PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH GERALDINE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2326, 5 March 1892, Page 2

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH GERALDINE.

QTTABTKRLY MEETING. The quarterly meeting of the Primitive Methodist Church was held at Geraldine on Wednesday afternoon, when business transacted was of the ordinary routine. FAREWELL TEA. In the evening a large number of people attended the farewell tea tendered to the Rev. W. C. Wood, something like forty people coming from Temuka. The tables, two in. number, were provided by Mesdames W. S. Maslin, T. Sherratt, Gibson, Sutherland, and A. Sherratt, and were presided over by Mesdames T. Sherratt, Maslin, and Sutherland, and Miss Andrews. At the after meeting which followed, the Rev. W. C. Wood presided, and called upon the Rev. W. C. Woodward of Timaru, to deliver hiß address on " My trip to Tarawera and what I saw by the way." The lecturer in his remarks on his travels in the North Island showed himself to be a keen observer, and an ardent lover of the beautiful and sublime ■* in nature, and exhibited a fair amount of descriptive talent. He commenced with a eulogium on the beauties to be found in the world, and he said that whether it be before the tiny flower which lifts its \ head in the meadows, or in the presence ' of some weird gorge, or beautiful waterfall, the true student of nature would uncover his head and say, " For thy works I praise thee O God!" Perhaps in no other country in the world had God displayed a more lavish beauty than in the land of our adoption—New Zealand. Here all the different "ologies" of science could find their places. Wonderland was the name given to the district on which his lecture was based, and to his mind it rightly deserved that title. He thought, however, that the name " Hot Lakes District" was a misnomer. True, there were boiling springs iu those parts, but if one reached out with his hand about a foot from the shore, he would find that the water of the lake was quite cold. The lecturer then performed some rather difficult gymnastical feats with his tongue in rounding off a host of prodigious Maori names, and, becoming . bewildered, we were compelled to our pencil and paper aid fold our arms till the air was again clear of Rangitangi-hangipangi-hooki-tooku, and all the rest of it. They were told by the guide books that there were many wonderful things to be seen in the neighborhood of an hotel itt which they were stopping, e.y., a beautiful natural stone bridge which was one oi the sights which tourists who visited the colony never failed to see. The lecturer and others went to see this wonder, and when they got there found to their surpiise a"* bridge about 3ft x 3ft; which sliowei that the New Zealander is not far behind the American in the use of hyperbole. The speaker considered that the mineral waters in that district were good for any one suffering from disease, but indulging in them too often was very enervating to healthy people. He gave an amusing instance of a little Maori girl who came running to meet them crying " Pakeha ! Pakeha ! Pakeha J chuck a penny, chuck a penny!" Thay "chucked" a, few pence into the chocolate colored water, and the girl dived and dived, and never failed to secure the copper. He then told af the scare he got when seated at break-

fast one morning. He asked the hotejkeeper "Do geysers ever break out ueak/ here." The hotelkeepor pointed belling the rev. gentleman's chair to where a number of new boards had been let into the floor, and answered calmly " A geysei L came up there the other day." The first part of the lecture was then concluded. Mr R. Hammond read the balancesheet of the church for the past quarter. The Geraldine collections for the past quarter amounted £ll 8s 3d, Temuka £G Os 7d, and Geraldine Flat £1 2s. The total income for the quarter was £35 19s 4d, and the total expenditure £36 175,. The balance deficit from the previous quarter was £5 2s, and the present balance deficit was £5 19s 6d. He was sorry that the balance-sheet showed a deficit, as it was the first time it had happened for some time. He did not think, however, that it was any fault thek. had with Mr Wood which kept back tife collections, for Mr Wood had received a unanimous call from the Temuka people to stay. There were returns to come in \ from Orari, which would probably reduce f the deficit to obout £2 10s. The Rev. Mr Woodward then conI eluded his lecture by a description of h&

ascent of Mount Tarawera. Since the eruptions, and a cloud is hanging over the mountain, the Maoris say Tarawera is weeping for the mischief she has done. They regard the mountain as "tapu" (sacred), and the only Maori known to have ascended it since was a member of the Maori Football team which visited "England. After an ascent of 100 ft. the rest of the distance was done by a rope, and the grade was one iu one and a-half, and the mountain appeared like the side of a wall. The descent was much faster than the ascent, for kangaroo bounds of eight feet at a time were taken, and it was great fun to look up and see a person descending. His boots got clogged with j ashes and so obscured the body that a | person at the bottom could see nothing but feet descending. Ha never enjoyed himself better than on his trip to Tarawera. Nature's beauties pointed him to Nature's God, and in the great architecture of the universe he beheld the hand of the Father. He praised Him for His goodness and mercies, and thought of the time in the future when we should behold greater wonder in the presence of God. (Applause.)

Mr Hammond then stated that the collection taken up during the evening amounted to £l.

The Eev. W. C. Wood then addressed a few words of farewell to his Geraldine friends, and hoped they would all be present on Sunday evening at his final farewell to Geraldine. He was driving through to Temuka the other day in his trap, and a man on a dray coming up said, as he passed, "It's a nice tiling to be a parson!" He thought at the time that it was a nice thing to be a parson, bat he also thought that if that man knew every side of a parson's life he would not, perhaps, care to be one. Through the wisdom of the conference he had been ordered to a large sphere of work, and he hoped to do a larger amount of good. (Hear, hear). Looking back upon the past year he did so with feelings of pleasure that God had thought fit to send him here. He rejoiced in having made the acquaintance of the people before him, and he would always feel proud that he had the privilege of fighting for prohibition with them. (Applause). He urged them to continue the fight at the next election, and said that if in Wellington at that time he would do his best there for the cause of prohibition. He spoke a word or two in favor of his successor, the Rev. Mr Woollass, and hoped they would give him a good welcome to Geraldine. He thanked all those who had assisted at his farewell tea, and called upon Mr Metson to propose a vote of thanks. Mr Metson then proposed a vote of thanks to the Rev. W. C. Woodward, the ladies, and all who had helped to make tha meeting a success. The meeting then closed with the benediction. I