ST. MATTHEW'S SOCIAL GATHERING.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXXII, Issue 5240, 28 July 1876, Page 3

ST. MATTHEW'S SOCIAL GATHERING.

Eorne street if all was:crowded» % last night, an the occasion of, , the annual gathering in connection with the . St. Matthew's : cons<reM gntioh'. ' 'The earlier. portion of the eveniiig<< wag devoted to tea, which was served iii the'* a}de hall, "the majority of the visitors, however, being seated in the main hall. , Shortly before 8 o'clock, the amusement programme was commenced by the chairman, the Rev. R. S^. Haasard^ calling upon Mrs. Woolley tb*,"Jlay a piano solo — variations on ' familiar airs. This Was loudly applauded. , The reverend Uhairman then ' addressed tho mectic g. He spoke of those whoso faces w ere missing from the room, and who had gone, from; this world* these they wonld ( m ivor see again amongst them ; but there Wore others whose absence was only tdmpftrary. Among these was their organist, M r. Brown, whpin indisposition, had prev< nted from assisting them. Ho -welcomed al who had come' mbat heartily, mid said a feV words upon tho^ •, ad vantages' these fp endly gatherings gave a clergyman, who •wis too of ton, Jooked upon as little more tli %n a policeman' in M pulpit, whose business ifc was to tell people when -they did wrong." T oy also helped fctye three, things winch m ike the world good- -civilisation) education, ai il religion. These threo must not l>o scpa ra icyl,, .jAftofc quoting a description given by ar English, writer of John Stuart Mill ns a cii [tured man void of religioty, he ebucludcd' hi remarks by reading a "soliloquy of a ra ionalistic chicken when contemplating fche fr< gn^euti of its egg-shell." i Thia was highly JUr] oy,ed J>y the audience. The choir then 8a ig, under tho condtretftrship of Mr. Icice, th > glee " Caller herrin'." Mrs. Mitchell fo lowed with " t Oh "take mo to thy hcirt ag bin," sung with' m'ucii feeling. The choir thin gave "The wreath" as a gloe. — The Ri jht. Rev. Dr. Oowie, Bishop of Auckland, th in addressed those present-in a-ftiwwords. H expressed his satisfaction at seeing tfo large a gathering. He was glad to obae vo so many signs of progress in the parish, an ong them not the least being the erection of \ mission,,chapel in Mechanics'. Bay. 'This fth wed 'that, liko the Good Shepherd, tlioy r.w< re. .np.t; .content with* knowing' that tho f mi ety-nino sheep were provided for, but '(Oi > care'd for the hundredth.^ , His. Lordship w« » loudly applaudec}. Th&' ptogrammp th u proceeded »fi follows *. — Miss -Hamilton (a rery young lady), piano solo, " Tlio liquid ge i ;" Miss Leaf, "Stay with me my darling, sts f ;" xVIr. Burnham, ♦' Wreck of the 'He3poius;'" choitf" • < Tho keel row;" Mrs. Miichell, "The hope of brighter hours." — th< concluding, portion of the prognvmtno yn i a spelUng ode, fnjwhich two sots of coi ipotitors wero questioned' bythoHev. Mr. Tomlinson, fthe Rev! iMh'^Ba'tes acting as ref sree. In the first contest tho prize winner wa i Mnsl&rojvaj, jn the second Miss Wright. Thj prizes,) ,w#re. "David OopperUeld" and "Martin Cliuzzlewit", respectively. .Amongst thdso praSeiit', 1 besW^ t^iow already men-' tioi ted, were the following clergymen : The Voy Rev. Archaeacon"_Maunsell, Dr. Pur'cbas, Rev. Messrs. Nelson, Dudjey, and Wfllia. Tho entertainmefit*waS brought to ■ lie ose shortly before 10 o'clock. , , ,, f • l(. (Ton i • • i •' ■ '