PRESBYTERIAN PARISH GATHERING AT GERALDINE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1511, 27 May 1886, Page 2

PRESBYTERIAN PARISH GATHERING AT GERALDINE.

The annual parish gathering in connection with . the Presbyterian Church, Geraldine, took place iu the Oddfellows' Hall on Monday evening. The weather was beautiful, and a very large number of people from all parts of the district, and representing all denominations, were present. The hall was beautifully decorated with ferns and flnwen, a number of friends having been busy during the day preparing for the evening. At the fur end of the hall was a large wreath, in the centre of which upon a red ground w*re the letters V. R. in silver, while across the room festoons were hung, with wreaths in the centre. All round the walla ferns and flowers were arrayed in rich prof ussion. Several of the local volunteers were also present in uniform, which lent a gay appearance to the icene. Tea was /aid at half-pest five, the tables, of which there were eight, being presided over by the following ladies :—Mesdames Barcbiy, Dunlop, Hay, Glass, McLeod, and Brown, and Missas Dunlop, Hamilton, Maslin, Helem (2), Bell (2), Millar, Bodswell, Kelman, and McLean.. The catering was in the hands of Messrs J. Williams and Son, and gave entir* satisfaction. Fully 200 people sat down to tea, the tables being filled several times. At about half-past seven the hall was cleared for the public meeting, and in a few minutes from the doors being opened every inch of room was taken up, a great number having to go away, it being impossible to obtain admission. The musical portion of the entertainment was of a •Jiixed description, the first part being devoted to sacred, and the second to secular music, The choir was assisted by members of the various choirs in Geraldine. and were under the leadership of Mr T. Sherratt, and the manner in which the various anthems were rendered was excellent. Miss Fish presided at the piano, and as usual gave entire satisfaction to both soloists and choir. Punctually at eight o'clock the public meeting commenced. On the platform I were the Revs. G. Barclay, J. Preston, Smythe, Cecil, White, Boothroyd, and Thomas, and Messrw Moore and Dunlop, and Dr Fish. Mr A. Maodonald occupied the chair.

The Chairman, who, upon riaing, was greeted with great applause, said he whs sorry to see that the old grievance had again cropped up, viz., the smallness of the hall. It was not half large enough to contain the people that flocked to the Presbyterian Parish Gathering at Geral<line. He was sorry for those who had been turned away, but he was glad to say that such would not be the case next year, as the drill shed noiv in course of erection would be finished by that time. Before the next Parish Gathering the Presbyterians intended to hold a bazaar for the purpose of raising funds to erect a new church. They all knew how scarce money was, and he had.had-to be satisfied with a £5 oote where* he liad expected to get £lO or £ls. He had written •.to their old friend Mr Edward Cooper, now of Melbourne, stating that they were about to raise subscriptions for building a new church, and that gentleman had : sent a' tdonation of £5. (Applause). There were on the Committee, however, several canny Scotchmen, to say nothing of canny Irishmen, who would not allow them to commence operations until they could show some £SOO or £6OO on paper. That was a I urge sum, but be fully believed thai ere loug the money would be not only on paper but also in the bank. They had purchased a site which was second to none in Gora'dine. He would not detain them any longer as the programme was a leogthy one. He called on Miss Fish to open the musical portion of the pro-^

gramme with a pianoforte solo, which was responded to. The Choir then sang the anthem " Praise the Lord," and were followed hy Miss Millar with the solo " He wipes tho tear," for which an encore was demanded, but not responded to. The Rev. Mr Thomas said he was very glad to be there that evening, and to bo able to congratulate Mr Barclay upon the success of hia Annual Parish Gathering. In the absence of a church report, which he did not see upon the programme, he prfesumed they were getting on very well. He thought the meeting and platform was an essentially representative one. He was glad to see the volunteers present as he had been an old Volunteer himself, and that they that day had celebrated the birthday of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, as evidenced by the letters V. it. behind the platform. There were several other descriptions af loyalty, There was loyalty to the Truth, not only in the common acceptation of the word, but also in the brondest sense. He did not believe that any Church had a monopoly of th« Truth, they were all doing their best. Then it would be good for them to be loyal to tho Lord Jesus Christ and to His Gospel. He hoped the Gospel' would be received as well as proclaimed. He congratulated the people and pastor on the success of their gathering, and heped the coming ye*r would be bright and full of BUCC6SB. A duet by Mrs Glass and Miss Andrews, "Sound the Loud Timbrel!," was splendidly rendered. The Rev. W. White said he had been at several soirees, and he thought the Presbyterians had the best of it. Mr Thomas had mentioned several loyalties but he would enjoin upon them loyalty, to the Church. It was a downright shame for anyone not to be loyal to the Church'he belonged to, The people of New Zealand were, in a great many instance*, cowards. If they took offence at anything in the Church thev" " skeedaddled." (Loud laughter.). He called them cowards who " skeedaddled " It was <t Bhame for members of any denomination, let them be Presbyterian?, Wesleyans, Episcopalians, or whatever

denomination they belonged to to leave their Church because they should happen not to like their pastor. There was not a man who hated sectarianism more than he did, but he loved his Church, and ho intended to stick to it. The reason why nine-tenths of the freethinkers of the present day were freethinkers was because they had been careless about their Church. Meetings like the present. weie grand institutions for doing good, as the> I brought the different Churches together. It was a question which be had been seriously and prayerfully considering, as i to what position the Church should take ! with regard to amusements, whether it [should create amusements, or try to /raise the standard of those that .already existed. He w«s glad to see so many young men there because it showed that the Church could provide honest amusement, and he bade all present enjoy themselves. The anthem by the choir, " 1 will lift up mine eyes," was well rendered and a solo " What is prayer V by Miss Hamilton elicited great applause. Mr N. Dunlop, the Secretary and Treasurer of the Church, stated that he had come to them th.t evening as it were with an olive leaf in his mouth. They had begun the year with a debit balance of £l7B 9s Bd, they had raised during the year the sum of £414 12s 4d, and expended £385 14s 9d, leaving a debit balance still remaining on the clutch of £149 12s Id, which was £2B 17s 8 I better than last year. They had neyer before been able to raise the same amount of money in Geraldine as they had done during the past year. Of course the exertions of their pastor must be appreciated, and he had been a great assistance in bringing about this state of affairs as he travelled over a very large district, sometimes at Lake Tekapo, and.sometimes at the Rangitata, and still instead of curtailing he thought of extending his borders. The speaker briefly reviewed the work done by Mr Barclay in founding the Church in Timaru and Geraldine, and expressed the pleasure he felt in meeting those present on the occasion of their annual Parish Gathering. The solo, " Too Late," was sung with great effect by Miss Dunlop. Mr Guild, tv ho was next called, declined on account of the length of the programme to take up the time of the meeting.

The Rev. J. Boothroyd thought it spoko well that during the dull times the Church had attained a better position than before. He could always rejoice in the success, and mourn over the failures, of any Christian Church. He was glad to hear the Presbyterians were thinking of building a new Church, and ho hopurj to see it filled with longing worshipper). Since he had come to Ne»v Zealand he had seen many instances of unity aniorg the Churches, which had pleased him very much. The solo " Where is Heaven 1" by Mrs Rout was sung in that lady's unrivalled style. This was heartily encored, but on account ot the length of the programme could not be responded to. The anthem by the choir " In Jewry is God known," and Mr Greaves'song "Anchored" were given in a capital manner. The Bev. J. Preston congratulated the Chairmau and Mr Barclay upon the success of the festival. He would be glad

to see their now Church built, but, he hoped his congregation would not "skeedaddle" into it. (Laughter.) A great many had " skeedaddled," and he was heartily ashamed of them. (Laughter.) He quit 9 agreed with the gentleman who spoke about living together in peace. It would Boon be, not what Church rio you belong to—but do you belong to Christ ? it would soon be Christ or anti-Chriai. He despised the man who changod his Church as he changed his coat, and went to another 'Jhurch because he took the "huff" with on of the members of his own. But he waa quite sure many of those standing were tired, and he would not detain them now. Solo, "Cam ye by AihoW Miss Lines. The audience would not be denied an encore to this, and " Jack o' Hazaldeane" was given. The Kev, Mr Cecil could now only say with regard to the utterances of the previous speakers "Them's my sentiments." Ha was there for Mr Macintosh, who had been present last year. He exhorted them not to let' the enthusiasm of this meeting die out. He would advise them to attend to the advice of their pastor. A iaird was once

lying ill, and the doctors told him him he could not expect to recover, so he ient for the minister, nnd asked him if he thought lib would die easier if he were to give som; thing to the k,rk. The minister was placed on the horns of a delemma. He had all- along preached against the efficacy of good works only, but he did not like to lose the legacy, bo he answered, "I could not say whether ye would die easier, but it would he an experiment well worth your trying." In like mauner h». (the speaker) thought it would be an experiment well, worth their trying to pay attention to the sermons theyheard from their pastor, and try to live at he directed. The duet, "O'er the hill and o'er the dale," by Misses Hamilton and Dunlop, and a solo, "The outpost," by Mr Lodge,"were splendidly rendered. "Kathleen Mavourneen," by Mrs Rout was encored, the audience persisting in their demand till she fang " The Keel Row." " When sparrows built ""'was rendered in Mill Andrews' best style. The Rev. Jasper Smythe said he was I here to try and carry out that which he had always advocated in England, Ireland, and Australia. He believed in cu'tivaling that spirit of unity which ought to exist between every Christian body. He was there out of personal regard for their minister, whose presence prevented him saying all that he should like to. Both himself and Mr Barclay sometimes went into other affairs besides ecclesiastical, and sometimes received hard knocks. He thought a man must be very thin skinned who did not come forward and ttmd his hard.knocks in the causo of good. He got hard knocks about his cheap money affair, but still the cheap money was coming to the front, and the colony must have it. He was very glad to see that the Church wm in such a prosperous condition. He was pleased with the speeches that night, as they all alluded to the work in which they were engaged. A gift auction was a very good idea, as people who could not give money might be able to give produce, stock, and other aiticles.

The eolo, " The Rowan Tree,» by Mm Ghiss, was well sung. The Rev. G. Barclay said they would think it strange on his part if he did not acknowledge the feeling of gratification he felt at see'ng go many present; Ht was proud of their numbers, and of the fact that oil the churches in Geraldine were repieserited there. As regarded loyalty, tin' English nation had had many Queens, but none of these ■ equalled m goodness and in works their present sovereign, Queen Victoria. (Cheers). They had also been exhorted, to be loyal to their Church, but his ow.n opinion was that a man should not be supposed to stick to his Church any longer than it was in accordance with his idea of Trulh, otherwise the argument might apply toMahommedans, etc. The true basis of • vnan sticking to his Church was reverence for the Truth. Ho *>ould take this opportunity of expressing his gratitude to the various Church workers, the Sabbath School teachers and elders, also to Mr Stewart, who, (hough not a member, bad given his services to the chnrch for miny years past. He thanked Mr A. Macdonald for his present of communion cups. Then ho wished to thank those gentlemen who had assisted in order to keep the Waihi river from encroaching on the s church prorjr-rty, Messrs Dunlop, Row,.J Mundell, F. Brown, A. McLean, A. Reid, ' and Mr R. Irvine, whom they would a I wish a pleasant trip Home and a speedy return to JSTow Zealand (cheers). Some two menths ago he had occasion to go away early, and when he returned he found as if by magic a large stack of straw hud been placed in bis yard for winter feed for his horses, and not only-straw but also oats and chaff had been brought and left at the Manse. Messrs McKenzie, Bell, Skinner, Batty, Kelman and his worthy sons were among those to be thanked for these kindnesses. He did not profess to name all those who had shown him kindnesses, but he was deeply grateful to them for what they hud done. He had received kindnesses from Messrs Earl, Park, McShane and others which showed that a very large amount of kindness wa3 not confined to his own people. He would not detain them longer. They had been addressed eloquently, wisely.and well by the speakers who had preceded him, and he hoped their words would not speedily die away firm their hearts (applause). The solo, " Auld Robin Gray," by Mrs Rout was exceedingly pleasing. Mr Waite said he had great pleasure in proposing a hearty vote of thanks to the singers for the way in which they had rendered their pieces. (Cheers.) Mr Cochrane proposed a vote of thanks to the speakers of the evening, and in doing sn spoke very highly of the Chairman. (Cheers.) The Rev. Mr White responded on behalf of the speakers. He was sorry for the construction Mr Barclay had put on his (Mi White's) words. His exhortation had reference to Christian Churches only. Mr Barclay proposed a hearty vote of lhaiiks to those ladies who had assist d at the ti'bh;-;, and to all ihoge who had , worked in connection with the gather? . i"g. (Cheers.) Mr Dunbp proposed a hearty vote of th-inks !o the chairman- (Loud cheers.) All the votes were carried by acclamation, and tho singing of the National Anthem brought to a close, shortly after midnight, one of the most successful gatherings ever held in Geraldine. '