spent almost all liis life up to the last ten years or so, and as a Wesleyan minister he claimed to know something ~jtf>out the country, as most Irish Wesleyan n§fcli^ erfJ did. Speaking of the Wesleyan portioh\ot the Irish population, he said that M> Wesleyan people in that country\had invariably been the most lawabiding &nd peaceable in the land. They had nevgr cost the English Government one sixpence for keeping them in subordination. With very slight exceptions, hardly worthy of notice, the Wesleyan population of Ireland were fervently opposed to Home .Rule—or, rather, Rome Rule—and were ready to a man almost to stand up for the orange. Some people said that ministers had no righ t to interfere in politics, and this came to his mind when he began speaking on ffrish affairs. But in some things all minisKrs decidedly had a right to interfere and |plp the right by voice and deed, and this

was one of them. . Though he was nob an Orangeman himself, his sympathies would always be with the Orange cause. He paid a high tribute to the Hon. Mr Balfour, Chief Secretary for Ireland, and eulogised his Irish policy, which he said was both tair and lirm, exactly what the Irish tenantry needed. The English Government were, at the present moment, in imminent danger of indicting very serious wrong upon the Irish landlords, in their proposals for the fair adjustment of the land tenure. Many, very many, of these landlords had paid for every foot of their lands, acquired them in the English market, and many of them were doing all they possibly could to help their tenants, and ameliorate such of their conditions of life as needed improvement. Ho did not for a moment propose to defend the deods of the Irish landlords of fifty or seventy years ago. Some of their acts fhould bring a blush to the cheek of every Irishman, and at the present day there were many landlords who wore suffering severely and unjustly for the misdeeds of their forefathers. But to-day he considered there was not a more favoured body of tenantry in the world than the Irish farmer-. The tenants of an Irish landlord had innumerable safeguards at present against injustice or wrong - doing towards them by their landlords. He thought that there could not be anything under the skies more just and fair than the attempts of the present Government ;of Great Britain to render more satisfactory the position of the Irish people as to land tenure, and those who spread opinions to the contrary were baneful agitators. The speaker alluded to a certain band of men in Ireland who won popularity, and money too, by persistently and systematically keeping the country in a chronic state of agitation and discontent. These men had nothing to lose in the country, bub it was to their interest to fan the flame of discontent amongst the people. In further remarks Mr Best said he had no wish whatever to say anything that might appear at all antagonistic to his Roman Catholic fellow citizens and friends, for ho had many worthy Catholic friends, and had in the Old Country received exceeding kindness at their hands in many ways; but he was compelled to declare that in his honest belief the great and crowning cause of Ireland’s discontent was the presence in that country of a large and disturbing proportion of the Roman Catholic element. He was sure that this was a powerful disquieting influence in the land. In concluding, he again referred in terms of high praise to Mr Balfour and his Irish administration, and for the firm, just, and capable manner in which, Mr Best considered, he wielded the reins of control. Speaking to the Orangemen of Auckland, he fervently hoped they would continue in their good work in the cause of liberty and r ight. Somo people seemed to think that Orangemen should drop all these things, forget the events which they were proud to celebrate, and let the dead past bury its dead. Bub they were not allowed to forget these things, for constantly they were called upon to resist to the utmost attacks upon the religious and social liberties which they should be as ready to resist in a peaceful manner, as their fathers had so many years ago in battle. For his part ho believed in trusting in God and keeping his powder dry. (Laughter and applause.) He begged to move the resolution standing in his name, “That this being the two-hundredth anniversary of the Battle of tho Boyne, which gained for us civil and religious liberty and placed a

Rrotestant ruler upon the throne of Britain, whereby our Protestantism was secured and our civil rights preserved, wo return thanks to Almighty God for preserving tho illustrious House of Brunswick, and tender our unswerving loyalty to Her Most Gracious Majesty, the rightful successor of that illustrious House, and we heartily concur in the action of the Salisbury Government, and especially in the policy of Mr Balfour, Chief Secretary oi Ireland.” (Loud applause. )

Mr J. E. Baker seconded the motion.

The Rev. A. J. Smith, G.C., said lie had great pleasure in moving the second resolution of the evening: “That this being both Ihe Jubilee of the colony of New Zealand and the Orange Institution in the colony, we. as Orangemen, feel proud to commemorate these happy events, believing that those who cannot appreciate memorable events in history are incapable of making their adopted country an honour to the nation over which Her Majesty presides.” (Applause.) He was nob able, like Mr Best, to say that he was an Irishman, but ho was happy to say that he was an Orangeman. The Orange Institution was not a mere ephemeral growth that was destined to be shortlived. It would be for long, he hoped, a powerful influence in the country to aid the cause of justice and liberty. The Orange Order had produced men of heroic mould and sterling worth in the past, and he hoped it wcrald in the future. Mr James McGregor seconded the motion.

The two motions were then put seriatim, and both were carried unanimously, amidst applause. During the evening an excellent musical and miscellaneous programme was rendered by various lady and gentleman performors. Mr J. Ryan opened the vocal numbers with a song, “The Walls of Londonderry.” Miss Harris and Mr Simpson were exceedingly good in their duet, “Matrimonial Troubles,’'and, in response to a vociferous encore, gave “ The Singing Lesson.” Mr Menzies sang “ True Till the Last Miss White, “ Birds of the Night Mis 3 Herbert, “ Let Me Dream of England and Master Ryan, “Some Day I’ll Wander Back Again.” Mr C. Fai’rell (violin) and Miss Farrell (piano) played an instrumental duet from “Patience;” Mr Edmonson gave a humorous Scotch reading, “Jeems Kaye’s Visit to Balmoral;” Mr D. Cromarty recited “ The Covenanter’s Dream the Misses Adams and Farrell contributed a pianotorte duet (Tancredi); Miss Gardner favoured with a recitation, and Mr Bell recited “ The Orange and the Green.”

Votes of thanks to those who had assisted to render the celebration a successful one, to the ladies who had presided at the tea-tables, to the Franklin Road choir and others, were proposed by Bro. W. Thorne, Grand Secretary, seconded by Bro. W. Sherson.P.G.M., and passed by acclamation. Three hearty cheers were given for the Grand Master, and the singing of “God Save the Queen ” closed the meeting.