THE REV. FATHER TREACY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1877, 11 April 1889, Page 4

THE REV. FATHER TREACY.

The following, Ulcoii f era ' ! TaL'.-, wi:l doubting '<>■■ •<.-:!'* wi h i • «r.t In many of our renter in t*i» Gor>i!dine district where the Bev. Father Treacy is now stationed * It may bo mentioned that although the overling when the first presentation was made was wet, the 4(h March, fully 300 persons wore preeent:— Address of the Roman Catholic* of Kumara to the Rev. Father r lrei;cy:

Eev. and Dear Father,—Wo deeply regret the occasion that hiss brought us together. You are on the evo of your departure to another mission after administering to our ■piritual wants in a faithful and zealous manner for the last sixteen months. During that period you bestowed much valuable lime in supervising the education of our children. Your administration has been successful in liquidating the debt of the parish. True to your holy vooatioD, your example and teaching were directed to the promotion of our spiritual and temporal welfaro. We therefore return you our most grateful thanks, and as a slight token of our esteem and veneration we beg you to accept the accompanying gold watch. Wo heartily wish you a long lif i id the enjoyment of good health, and hopn that you will occasionally remember us in the' Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Signed on behalf of the parishioners :—Michael Wall, . Patrick Chambers, James Stuart, Robert McQlone, Denis Hannan, Michael Murphy, Jeremiah Oarew, W. MacDermott, .B. J. Hamill, Joseph

Carey. Kumara, March 4,1889. Mr Chambers then piesented on behalf of the Catholics of Kumnra n gold watch to Father Treacy, regretting the present to be so trifling, but ns the Kev.-Father had publicly refuse; 1 , a money testimonial, they thought lie would receive th:s not ao much for its value, as a memento of his time amongst them and the esteem in which he was hold. He said Kumara was losing a good piieat, but they should be consoled'by the fact thut their loss was a gain to Geralriine. They might get as good a priest, but a better one they would never get. The itev. Father Treacy thanked the people one and :>ll for this unexpected mark of gratitude, the present ho considered was wholly undeserved, and while he was with them he had only done his duty, and ho felt confident that the peoplo with whom he had labored as a minister'of God (however unworthy) had done their duty Their too flattering address ODly made him feel that they told him not so much <vhat he was 68 -what he ought to be. He would ever look b;.ck with pleasure and with pride on the time he spent amongst tha liberal Catholics of Kumara. —Messrs Hannao, J. Carey, and JB. Hamill spoke in glowing ter<ns of the z?al nnd piety of Father Treaoy, os seen in the diechatge of his duty, especially in his earnest and repeated Eulvooucy of Catholic education. Mr McG'one said that not only was Father Troacy the parish free of debt, but that a surplus remained to tho credit of bin successor, and besides flr-it tho Kev. Father gave nearly £4O last year to the support of the Echool, for which he would nver have tho prnyera of the little ones and tho thanks of the parents wherever hi 3 future lot may be cast.

After the usual vote of thanks to the chair the meeting closed, each one bidding Father Treaoy good-bye, who hit by the Christchurch conch next morning, amidst the good wishes of his faithful people, en route for his new home.

The eve of Father Trenc>''fl departure for Qesfldina Rove the scbolurs ot St. School an agreeable opportunity of testifying tlxir appreciation of his assiduous efforts in the cuuse of Catholic education. Daring tho sixteen months he •"was in charge of the Kuuiura mission the reverend gentleman visited the school daily, not alone ua manager, but for the purpose of aps;sting in the teaching of the various classes'. His solicitude for the advancement of the children, and the courtesy with which lie discharged his duty as patron, won for him the warm attachment of the pupils and the sincere respect of their teachers. Henoc the children determined to present him with an address expressive of their Heutiiuonts, together with a souvenir of their intercourse.

'lh) address was the work of Miss Kate Davie?, one of the scholars. It wns a specimen of very nice caligraphy. The presentation was n gold-mounted ivatchguird to which was attached a gold pendant. On Monday last, at bnlf-pasl throe o'clock in the afternoon, Father Troacy was invited to the schoolroom, when the following address was read :

AddreßS of the Scholars of St. Patrick'e School, Kumara, to the .Rev. Fattier I'roucy.

Dear Ker. ITalhei—We cannot allow you to depart without expressing as best we can tho debt of gratitude wa owe you for your -unremitting stfcnl.ijn to our school. You have bsen with us almost daily since you came to Kumaru, and have at all times evinced »n earnest solicitudo for our advancement.. If wo have btsen wanting in application or remiss in our duty, we hope you will accept our heartfelt expansions of regret. We promise to bo more attentive and faithful in the future. In bidding you a sorrowful goodbye, we pray you to accept this email token as an earnest of our sincere gratitude. When you look at. it we trust, it will remind you of your devoted and faithful children of the West Coast, who desire to have a share ia your pious prayers. Signed on behalf of tho scholars—Kate Davies, Agnes McGUone, Ellen Hamill, Susan Kyan, Bridget Moras, John Hsmill, Denis Hannan, Thomas Houlahan, Matthew Gilbert, James Phelan." After reading tho address • Master Matthew Gilbert, stepped forward and paid : " Rev. Father Treacy—On behalf of my schoolmates 1 have much pleasure ia presenting yon with this token of our heartfelt gratitude. The offering is of little value, but we know that you will not regard it in that aen»e. We beg you to accept it in iho same spirit in which it is made, and we hope it will remind .you of your devoted children of St. Patrick's." The llo.v. Father Treacy and the children were much affected during the reading of the address. In his reply he pointed oiifc to them some faults which should be avoided and duties which should never be neglected. He assured them he would always prize their unexpected gift, and that every time he looked upon it and their beautiful address he would think of them, and would not fail to remember them in his prayers. lie cone'tided by givir.g them his blessing,