THE OPENING OF THE DUNEDINCHRISTCHURCH LINE.

Press, Volume XXX, Issue 4094, 10 September 1878, Page 2

THE OPENING OF THE DUNEDINCHRISTCHURCH LINE.

:[BT OUB SPECIAL 3BPOBTEB;] ; IKOIDBNTB OV THB SCBIP. One of. the most notable 'incidents connected -with the celebration was;the grand gathering of Prassmeni ' From Auckland; to the Bluff every paper had ft representative, and at the close of the banquet on Saturday evening they all gathered at Watson's Hotel. Some idea of the number, present may be formed when I enumerate the towna, represented,vie.!—Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin; Inyercargill/ Christchurcb, Timaru, Oamaru, Palinerston, ' and Akaroa, As I hate stated, the courtesy and hospitality extended 1 to tie by our Duriedihv brethren during; our stay w*e : and their ■ kindness will long be remembered by tb> representatives of the Northern journals. Speh a gathering is. unprecedented : in the annals of. newspaper listory in New Zealand,, and!thus deserves record amongst the incidents of the celebration;;-" >'o !»•• <■■* :■•■„•. v>; ;-: j .-, Qμ, Sunday our party was dispersed? in 'various 5 dlrebtiqiißi The day, :wa3Mceednigljr"diemal, the i incessantly the whole time, making the last day of our stay amongst our hospitable entertainers anything but pleasant, so far as outdoor sight-seeing was ooncerned. A number, went off to hear Dr. Boseby preach at the. , Congregational Churoh on.the, eubjec,b of jtfi'e opening of thie jbunedin'and line. The reverend' gentleman preached,a, very able sermon, 'pointing ont that a great moralas well as material-effect would be the result. Chriitchurch thought that Dunedin was plannish; Dunedin thought Chriatchuieh > we*' uppish * STimaru thought Christchurch was exclusive, and Oamaru thought Dunedin was grasping. All these ideas arose from want of better knowledge of eanh other, whioh would be removed now. Altogether, Dr. Boseby preached a most eloquent and practical sermon. Others of our number went to St.-Paul's church, where a capital sermon was preached, followed by an organ recital lasting an hour or more, by Mr Towsey, which was a great treat. The organ of the church is one of the fineet in the colony, and Mr Towsey brought but its beauties most effectively. Another detachment paid a visit to the Princess's Theatre, where Mr Charles Bright was delivering ope of his free thought ' lectures entitled. "Tidings of Great Joy." These tidings, he explained, were the announcement of the sweeping away of the restrictions which had existed so long against men freely speaking their minds concerning the Bible revelations, kc. Though the night was most unpleasant and the streets muddy, I was surprised to see so large an attendance. The andience, which was composed mainly of grave, shrewd looking Scotchmen, paid the deepest attention to the lecturer, and applauded heartily when any special point was made my him. I muet confess my surprise that Freethought should be so popular as it undoubtedly is in the capital of Presbyterian I Otago. In the afternoon some of the members went to the Jewish' Synagogue to witness the presentation of new rolls of the Sacred Law. As the whole of the ceremony was in Hebrew, they did not appear to be very much enlightened. The evening was spent by the members of our party taking leave of the many kind and hospitable friends met with during our short "Stay and preparing for a return home. ..■...'.'." V r t » HOTBS OK W BAlfQtrBT. I have already given you an account of the banquet in Q-uthrie and Larnach's building, but of course I could not in the telegram give: some little notes by the way on the banquet. Though it was understood that politic* were interdicted, yet political feeling ran high. W&en the Postmaeter-G-eneral w» epeakinsr, he lauded Mr Moorhouse over Sir Julius Vogel. Instantly there arose a storm of hisses, which showed pretty plainly the feeling of a number of those present. This was again msnifesled by the of cifeer* wleneyor Sir Julius Yogel'e nime was meotioned, culminatiiig in a perfect

ovation when his health was nrft Those speeches which were the recording pressmen were renllv ty cellent spe imens of eloquence a w " these I may notice for especial hu Excellency's reply to the health, Captain TownsSiend's renmki * defence of the colony, Judge Bat'i*? t! " railway., and Mr G. M. O'Rorke n,'™, °? ing for the General Assembly.' TV?* named gentleman, in graceful and P l nn "' tonus, spoke of tho grand reception whi-ui been accorded by tho Dunedin people -n Rev. Dr. Stuart's .peech, in propoih, B T Press, wns also capital, ar.d the mil, h X' George Bell, a veteran provincialist the B prietor of the " Evening Star," was one o f a best speeches on the subject it haa btm fortune to listen to. As to the b»nn° J itself it was certainly magnificent, perhani of tho beet ever given in the colony. '

THK BBTDBN TBIP. Seven o'clock am. was the hour i BtH-ting, and by t.h.vt hour the Dunpdin nU foim was crowded with retur-ing t«y«»» His Worship the Mayor of fhjueairT. ,, there to speed his parting g Ue «te, and goodly number of citizem. The cirrito were quickly filled to overflowing— the kr.o ing ones, who had anticipated the hoiirof starting by come few minutes, securing iv most comfortable seats. Mr Conyert to whose untiring efforts throughout the ttlnfo make ue comfortable we are indebted in small degree, gave the signal for our deDat ture, and at 7.20 the return trip was W n ' Aa we glide out of tho etation yard tome ci! plosives placed beneath the wheels give m parting salute, and a hearty cheer is railed bt the crowd, which is returned from the trai/ The run down to Burkes Brewery, wW a tjj. Port Chalmers train crosses ours, 13 (j 0B ! pretty smartly, and here the train <Jra»» up and a wait occurs. Considerable anxiety is expressed to know the reason of the detention, which lasts f M some time. Enquiries are made of the r»Q. way officials, and it is stated that the enoint! driver of the Port Chalmers train, who uadej the block system should have brought the staff with him indicating that he was in session of the road, has forgotten that iipcej.' eary article, and therefore pulled up K]Slt distance off. However, this is arranged after a delay of some twenty minutes, and wj 4r , again en route. The rain, which is now foj], iug heavily, provonts any enjoyment of the scenery around Blueskin Bay, and tUensouß. tains are covered with mist. A brief stay is made for wator at Hampdan. At Pftlmerston there is a halt of a few momenb and then a rush on to Oamaru. After & short halt to enable ns to refresh, wo eW, our engine from the double bogie F&irlje wbioh has brought us so far, to the American one, rejoicing m the name of Waibiogton. Full speed is put on to make up for our detention at Burkes, and Timaru is reached shortly after three o'clock. From hag to town but one halt is made.—at Ashburkra— and that for a very brief period. At 735 Chrietchurcb is reached, and the trip is over.' A banquet, givon by the Southern mombcri of the Assembly to the ladies and thoie from the North at Wearing's Hotel, closes the «!«. bration so far as Ohristohurch is concerned and the Northern contingent depart by ipeciu train to go on board the Hinemoi. The whole of the arrangements were in ifo hands of Mr Horace Bastings, M.H.8., vi his provision was perfeot. Everything wa done to odd to the comfort of memben, and if anyone deserves a memento of the trip it it the gentleman referred to. Througioat tie whole celebration has been a complete jnisiesj, and not one hitch occurred to mat fca «\ C v santnoss of the trip or the enjoyment ot&a who took part in it.