United Memorial Service.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 104, 5 February 1901, Page 3

United Memorial Service.

•——tO Bhowers of rain fell during Saturday .^ o ,«. n ;nfT. but the weather cleared up noon, As i-v<;:.>v o'ei~.cL- a -.■j'.dtiiiifj of The cc'ttiu'iutco i-j cari-v out -.lie iu-raugemonts iu ccnrie-'juyr; with •':■■ '•'■ siied Mcraorial Service ;.vuu held. t;:;3 it liueidt'd io bciKl f.iie eervioo ': /us Dri"} Shed padu<,.,•!•:, as if- was .''•v:>t!£i'hv ib:i s->oi{ -would be to-:- 1 - f j :;:&!} t ; < ;di tho.;* who f vov:id ■ -.r:;i?Jiu. X vLviL in. drupad v/viii b.b.i:li'. Wits i.::.d f"i;y I'Vi.ico Oonsmt b-iiti. 1 :; at ihc : oai. ;..»si iht; -platform w«s iiitj i\lo.yor (Dr.JJarciay;. the of the several religious bodies, and representatives of public bodies. Around the platform were grouped .the children from the Waimate School, -a large number of memlers of the .local friendly societies, the Studholme Mounted Rifles (under Oapt. Cai-land),. aad the Waimate Rifleis (under Lieut. Hurst). There was a very large at-■tendance.-of .the public, about 1,600 .people being present, In opening the proceedings, the -Mayor asked all to sing the hymn, " Our God, our help in ages past." The Rev. Barnett (Piimiiiiive Methodist) then offered up a most eloauent -prayer, and the hymn, "When our "iiUads are bow d with woe," was sung. Captain Lowe of the Salvation Army, read the 90th Psalm in a feeling manner, and the Rev. Blight (Wealoyan) read a portion of the Burial Service. - ■ • After the hymn " Abide with me. The Rev. Geo. Barclay commenced liis address by remarking that recently iibe citizens of Waimate had been called iiOgether on various occasions, and for 'liarious purposes—patriotic purposes, .jubilee purposes, &c. On this occasion ?tbey were drawn together for a very -different purpose namely, to take part in the obsequieß of our late beJloved.CJneen.'—All Great Britain, all "tyne £fsapire to-day were' uniting in rivfxfia aad duedsof sorrow—nor was

the lamentation confined to lands and peoples within our own realm? j other countries—Danmark, Germany, Italy, India, etc., were sending representatives, and despatches—all breathing words of sympathy and admiration for the late Queen. Perhaps already the great precession had commenced to pass through the great thoroughfares of London—; and what an (impressive spectacle that: would be I—Forty thousand troopslining the streets, 60 royal .princes £ol- = lowing the rdyal guns at intervals throbbing, out their deepnotes of sorrow I—a mulVitudeof bells, with muffled'tones, mingling in the. general wail—thousands and tens of thousands of people from windows,; roofs, balconies, shedding tears, and waving handkerchiefs in along last adieu to the Sovereign they loved so well. There was reason, no doubt, for mourning.but was there not alsogroundfor rejoicing? Who would mourn a Messahnia. tarnished by all the vices of humanity I—who would mourn such royal personages as Cleopatra and the Medici, princesses of commanding genius, but stained by crime, blackened with vice, crimsoned with 'blood, some of their victims being their own husbands, children or near relatives. Why do we mourn for Queen Victoria? Just because we were proud of her while she lived, and because, under her sceptre the Empire grew, the people prospered, and every cause of truth and righteousness lifted its head and smiled. -Mr Barclay went on to say, Bhould we not he thankful for the sound education that, as a child and girl, she received, and for the happy auspices under which she assumed the throne: All knew • how some were brought up, and included in these were some of the greatest—speaking geologically and socially—in the land. Neither the great truths of religion or ethics were impressed upon them, but with the fair ' daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent it was different. -I he ciown and the throne were announced to her, the vision of the great Empire was unfolded to her; the aristocratic temptations that surround a Court were not hidden from liar, her first act was to bend her body to uplift her soul, and, from the great Almighty, to seek the wisdom and guidance she knew she would require. Look at her purity of character, and the rule of high rectitude and virtue she insisted on and maintained in her Court. He would not recount the scandals that not seldom originated in connection with and floated round royai palaces. He would say nothing of the Pompadours, the Du Burrys, ,tbe Maintenous of the French Court of last century. He would not minutely describe the wretched episodes of Catherine of Aragon and of Queen Caroline in connection with the English Court. Ah 1 what a contract to the pure life, the unsullied virtue of our late beloved Sovereign. Mr Barclay here briefly alluded to the strange case, in the early years of the Queen's life, of Lady Flora Hastings. The Q'leon was blamed for not taking measures of resentineuti and expulsion, but subsequent events .justified the p.r.ioncb and confidence of the royal friend, and virtue emerged untarnislud from the fiery ordeal, Again, have wo not reason to rejoice in the high conceptions our late Queen cherished in regard to her duties as a sovereign and her responsibilities as head of the supreme executive in the land ? Here, again, is an instructive contrast. Think of the Jameses and the Charleses, and of certain other unconstitutional rulers of our country. No more royal violations of the law 3, no more infringements on the liberties of the People, no more despoiling of bankers and merchants; slitting man's noses Or cutti. g oft their ears, or throwing them into the Tower vOH-the flimsiest excuses. True, all these changes for the better did not'originate with Queen Victoria, but it is since her accession the greatest advances towards liberty and security and lawfulness have been made, and not the least in the" whole series *of upward movements has been the nobleness, the unswerving integrity, the peace-loving attitude of the Queen herself. Here the speaker deeply regretted that he had not time to allude to other matters, and matters that ho knew would be extremely interesting to his audience. For instance, her freedom from bigotry, no supercilious affectation of superiority over those who differed fr>m aer on religious grounds, the hymns she most loved, the manner in which she strove to guard the sanctity of the Sabbath, the care she took of the religious training of ber children (she herself ueir.g their best governess), and other matters appertaining to the inward ! religious life of the great sovereign. j Mi Barclay here related his own ■j earliest close vision of the Queen—in ! Kensington Museum some 38 years ! Her face then was pale and but now it 'is still more pale. and pensive in death; but in the ' resurrection by and by they were quite ! so-.-o a still grander life and a nobler | beauty awaited her. He concluded i with the grand peroration of the I At.jetle touching the resurrection of the dead, and emphatically drew attention to the inspired corollary: " Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, immovable, always abounding ih the 1 worls of the Lord, inasmuch as lye knowjtbat your labour is not in vairl in the Jiiord."The hymn " Abide 'with Me " was here sung, and the Rev. Gh Barclay pronounced the benediction. I Mr W. Coltman conducted the singing, and Mrs W. M. Hamilton acted as accompanist^. Daring;; the ceremony several showers of. rain fell, but happily they were neither very heavy nor of long duration. The Mayor announced that a collection would be takon' np, as " the audience left the ground, to defray the expenses, and that any balance would be expended in buying an invalid chair, to be called the Victoria Memorial Chair, for the children's, ward of the Waimate Hospital. The collection was taken up by Muses Julian and Akhurst, and amounted to J 615 2a lid. St. AUGUSTINE'S CHURCH. At St. Augustine's Ghurob a very solemn and Impressive uejtyice was conducted by the Vicar* Agisted - by th© Rev. A. Werifcw6*tb IWlggiris, B.A.

by the recitation of the sentenoes from the burial office as the clergy pro: to their places in the chancel. Then the " Dead March " was played by the orgariiste, which was -followed by the curate reading matins... In the holy communion service, which was taken by the Vicar, special prayers on behalf, of our beloved Queen were .used, and the Vicar gave an impressive and earnest address from -the text taken'from one of the lessons, Rev. xiv., 13: "I heard a voice from heaven saying, ' Write, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. Even so sahib tho Spirit, for they'rest from their labours, and -their works do follow them.'"" Suitable hyms were sung, and a very large congregation entered most de votionally into the impressive service, a goodly number remaining to take part in the celebration.