MEMORIAL SERVICE

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 22, 26 January 1901, Page 3

MEMORIAL SERVICE

GATHERING AT THE TABERNACLE

Under the auspices of the Council of the Evangelical Christian Churches of the Auckland District a memorial service was held last evening in the Baptist Tabernacle. The columns in the front of the building were draped with festoons of crape, and the rostrum and communion table were covered with the same material, considerable artistic taste having been displayed in the decoration of the front of the platform, the draping- being- most eit'ective. His Worship the Mayor (Mr David Goldie) presided, and in addition to the speakers and other clergymen there were also on the platform Crs. Graves Aiekin, It. Tudehope, J. Patterson, It. Salmon and J. M. Hannan. A number of ministers of various denominations were also seated amongst the congregation. There was ;i very large attendance, almost all the available seating accommodation being occupied. Before the service commenced the organist, Mr J. H. Wells, played Uoeckel's "In Memioriam" impressively. The opening hymn, "0, God, Our Help in Ages Past," having been sung, the Key. Joseph Clark, President of the Church Council, engaged in prayer. The Rev. K. F. Macnicol next read Psalm x(/, commencing '"Lord, Thiou hast been our dwelling place iv all generations," after which the hymn "For Ever With the Lord" was sung. 'the Itev. B. L. Thomas, Secretary of the Congregational Union of .New Zealand, next engaged in prayer.

The Key. A. H. Collins, President of the New Zealand Baptist Union, next delivered an address. He said that under circumstances of ordinary bereavement and death it was a. custom to confine themselves to the words of Scripture and the attitude of prayer. They did that because they did not feel that in the passing- away of the lowliest there was much that might be said, and much that it might be grateful and profitable to hear. For death in all its solemnity was the same whether it. overtook the lowly and the obscure, or whether it .struck those in the highest places in the land. But at all such times they realised keenly the weakness and insufficiency of human words, however thoughtfully they might be designed, and they fell back, as by instinct, on the words of sacred Scripture and the primal attitudes of supplication and prayer. There were times, however, when that most fitting- custom was honoured in the breach, when absolute silence would be an affectation and out of place. When the heart and memory were full that repression was neither natural nor necessary. Such an occasion was that which called them together that night, and bid the speak praise of the dead. Death, like charity, covered a multitude of sins, but in this instance there was nothing but good could be said. They had met to honour the memory of the best beloved, most illustrious Sovereign that ever sat on England's Throne. On such a. theme the commonplaces of Christian charity were wanting, and altogether inadequate. This was no time for hopeless grief, and it was not the time for extravagant eulogy. They should speak well of the dead, but their words should be weighed and sincere, for words were sacred thing's, and should not be thrown about at random, even on an occasion like the present one. There were not many who came within the scope of an ordinary life who deserved the title "great," but °f *ne great

and gifted who gathered about the throne of their late Sovereign throughout her long reign, she was the greatest and noblest, and he might add the most Chi-istian of them all. Great in the keen, tenacious intellect, in the depth of a warm and tender human sympathy, great in the charm of her personal character, and greatest of all in her simple goodness. She had kept the vow of her girlhood, " I will be good." The part Her Majesty had played in English life and in" public affairs had been sound, beneficient, moral, and womanly. She had been remarkable for strong character for sound judgment, for good feeling, and for the stainless purity or her Court. It was these qualities that had endeared her to her people,so that her throne unto the last remained, "broad based upon her people's will, and encompassed by the inviolate sea." Thus reverentially and with sad hearts would they lay their poor tribute at the feet of the pure woman, the gracious mother, the noble Queen, confessing with humble affection that—

"By her life and by her deeds She wrought her people lasting good.''

The Chairman stated that the Rev. Mr Gillam, of St. Matthew's, had stated he would like to have been present, but was unable to do so. The hymn, "Who Are These Arrayed in White," was then sung.

The llev. H. 11. Dewsbury, Chairman of the Auckland District Wesleyan Methodists, said that was not an occasion for many words. A dark shadow rested not only upon England's Eoyal House, but upon the whole Empire. That shadow was felt wherever the English language was spoken, and in regions far beyond even those limits. The Empire was mourning- the loss of one of the choicest, one of the most precious g-ifts that (sod ever bestowed upon their much blessed Empire, the gift of a good and pious Queen, beloved not only as a woman, but also illustrous as a monarch. When would the world look upon her like again? How marvellously she used her exalted rank for the public good? How carefully she performed the many duties dwelling upon her high office, in circumstances of difficulty and danger. Their minds went back to that time, 64 years ago, when the muffled bell of St. Georg-e's tolled out the solemn requiem that the Sailor King William IV. was dead, and that Victoria was Queen. Their minds dwelt upon the scene, how when the Archbishop of Canterbury waited upon her, they knelt 5n prayer, and how she solicited of One higher for that wisdom God only could give to her to administrate that great responsibility, and, as she rose she said, "I will be good, indeed I will be good." It was with ■ grateful hearts they could stand there and say how well she had fulfilled the promise she had made when first she set her foot upon the throne. Amidst all her trial, public and private, she ever strove to realise- tile generous ideal of her life, to be good and to serve her country. Every organisation for the welfare of her people aroused her Interest and had her sympathy, for she tried to be one with her people. Per-

haps what endeared her most to her people was her simplicity of life, as shown by her familiar intercourse with crafters and cottagers. Amidst blighting sorrows, which almost overwhelmed her, for she had seen husband, sons, daughter, and grandchildren all borne to the grave, still she was glad to declare her sirength was in God, that undorneatli were the everlasting arms. During her longlife she had seen a most marvellous expansion of the Empire, and had towards the close, seen that Empire wonderfully bound together in the face of a common danger. Round her grave would be princes, peers, and statesmen, the whol e Empire would be draped with emblems indicative of mourning, and one-third of the world's population would on the day of her burial stand silent with sorrow that could not be voiced. There was something truly majestic in being mourned by the tears of a loving- people, for the tender, humane spirit of Victoria rests with God

The Itev., Henry B. Gray, of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, said lie v, as glad, although they had gathered together under the shadow of death, that another side had been presented to the picture. They had been reminded of th c gratitude and thanksgiving that was duo to God, for surely during the past sixty years there had been given to them as a nation one of the grandest and most precious of gifts, a good Queen. They ought as subjects be specially thankful for that goodness which had characterised the whole career of their Queen. When as a girl she was told that one day she might be Queen of England, she replied: "There is much splendour in the prospect, but there is more of responsibility." The spirit of that utterance had been the spirit of her whole career. Beyond the feeling of the splendour of her position had ever been the feeling of the vast responsibility with which she had been entrusted, and she never forgot the work that God had entrusted to her. He felt when thinking over the Queen's career that her faithful persistency in the life task entrusted to her was the most special feature of her character. Many a time she set aside other things she would have liked 1o help the nation. She never for an instant forgot that great, largefamily, her people, whom the Lord had given to her care. Sh e had one temptation especially strong, that she might under her trials turn away in weariness from her life's work. For twenty years she had perfect wedded life, and then she had to lay in the grave her consort, and yet not even that sorrow crushed her. She emei'ged from her grief more tender and wiser, to care for her people. They had had their prayers wonderfully answered. Often had they sang "God Save the Queen," and God in His innite mercy had answered their prayers. In His own great loving way God had answered their oft-repeated prayers by saving their Queen in health and strength for many, many years, had saved her by establishing her in the confidence of her loving people, until at the end of a long life Tie carried her spirit into His own blessed presence, where the sorrows of earth are all forgotten in joy at re-union with those she "loved long- since, and lost ■awhile."

"Cod Bless Our Native Laud" was sung, after which the Rev. W. S. Potter, president of the Primitive Methodist Conference of N.Z., engaged in prayer, and pronounced the lienediction.

As the solemn strains of the "Dead March in Saul" pealed forth from the organ the whole congregation rose simultaneously, and remained standing with bowed heads, many present being visibly affected. When the last note died away the people remained standing for a second or two, and then commenced slowly to leave the building.