YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7789, 8 November 1886, Page 11

YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.

OPENING OF THE NEW BUILDING

AND DEDICATION SERVICES. On the 2nd November the new building of the Young Men's Christian Association was opened with dedication services, which were attended by a large number of ministers of all denominations and an audience which completely filled the hall. At the opening service in the afternoon the chair was taken by the Rev. J. S. Hill, president of the association, and there were present on the platform : — he Venerable Archdeacon Maunsell, the Revs. C. M. Nelson, W. Tebbs, I. Richards, R. Burrows, H. Langley (Melbourne), W. Bray, J. H. Jones, H. J. Miller, W. Gittos, C. Worboys, W. L. Closs, H. H. Driver, D. W. Runciman, R. F. Macnicol, A. Carrick, W. Adams, R. Summerville, Sir Wm. Fox, the Hon. Colonel Haultain, Captain Daldy, and Messrs. Larkina, F. Battley, J. L. Wilson, R. B. Shalders, Thomas Buddie, A. Knight (hon. (sec), and William Brakenrig (general secretary.) The Chairman said he had received a letter from the Bishop of Auckland, regretting his inability to attend on account of a severe cold. A congratulatory telegram had been received from the general secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association in Sydney, giving the text The Lord bless thee and keep thee." A letter had also been received from the Rev. Thomas Spurgeon, from Dunedin, expressing his regret at being absent on the occasion. The Ven, Archdeacon Maunsell said he had been aaked to give them some brotherly counsel from an old friend, but he really did not feel that he could give counsel to those who had shown such oourage in erecting the building they were in. If he were to give them one word of advice, it would be to remember at this particular time that unless the Lord was in the house they laboured but in vain, and unless the Lord keep the city the watchman wakoth but in vain. Re was an old friend, and warmly expressed his admiration of the work which had been done in tho formation of an independent association apart from all Churches, but which belonged equally to ail Churches. In the evening there was again a very large attendance, and the chair was occupied by the Rev. J. S. Hill.

Mr. Tuos. Buudle said : As hon. secretary of the association it properly devolved upon him to make a short statement. He had been connected with that association for upwards of 20 years, and for a large portion of that time had held the office in it which he still held. The career of the association had been a ohequered one, it has had its seasons of prosperity, and it has had its dark days, periods which it would be well to blot out of memory, but for some time past each year had given fresh cause for gratitude and encouragement, and he thought he should be supported by those who have had the most active interest in its operations when he said that the return of prosperity dated from the time when the energies pf the management were specially directed to the real object for which such association existed—the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom. It was not for him to take up the time of the meeting with any detailed statement of the objects and aims of the association. These wore well known, and indeed its name sufficiently designated its objects. Moreover opportunity would be given at the convention on the following evening to enlarge upon and more fully explain them. Ho would rather occupy the few minutes at his disposal in giving a brief resume' of the steps which have led to the erection of the handsome, and, he might say, complete buildings in which they were assembled. Possessed of a valuable Bite with wooden buildings, which for over 20 years well served the purposes of the association, and which, thanks to the advocacy of our dear old friend, Dr. Somerville, whom so many of them remembered with feelings of love and admiration, they were free from debt, and finding the building yoarly costing a largo sum lor repairs, and altogether inadequate for the growing work of the association, the Committee of Management had for three or four years past kept steadily in view the necessity of obtaining improved accommodation by the erection of premises which should be sufficient to meet the requirements of the association for many years to come. After holding a special meeting of members, at which the matter was rolegated to the committee, with full power to act, it was heartily taken in hand by the committee, and designs adver< tised for, resulting in the selection of one by Mr F. M. P. Burrows as the one best meet" ing the requirements of the association. A small committee, consisting of Messrs Holdship and Withy, with the President, was appointed to confer with the architect, and after the most earnest and mature deliberation, plans and specifications were completed and tenders called for on Sept. 2S last year, and received on October 27, and tho tender of Messrs W. Philcox and Son was accepted. The contract was duly signed on November 17, and no time was lost by the contractors in commencing the work which, in terms of the contract, was to be completed within one year—namely, by tho 17th instant. The foundation-stone was laid ou the 27th January by the Right Rev. the Primate of Australia and Tasmania (Bishop Barry), in presence of a large concourse of people, and the work proceeded without intermission, and it might be said almost without a hitch to its completion ; and the oommittoo felt justified in congratulating the members and friends of the association and the public of Auckland upon this handsome, though plain, substantial, and commodious block of buildings. Great credit was due to the Building Committee, already named, for the great oare and attention bestowed by them, in conjunction with Mr. Burrows, upon the plans and specifications, and especially to their indefatigable president, who had spared neither time nor trouble, but watched the ereotion in every detail, and had been the constant referee of architect and builders. The names of the contractors, W. Philcox and Son, so well known in this city, were a sufficient guarantee of the faithfulness with which the contract had been carried out. Now that in the good providence of God they were permitted to meet for tho first time in their new premises, their first note was one of gratitude to Him for what has so far been accomplished, followed by a sense of deep responsibility with reference to the future; but their trust is in Him who had hitherto never failed them. With reference to finances, though there ia no reason for great anxiety, the committee hoped to have been able to open the building with a better balance-sheet than they could show. That night when the scheme was entered upon, it was confidently, and not as was deemed without sufficient grounds, anticipated that enough money could be raised to bring the liability down to the amount which it was resolved to borrow on mortgage, namely, £5000, but the severe commercial depression which had fallen upon the community had precluded the committee from making any systematic effort to raise money. No canvas had been made, but it would be seen that notwithstanding that no less than £1750 has been subscribed, and the committee had every confidence that in the return of that prosperity which they were encouraged by the utterances of those who ought to know to hope was close at hand, the generosity of the public would enable the committee to reduce the liability to such an amount as would ensure the gradual extinction of the debt by the rentals to be derived from the shops, four out of the five of which shops were already let at a sufficient rental to pay the interest upon the £5000 mortgage* The small hall and the ladies' room had been let to the Young Women's Christian Assocation, and a very considerable revenue might be expected from the letting of the two halls when not required for the of the association. The expenses of the association would of course be materially increased, but they were confident that the increased attractions offered would largely augment the income from, annual subscribers, &«. The

total cost of the building would be £6900 ; other expenses, including architect's fee, furnishing, lighting, coat of temporary premises, etc., would be £1650: total cost, £8550. Amount subscribed and paid, £1648; promised, £104: total, £1752. A sum of £5000 had been borrowed from the Auckland Savings Bank on mortgage, at 6$ per cent. This leaves a deficit upon the total coat of about £1800. That, they hoped, would be materially reduced by the donations and proceeds of the meetings being held this week. He had said already that the basis of the association was strictly re« ligiouß, or he would rather say ChristianMany of their friends were ready to sympathise with what they called the practical work of the association, but not with the evangelistic, and thought the latter should be left to the churches. It had been tried in the history of that association to work upon the lines these good friends would indicate, and the result has been failure, the association went down and was well nigh crushed out of existence. Mistakes had been made in the past, and they did not wish to recall them, but he did say that their experience had been that just in proportion as the association (had uplifted Christ and had made its evangelistic i work the leading feature of its operations, not neglecting the other means but making them subservient to the one great end and object, he said just in proportion as that polioy had been pursued was the success of the association financially as well as otherwise. Their object would be to attract young men to the building by all legitimate | means and to induce them to lead a Christian life which would fit them to do good work in connection with the Churches, and they claimed the support and sympathy of all Christians in that work. The Chairman read • a letter from Mr. Holdship, expressing regret at not being able to attend, and enclosing a supplementary donation of £10 10s in addition to the £100 he had already given. The collections for the day amounted to £58 lis lOd. DESCRIPTION OP THE NEW BUILDING. The new premises of the Y.M.C. Association are now practically completed, and were taken over on Monday morning. The contract was signed by the contractors, Messrs. W. Philcox and Son, for £6100, and operations commenced last December. .The ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the new building took place on the 27th January. There was a large gathering of the general public. Bishop Cowie presided, and the ceremony of laying the foundation stone was performed by the Most Rev. Dr. Barry, Bishop of Sydney and Primate of Australia and Tasmania. Amongst those present were : —Bishop Harper (Primate of New Zealand), Bishop Neville, Bishop Suter, Bishop Selwyn, Bishop Stuart, and a large number of clergy and laity of all denominations. The contractors have completed their work a month inside their "contract time, and in that faithful and substantial manner which has marked the operations of this firm. On Oct. 29 the management were busy removing the library into its new home, and the furniture required. Already four of the five shops on the street frontage have been let at remunerative rentals, and applications have been received for the vacant one. The Sunday-school Union returns to its old depdfc at the corner, and the premises are being specially fitted up for its business* Two of the shops and the cellerage have been taken by the Auckland Dairy Company. The Young Women's Christian Association, at present at the corner of the market entrance, Wellesley-Btreet, have made arrangements for a portion of the premises on the second floor, where they will be able with more accommodation and better arrangements to carry on the excellent work in which they have been engaged. The following descriptive particulars will be of interest at the present juncture —The frontage to Albert-street is 113 feet 6 inches, and to Wellesley-street 44 feet. The building is four storeys in height, exclusive of basement, of brick, laid in hydraulic ground mortar, and stuccoed with cement. Commencing with the basement, seven feet high, it is of concrete, with concrete floors, and contains cellarage for the shops on the ground floor, also lavatories, lumber room, &c, for association rooms. It is lighted from the street with grated cellar areas. Proceeding to the ground floor, it contains five shops on the Albertstreet frontage, averaging 15 x 40. The ceilings of all the shops are made fireproof by using concrete pugging two inches below lower edge of joists, and carried on galvanised iron wires. In centre of the block is the main entrance to Association rooms, 14 feet 7 inches wide. Off this entrance is the library, situated on ground floor, IS x 14-7. The entrance floor is of tesselated pavement, five steps from thence leading into staircase ball, 26 x 147, which gives access to main staircase, 6 feet wide, leading to first floor, which contains readingroom, 34 x 22, members' room, 34 x 18, secretary's room, 15 x 13, lecture hall, 59 x 40, and two retiring rooms eaoh 13 x 9. These apartments are dadoed and plastered throughout. The ceilings are panelled, painted, and will be picked out in delicate tints, but the kalsomineiug of the walls is not yet done, as the plaster is not dry enough. The ceiling of the largo hall is coffered. It has pendants and ornamental brackets, and is well lighted with 20 transom windows, transom lights, glazed with coloured and embossed lights. The reading and members' rooms are lighted with similar windows. Proceeding up the staircase to the second floor, we arrive at a landing 15 x 8, which gives access on the loft to gallery of large hall, on the right to a social hall 29 x 40, and a ladies' room 15 x 14, with lavatories, &c. The large hall is capable of seating upwards of 500. Its acoustic qualities are excellent. Ascending to the third floor, we arrive at a corresponding landing to that below. On the left is & large room, to be used as a gymnasium, 60 x 40, with dressingroom and brthroom adjacent. On the right are the custodian's quarters, consisting of four living rooms, with all conveniences, &c. The ventilation of the large hall is effeoted partly on Tobin's principle, and partly by vacuum. A ventilating ohamber, two feet deep, is provided over the whole area of large hall. This chamber is perfectly airtight, except ventilating apertures or perforated panels in each bay of the ceiling. An outlet shaft in provided at the north end, at the top of which are situated three ventilators on Boyle's automatic exhaust principle ; but, as no automatic ventilator acts in calm weather, when fresh air is most required, gas jets have been provided at the bottom of the shaft, which exhaust the air therein, and cause a thorough circulation of fresh air by way of Tobin's ventilators. The facade is in the modern conventional Italian style, and has a very effeotive appearance —being subdivided into five bays, with bold fluted pilasters. The different floors are separated by massive cornices, finished with an open ornamental parapet and terminals. The windows are grouped with moulded architraves, stringcourses, and corbels. On the frieze is inscribed, in bold raised characters, the inscription, "Young Men's Christian Association*" The Wellesley-street frontage is of similar character. There are fire hose and reels on each floor, and every precaution taken against fire. The various doors are swing doors, and the main entrance door opens outwards, so as to give every facility for egreess. The plans of the new premises were prepared hy' Mr. Burrows,. architect, and they were erected under his supervision. The building is an ornament to the locality, does honour to the Y.M.C. Association, and is a credit to the arohitect.

A handsome eight-day clock has been presented to the Association by Mr. F. H. Lewisson, the well-known Queen-street jeweller, and the Auckland Furniture Company have presented an elegant piece of furniture. Donations are promised from other quarters.