PRESENTATIONS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2344, 16 April 1892, Page 4

PRESENTATIONS.

PRESENTATION TO MR R. IRVINE. A large number of the members of the Presbyterian Church at Geraldine and friends of Mr and Mrs Robert Irvine mot at the church on Wednesday evening to make them presentations before their departure from the district. The Rev. A. B. Todd occupied the chair, and said that he was very pleased to see such a good representation of the congregation present. He needed not to say why till present regretted the occasion which brought them there. He was very sorry that it was a formal farewell the congregation were about to give to Mr ami Mrs Irvine. He was not so well acquainted with Mr Irvine as others who were to speak, but he wished to express his personal regret at the departure of Mr and Mrs Irvine from their midst. Ever since he had been in Geraldine they had been true friends to him,. and he felt always when he entered their home that he was among true friends and people with real sympathy in the work in which he was engaged. He would cali upon Mr D. Shaw to make the presentation to Mr Irvine. In presenting Mr Irvine with the address, Mr Shaw said: Mr Chairman, Ladies and. Gentlemen, —It is with feeling? of sincere regret that I rise at this time to present this address —not that I think the recipient is not worthy of a far more valuable token of the esteem he is hel in amongst us, but I sincerely regrei that the occasion has arisen through the illhealth of Mrs Irvine, which ha; caused their removal from amongst us Generally, in presenting an address to an.' one on their leaving the district, there an some relieving circumstances for the community to rejoice over: the party has either got, or is expecting, a better situation ; but not so in the present case. However, w> will have to make the best of it. I may sa.> that Mr Irvine has been connected wit.’ this church and congregation for about iO years. I do not knew whether he was present when this church was opened, but I expect he was. The district at that tirm was rather thinly populated, and we wer. nearly all strangers one to another But whether present or absent, I, for one, feel certain that he was working for it good. Since I have known him, he has alway taken an active part in the working of tin church, and I am sure that any one thai had anything to do with him always fount, him straightforward and obliging. H seemed always to turn up on the righl side ; he was not a man of many words, but what he did say was always to the point and if there was any work or duty to In done, and he had the doing of it, why, r. was done, and done well, and nothing moi. heard about it. And then, the long dark lonely rides he had. 1 remember once h. and I riding home from a committee meeting held in Temuka. It was midnight when I got home, and X believe he got te Scotsburn about three o’clock in tlu morning. He has been about 14 year; clerk of our session, which means a goo. deal of work, and I am sure there is not one in this congregation and community bn. wishes him every blessing, and I am sm\ it is the wish and prayer of every one of us that if it is God’s will that Mrs Irvine wih be restored to her wonted health an strength, that they will soon be back amongst us again. The address was a beautifully illuminated one, enclosed in a deep gilt frame, and was the work of Mr G. W. Wade of Timaru. Ou it was the following inscription -. — To Mr Robert Irvine. “ Dear Sir,—lt is with feelings of deep regret that we say farewell to you on thi occasion of your departure from our district, which you may be said to have beei. connected with from boyhood. In severing your connection with the Geraldine Presbyterian Church, we wish to express our admiration of the fray in which you have served her, and of the interest you have shown in her welfare. As an elder, and for more than eleven years clerk of session you identified yourself with every good work for the advancement of Christ’s cause an<: kingdom. Your practical knowledge of affairs, cheerfully placed at the service oi the congregation; your readiness to help, and exactitude iu the performance of duty ; your purity of motive, and intregrity o. conduct; combined with courtesy to everyone; above all, your consistent Christian life, have won for you a high place in the esteem and love of the whole congregation We are extremely sorry for the cause that lias- obliged you to leave us; and we pray that God may abundantly bless yourseL and Mrs Irvine with the blessing of the Lord, which xnaketh rich and with which He addeth no sorrow. “ In the name of the congregation ol Geraldine Presbyterian Church — “A. Beuce Todd, 8.A., Minister, “ N. Dunlop \ “David Shaw “ Alex. Mo’Kenzie 1 Elders, “Geoege STBVKN “ Thomas Moebison ) “A. McLean “ William Ashby J “Alex. Rose “ A. W. E. Archibald “ William Hewson V Managers.” “Adam Irvine “ Jambs Shaw “Wm. S. Helem “John Allan / Mr Irvine, who appeared to be greatly affected at parting with his old friends, said he could not find words to express the very great pleasure he felt at being present amongst so many oil friends. He was highly pleased with the testimonial they had presented him and he took it as a mark of esteem and regard from the congregation, and he would always cherish it while he lived. The presentation was really unexpected, and he thought that any services he had rendered to the Church had been very much exaggerated. He was sure there were a great many members of the congregation more deserving of it than be was? He had been among them a long time, and was one of the first to welcome the Rev. Mr Barclay to Geraldine, and if his labors had helped to bring the Geraldine Presbyterian Church to the state it was now in he was very pleased- He wished to congratulate the congregation on the improved state the Church was now in. It had never been so flourishing before. They had splendid elders anil managers, and members of the Church were in good working order, and, above all, they had a good, zealous miuist-.r amongst them. He hoped they would rally round their minister, and support and encourage him ia his work, and the Church would advance to a much higher state than even the present. Mr N. Dunlop was next called upon to speak, and he said he was exceedingly pleased to be present. As the chairman had explained, they had meet there for the purpose of making & presentation to Mr Irvine. He was sure that Mr Irvine was worthy of it. When he said that, he meant exactly what he said. He had known Mr Irvine for about seventeen years or over, And had been connected with him in church work all those years, and a presentation oould not have been made to a more deserving person. There was one thing about the meeting he was sorry for, and that was the absence of Mrs Irvine, who was unable through illness. Mrs Irvine had

been an energetic worker in the church, and worked in harmony with everyone. He regretted her absence from the meeting for more reasons than one. He had been deputed to perform the very pleasing duty of presenting her with a small souvenir in recognition of her many kindnesses and goodnesses to the church. Mrs Irvine had many kind and sympathising friends in Geraldine and neighboring districts ; in fact, he was not aware that she had made a single enemy. Whenever fie went to Scotsburn fie always had a hearty welcome and found a good table provided by Mrs Irvine. He had come closely in connection both with Mr and Mrs Irvine in their own home, and he never received more hospitality from any people in the district. He supposed that the whole congregation had a similar feeling towards them, even though they might not have had the same close connection he (the speaker) had with them. Mr Dunlop then handed a large beautifully-bound Bible, with a “ Church Praise ” bound in dark morocco, to Mr Irvine as a present from the congregation to his wife. Mr Dunlop also stated that a handsome “ easy chair ” had been purchase,! for Mrs Irvine, but unfortunately it hail not then arrived from Dunedin. It was a very nice chair, and he hoped that every time Mrs Irvine seated herself in it she would be reminded of the many friends she had left behind in Geraldine. He wished Mr and Mrs Irvine continued prosperity in the future, and he hoped that Mrs Irvine would again be restore,,! to her wonted health, and able to come back again to the district in which she had spent so much of her time. iVlr Irvine suitably responded on behalf of his wife, and the meeting terminated. During the evening the choir, assisted by the congregation, sang a number of hymns, Mr T. Sherratt officiating at the organ. Mr and Mrs Irvine intend to settle down at Timaru, and carry with them the good wishes of many people in Geraldine, Scotsburn, Peel Forest, and other districts. PRESENTATION TO MR J. AITKEN. At the Geraldine Public School on Thursday morning Mr W. S. Maslin, in the presence of a large number of scholars and several friends and fellow-teachers of Mr James Aitken, presented the latter with a purse of sovereigns, a silver sovereign case, and a neatly-designed illuminated address, subscribed to by friends and teachers. In making the presentation Mr Maslin said he was sorry that they had met under the circumstances they had met that day, and he was sure that he spoke the opinions of the majority at least of the parents and friends in the district when he said that they regretted in one sense Mr Aitken’s departure from their midst; yet at the same time they congratulated him upon his promotion or attainment to a better and higher school, where the salary was so much more than he had received at Geraldine. It was imposible for a person to live in a small community like Geraldine and carry on his work in an independent, fearless manner without causing friction in some quarters. He did not care who the man was, there would be friction sometimes. However, he thought that a little friction sometimes did good, which resulted in better and more successful work in the future. He was pleased to say that if there had been misunderstandings 'in the past there had been none for some considerable time since, and the school had been working in a satisfactory manner, both for the children and the committee. Mr Aitken’s qualities as a citizen and a teacher, and his social qualities, were recognised in no small measure. The teachers, he believed,, had been kind enough too get up an address, and a purse of sovereigns had been subscribed, with a sovereign case. The subscriptions had been pretty general, and he thought this spoke more eloquently than words the feelings of the district with regard to Mr Aitken. Mr Colbert then read the following address, which was illuminated by Mr Seymour Willoughby, the youngest pupil teacher in the school, and was splendidly executed for an amateur : “ Geraldine Public School. “April 14th, 1892. “ To James Aitken, B.A. “ Dear Sir,—We, the teachers, committee, and friends, in Geraldine, feel we cannot allow yon to go from among us without an expression of our high esteem, sympathy, and sincere good wishes. We therefore beg you to accept this small memento wo now present you. In the change you are about to njftke, we hope you will find all things beneficial both to yourself and Mrs Aitken, to whom we accord our deepest sympathy. Your genial nature has endeared you to us all, and in your further sphere of labour, yon will have our sincere wishes for your success and happiness.”

Miss Pearson handed Mr Aitken the purse of sovereigns, and the latter, iu responding, said ic was a very flattering testimonial they had given him, but he would hot affect to say that it was unexpected, He knew that it was sometimes customary to make presentation to teachers when leaving one school to go IjQ another. He had always had the utmost pleasure ip his work .at the Geraldine school, and though there had been a certain amount of friction between himself and certain members of the school committee, he could honestly say that friction did pot extend inside the school walls. They needed pot to dwell upon that, as it was past and gone. No doubt that things of that kind assisted in teaching wisdom to one for future proceedings. He could say, on looking back, that staff of the school had honestly, to the best Qf tfiei].’ might and ability, supported hjm in his work, and he had great pleasure in testifying that a better and more willing staff he could not wish to work with. They had been very liberal in their subscription towards his testimonial, more so than he deserved. Mr Aitken then said that it was his duty to make a presentation. There had been working iu the school for the past twelve months or more a young lady who had received nothing for her services. He referred to Miss Annie Bowkett. She had rendered excellent service to the school, in fact, he doubted whether they could have done without her. He then handed Miss Bowkett a large ladies’ work box, a present to her from the committee. He hoped that the committee, next time they had a vacancy, would not forget Miss Annie Bowkett. Mr Aitken then advised the scholars to do their best for the new headmaster (MrFarnie), and after saying goodbye to all sat down. Before vacating the chair Mr Maslin spoke a word in praise of Mr Seymour AVilloughby’s abilities, as shown in the beautifnl testimonial before him, and a vote of thanks to the chairman ended the proceedings. Mr Aitken leaves Geraldine at the beginning of next week,