HIS LIFE AND HIS WORK

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 18, 21 July 1926, Page 8

HIS LIFE AND HIS WORK

(By "C.8.") "0, good grey head which all men knew.'' —Tennyson.

These words of England's famous poet apply with peculiar aptness to the Rev. James Paterson, who, after years of strenuous endeavour in strengthening the Kingdom of his Maker on earth, and after spending the last days of his lifein retirement from the busy world in which he has played so noble a part, passed to his rest last night. Since 1868, Mr. Paterson has been a notable figure in Wellington, and until a few years ago his "good, grey head" was seen regularly in the streets. Time dealt kindly with him, and at a time when most mortals here below were willing to let the stream of life go idly on, caring little for worldly things, he was still active in mind and body, and ever ready to devote his time and experience to any good cause. In many ways the Rev. Mr. Paterson adopted the words of Carlyle, who wrote: "Our grand business undoubtedly is, not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand." _ Such was Mr. Paterson —a man of action, and his work will live after him.

Residents of Wellin.Tton who have been in the city, for any length of time must have known Mr. Paterson, by sight at least, for the part he played in the affairs of the city, both from a religious and an education point of view, was by no means been that of an onlooker. Like many another man who has defied the ravages of time, he made his acquaintance with the world in Scotland, his birthplace being Ayrshire. After his boyhood days, he attended both the Glasgow and the Edinburgh Universities, but when it was decided that he should be a "fisher of men," he transferred his books and himself to the Free Church School in Edinburgh. There he applied himself diligently to the studies that would fit him for the profession he intended to adopt, and at length passed the regular course of study prescribed for tho ministry. He received a license as a preacher of the Gospel, and his first call came in April, 1857, when he received a call from St. Peter's Church, Liverpool. There he ministered for nine years. After that timo had elapsed, he and a large number of his congregation changed their place of worship, and he became pastor of the Everton Valley Church. His stay there was brief, however, and his reasons, for leaving the Everton people were very, sound. The resignation of the Rev. John Moir in 1867 rendered vacant the charge of St. John's Church, Wellington, and the good.people of the kirk, anxious to securo a man among men, and one who could be relied on to guide them through what had been troublous times, went far afield and applied to tho Colonial Committee of the Free Church to select a minister. The action of the managers of the church in leaving the matter of the choice in the hands of the committee proved very wise, for they selected the Rev. James Paterson, who at the time had just completed cloven years as a minister in and around Liverpool. Tho call was conveyed to him by the Lancashire Presbytery, and, in accepting it, Mr. Paterson stipulated that he should bo permitted to go out to Wellington to minister to the congregation for a timo without being bound to them or They to him, but that, if, after trial of each other, both parties were satisfied, the call might be renewed and accepted. Accordingly Mr. Paterson and his wife left tho Old Country together, and they arrived in Wellington on 24th August, 1868. How satisfactory the Rev. Mr. Paterson proved and how congenial ho found his new charge to be was shown by the fact that within three months of his arrival in Wellington the managers of St. Jon..'s waited on him and renewed the call which had been extended to him some months previously in Liverpool. Not only did Mr. Paterson minister faithfully to the needs of the pepole, but to him must go much of the credit of the remarkable progress that was made by the church with which he was associated. Not very long after his arrival to take' charge of St. John's, tho congregation increased to such an extent that the church had to be enlarged, and a new building, capable of holding 600 worshippers, was erected at a cost of nearly £4000. To foundation of the new structure wTas laid by the then Governor, tho Marquis of Normanby, the Rev. Mr. West, a minister of the Congregational Church, giving out tho 100 th Psalm, and the Rev. W. Morley, a Wcsleyan, reading a portion of Scripture. On the night of 9th May, 1884, the church that had cost so much and had been only nine years in existence, was completely destroyed by fire. This disaster is stated to have put the congregation on its mettle, and only a year afterwards, be

it to the' _ dit of those who attended the church for worship, the foundationstone of a still more magnificent church was laid by Sir James Prendergast, the Chief Justice. After the ceremony, the treasurer of the congregation, Mr. James Smith, intimated that the church was to cost £5469, and that the Sum of £3140 had been either paid or promised.- This is the church which at present stands on the hill in Upper Willis street, and it is a very fine contribution to the religious edifices in Wellington.

When-he arrived in Wellington, Mr. Paterson had the honour of being inducted by the General Assembly, which was then in session in Wellington, antj sincel that his association with the church ■^•courts was a prominent one. He became, known as a man of wide experience and the possessor of a well-balanced mind. For a time he acted as convener of the Foreign Mission Committee, and he also held the office of convener and secretary of the Church Extension Committee. In both offices he did excellent work, the benefit of which is still being felt. Apart from work of a religious description, he took a very keen interest in educational matters in Wellington, and his work on various bodies having for their object the- advancement of the needs of the young earned for him the name of a thoughtful and painstaking member. He was. a- member of the Wellington Education Board, the Board of Wellington College Governors, and the New Zealand University Senate.