United Religious service.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 241, 12 August 1902, Page 3

United Religious service.

The united religious service held in the Oddfellows’ Hall at 11 a.m. was unique both for its attendance and the complete unanimity displayed, all ministers of the Protestant churches being present and assisting. The Rev. A. S. Morrison presided. The order of service was:—Hymn “Crown Him Lord of All ” ; psalm Ixxii, Rev. McKenzie Gibson ; “Te Deum,” choir; hymn, “ Praise to our God ”; prayer by Rev. Tinsley; hymn, “The Recessional”; “Hallelujah Chorus,” choir; National Anthem ; Benediction, Rev. J. Carlyle. The Rev. Geo. Barclay gave an address in a most striking manner. The Rev. Mr Barclay, having been called upon to deliver an address, took for his text 2 Kings, xi. 12. The passage brought before us a great coronation ceremony, Joash was the King, Jehoida and his sons the officiating priests —there was a coronation oath in the act of laying the “ law ” on the King’s head, as a symbol of the authority he was expected to act under, and by soldiers, priests and people there was a great clapping of hands, while the whole multitude shouted, “God Save the King.” Mr Barclay then referred to the circumstances — the death of the great good Queen Victoria—which led up to this coronation service of to-day. As they all knew, at the last moment the King was stricken down by what might have proved a mortal malady. Would there bo a second uncrowned King of England ? The royal diadem never sat on the brows of Edward V —the murderous hand of the Duke of Gloucester, and tne obscure grave at the foot of the tower stairs secured all that. It is true they were not at the heart of the empire, but in imagination they could mingle with the crowds in Hyde Park, in Trafalgar Square, by Westminster Abbey— aud what scenes of splendour would be witnessed there ? The artillery thunders, flags fly from every coign of vantage, loud huzzas fill the air, the *:8lls ring out, the service commences, the royal

couple kneel, the glittering emblems of sovereignty are placed on their heads, the usual oath is taken, and the climax of the coronation service is reached. Proceeding with his remarks, Mr Barclay said, for one thing, that our ceremony to-day evokes the empire’s gratitude for the restoration of the King. The people prayed for him, God heard their petition, and while deep thankfulness becomes the empire it is to be hoped that among the King’s own best incentives to a reign of rectitude will be the reflection that God has spared him—spared him to noble deeds and generous sympathies on behalf of the peoples over \%bom he is exalted to reign. Again, in this coronation ceremony we were r minded of the greatness of the empire over which the K : ng is called to rule. Think of the number of separate states and colonies, some 41 or 42 ; think of the area in square miles, some ten millions, or about one fourth of the whole hu nan race—larger than Russia by some six or seven thousand square miles, three times the area of the United States, and bearing about the same proportion to the whole Continent of Europe. Here Sir Charles Dilke was quoted in illustration of his (Mr Barclay’s) statements. Quoting Lord Tennyson's lines, “ The thoughts of men are widened with the sans,” he went on to remark other things also are widened —states, governments, etc., and in the case of England, what changes a few centuries have brought J The first enlargement was the annexation of Ireland. “ Ah 1” Mr Barclay exclaimed, “if O’Rourke, Prince of Breffny, and Dermot, King of Leinster, had quarrelled less about their wives Strongbow and his minions might never have set foot on their sacred isle.” Five centuries of quiescence passed, and then the tide of conquest swept in fast and strong. The seventeenth century the two Indies, East and West, with other less important conquests ; the eighteenth century, and then Canada, Australia, Newfoundland, with several other territories ; the nineteenth century, and then Cape Colony, Cyprus, Mauritius, and ourselves —the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 ; the twentieth century—the other day—and who does not know the vast expansion our Empire has undergone ? That wise and brave little soul, Lord Roberts, knows it; so does Kitchener with the steely eyes and the sword that

tu .irf tot back ; and our half- j sco e contingents, represented here to-ciay, know it. Territories equal to France, England, Ireland, Scotland, and a bit thrown in equal to twice the size of Wales. Do we say all this in a spirit of egotism—.is an ebullition of national vanity and arrogance ? God forbid. We hope we shall not forget to take up the “ white man’s burden,” and it will be ours, to the utmost extent of our resources, to educate, to civilise, to Christianise the mighty millions that own our flag. Once more the coronation reminds us of the excellent constitution under which we live and the privileges we derive from it. Mr Barclay went on to show the difference between an absolute monarchy on the one hand and a limited monnchy on the other, contrasting the latter with despotism as in Russia ; with an oligarchy as seen in certain of the ancient States of Greece, and with a republic giving rise, in America and elsewhere, to constant squabbles about the Presidency and inviting wholesale intrigues, bribery and corruption. Not all at once was our present constitu ion won. Magna Charta had something to do with it; so had the famous battle of Lewes ; so had the first real Parliament of England (1265), in which not only were the nobles represented, but also the commons; so had Cromwell and his Ironsides, and the famous fights of Naseby and Marston Moor; so had the Bill of Rights (1689) conceded by the Dutchman William lll.—now and again we are getting something out of the Dutchmen ; so had the abolition of certain nefarious Test 'Acts and penal codes. Here Mr Barclay gave a graphic description of the work of stocks and pillories and the wholesale mutilation of men's ears. They were not of the “ right colour,” politically and ecclesiastically, even worse than now. He did not know what the orthodox colour in New Zealand was, but some said it shaded decidedly in the direction of green ! The speaker did not siy the British constitution, as it existed at present, was immaculate. It would not take him long to put his finger on certain weak spots; but, take it all in all, it was something to be proud of and to be loyal to. Speech was free, the Press was free, religion was free ; our persons, our properties, our characteis were protected. There was no monopoly of race, of creed, of wealth, and there was a chance for every one to advance and rise in the social scale according to his talents and worth. It is a constitution that, by its fair dealing, will not provoke emeutes, and which knows how to put them down when they occur. Mr Barclay here made an amusing allusion to the fiasco on Kensington Common brought about by Mr Fergus O’Connor and the humiliating fate of the hero, he having been bundled away in a common cab. In conclusion, Mr Barclay bespoke the best wishes of his audience in respect to the Royal couple, commended them to the best love of the whole Empire, and hoped that the King and Queen in their own private character would not be excelled i by the noblest among their subjects. England saved Europe in the early years of the last century, Mr Cecil Rhodes held that the future destiny of the world lay in the hands of the Anglo-Saxon race. The speaker closed by heartily wishing that the latter belief might not be falsified, and that England in the coming ages would save not only Europe, but in Asia and Africa large sections of the human race.

Mr Barclay, in sitting down, was greeted with loud applause. Mr J. Manchester, as Mayor of Waimate, moved a hearty vote of thanks to the Ministers’ Association and others, the choir, and all who had made the service such a success. This was carried by acclamation.