SEDDON MEMORIAL PULPIT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 231, 23 June 1908, Page 8

SEDDON MEMORIAL PULPIT.

v STRIKING SERMON BY BISHOP . _ JULIUS. v ';,/'' [JEW ZEALAND'S LITTLENESS. FORGETFULNESS OF. GREAT MEN.' Tho memorial ' pulpitpresented to St. pro-Cathedral 'by .Mrs. ; Seddon in momory of > the late Prime" Minister -was dedicated by tho Rt. Rev. Dr. Julius, Bishop of -\' Christchurch, at a special.servico held last • ovening. The church . was - filled, the Pre- • mior and Lady Ward, the Horn Dr. Findlay nad Mrs. Findlay,. the Hon. W; liall-J ones, and other members of tho Ministry, being among .those-present. ' ' . Tho; service was ■"of- a ' very impressive nature. The. special Psalm, was Psalm xc, " Lord, thou hast been our refuge,'' special ■ hymns" For ever with tho Lord," "On the' resurrection morning," and " 0 God of ■ Jacob; by Whoso hand," and tho choir sang very beautifully Sullivan's'" Wreaths for-our Craves."- :Jv -- ■ ' Tho Rev. W.;S. Bean, vicar of St. Mary's, 'Addingtori, Christchurch, and a so-n-in-law, of / the lataPremier, read the, Lesson; which was from Romans x. The Bishop; Archdeacon Fancourt, and tiio Rovs. T. H. Sprott, W. S. ' Bean, and A. Do H.!Robinson, took part in :tho "dedication corcmony,. which wa3 .of a i' veij solemn nature. Bishop'Juliu3 said the special prayers and* final -words' of' dedica- .' fcion:— -■■ ' ' ; '"To tho glory of God and in memory • «*.of Richard Seddon, wo dodicato this pul-, ' pit,'iii tho riamo of the Father, and of 'the Son," and "of tho Holy Ghost." A STRIKING SERMON. ' - Bishop i Julius then preached, a' very "elo-" qneut sermon, taking as his text' - Psalm aXXI,I4,'"I am-clean forgotten, as a dead

■ ' man, cut .of mind."' That the dead wero quickly out of inind, said tho Bishop, was an old story, told in familiar-words in every . 'ago'of human history. There was' a natural " : craving to bo. remembered ' after' our "dayjs „*!';■ work- wa3, done, at least for a while, but it

was a .'craving that -was but rarely, satisfied. /- * Tho name might be remembered.for a.-whilo; ; the mail was forgotten. .'And yet it was-hot always so. One of tho- glories of , the Old Land ,was tliat it was, peopled with memories, !-V that the whole country was monumental, s!■ that every: town. and. every village had; some v -t record of. tho past. some, storj' of the lives / .that had : boon: There was, as it were, in i- . all ■ the old lands, an upper house of the dead, an upper liouso which served to steady . tho instabilities of the living, to maintain ...■■■ i;ho continuity of :■ national life and ■; pro- , ' . gress, r but above-all,- to stimulate to, high . r ' • , achievement and; noble service, those - whoso life was yet - before, therii. ■ Who over could ' pass, down dusty, weary; Eleet Street, with its-pressof business, without'thought .of •• thoso old warriors that'lay'hard by, , who ' had work in'days now'past?.Was, • ; there, any place in the Old Land iWliere there .was:not some' record 'of high achievement, , : Bbme' institution'' that told. or the great and holy work of the', past, - that did not call to the living, "jGo and do likewise." -When.the' Bishop >of Salisbury, was in New : Zealand :.ho coniplained that 'it was without associations; its its valleys and hills , alike were barren .of human' interest.!'. There . was no story of ihuman life, nothing written upon our rooks to. move us to high service. , ... Small Respoct for Monuments. . ■■■■■■ " Nor, indeed; havo we much regard.to the poor memorials that are," pursued His Lord- : ship. "Many .years ago,- with much labour and cost, - t-hey^-raised' in 'Christcburch : a ■i ::. ' memorial to the founder of tho Canterbury Association, the .founder of the province. p-.-- -To-day the statue' endeavours ,to .look .over ;: : | tho hideous T00f : of .a tramway 'shed, and- . men; ask lit our papers, ' Who was .Godley ?.'. .ij What did he:do?' ' Why"'should he. stand . ' encumbering'the very best .place ra the city ?':■ ' Why'not move him elsewhere, or be rid of ■ him? \ : Two years ago Richard Seddon, worn 'yfj out.with 1, toilafter.many labours, laid down v . f his life. On this his birthday we Temeinber his life, with 'what ; strenuous effort he fought and w,on his 'way I to the front, by'what services'he commanded -.the esteem ; and respect of the 'people of this v. ; . '.country,' with what ■ commanding ability he > :.• gained the foremost'place in the colony, how i : friends gathered round him, how his ; foes ''learned to respectand admire him, how he J:' stood', among us little . people as a■' giant among pigmies, and how men would doanything for him, vote for him, work for him, V'; fight for him;'and,'as it was proved, do anything but raiso a memorial to him. For. when ; • he died .it-is with, him as with so many, that • men are ready to forget. ■ ■ > Mo Scnsa of Proportion.

'■"-Now, it '-may; be said that there is'.'con- * fessedly: a lack of , the sense of proportion '• ' among- us in New, Zealand—no doubt about it is possible, as we-may argue now, that ho was not necessarily so great because he- was great ;in New Zealand. It is perfectly ; truo -that .we have, an. exaggerated ' ' senso. of our own importance : and greatness, and the interest, that attaches to ourselves. 'jlf he could .riot, bear, witness .to this, the Bishop said, let the newspapers bear witness =to it. At' this moment there- was a: great conference proceeding' in England, and ;what did i we: hear about it. We heard that : ono New Zealander said ; this and another New Zealander - said that, but. of the great . things done arid said we heard nothing. Wo : only heard what'touched 'our littlo inter- ■. ests 1 , and;.-if anybody knew s the temper and ' pulse of the New'.Zealand public, it was tho :: Press."lt is .no good telling' New Zealan- " ijers of real.things, of great movements that • touch world intorests, but we must tell them -. Bomething: that, touches Wellington, or Christchuroh, or some little centre.in New Zoaland.. You know;that-that,is so, it is very hard to realise that if wo wore blotted oiit .of .oxistenco England.,would go into eight' days' ;-mourning, and ■ the Admiralty would wipcus of its charts.

• ■ influence of Great. Men. j .' " It is no shame to lis that.'wo are little," ■ raid .tho preachcr. " Far otherwise! But. r ; being littlo, ..it -is. very. groat . shamo • for "u3_ .to forget, after a little time, - the ~. memories , of men who, .with , great thoughts, with wide-horizons, and with public spirit, ■ 'have : sought . to lift' us up, to make us better and greater and • stronger'.than wo v. :. are.' W© can't .dispense with the memories i:' .of those men;.the mero looking forward, as 1 we are apt to-look, is riot enough for us." We must look backward, also, to' the men \ : "who, in their day, wrought well ; and ■ v . solidly for the ■ nation.". ' It were a vory - 1 shame .for- us that" we • should , gather round a leader, "fall-at his very'feet, • :'.hear his.words, and when ho.is taken from ,us in the midst of his labour, go our way ■ and leave him as from his grave to say ' I am . clean forgotten as a dead man out of mind.' . Mr. Setltion. Not Forgotten. • 11 But I,say that Richard Seddon' is not forgotten. .'Democracy is very child-like, in ■''. ' its simplicity, its instabilities; and if,; as r>ome.one has said, selfishness is bound I 'up in the heart of a ■ child, very likely it is " in that respect also. It is the public as such that forgets its groat men, its honcured leaders, the men who have wrought ' nnd-can 'serve, no longer, but,it may bo— who C2U tell—that tho best heritage .which • ho left us i 3 not tho public services. I do ~' not know, but I almost think that all his public services were overborne by tho ex•v.(' ample which ho gave, to the whole.community of domestic virtue. To mo at least ho - seems —I knew ..him well, and ho stands before mc—as the very .fig lire and example of - n good husband and loving, true and affec•>,.tionate father.' And I don't know, of any service that a man can render to this coun- > try of greater worth than this,-that lie should givo lis a high oxamplo of domestic virtues." • After his public services wero put .aside ■ tjieso would remain; and in the hearts which went out with the gift of that pulpit' in which tho preacher stood wero love and grati- '> tude that would never forget while life : ' lasted.: Mr. Seddon lived in the hearts and ' affections of those who had known him best. Ho referred'to tho old friends of. West

Coast days, to. friends in every town of the Dominion, for whom the late Premier over had a kindly word, as men who loved him well, and who'would'not forget. ,Tho Late Premier, and the Church. This pulpit was a suitable memorial, for Mr. '■ Seddon was a strenuous man, and- " again anil again lie has lamented in speech with mo the weakness and slackness of the Church. 'How could it do so little, and yet bo intrinsically so strong?' 'How was it so faint?' . 'What a power,' I have heard him say, 'the Church of England might be, if she only knew her strength, if sho only had faith in' God.' Ho: was a great man, 'and he looked with sorrow on a great Church that might do such mighty deeds for God, but, for want of'earnestness, want of faith, want of sincerity arid devotion, want of love and of fear of God, studied God's word and did so ■little." And, in conclusion, tho public might "forget, but God did not. forget. Ho did not .forget tho love for the poor and weak'and helpless, tho honest, faithful, domestic life, the private virtues-that never found their way into the newspapers, the servant that, with all'his faults and errors, yet, with a big heart and great courage, and a desire (o honour God, did try to uso the powers with which Ho ■ had entrusted him, for the welfare of the masses, for the good of v the country and the Empire, and to the glory of God. "So wo say, at last, 'Oh! God, remember him when moil forget,' may God grant that in that day ho may bo had in everlasting remem-| brance." .