FAREWELL MEETINGS TO THE REV. W. RONALDSON.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 12, Issue 933, 11 April 1868, Page 3

FAREWELL MEETINGS TO THE REV. W. RONALDSON.

[Prom the 'Wairarapa Mercury,'- March 28.] A veby influential meeting of the settlers of Masterton and surrounding districts was held in Masterton on Tuesday evening last, the 24th inst., at 7 o'clock, for the purpose of presenting a suitable address and a purse of 75 sovereigns to the Ilevt W. Eonaldson on his departure from the Wairarapa District, in which he has labored as a missionary for many years. 'The chair was taken by J. v. Smith, Esq. J.P., who after having ex-lamed the object of. the meeting and the loss which the district will sustain by the removal of so faithful and zealous a minister, called upon Mr. Hare to read the following address : ; —

Masterton. 24th March, 1868.

To the Eev. W. llonaldson

Revd. and dear Sir, — We cannot but feel that we i should be justly liable to the charge of insensibility were we to permit a severance of that bond of union that has subsisted so long between us to take place without giving utterance to those sentiments which the occasion of your removal to another sphere of labor calls forth.

In addition to your arduous missionary labors amongst the natives, you have ever manifested a willingness to spend and to be spent involuntary and often ill-requited efforts to promote the spiritual advancement and well-being of the settlers scattered over this large district.

The unvarying courtesy and discretion, the zeal and fidelity, the consistent walk and conversation, you have at all times exhibited in the discharge of your sacred calling, demands our warmest acknowledgements, while they also remind us of the irreparable loss both natives and settlers will sustain in your withdrawal from amongst us. In requesting your acceptance of the accompanying Blight and very inadequate recognition, of your valuable services, we beg to tender to yourself and Mrs. Eonaldson our unfeigned /respect and gratitude, and to assure you that our unceasing prayers to the Great Head of the Church will follow you into your new scene of labor. And now, sir, we commend you to the Lord and to the word of His Grace, beseeching him to bless and preserve you and yours in your going out and coming in from henceforth, and, when your work on earth in your Master's service is ended, to give you an inheritance in His Heavenly Kingdom among his redeemed people. ;

We remain, Eevd. and dear Sir, your attached and faithful friends. Signed on behalf of the meeting and subscribers. J. Valentine Smith, Chairman.

The Bey. W. Ronaldson, thus replied : — Mr. Chairman and Dear Friends, — There, are occasions when silence is the best eloquence, and the present is surely such. After the very kind and hearty manner in which you hare just addressed me, and the proof which you have given of the sincerity thereof, I feel myself utterly unable to reply thereto as I would. The severance of that bond of union which has existed between us for upwards of twelve years, is to me the cause of the deepest possible regret, and I cannot but express the warmest thanks to you all for the unvarying kindness and consideration which one and all of the settlers in the Wairarapa have so constantly shown me. It lias always been my sincere wish to do for once and all anything and everything that laid in my power, and I am sure that my endeavours have been always thankfully and kindly appreciated by you all. You have referred to the arduous nature of my labours amongst you— l, on my part, have to say that the kindness you have ever 'shown me. at once dispersed the recollection thereof, and the readiness with which my services have been accepted by you proved a more than sufficient recompense for any toil by the ' way. I desire to testify to the utmost that 1 have ever received the kindest attention and care from you all. Your ready help and unceasing attention to my wants have always proved to me. the sure sign that my small and often feeble endeavours to minister to your spiritual necessities have been thankfully appreciated by you. I need hardly say how much this heartfelt feeling adds to the sense of the loss I now sustain in my removal from amongst you. So many of our associations are so intimately connected with the Wairarapa, that go whereever we may, both Mrs. Konaldson and I cannot but feel that no distance or time can sever the past from us, and in the distant part to which, in the providence of God, we are going, our hearts' affections will still be here, and our prayers will never fail to be offered for our dear friends here, from whom we now part. May the blessing of God so rest upon us all, that, whether here or there, we may all find our home in Heaven.

Mr. Masters then addressed the meeting, stating that, as one of the first settlers in the district, he could bear testimony to the arduous duties which Mr. Eonaldson as a missionary had to perform, and to his zeal in the performance ofthem— of his usefulness as a settler, and his ever anxious desire to promote the advancement of the rising youth. The loss which the settlers will sustain by Mr. Ronaldson's removal from the district, and the dangers to which the natives will be exposed by the want of a faithful pastor to direct them, will seriously be felt, he (Mr. M) was sure, by all classes. The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the Chairman.

On the evening of Wednesday, the 25th inst., an interesting tea-meeting was given to the Hey. W. Ronaldson, at Grey town, on the occasion of his leaving the Wairarapa for the scene of his future labors in the Wairoa. Messrs. Moles and Hastwell took an active part in getting up the meeting. The tables were most liberally supplied by Mrs. Moles and Mrs. Hall, and by contributions from several other ladies in the district. At the meeting, which took place afterwards, Mr. Skipper was called on to preside, and after some remarks explanatory of the object for which they had come together, called on the Rev. J. Ross to address the meeting. Mr. Boss, in responding to the call, said that although the occasion of this meeting •was a matter of regret, yet it was gratifying to find so many gathered together in guch a cordial and sympathetic manner to bid Mr. Bonaldson farewell. His intercourse with Mr. Uonaldson had been of a very agreeable description. He found him to ; be a man of a most catholic and. : liberal spirit ; . a ready coadjutor in every good work, and one on whose assistance c could reckon. in anything that concerned the general welfare of the community large. Mr. Ronaldson, in his work, had to do for them what the first settlers in th(B jWairarapa had to. dp for those who , vfollpSyed'.theih. . It was easier for those f ministers i"lwiio came recently to the Wai- ■ rarapa to go from one place to another, in t that widjj: district, than .it was for Mr. : /;E^nald3Qn;.in its rough and primitive state, : ; jixst a^sitrwasmuch easier for travellers to ;- .cpnfe" now Wellin gton to Grey town Fl or : M^terton^ than at the time when the -'* Rimutaka^as^arscah^ig ladder on the one

«Dei and a horse-slide on. the other

???sM^^^vlSpssi. cbndluded by /wishing Mr. succVeis in his future sphere I^TfaJ i jfißx^adHress^was^ giyen. by the Rev. that; lie ft It that im-

sent and others, with a purse containing 38 sovereigns, as an expression of the esteem in which he was held, not only by them, but throughout the Wairarapa. Mr. Eishworth referred to Mr. Eonaldson's cordiality and liberality of sentiment ; and in proof of this, stated that he had not been a week in the district when he received a letter of congratulation and welcome from Mr. Eonaldson. Mr. E. had been laboring for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the district, and made himself acceptable to a people composed of varied denominations. His withdrawal was felt, not merely to be a loss to the Church he represented, but a common loss to all.

Mr. Eonaldson, in reply, said he had heard of such a thing as killing a man with kindness, arid he felt that it was so in the present case. He might, perhaps, at another time, or on a subject less personal, be able to speak ; but on this occasion he felt so much that he could say but very little. It would have been to him a matter of sincere regret if he had departed from this district without an opportunity of bidding farewell to his friends ; but he scarcely knew how to express himself on finding what had taken place at that meeting. Mr. Ronaldson continued at some length, and concluded by saying that they had. imposed a heavy burden on him. He knew what the times were, and he felt it was. not out of their abundance but out of their poverty they had ministered so liberally to him. He heartily thanked them for their kindness and consideration.

Hearty votes of thanks were then passed to the ladies, who were pi*esent in such numbers, and to those who had so liberally provided for the occasion, and also to the chairman.