PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH MILTON.

Bruce Herald, Volume VI, Issue 404, 7 February 1872, Page 4

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH MILTON.

ANNTJAL SOIREE

On Thursday evening last the annual soiree in connection with the Presbyteria n Church here, took place. ; ",. During the preliminary tea-drinking- portion of the. programme, notwithstanding the -temptation of attentive and hospitable ladies, the audience was not so numerous as on some previous occasions. The provision made j».t the thirteen tables was more than ample for double the number, and .the three large coppers outside were, by no means over-taxed in keeping pace with tlie demands of the indefatigable stewards. The tables were most liberally provided,, and presided over by Mesdames iChisholin, Duthie, Murray, M'Gill, Salmond, Lindsay, Carson, Neill, M'Millan and Gray, J. E. Brown, Cunninghame, and G-oodall. The Rev. A. B. Arnot pronounced the blessing. Tea over, and the material connected therewith removed, che more important portion of the business was commenced by the sinking of the " Old Hundredth Psalm." The Rev. Jas. Caisholm, the pastor of the congregation, thereafter called upon one of the elders who acts as Treasurer, Mr James ! Elder. Brown, to read the annual financial report, which he did as follows :— FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF TOKOMAIaIBO PRESBYTERIAN OH OH OH For the year ending 31st December, 1871. INCOME. 1871. £ s. d. £ s d. To Sustentation Fund, i June 123 13 0 December ... 120 10 6 244 3 6 Extraordinary Collections. To Bethel Union Fund 6 4 9 „ Ministers' Passages 3 5 0 Church Extension 4 15 0 „ Sabbath School ... 415 i) 19 0 6 Missions. To Missionary Association (Ladies') ... 40 0 0 „ Children's Sabbath School (Day Spring Maintenance) ... 21 0 0 61 0 0 Ordinal y Collections. To Church Door Collections for the half-year ending June ... ... 81 6 1 December ... 71 14 5 „ (Includes £8 Is 8d from Glenore Station.) „ Deficiency of 1871 0 6 0 153 6 6 Building Fund. To Balance from 1870 69 33 0 „ Seat Rents, 1871 179 10 0 Interest on Deposit .Receipts ... 111 0 250 14 0 £728 4 6 EXPENDITURE. 1871. By Sustentation Fund to Synod Treasurer, Tune 123 13 0 December ... 120 10 6 244 3 6 Extraordinary Collections. By Bethel Union Collection paid ... 6 4 9 „ Ministers' Passages to Synod Treasurer 3 5 0 „ Church Extension 415 0 „ Sabbath School (in hand) ... ... 415 9 39 0 6 Missions. By Mission Funds to Synod Treasurer... 40 0 0 „ Sabbath School ... 21 0 0 61 0 0 Ordinary Collections. By paid Ministers' Sup • plement 82 0 0 „ Church Officer ... 20 0 0 -„ Precentor ... 20 0 0 „ Insurance Church and Manse ... 11 9 0 y, Synod Expenses... 4 0 0 -„ Presbytery ... 2 0 0 , } Repairs and Cleaning about Church 4 9 9 ,-, Ad v c rtising and Printing .. v 0.19.-6 . „ Communion. El c - ments and- Sundries ... ... 511 3 „ Deficiency of 1870 217 0 153 6 6 Building Fund. By Repairs of Church Tower, &c. ... 80 16 1 „ Manse Garden Fence ... .... 13 810 . „ Addition to Manse 55 14 6 „ Porch and Grate for Session House ... 913 6 „ Interest paid ..,-. 30 12 0 „ Balance in hand, Dec. 30lh, 1871 ... 60 9 1 250 14 0, : ; £728 4 6 Loans,- 1871 --. ... 306 0 0 „ Reduced by balance SOshDec, 1871... 60 9 1 -„ Balance due ... 245 10 11 Whole Income for 18? i; . 635:14 [ 6; JameS Ebder BjroWn, . . > Church Treasurer; - •■: - ." i 3 jr j j. ( Henrt Clark' Audited and found correct, j Jas Pakla^ He ; then remarked that notwithstanding the 1 depressed state of trade generally, vtpgeth er with the almost certainty of poor : crops; and probable continued low prieea for- produce,; i t was ;highiy gratifying ton nd that there .ya's but very little falling off on the whole, of tW ; :

contributions of the c >hgrega tioh daring the past year, which could only be attained by increased exertion and liberality on the part , of the members. After analysing and coim paring the different items" corresponding with those of last year, he said that he particularly desired to draw attention to. the item of church-door collections. It was, he said, particularly desirable that there should? Be some increase in this item, and he would respectfully desire to make some explanations regarding it. as some of the riiembers' might not be aware to what purposes these collections were devoted. After paying the ordinary fixed expenses of the church, the remainder of the collections vfere used in supple menting the salary of their minister ; and as the dividend from the Sustentation Fund was this year less than formerly, it was to be regretted that the collections at the church door were such that they would not suffice to make the salary up to the standard of li3oo —an amount, he considered," their minister was entitled to. He deemed it right io draw their attention to the subject, arid he trusted that- efforts would be made to contribute more largely to such a desirable object. He was glad to find that the slight .castigation that he felt called upon to give to the children in connection with their collections for missions last year, had had a most excellent effect. . The, very handsome sum of L2l had this year been collected by the Sabbath school children on behalf of . the New Hebrides Mission.

Mr Neill moved that the report be adopted and printed.; seconded by Mr Johnstone, and carried nem con.

The Chairman then said he had no formal report from the Session to submit. The financial state might be considered a fair -index of the spiritual state of the congregation, and judged by this rule it might safely be assumed as satisfactory. He thought the contributions of the people were really good, as there were many circumstances which prevented them from being more liberal, and withmit some special efforts he feared they wonld be even less so. People had, no doubt, at first, after the present depressed state of thing 3 had set in, tried to hold on and maintain their contributions, but he feared that many would be forced into that position by long continued depression of having to curtail their subscriptions, but as long as people were doing their best what could be said. The amount collected for Missionaiy purposes was very creditable, and he could not too earnestly impress upon them the value of cultivating a missionary spirit. Selfishness was at all times a bad policy, for it was only when they allowed their sympathies to flow out towards V- ci: fellow men, that they could expect to :ea'ize a rich return of blessing. He was specially pleased with the large share Avhich had been collected by the children, and it was well to encourage and train children to the habit of giving. Their Sabbath School was in a prosperous state. There was an average attendance of 120 children, and lie thought it wonld do many of their hearts good to come and listen to the fresh and hearty voices o° the children praising God on Sunday mornings. The school wa3 under the superinte idence of Mr M'Latchie, who entered with his whole soul into the go >d work. He was assisted by others in whom he had confidence ; and he urged upon parents the duty of s*nd ing their children to the Sabbath School— an institution which hai been and wns productive of great good. He had shortly after his arrival amongst them established a Bible class, which, he was glad to say, had been well attended. He thought, in the present day, there was nothing more important than that their young people should be well grounded in the faith, and to accomplish this it was essential to be fully conversant with Biblical history. The prayer meetings had not been so well attended as he could have wished. These meetings were extremely helpful in keeping men from that gross materialism, so apt to be engendered by unremitting attention to the affairs of the world ; and he trusted that more would feel disposed to come and meet together, to provoke each other to love and every good work. As regarded the preaching of the gospel, he had en-leavored to speak simply and foi'cibly, and he had reason to apprehend that it had not been unattended with good l-esults ; but to make the preaching of the Word more successful, he had to invite their earnest and united prayers. Mr Chisholm then said there were two questions on which he should like to say a word, for he believed they would prove, during the year, a battle ground, productive of great good or great evil to society, according to the results attained tc. These were the questions of Education and Temperance. Ho would not occupy their attention with many remarks at that time on the subject, but would earnestly call upon them not only as members of the community but as a congregation, _to give earnest heed and study to these subjects, so that their minds might be fully made up upon them. He advised them to read the able and earnest speeches of Messrs Fox and Clarke published in 'Hansard' of last General Assembly. Mr Chisholm then read three of the resolutions passed at the late Synod-, and specially directed their attention to the third. In it was shown that parents should have the chief interest in aud control of education. The family system was the basis of all civil society, and on this subject Father Hyacinthe said that " the salvatiou and regeneration of France would only be accomplished by an entire remodelling of the family system." Mr Chisholm, in conclusion said he wa3 glad to see so many present. He was pleased to say there was a stranger amongst them, the Rev. Mr Bachhouse, agent for the British and Foreign Bible Society ; and doubtless they would be glad to hear the advocacy of its claims from him.

The Choir then sang the anthem — " The Earth is the Lord's."

The Rev. Mr.Bachhouse rose and said that he felt on the present occasion somewhat as an intruder, as this was. he understood, a special "meeting to consider congregational matters, arid what concerned the progress and spread of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the cause of vital religion; but as his mission embraced all these matters he might be permitted to occupy their, attention for a short time. After alluding to the very business-like report, and the gratifying information it contained, especially referring to the pleasing intelligence it convene I t'> him of the manifest interest tli9 congregation took in mission work, flatteringly testified to the kindness and hospitality he had received from the very first hour he had landed in New Zealaad. After some excellent remarks regarding- the difficulty of training up chiU dren in the niirtu: e\ and ' admonition of the Lord, arid ur/ging ,the : hecossity of increased family piety,' he said that he felt convinced that the greater; family piety . was . extended, the- greater [would^ be* the. s\iccess ; , of the Church. He then referred to t.ie love which , Presbyterians have for the* Bible. : ,' It: was *"oti the influence pf the BiWle that Spotland | had ■ attained her high '■ an d ; : honorabl e, iposk tion amongst the nations of the earth, and

knowing this, they would see it to be\ their bounden duty to, give the Holy Bible to- ! the whole world. Christianity, ■■ although introduced more than 18 centuries ago, occupied but a small place in the f world, and by far the larger portion was" still ignorant of the Bible, and full of the habitations of cruelty. It was calculated that there werei;2oo,ooo 000. of people on the earth, and of this mass of human being 3 only 500,000,000 were nominally Christians. Tospread the knowledge of the Bible amongst all' the nations of the world, was : a great and gloriou.3 work, and. well-had the Society he represented done its share during the past 70 years, for it was only at that recent date it was established. There wa3 a good old custom prevalent in his boyish days that would be well still t6 keep np — viz., the making of the little ones learn and repeat the text of the sermon they hear on the, Sabbath day This 'custom had something to -do with the establishment of the Bible Society. There was aMr Charle3 travelling in Wales, and ho happened, as was his habit, to ask a little girl what was the text ; her answer was that the weather was too bad'f or her to learn it. At first he could not understand it, but on enquiry found tnat Bibles were' so scarce that the little ' girl would have had to walk some considerable distance to some "old granny, "where she could get a Bible to learn it from. Mr Charles brought the subject before some of his friends, and at first started with thd der sign of supplying the people of Wales 'with the Bible, but soon the question was put— Why not to the whole world ? This was the beginning of the British and Foreign Bible Society. When it was started there were only 4 000,000 copies of the Bible in existence in the whole world, while during last year alone, the same number was printed and circulated. In the 68 years sin je the Society was'fturly organised, it had issued 64,030,000 copies. , But this was not all that this society had a right to be credited with, as it had been the means of starting other societies, and the total number of Bibles that had been published by the socienes as a whole was no less a number than 124,000,000. After illustrating by anecdotes the value and necessity of translations of the Bible into various languages. Mr Bachhouse wentjontosay that at the beginning of the Society the Bible was only printed in 50 languages, whereas now it was to be found in 220, which might fairly be considered an extension and perpetuation ot the scene at Pentecost. Besides supplying all the various missions in the world, the Society during the late war in Europe' had issued and circulated amongst the soldiers of France and Germany 1,500,000 copies of the scriptures. When at Emerald Hill, Victoria, a few weeks ago, at the Rev. Dr M 'Donald's, he met Sir Inglis, one of the New Hebrides missionaries, and it reminded him that the Aneitum version of the Bible was greatly due to the Bible Society, inasmuch as they had given a grant towards it of LSOO. The reverend .gentleman concluded a very interesting and able address (leaving out the " soft sawder," which was not appreciated, although provocative of a smile) by expressing his heartfelt' desire and prayer that the God of the Bible might be the God of them all, and that his choicest blessings might be theirs. — (Applause.) The choir then sang the anthem — " Sing unto God."

The Rev. A. B. Arnot first addressed a few observations to the meeting on the subject of voluntary work in connection with the congregation, expressing pleasure at the state of the report as to the Sabbath Schools, but expressing regret to hear of the falling off of the attendance at the prayer meetings. He then said that although a bachelor, and consequently might be supposed not to know much of the subject, he intended to make a few remarks on the family, and the training of children, especially urging the great and primary power ani responsibility which rested with the mother in regard to early training, paying a tribute to some mother in his late charge of Balclutha for her great success in that work. Mr Arnott was listened to attentively throughout, and on the whole gave a most excellent address.

Choir—

'■ The Heavens are Telling."

The Rev. Wm. Gillies, in a few humorous remarks, con gratulated the minister of the congregation on his improved condition (referring to his marriage) as compared with last year. After touching upon a few points in connection with the financial report, he said that in the matter of church door collections he had observed that in the colony parents were in the habit of putting in Is or 2s 6d, or whatever sum they pleased, while the children were allowed to pass the church door without giving anything. Now, what he would like to impress upon them was, that for the purpose of training their children to give, it would be far better were they to divide the Is or 2s 6d amongst all the members of their families. Early training, to give, was as essentially necessary as in general education. He remarked that he hoped that they would not be offended at him mentioning what were failings because he did it before their face, and when this -was done there was no wrong, no harm it was in telling one anothers failings behind each others backs that was wrong — aye, even a grevious sin. He then referred to the pleasant, manner in which Mr Backhouse had appealed to Scotchmen's pride, and endeavored to work upon their sympathies. He said that Scotchmen, however, were not the only people who were guilty of sometimes showing a little too much r ride of country. He had read of a boast made that Canterbury was altogether English, from a " Bishop" to a barn door fowl." He was as proud of being a Scotchman, and loved old Scotland as dearly as any one, but he thought it was a mistake in a mixed community, such as was to be found in the colonies, to be prominently and constantly parading -the good qualities Of any particular country. The Scotch were very often credited -with a go.od deal more than they deserved, and blamed for a good deal for which they werG-not responsible, and, he believed, it was just the same with regard to other nationalities, and he regretted to 'say tlwt very often too many were to te found ready to assume what really did not ' belong to them. I\ r instance, there was not a more 6om.non belief than that the Confession of Faith, the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, or, as the latter was called, the Scotch Catechism,, were the work of Scotchmen. It was certainly ndt so. Thise were the fruits of the labors of an Assembly of Divines, specially coTed' by Act of Parliament to define and settle the Liturgy and Doctrines *of the ' Church of England. The Assembly was chiefly composed of Episcopalians; a few Independents ; and although there were six Scotchmen present taking .part in its deliberations, they had no vote^ on any one" question Englishmen yirr-pai 4 ! ticular were found very often speaking in a sneering mariner of the " Scotch" Catechism," . as if i t were the production of Scotchmen, but : hadvih : ey^knrtwnimtory ! andihat-'ife v _was t: th.B' production mainly of English Divines - they • would perhaps "change . their' sentiments towards it. * It: Was an English; 'woik adopted by the 1 Scotch 2 churches -because of :■ ■

its thorough;; Scriptural character and inherent excellence. The Westminster Assembly who compiled it consisted of 123 members ■ only 5 Independents,; 4 Scotch 'ministers, and 2 elders, these latter were allowed to give, their opinions, bub did not vote on any one. question. He thought it well in these days when so much was said regarding catechisinr that these historical facts Should be referred to and made known especially to the young. 1 $Lr' Gillie 3 then said, that at last meeting of Synod it had been suggested: that at special seasons the ministers should explain to their congregations the distinctive principles of Presbyterianism, now whilst he did hot think' it so necessary now when education was so generally diffused, and infor-mation-through books so easily obtained to occupy so much of the time of the minister in what was termed catadiisuv?, a3 it was at one' time, he tho,ughfc perhaps the present was a very good opportunity of saying a few 7 words on the subject The subject he recognised was one of very great importance, and his experience went to prove to him that a. very large ainourit of ignorance prevailed iftregard to it, especially among the younger members of the congregations. He pointed out that many looked upon matters, which were really non-eS3entials in practice, as the marrow of Presbyterianism, at the same time they were entirely ignorant of its real and substantial foundations. He might instance the practice of sitting while singing, and the absence of instrumental music in the church services. These were non-essentials and had nothing to do with the principles of Presbyterianism. The church might be equally Presbyterian— with instrumental music as without, if it was the mind Of the church to have it— of course, he recognised uniformity as Something to look to. Men who ' opposed immaterial changes requisite to ke3p pace with a more advanced, and more highly educated age, by appealing to the fathers of the system, were not their true descendants and followers. In their time the fathers were men of progress ; and, did they live now, would be amongst the staunchest supporters of any change to suit the circumstances V.f the advanced period in which they' lived. The three grand leading principles on which Presbyterianism rested were — Ist, Unity of the Church ; 2nd, Equality of the Ministers ; 3rd, Representation of the people in all the Church courts. The speaker most honestly and firmly held that these three leading principles were taught in the scriptures ; and were they embodied in any church, he was, so far as church government and practice were concerned, quite ready to remodel the practice and forms and unite with it. The first principle was opposed to the Independents, and held by the Episcopalians. The second was approved of by the Independents, and rejected by Episcopalians ; and the third was recognised by Independents, and, until recently, not allowed by Episcopalians He was glad, however, to know that in New Zealand, at least, it was now competent for laymen to take part in the government of the English Church. He recognised to the full the value and importance of sound Church government, but it was i.ot the citadel, but only a useful bulwark. Ha upheld Presbyterianism, not because of its outward forms, non-essential in themselves, bub because of its holding Christ as the one true and only head of the Church, surrounded by the scriptural principles which he had referred to. and asserted the just claim which any church maintaining them had to the appellation of the Holy Apo3tolic Church of Christ. He concluded a most valuable address, and one of a character displaying liberal Christian views, which, if more pervading, Presbyterians as a body, would tend to break down those feelings of antagonism, which we regret to say are too prevalent between churches and nationalities in our midst, by assuring them that neither creed nor forms of government could secure their salvation, the great end of Christianity. He would earnestly counsel them to learn to love the Lord Jesus with all their heart, soul, strength and mind, and then they would practically learn to be in their Jives not only hearers of the Word, but doer< of it, showing forth to the world the bless, d and peaceful fruits of the Spirit's work.

The Chairman said that any of those present who might feel disposed t > form a Committee fo establish a branch of the Bible Society in Tokomairiro, should stay after the meeting closed. Mr Bachhouse suggested, as it was getting late, that those around him would form the nucleus of a Committee, and that they would be Happy to add to their number. Mr Adam, in a somewhat humorous speech, proposed a vote of thanks to the ladies for the excellent provision they had made, which was passed by acclamation. [It is a great pity that expressions quite uncalled for, and not at all calculated to cement the bonds of friendship and harmony should be made use of at any time, especially on such an occasion as a church soiree, when so many English friends were present. - l Empty-headed-ness " is to be found amongst Scotchmen as well as amongst Englishmen, and the use of such expressions on such an occasion only betrays a coarseness of feeling, and want of educated refinement, not at all creditable to the party making use of them.] Mr Strain proposed a vote of thanks to the choir for the pleasing part they had taken in the proceedings. Mr Lindsay, in moving a vote of thanks to the speakers, expressed that he had qualms of conscience as to including Mr Gillies. He then exhibited a considerable power of memory by repeating a rather lengthy piecu of poStry, the spirit of which was, as far as we could catch, " Give thanks." The choir then sang, *' Holy Bord." Mr Chisholra concluded the proceedings by pronouncing the benediction.