PRESENTATION OF AN ADDRESS TO BISHOP SELWYN.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3509, 14 October 1868, Page 3

PRESENTATION OF AN ADDRESS TO BISHOP SELWYN.

i It has seldom-been our lot to wituesa bo interesting a uieetiag as that of tho membeis of the Choral Society and their fi lends in the new Music Hall last evening. Ap&it frO'n the fact that the concert was the concluding one of the past year's aeries, and the opening oue in the Society's new hall, there was one item in the programme above all calculated to stir the heart of every one present, namely, the pr.senta- ( tiou of a farewell addiess from the members of the Stoifcfcy to their fellow member and patron the Lord Bishop of New Zealand. To this the whole of the remainder of the programme seemed most appropriately to bear reference. It is at all tiise3 a painful task to bid farewell to oue whom we love and respect ; but in the parting which took place last evening there was much of joyful hope. We are confident that the leminucences of the occasion will always be most gratifying alike to his Lordship and the Society. Having already given a description of the capacious hall which is henceforth to be the scene of the Society's la'iouis, we have ouly now to add that it i has beea prored to be in every way admirably i adapted for that purpose .Notwithstanding the enla 1 geJ accommodation, every seat was occupied, and tn.wiy had to stand throughout the performance. The programme bad been tastefully selected, though somewhat lengthy— not terminating until nearly midnight. It embraced excerpts from some of the favourite oratorios performed by the Society. Ihe first pait opened with selections from Haydn's " Creation," commencing with that strange introduction representing the chaotic confusion of rue element before tho creation of lieht. The solo, " With veidure clad," was very well rendered by a lady possessing a fine voice of vast compass. The celebrated choun "The heaveus are telling" was given with excellent effect. Mr. Yates pleased u», especially in the i«ie "ln native worth;" and Mr. Farrow aud Mr. Austin both fang the parl3 allotted to them with their accustomed ability. With the exception of oue tolo, which was fairly sung by an amateur of considerable promise as a vocalist, the who c of the Imss solos were undertaken by the fir&t-nau ed gentleman. The "St. Paul," which followed nex , was decidedly the gem of the evening. The chorus of Christiaus, " Lord, thou alone Jirt God," the chorale, "Sleepers, wake,' and the evei -beautiful chorus, " flow lovely are the messenger?," could hardly have been excelled. Aud the air "Jerusalem, that killest the prophets," being most exquisitely sung by a lady amateur, elicited an involuntary burst of Apt-latise. The selections from this oratorio ended with, tho scene of th* departure of the from the elders of the Church at Epheau-, " And when he had thuj spukiu, he kueeled down and prayed with tlum all. And they accompauied him into tue ship, ard saw his face no more. 1 ' As the concluding strains died away, the Rev. D. Bruce desceuded from the orchestra, ami, addressing the llight Rev. the Lord Bishop of Is'e.w Zealand and Lichtield, spoke a3 follows :— Bishop Selwyn,— I have been asked by the committee to perform the very pleasing duty of presenting you wiih an address from the Auckland Choral Society, of which you are yourself an honorary member. There is, 1 am persuaded, nothing more eunobiiag to human nature, or more conducive to the furtherance of the true harmony of souls, than such an occasion as thii, when there is on both sides, as I am sute iv this case there is, the conscious nesss that what is said or dove is not offered or accepted as an expression of adulation, but a3 a simple and honest testimony to friendship and worth. We desire to do honour to you on the eve of your parting from us, not simply because you have occupied a high position in this land, and have been honoured by the favour of your Queen and ours to occupy in England one still higher, but specially because we have learned to esteem you iv all respects as a man — a good man — a true man of God ; because, Christlike, you hare not spared yourself, but, both in season aud out ci season, have laboured faithfully for the welfare of other* ; aud most o£ all because, having respect uuto Him who is the Author of tho^e commanding ta'euts which you have cheerfully employed iv His i.ervioe, we desire to exercise our hearts m the lofneit of all Christian sentiments, and glorify God iv you. And I assure you, my dear Bishop Selwyn, that we do thw all the more readily and heartily that your rxreer in New Zealand has not been who ly uncbequereii ; that you have known something of the trials aud vicissitudes incidental to the position of all public men. The c vicissitudes wi'l not be loit either i.pou you or upon us, aud will sjrve the better to intertwine our histories together. It may have been your lot, aud I believe hai been, that on some of the questions which have ariseu in the history of tins country you have not found yourself in harmony with other public lner, and that other meu may not have found thsmselvea in harmony with you; bub in this J, for ono, see no cause for regret, hut, On the contrary, for rejoicing ; inasmuch as, apart altogether from the duty of crediting eveiy one with honesty in the holding and the advocating of his views, it is my linn conviction that in society generally, jiut as iv mu.3ie, a little diaoord is always vastly prefera le to a hfele^s monotony. In fact, one of the most impouant and lutrioate of soc;al problems is just thr.t of deteruiiuiug how far society is indebted, for the healthy formation of public opiniou, to the c inflicting or opposing elements that may preva-1 in it. Ihat it is iudebted to these for that, there cau bo no mauuer of donbt ; and if, therefore, m-,the courso of your distinguished career in this colony, you and other men whom you yourtelf delighted to honour, have not always been able to see eye to eye with legard to the best course to be pursued ior the puoJic welfare, you will not the less on that account, but, according to my way of thinking, will all the more, be rogarded by hiscoiy as having contributed to the stuidy and true development ot the national character in this important offaho t of the mother land. I think it light t> say this much, for [would nut have the impression t> go abroad that our feelings towards you, as you are about to leave v«, partook of the character of weak seutiment, instead of being, as they aru, the fruit of atrou,' and manly conviction. It i*, I am Mire, far ftom the heart of any of us to do oc to say aught that wou'd tend to overtharg* your heart in the prospect of your bidding adieu to a land where you have spent your best day 3.' leather, it is the wish of all to make your presebtf su roiindings such as 10 strengthen in you the impression thar, though jour sphere of labour shall for the futuie be adiffoent one, the woik which you will be engaged in will be essentially the same woik. It ia not for me to give expression to the feelings with which the members of the Church, over which you have so ably presided, regard your approaching departure — that has been done and will yet he dove more fittingly by other*. But allow me to tike this opportunity, lest no other should ar.se, of saying in the name of the Ciiuivh under whose Juuthor.ty I my«jclf labour how much we have all appreciated the frank way in which you have always sought to co-operate with us iv useful works, and especially to acknowledge tbe cjidiahly with » Inch 3 ou have helped to increase our interest, in the mission work in the New Hebrides Isles, and the counsel, comfoit, aud encouragetneut whioh yon and , your worthy coadjutois havo always given to our missionaries there eugaget). I will not longei tres j 11 iss on your Lordship's patience or the patience of this meeting, and .vM only now, befoie reading the address, utter ou your behalf, and on the o-half of all the members of your family, that fine old Saxou prayer, which our forefather* were wont to use— a prayer which will be cordially joined in by nil these choristers, aud also by the whole of the assembly,—a prayer to which, I feel persuaded, not only all hearts here, but many elsewhere, will in blended symphony respond their amen. We, as members of this Society, as members of this community, as members of a new nation whose mUncy you have long helped to cradle-above all, as memibe.s not of tbia church or of that, but as members of the Church of Chri,t-one and all «we wish you good luck in the name of the Loid." (Apxjlause.) The rev. gentleman then read the following address :—: — "The Right Hey. George Augustus Selwyn, D.D., Lord Biahop of New Zealand and Lichfield. " May it please your Lord*bip, "The Auckland Choral Society members have invited your Lordship to a concert at which they might bave the opportunity of bidding you an affectiouate farewell. "Though deploring the prospect of your permanently leaving the eceoe of your hero.c labours, they yet rejoice in th« con6dence vhich her Majesty has placed in you in summoning you to discharge the duties of the Episcopite in a more important see in the mother country. . " They are well persuaded that you will carry into your new field of labour in England the same manly and self-sacrificing spit it that baa distinguished all tbe efforts which, dv Ing a period of a quarter of a century, you have so unweariedly put forth f >r tho welfare cf both mces of her Majesty's subjects m New Zealand. " They cheerfully bear testimony to the rr»nk and 8 generous support which, while attending to the more

immediate duties of your s>cie<l office, you have invariably given to all movement i to meliorate s >ciety, and a'lvauce its interests, and more especially no they desire to thank you for the uniform kindness with which you have patronised all the aims and objects of this institution. "We believe that the same fine-toned symiafchy with humanity which had marked your career in the past will cont'n le f • adorn it in the future, and they therefo } bid you God-ar ced in the great work to which God and the Queen have called you. "That ib may please Almighty God long to preserve you in your influential position for the advancement of truth and righteousness, and ever to surround you and your family with the shield of His power, i3the united fervent prayer of the members of the Auckland Choral Society, who will remember you as ling as you live. "Signed on behalf of. the Choial Society by " F. D. Fenton, President. " Auckland, October 13, 1868." His Lobdship, in reply, said : Members of the Auckland Choral Society — ladies autl gentlemen — I feel greater difficulty 111 taking leave of you this time than T did on the last occasion, because at that time I felt that I intended to return t> spend the rest of my life among you. You will say, why did I not return and fulfil that promise ? Beit f ask you to remember that on that occasion I said that one reason why I should return to this country for tha remainder of my days w»«, that they in England wou'd not be likely to cure about the services of what remained of a man after five or six-aud-twenty years' service in New Zpaland. I w<>s mistaken, however, in that, and that it was so may be taken as a subject of congratulation, that a man may be fib for wors elsewhere after six-and twenty yeais of work in thia country. There is one sirfciog by me who has been nearly 40 yours engaged in missionary labour in thiscolony, and it must be asourceofsincerepleasure to him, au'l especially to many much younger mcD, thab after a long term of Christian labour in New Zealand they may still be able, by the Providence of God, to do good and effectual work here or elsewhere. (Cheers ) It ia a testimony to the salubrity of this climate (cheeis), »ud it is especially cheering to those who speud their life in active employment. It enables me to put away from myself all praise on the subject of self-sacrifice, because I be'ieve that to those who live in this country, aud who are fitted by constitution to co joy it, it is a real privilege to live in any part of isew Zealaud. (Oheers.) That feeling comes even more strongly to my mind now that I am about to leave this couutry for ever. My dear friends, there are many circumstances towhioh I look back throughout my career in this country with great and unmingled thankfulne-a ; aud there are others in which of cmirse my joy baa been mingled with sorrow ; but those subjects to which Mr. Biuoe has referred are not m the lafctei. class, viz. , that on no occasion has auythiug ever occurred to cause any difference of opinion between me and my fellow workets in the cause of Christ. ¥ou*all know that in this country wo have some of the sune difficulties between ouiselvcs aud the natives which have marred the cordiality betwe9n England and Scotland ia the days of old, aud between England and Wales, autl which htill unhappily cause severance between Knglaud and Ireland. That there should be such difficulties in New Zealand is not to be wondered at after so naAuy years of war ; but though myself and my fellow-3ettlers have been found on different sides iv our opinions on many matters, I thank Mr, Bruce and yourselves for the belief thab you entertain that all those who have differed from each other in opinion, did so upon conscientious grcuuds, and from good motives. We, on our |>art, h? i a duty to [ arform to that race whom we induced to receive the British Government into this country. Our first duty was to take care that nothiag iv the nature of injustice should be done, and after doing so to take care that .nothing should be done that would be incompatible with our position as subjects of the Queen, as ministers of a Christian C turch, and a» fellow settlers of those who like ourselves cast their lot in this cou-itry. It was the force of circuma anoes,and uobany choice of our own, that placedju^in that pobition so full of difficulty and anxiety. Wow in leaving this country it seems to me thatthe whole of thesedifficulties willpassaway from me, brtcausB tlipy are all swallowed up in that love with which I regard New Zealand, and shall regard ib to my life's end. (Loud oboeis ) There is auo^er subject on which I can speak wit t unmingled joy, thab throughout th<J whole course of my ministrations in this country I have never had one single word of disagreement with any one minister of religion. (Oheers.) We have made such ariangements as cncamstauces admitted for rendering our various duties more effectual over the widely scattered field in which, we laboured, but in no single instance has there ever been anything to separate me in word or deedfi'Jua any one oi those ministers with whom I ha/c worked side by side in this counti y. (Ohser3.) In the rfyiod yesterday we had a discussion which lasted two or throe hours, on the subj<;ctof Christian unity.of which I think tbismeeting affords a very pleasing illustration, when I find myself herein harmony with the Scotch i'lesbyterian minister acclimatised, if I may use the expression, in his hear/,- as he w accl : matised la mine. (Loud cheers.) Surely this is not without its effect. It points to thab convergence of roads which lead to Heaven ; » toaehes us to look forward to the time when we shall all meet nev^r to separate again, when all differences of raok and order will be merged, when we shall be placed Bide by side with those twenty-four elders who cast down their crowns before the one Bishop of their souls. Ib is the thought of that bright day which give 3 us comfort under every circumstance of separation : whether it be caused metely by chang3 of abode or by death, we look forwaid, not wiiih the feelings with which those men of old time looked foiward to their separation from St. Paul, when they wept with sorrow because they thought they should see hia face no more. We know aud we trust that we shall meet a^aiu face to face, and see one another in the glory of that bright light which sti earns forth from the vei-y throne of Gad itself. And this leads me to thank you for the mode which you have chosen for taking your leave of me. I thank you for making this a concert of sacred munc al">ue, because when that D.ij shall come, in which, aa I trust, we bhall £>U meet again, never more to separ ite, songs of the same, the vtry same nature will be suuy, though in a far higher aud noller strain, to greet onr entrance into Heaven. We part now for a time, but we do not part as those who part iv sorrow, without hope that they shall see one another again, but we part in sure and certain hope of the resurrection, when we shall meet again where we shall never more be separated — before the throne of Him in whom alone we trust. Now I | have only to respond with all my heat to whic in | this address is called our affectionate farewell. His Lordship resumed his seat amidst warm and general applause. After an interval, the second part oomaaerced with a beries of impressive choruses fr>m Handel's "Israel in Egypt " These w<;ie followed 1 y extracts from Spohr's grand work " The Last Judgment,'' all of which were very nicely pei formed : but the one which pleased us most was the quartet and chorus " Hail, Lord Almighty !" We recollect this, on the occasion when the entire oratorio was produced, as cne of its gems. The wh le ooiiduct was under the able condiicfcotshipof Mr. JJrowu, who by thn new orchestral anangement is now enabled to command a view of every performer ; and to this cause may be attributed the marked improvement in the precision with which j the several pieces were exeouted. At the conc'usion of the conceit, The Right Key. the Bishop of Waiapct rose, and as the seuior guest of the Cuoral Society, and on behalf of hiin:;lf aud hia fellow-rep'eaentalives in the General Synod, expressed bia gratitude for the > treat which had been afforded them. He also expressed his sativf action at the t»3te which had been shown in the selection of the programme, which was particularly appropriate to the- occasion itself. He further gave expression to the pleasure it afforded him to beallowed the opportunity of being present at so graceful and fitting a farewell as the members of the Society had chosen. The pleasure which the audience had derived from the performance wan evmcad by unanimous and heaity demonstrations of applause.

The following liaes have been addressed to the Bishop of Kew Zealand : Pastor, thy blessing give ; thou leav'st our shore, And Boon, alas, we'll see tby face no more ; For England's Queeu and England's people wait To greet tby entrance at fche palace gate. Now, (and through time, our land will bless thy name, Wbile coral islands echo ba*k thy feme". But what of the-e ? Though hosts their tribute bring, And lay it at thy feet, and nobly sing Of perils oft, and toils by land and sea — Of treariuess, and pain endured by thee ; — Tis well, 'tis phasaufc that the sons of earth, As years revolve, should call to mind thy worth ; But better far tb&t Heaven 'tself bestows Its g^ace to cheer thee and assuage thy woe* j, That He, who is thy Hop", thy Su", and Shiel 1, Accepts thy labours in the Gospel field ; I That He, thy Saviour, when thy mission ends k I Will place thee with His ever.asting friends. October 10, 186?.