PRESENTATION OF AN ADDRESS.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVI, Issue 3888, 7 February 1870, Page 4

PRESENTATION OF AN ADDRESS.

An address was yesterday afternoon presented to Archdeacon Lloyd, by the teachei s and scholars of St. Paul's Sunday-school, prior to his departure for England. The address was beautifully engrossed and illuminated on parchment, by Mr. E. B. Dickson. It was enclosed in a very pretty frame of mottled kauri. The address was presented in St. Paul's School-room by the superintendent, Mr. Hammond. He said, on presenting it, that the duty he had to perform that afternoon was a source both of pleasure and |of pain to him : of pleasure, because be was able to convey to the Aichdeacon and Mrs. I Lloyd, on the eve of their departure for England, the sentiments of respect and I esteem, as well as the best wishes, of all in [ the school, both teachers and scholars ; of pain, because he could not help remembering that this was the last Sunday they would ever see them in that school. He would not I stop to say what his own personal feelings were, now that the time had come for the Archdeacon to leave, after having known i him so intimately, as he had had the advantage of doing, for a period of nearly twenty years ; but, as superintendent of the school, he could not help baying that he should miss his advice and encouragement greatly, and this sentiment was common to the whole of the teachers, and they all felt they were now losing a friend. The gift he now offered for his acceptance was of but little moneys worth, but he felt sure it would not be valued the less on that account, knowing as they did that the sentiments contained in it were that to which the Archdeacon would look, and they thought would prize. It would also be a satisfaction to the Archdeacon to know that the wish to present him with this address was not the wish merely of two or three, but it was that of the whole school, both teachers and scholars ; and most had contributed towards it in a greater or less degree, so that it was essentially an address of the whole sahool to him. They certainly had not till very lately looked forward to the time when he would ! be removed to another sphere of labour, and that so far away, and they consequently felt his removal more than they otherwise might have -done had they been expecting it. But, since it was so, they all most heartily joined in the wish and prayer for himself and family of a safe and pleasant passage to England, and of success and happiness when there, feeling assured that his thoughts would often revert to the friends he had left behind in New Zealand, and to the Sundayschool with which he had been so long connected. The address they asked his acceptance of was as follows :—: — " To the Venerable John Frederick Lloyd, Archdeacon of Waitemata and Minister of St. Paul's, Auckland. " Reverend and Dear Sir, — The Superintendent, teachers, and scholars of St. Paul's School desire, on the removal of yourself and Mrs. Lloyd from amongst them, to give expression to the high esteem they entertain of yourself personally, to their sorrow at your departure, and to their sense of your valuable assistance, which the Sunday-school has always derived from the attention and supervision for so many yeara exercised over it by yourselves. " They cannot help feeling regret that you should have been called away from Auckland, where you have been so long and so successfully engaged, to enter upon a new field of labour in England ; but as it has been so ordained, they take this occasion of assuring you that yourself and Mrs. Lloyd carry away with you the heartiest prayers of all in this school, whether teachers or scholars, for your prosperity and happiness m that portion of our Father's vineyard to which you are now removed. " On behalf of the school. "Edward Hammond, " Superintendent." In reply Archdeacon Lloyd said that it gave him the greatest pleasure to accept the handsome address which had been just presented to him ; and he felt much gratified at the expression of the sentiments with which the gift had been accompanied. It had often been a source of regret to him that Ms time had been so fully occupied as not to allow of - his giving so much attention to the Sundayschool as he wished. ' He had been for a long time oonnected with the school, had seen it under ■ several superintendents, and had witnessed times of depression and times of - prosperity, and had always felt ft deep

interest in it, and should continue to do so when far away iv England. Nothing would give him greater pleasure than to hear of the succesa of the school, of the growth iv grace of the children, and of the devotion of the teachers to the good work in whicli they were engaged. He much wished to have said ft few words to the children on this hi 9 last opportunity of meeting them, but was prevented from so doing by haviu" a class of candidates for Confirmation waiting for him at that time m the church. He would again say how highly he appreciated the address he had just received, and must now wish them all good-bye.