CONSECEATION of St. MICHAEL'S CHURCH, WAIMEA WEST.

The consecration of the first memorial church in New Zealand, is an event that must possess unusual interest, not only for those immediately concerned in its erection, but for all who have at heart the welfare of the Church of England in this colony ; and it is with sincere pleasure that we chronicle the occurrence of such an event in our own province. On Wednesday, November 13, this interesting ceremony was performed in the Church of St. Michael's, Waimea West, by the Lord Bishop of the diocese. Ai our readers are aware, it has been erected as a monument to the memory of the late Captain Blundell. At three o'clock, tho Bishop, accompanied by the Eev. A. Towgood, officiating Minister of the parish, Eev. W. H. Ewald, Bishop's Chaplain, Eev. F. Tripp,lncumbent of Wakefield,Eev.T. L.Tudor,Eev. C. O. Mules, Eev. C. Thorpe, and Eev. W. D. Lewis entered at the north door, and proceeded to the east end, the choir meauwhile singing Novello's beautiful Anthem —" I will arise." On arriving at the chancel, the Eev. W. H. Ewald read the petition for consecration, signed by Messrs. Barnicoat and Baigent, the trustees of the Waimea district, after which the Bishop and clergy walked in procession through the church, reading alternately the 24th Psalm, and on returning to the chancel, the Prayers appointed to be used on the occasion were offered up by the Bishop, who then signed the deed of consecration, which was read aloud by the Chaplain. The usual evening service having been read by the Eeveronds A. Towgood, C. O. Mules, W. D. Lewis, T. L. Tudor, and F. Tripp, a sermon was preached by the Bishop, after which, whilst a hymn was being sung, a collection was made for the painting of the exterior of the church.. . We must not omit to notice the very effective chanting and singing of the choir, which received most valuable assistance from a large number of ladies from Nelson. St. Michael's Church, which i 3 universally admitted to be the most elegant structure of its kind in the province, has received, Bince its opening in July last, many handsome presents which add most materially to the beauty of its interior; among these may be noticed a beautifully carved oaken font sent out from England by the late Bishop of Nelson; a Glastonbury chair presented by the ladies of the parish ; & handsome carpet for the chancel, the gift of the Eev. A. Towgood; a most rich and beautiful crimson altar cloth, on the super frontal of which are embroidered seven fleurs de lis, and on the centre the letters I.H S. in a monogram; and two kneelers in Berlin work, the .whole of the work in the cloth and kneelers having been executed by four ladies, to whom the Church is indebted for this handsome present. At the west end is a small gallery for the harmonium and choir, in front -of which is a marble tablet, stating the object for which the church was built. The whole cost of tho building and its fittings, about £500, has been defrayed by private subscriptions, no assistance whatever having been derived from any public body. And the parishioners, whose sincere thanks are due to many kind friends, non-residents in the district, for the liberal assistance they havo afforded, may well be proud of the handsome structure which has taken the place of their late church, which boasted of being the oldest building of the kind in this island.