PRESENTATION TO REV. J. DUKES.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1034, 28 March 1882, Page 2

PRESENTATION TO REV. J. DUKES.

A vEßY:pleaknt meeting took place last; evening ad-tlie Churoh school-joom| the occasion being a fare ( weW tea Dukes. The tea waa a pfivate orie'givert by several friends of the pastor's, to which a few more friends were invited. The ■•fact of anintended presentatiori'had been kept quite fecret from the intended recipient, who was merely invited to meet ¥few : friehds at'tea that evening, so that the affair was a genuine surprise to him. Mr B. P. Perry was nominated to the and in opening his remarks said the time had now arri fed when their Minister and themselves must part, and ho thought none moro koenly felt the parting than himself, De thougnt it rather severe on them that their Minister should be removed every three years. He had felt j this very strongly when Mr Dellow, who was doing so well amongst them, waß removed after such a short term. They had thought the Conference was dealing unfairly with them, .Then Mr Dukes came. Ho had just come from England, and they had no evidence of, his . work in any colonial circuit from' which to form an opinion of his qualities and suitability for their district!/' However, since Mr Dukes came he had been of opinion that Providence directed these things, for though Mr ;Dellow had done well, Mr Dukes had done better. (Applause), When he-bade farewell to Mr Dellow, he, as an old man, gave him some advice as to the kind of wife he should chooso, advising him not to go' altogether by the beauty of' features, but by the qualities of the mind and.heart, in faot to ohoose one who would be a helpmeet to. himself and a blessing to his-ministry. Now, when Mr Dukes waß'leaving them he had no need of this advice, for lie had already ,a wife who combined all the qualities he had recommended to'Mr Dellow and who had in thia-circuit done a great amount of good. Mr Dukesha'd ministered,without fear or favor and always advised'.what tvus best for .happiness;'here and hereafter. He (MrjPerryj'would wish him' God's blessing and would express tho liope that he Ivould be met in His new. home with the same spirit in which he was met in Mas- , teuton and parted from.there. It mioht be asked how it was, while the Rev, Mr .Thomas of Gioytown had had public farewell i tea meotiogs given him that Mr ■Dukes was apjwontly treated with less warmth than Mr Thomas was at Greytown. Tho reason was this—Mr Dukes was what might be termed a "dingle mar . ried man," (laughter),—as by the rules of the Conference a probationer could not marry for four years, and Mr Dukes had still two years more to serve before he could (laughter). Mr Dukes, however, was married, but the conference . ..only regarded him as a single man, and woijl& only pay the passage of himself to :py-fresh.place. Now, the friends of Mr ;Dukes'ih J Mnteton thought they would .ahoivl their affection in a more practical jvay. than by a public'teii rcfepting, so got subscribed a few pounds to bo presented to Mr Dukes, so that he would be able to Bay " Though the Conference, could notp?yiny wife's' expenses,' the people where I labored , most cheerfully' did.",. . (applause)., Heliad now the. very, great pleasur^;!pf-presenting the .purse to Mr Dukes ahdithough the amount was small, it-showed In a poor way the high esteemin' which they ail held Mr Dukes knew tllfiy were not blessed with too muoh riches so he would take the will for the deed. The amount was, he thought £25 and he had extreme pleasure in placing it in Mr Dukes' hands. (Applause.) The Rev. Mr Dukes, who was much affected by this token of the- affection of, his people, said he would thank them later in the evening, and asked the choir to sing;

Tlie' choiv then sang the beautiful hymn "•Conieye that love the Lord." . ; ' Mr D'Arcy theu in graceful word, and witb'a flattering testimony to the good qualities of Mrs Dukes as a neighbor, a friend, and a Christian laborer, presented her on behalf ct the ladies of her olass, with ft very handsome album, suitably inscribed, and a pretty pair of lustres, Mr D'Arcy said he was very proud of his task. What 1 the chairman had said of Mr Duke's, he could, as a near neighbor, re,poat witli rogard to Mrs Dijkos, who was eyen'eady to assist anyone, both practi* oally'and by her cheerful counsel and ivisits; She had carried on a good work in the Sunday School aud in the whole circuit and he only hoped that the next " unmarried minister" would bring with him as good a wife as Mrs Dukes, (applause). Mr Gordon said he had never passed bo happy >a two years during 47 years experience :of (tfethodism as during Mr Dukes' ministry. He considered, however, .that the change of ministers was a yery wise plan, and it was always found the ClVurch.did better under it than those Under a stationary system,' ftfy Dukes had his"beaf wishes foj; his'happiness in his new Bohere of labor.

The Eilph family thon sang in a most pleasing mannor, " We'll anohor byo-and bye."' i

Mr Dukes said ho felt oppressed by kindness, and could not speak very well that night with his tongue. He accepted - .the. present as an earnest of their good feeling towards him, and he wished to pay a grateful tribute to them for the form their presentation had takon, He assured them it would be v§ry usetul. It would be useless to blink that faot. He thought, however, they were treating hiin better than he deserved. They had always met their quarterly engagements with him, and that was all he could expect. Ha had felt very keen apprehension on his appointment to Masterton. He had to take the place of a man who ; had gained the love!pf,th,p people, and he felt very doubtful as to his reception. He did not trouble on that snore to-night, aB a love had gioiyn up steadily between them, and that their many kindnesses to him had reached their culminating point, He difficult task, as they mußt remember Jh'at waa his first circuit, his sermons were all hia own, and all fresh,' and he had in order to pass examination read 80 pagesjevery day, and yet when he presented his .work to the Conference, and showed them the volumes he had read, he was told he was still below the usual..average. But ho then toldthemofthe'sizeof his oircuifc and the fact that he never rode less than 100 miles a week. He was married six years' before he thought of offering himself: to: the ministry, and was. then informed he would hare to wait two years for'an ap-. pointmont, However, he accepted ad-' vice, and came to New Zealand where he. waa immediately placed in charge of the Masterton circuit. And'well he remembered his first quarter I When heapd Mrs Dukes were writing hometo their-friends' they could hardly enumerate the presents which poured in upon them. Masterton was about to, have another" single 'mar: ried minister,'' accounts of whom showed lie was a good- pastor, a popular preacher who was very much liked at Auokland,-and he hoped he would be re; ceired in the same kindly spirit as he (the speaker) had beep. He.coiild uot- dwell. on his parting frpift than? as he* wpi)ld bounable loj express his 'feelingshe could only say he was obliged to them, for their many kindnesses to him and his, He stated at an itera.o£new» ; that in one,year J5lO had'betfn raised id' the oirbuit, and the ohuroh was now free from debt, The cirouit was also free, and the incoming minister not have his hands. W in.

any way. They would get mora information on this point at the Good Friday teameeting. . \The choir then rendered another hymn itr their usual excellent manner. |Mr Baumber spoke a few words testifying to the great eßteem in which Mt 'flukes was held and wishing him and Mrs Dukes every happiness in the place to which they were Koing. ■ The .Ralph, family, sang '.'.Sabbath-.-Home" very sweetly, for which thej\were heartily npplalidedi - ' '■ j \ . Mr H. Jones sefl., then Mpresgea'hiSXK regret at losing Mr and Mrs Dukes, H? had found in them the old Metho<}rat spirit, He considered that Mrs Dukes had laid the foundation for great good by her teachings in her class and her Thursday afternoon meetings. He wished them every happiness, The chairman, as a trustee of the Church, could not let Mr Dukes ignore himself in the raising of the which had paid off the Church debt, It. was principally due to that gentleman's eVerOT that this whs done, and he ' thanked IhiA on' behalf o! the Trusteed Minisl&ta : Yery seldom came into a cirouit as'free; from debt as the'Masterton orie'now ought to feel truly grateful to' God fornis mercy and for sendifig'SP pastor ut Bro. Dukes.'^' I '''' 1 Mr Dukes, in reply, Bdid he 1 tfioug'h? we vote of thanks to him alinbsfc Buperna|a|{as he had merely aet - the niachinetyjn motion, the people Kad ; barried ; work.' He' could thank the at least seven-eighths of■■ 00-operation in the work i'sofae'df .tfoemf however, had not workedaHhey outfit-Id have done. He would ; mention towards the work, and'those" were'MeßSt« v D'Aroyj and Judd, who had" > conjTibitea>' in various ways about £3O-to He would also thank all : the citizenV OrMasterton; Tenui also contributed SomV' £25.- ..The Circuit Deb't menced was £3O 17s amounting to £s7l7s7d| and-of^hiff i they could show on that'veiyday LEi214s 3d, with several other knifohWto l come iti! ' He hoped thif state would be maintained.''''"His ;sUccßJsdA would be able to take up barraßsed, He believed 1 'the Wxt' to be accomplished was'to- enlarga the l sohool building so as to accommodate 200 scholars. Methodism was takinij a good stand in Masterton, and lie hoped it would maintain and increase it. He did not wish to disparage other churchos. They should work hand in hand with all. The Choir then sang the parting hymn, which wits beautifully rendered, and the benediction having been pronounced, the meeting terminated. >,, r , rpv # j BO* : i! ' 3 dJ