TABERNACLE SOIREE.

Auckland Star, Volume XIX, Issue 221, 19 September 1888, Page 2

TABERNACLE SOIREE.

The thirty-third ariniyersary bf the Auckland Baptist Church was'celebrated last evening in the Tabernacle, when there wa% . large'attendance. Tea was provided at 6.30 o'clock, and was partaken of by numerous friends. At the after meeting, Pastor Spurgebn '" On the platforrii were also Revs. G. B. Moriro^ R. Bavin, TI Bray, and Messrs JV Battley and S. H. Matthews. The latter read the annual report, which showed that* the Church had buffered severely financially, owipg to t|ie prevailing depression, which necessitated retrenchment, in every diroction. Reference was made to the death of Mrs Robinson, wife of J_r Joshua Robinson, elder, and who had been a phurch member for oyer thirty years. There . were on /the, roll at the beginning of th« year 644 members;' received into fellowship, 37: total, 681; died, 4; dismissed to other churches/ 16: total present strength, 661. Cambridge affiliated church, 55; Mount Eden do., 65 j Otahuhu, 15. Less deductions by transfers and -death, the' grand ' was .795. Through retrenchment the services of the Rev. Mr. Bray as assistant pastor had been (dispensed with. The Suriday-school had increased, there being now 60 teachers and 610 scholars. - Ten scholars had; duringybe* year, joined the. church. -."Mount Eden school, 20 teaohewj. 1,45 , scholars ) Otahuhu school, 4 teachers, scholars ; Cambridge school, 6 teachers,37 .scholars; total, 90 teachers, 827 scholar's. There had bee** forwarded to the treasurer of the New Zealand .Baptist ' Missionary Society £164 for the year. The Tabernacle Ladies' Benevolent, Sopiet jt numbered 42 forking and,4 honorary members. During tho y«ar, clothing had been mado up and distributed to the"* poor. In addition to I this, there were .he Trabt Spoietyi cottage meptines,1 Mutual Improvement Sooieby,. *•■'* .;: '■.-■*. ~//:/" '' . '/-■'.''[ ''' '/ ';...•" ' '■%■. >

and the Total Abstinence Society, number-; ing 323 members, showi-ig-|iri increase .on \ the roll of ,66 ynembers for'the year. Dur^ nX the evening, the Chairman,, on b>ha¥: of'the Church, presented Miss A. Dewar; with a handsome gold-watch in recognition; of her gratuitous services as Organist for the past seven years.' Gn the exterior of the case were chased the initials of the recipierit, while inside was engraved* the following inscription: '-'Prom theTabernaole Chtirch, in recogriitibrii of faitbful service rendered -as organist. September 18,1888."~Mr,Spurge6ri expressed the hope that although the Watch was good one, Misß'Dewar might live to wear it out. In addition to thb Chairman's remarks; addresses were delivered by Revs. Monro, Bavin, and Bray; 'Before the meeting terminated, Mr Battley announced that bn Monday and Wednesday evenings, at a quarter to 7 o'clock, the annual gift? wOuW be received from children and friends in aid of the Indian Baptist Mission.

The Dunedin^ Star-" says: fWe Ita-ye reoeived a handso-rieiy-gbb-up volume eAtibled ' The Early History of the Catholic Church in Oceania,' being a translation fro-ri the'Prendh of a narrative compiled from the pages of a diary kept by, the Right lUiy. John Baptist Francis Pompalder. ■ The name of the author and hero of the story is held iri respect by all elapses in the Aopkland district, where he spent most of his time in New Zealand,■■'-•arid,th? tal? °j^ missionary enterprise unfolded in the seventy odd pages of this work will 'be perused with interest not only hy Wembera of the phuroh |p, yvhiph '$,% imiriediateljt addressed, but by others who can appreciate the quiet heroism which in those early dayj brought the best men to the front, aria enabled them to show the way in introducing civilisation among the natives .of the Southern Seas. Bishop : Poinpallieri traces the history of tho Apostolic vicariate of the Western Pacific from the time he was commissioned to the work by Dope Gregory XVI. in 1835 until, his return to Rome in 1846; and, though the narrative siriiply purports to describe the plan ting and growth of the Church in Oceania,it also contains much interestmg information in respetit to |bhe customs of the people whom the Bishop was brought into contact, and thu- constitutes a valuable addition to the general literature on the subject. The only regret one feels on perusing the work IS that the details mentioned are presented iri such a condensed ■form. Bishop Pontpallier was a scholar, and naturally a man* of eminent ability, and it would have been pleasing reading had ho given us more of bis own observations on the incidents of the stirring times when he firpt s-a'b foot in this and other partfji of Oceania. We must, however, take the book as it ii given to us; and, while regretting its brevity, we accept it with pleasure "..as .-"'a memeritb frbro brie who did his best to act) well his part under exceptionally trying circumstances. Bishop Luck has written an introduction to the voluirie, and there i>* a' frontispiece privin****: a likeneaa of thai author. The printing and binding of tho volume are such as would not disgrace the Old Cotiritry,^arid"it is 'a.feather in the cap of the Auckland Sxar to turn mt each good work.":':' '■' ■.-''.,""'.' '•' ■