ECCLESIASTICAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9179, 8 October 1888, Page 11

ECCLESIASTICAL.

THE VISIT OF DR. HANNAY AND MR. LEE. A LARGE number of the deacons of the various Auckland Congregational Churches assembled in the Beresford-street schoolroom on September 17 to confer with Mr. Henry Lee, one of the delegates from the Congregation.'d Union of England and Wales, with reference to the duties and responsibilities of their office. Tea was provided at half-past five, and after the repast several questions were put to Mr. Lee, who, in reply, spoke at some length in an interesting and instructive manner upon the exercise of Church discipline, the method and order for the election of deacons, the system of voluntary contribution to church funds, church finance, and the duties of the diaconatc in connection therewith, the advantages of systematic giving, and the necessity of instructing the young people on the principles of Congregation-

alism. A hearty vote of thanks was ac corded to Mr. Lee for his address. A public meeting was held on Septem her 17 at the Beresford-street Congrega (ional Church, for the purpose of welcoming Dr. Hannay and Mr. Lee, the delegate; from the Congregational Union of England ami Wales. The Rev. 11. J. Lewis pre sided, and on the platform were : The Rev. Dr. Hannay, Mr. Lee. the Revs. J. Chew, T. Hamer, Miller, Thomas, and Laishley, ami Captain Daldy. The Chairman referred in tortus of eulogy to the guests of that evening. The Rev. Dr. Han.vay, who was received with applause, said it was pleasant to him to bring greetings from their brethren at home, who, however, could not be expected to look to them with such yearnings as were found on the part of their brethren of the colonies in their feelings towards the mother country. He thanked the chairman, Captain Daldy, and his old friend, John Milne, for their generous expression; that evening; he could not thank adequately enough those friends who had rereived them with such affluent hospitality throughout the colony. When they returned home it would bo their duty to report what they had seen, but they were afraid they would not be able to say that they hail ministered inspiration to all the Churches ; tie believed lie had received inspiration in many cases from his brethren here. Bespoke of the importance of seizing hold of the great centres oi population in planting the Church, and concluded his address by speaking oi the necessity for the frank fellowship of the churches. (.Cheers.) Mr. H. Lkk, who was also greeted with cheers, said he completely endorsed the remarks of Dr. Hannay with respect to the hospitality with which they had been received in New Zealand. There was a right spirit amongst Congregationalists out here, and when lie went home he would speak of them with a good ileal of hope for the future. On the motion of the Rev. B. L. Thomas, seconded by Mr. if. N. Wakxek, it was resolved, " That this meeting, representing the various Congregational churches of Auckland, hereby accord a very hearty vote of thanks to the Rev. Dr. Hannay and Mr. Lee for their eloquent and inspiring addresses, and desires further to express its sense of obligation to them for their visit to the churches of the colony.'' The motion was unanimously agreed to, and the Rev. Dr. Hannay and Mr. Lee responded. During the evening several hymns Mere sung, Mr. J. P. Hooton playing the organ accompaniments.

ST. MARY'S PRO-CATHEDRAL CHURCH. ' His Lordship the Primate of New Zealand having arrived in Auckland to consecrate St. Mary's Pro-Cathedral Church, was entertained on September 'Jo at a conversazione at the Parnell Public Hall. There was a crowded attendance. The incumbent, the Rev. (i. H. S. Walpole, and the churchwardens received the Primate, and presented him with an address on behalf of the parishioners. The address set forth the warm feeling which the parishioners felt on Peeing the Primate amongst them again for the second time, to consecrate the church. The Primate, in responding to the address, expressed his great gratification at being present, and his pleasure at the warm welcome accorded to him. Other speakers addressed the meeting, and tea and refreshments were then served, and a very enjoyable concert, interspersed with recitations, was given. The consecration service was held on Sept. SO with great solemnity. The communion table, choir, pulpit, lectern, and font were beautifully and tastefully decorated with white flowers and evergreens. The church was crowded in every part. -After the ceremony of consecration had been performed, The Venerable Primate then ascended the pulpit, and taking for his text the 2nd and 3rd verses of the 63rd Psalm, " To see Thy power and Thy jrlory so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary. Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life my lips bhall praise Thee.'' His Lordship spoke for upwards of half-an-hour, and his clear, strong voice was heard with great distinctness in all parts of the church. A children's service was held in the p.tternoon, and in the evening the service was festal.

HOME MISSION SOCIETY. The tilth annual meeting of the Horn'* Mis-s-ion Society took place on Sept. 28 in All Saints' Church schoolroom. A preliminary service was held in the church, and was largely attended. The after meeting was held in the schoolroom, when Archdeacon Dudley (vicepresident of the society) presided. The Hon. Secretary (the Rev. J. Haselden) then read the annual report for the year ending 30th June : —" The work of the committee has simply been to receive the subscriptions paid to the hon. treasurer, and to hand them over to the Standing Committee : but that an interest has been created in the work of the Home Mission, and that money has been collected from persons who have never before given anything to this object, cannot be denied by those who are acquainted with the history and work of the Home Mission in the diocese during the past 20 years. There have been 160 annual subscriptions and forty-six donations paid during the year. The income has been £35, less than last year, but this is explained by the fact that some large subscribers paid their subscriptions inadvertently to the Standing Committee instead of to the society, and it was not thought worth while to withdraw them from the Standing Committee and repay them through the society. The work of the Home Mission generally will be gathered from the reports of the Standing Committee and of the organising clergynan. The committee is of opinion that an effort should be made to collect regular tibscriptions for the Home Mission in !very parish, parochial district, and missionary district in the diocese each year, in iddition to the regular half-yearly collections in the churches." The report of the organising clergyman the Lev. J. llaselden) was also read as ollows concerning his services in out-dis-iricts : —"I have held 106 Sunday and 35 week day services in out-districts. There have been GOT communicants at 53 celebrations. The baptisms numbered 45. Nineteen Sunday services have been taken for me by other clergymen, whose duty I took. The Rev. T. P. Hewlett has held 111 Sunday services, baptised 20 children, and had 178 communicants at 18 celebrations. Besides this Mr. Hewlett has held services in the district under the charge of the Rev. J. Bates on nine Sundays. Thirty-three services have been held by six other clergmen in these districts, making a total of 314 services. The collections for the Home Missionary fund in these districts have amounted to £316, Part of my duty has been to give notices of all these services, and to arrange generally for them." On the motion of the Rev. Mr. Haselden, the reports were received as read. The Rev. W. Bhatty, M.A., then read a;i excellent paper on "Our Duty as a National Church to the Home Mission." Archdeacon Ci.arkk moved, That the following be the Committee of Management for the ensuing year :—Revs. J. Bates, Calder, Haselden, and Tebbs, Messrs. W. McCullough, R. Maris Clark, E. Hammond, and \V. C. Kensington, together with the '■xofficio members." He made a strong appeal on behalf of the country settlers, stating that the Maoris were better provided with spiritual agencies and conveniences. The Lev. J. S. Hill gave a practical acklress on Aggressive Christianity," wtuch he defined as not being noisy, but as

being quiet, earnest, practical, and sympathetic. Archdeacon Willis moved a vole of thanks to the reader of the paper and the giver of the address, also to all who had assisted in the work of the Mission, and to the choir. A collection Mas taken up amounting to £5 13s .'id. During the evening the choir rendered several pari songs under the conductorsliip of Mr. Edger.

i RECEPTION OF COMMANDANT ! BOOTH. Commandant Booth, third son of Genera Booth, who arrived by the Doric on Sept. 2 from London, accompanied by Statt'-Captai Allen as secretary, received a public recep lion that evening at the Salvation Arm, Barracks. When the Doric arrived ther was no public reception on the wharf but, Colonel Taylor went on board, t< welcome the Commandant, and on cominj ashore the two officers drove oIV quietl; to the residence of Sir William Fox Symonds-street, Commandant Booth beinj Sir William's guest during his stay ii Auckland. A public tea was held in tin barracks between six and seven, and tin tables being cleared the after meetin; took place. Commandant Booth, on coming for wan to deliver his address, was greatly up plauded. He said that he came out It Australasia at the order of his father, tin General, having been suffering from menta exhaustion, and in the hope that -i si: weeks' voyage, out of the way of telegraph! and post otiiees, would lead to his strengtl being renewed. The. opportunity lie re garded as a good one for seeing his colonial comrades and their work, and also of enabling him to give them a little of hi: experiences, by way of encouraging them in their labours. His father, the General, would shortly himself tel them personally of the progress of tin Army movement. lie had expectec to come out last year, for, like Wesley. "the world was his parish,"' but the illness of -Mrs. Booth had led to the trip being postponed. In due course tho General postponed. in due course the General would arrive, and he would leave him tc recount the story of the rise and progress of the great organisation to which they belonged. He had been asked by Colonel Taylor to speak on "The Progress of the : Army Among the Nations," but that evening he would only refer to his own London experiences, prefaced by some remarks on the early ministerial life of his father, and how he came to form the- Salvation Army. The speaker then gave a graphic historical outline of the Salvation Army movement from its birth in an old tent in a Quaker's burialplace to tiie present time. The Salvation Army hail another field day on October 26. In the forenoon there was a Salvation Otlicers' Council at the Prison Gate Brigade Home, when some thirty officers were present, representing the districts of Hamilton, Gisborne, Onehunga, Otahuhu, I'arnell, and Auckland, also the officers in charge of the Maori work at Wanganui. The meeting was addressed by Commandant Booth and other otiicers in reference to the spiritual work of the Army. In the evening there was a monster lea meeting at the Barracks, followed by a march-out with torchlights and coloured lire. The principal feature of the procession was the Maori Contingent in native costume. The after public meeting was crowded to excess, and of a most enthusiastic character. Speeches Mere made by representative officers from stations. Captain Cutler (Hamilton) opened by speaking of the work in that district ; a recent convert at the Thames gave his personal experiences : and then followed some Salvation songs and hymns by the Maori contingent. Commandant Booth delivered an address. -Maria Morris, of the Maori contingent, who is colour-sergeant of the Gisborne corps, spoke of the work among the Maoris, and desired Commandant Booth to carry back to England the gratitude of the Maoris to General Booth for having brought the Salvation Army to New Zealand. Mrs. Gray (a half-caste), from Gisborne. made a strong appeal on behalf of the Maori Mis-ion. Commandant Booth left on October 27 by the s.s. Te Anau, for Wellington, accompanied by Staff-Captain Allen, Colonel Taylor, and Major Lovelock. It is intended to hold a meeting at Gisborne, en route, where the Salvationists have a station.

AUCKLAND SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION. A crowded audience of parents, teachers, and others interested in Sabbath-school work assembled in St. James' Hall, on September 13, to witness the distribution of prizes and certificates to the successful candidates at the recent examinations in Scriptural knowledge, annually held under the conduct of the Auckland Sundayschool Union. The chair was occupied by Mr. Henry Lee, late .M.l', for Southampton. The Sunday-school choir, numbering fully 300 voices, which was .seated in the gallery, and was under the conduct of .Mr. Enoch Wood, then rendered the anthem, " He Rose." Mr. Frederick Battley, the President of the Union, introduced the chairman to the audience in a few wrll-chosen words, and asked him to make a few remarks. Mr. Lee, who was on rising greeted with applause, stated that, he was there that evening for the purpose of giving prizes for knowledge of Scripture, and he hoped that year by year more similar rewards would be given of more value, because of the greater amount, of information gained direct from the Word of God. To the children he would say, let Christ be an example to them, and the better His method of life when on earth was imitated by them, the greater influence they would exert during their own lives, and they would become more fitted for "the place prepared for them." To the Church he would strongly advise value the school ; it was the nursery for the Church, ami the closest possible connection should always be kept up between them. Tile Church should do its utmost to foster the school, and the school would then certainly assist and strengthen the Church. Rev. ('.. B. Monro, the examiner of the papers of the senior division of scholars, and Rev. B. L. Thomas, who had supervised the work of the second division, gave addresses ; and Air. Battley explained that the Rev. C. H. Garland, who was the third examiner, was absent through having another engagement. The distribution of prizes was the next part of the proceedings, Mr. Battley stating that 35 schools had sent candidates to the examination,4s3 scholars in all entering 1 , of whom 345 were examined. The prizes, which consisted of handsome volumes of useful works —two in each class—were then presented to the successful competitors by Mr. Lee, eacii candidate being greeted with loud clapping. The prize winners were as follows : — Senior Division- (over 16).—Emily Cox, Mount Albert Wesleyan, Ist; Jessie E. Singer, Newmarket Wesleyan and Francis J. Stewart, Tabernacle (equal), 2nd. Middle Division (between 12 and 10).— Mabel Wood, Newton Congregational, Ist; A. J. Brown, Devon port Wesleyan, 2nd. Junior Division (under 12). John E. Mill, St. Andrew's Presbyterian, Ist; Jessie French, Newmarket Wesleyan, 2nd. Special mention ; Jas. Drummond, St. James' Presterian ; Kate Taylor, Pitt-street Wesleyan ; Lois Wood, Beresford-street Congregational. The certificates of merit for those who had passed, though not in the list of prizetakers, were then handed to representatives of the various schools. The numbers gained were : Alexandra-street, 7 ; Avondale Presbyterian, 7 ; Beresford-street Congregational, IS; Cook-street, 7; Devonporfc Wesleyan, JO; Franklin Road, 12; Howick Presbyterian, 6; Mount Albert Wesleyan, 8; Mount Eden Baptist,:?; Mount Eden Congregational, 15 ; Newton Congregational, 15 ; Newmarket Wesleyan, 5 ; Onehunga Wesleyan, 4; Onehunga Presbyteterian, IS ; Parnell Wesleyan, 1 ; Pittstreet Wesleyan, 19; United Methodist, 3; Ponsonby Baptist, ] ; Ponsonby Wesleyan, 15 ; St. Andrew's, 8 ; S. James, 21 ; St. Stephen's, 6 ; Tabernacle, 28; Unionstreet Wesleyan, 2. The choir then rendered "Let there be Light," after which votes of thanks were pased by acclamation to the examiners, the chairman (Mr. Lee), and the Union secretaries (Messrs. J. R. Hanna and E. Jones). The doxology was sung by those present, and the pronouncing of the Benediction by the Rev. G. B. Monro closed the meeting. The thirty-third anniversary of the Auckland Tabernacle Church was celebrated on September 18 by a soiree. There was a large attendance. The Rev. Thos, Spurgeon (pastor) presided at the after meeting. After devotional exercises Mr. Matthews read the annual report, from which we learn that the church had suffered severely finan-1

i- daily throught he depression prevailing, necessitating retrenchment in every direction. if Reference was made to the death of Mrs. e Robinson, wife of Mr. Joshua Robinson, :1 elder, and who had been a church member d for over 30 years. There were on the roll at the beginning of the year 644 members ; 0 received into fellowship, 37: total, (581 ; r died, 4; dismissed to other churches, 10: i- total present strength, 661. Cambridge affiliated church, 53 ; Mount Eden do., 55 ; Otahuhu, 15. Less deductions by transfers and death, the grand total was 795. Through retrenchment the services of the . Rev. Mr. Bray as assistant pastor had been dispensed with. The Sunday-school had increased, there being now 60 teachers and 1 lilt) scholars. Ten scholars had during the year joined the church. Mount Eden > school, '20 teachers. 14-5 scholars; OtaL huhu do., 4 teachers, 35 scholars; Cam- ' bridge school, (5 teachers, 37 scholars: I total, 90 teachers ; 527 scholars. There, » had been forwarded to the treasurer ' of the New Zealand Baptist Missionary '. Society £164 for the year. The Tabernacle ' Ladies' Benevolent Society numbers 42; > honorary members, 4. A quantity of clothj J ing had been made up and distributed to J r (he poor. Reference was also made to the - Tract Society, the cottage meetings, Mutual . Improvement Society, and Band of Hope and Total Abstinence Society with 323 members, an increase of (50 in the year. Interesting addresses were delivered by the .' Revs. G. B. Monro, R. Bavin, and T. 1 Bray. At half-past ten a.m. on September 30 ' a number of members of St. Mary's Church 1 of England Working-men's Society assembled in the drawing-room of St. Mary's Parsonage, Parnell, for the purpose of presenting an address to His Lordship Bishop ' Harper, Primate of New Zealand. There were '24 members present, and they were , introduced by the Rev. G. H. S. Walpole, incumbent of the parish and president of , the Society. The address, which was neatly engrossed and numerously signed, was read by Capt. Thomas, vice-president. ' His Lordship said he was highly gratified at receiving this address from the Workingmen's Society. He highly valued the itistij tution. It was characteristic of the present day that when any object was to be obtained men combined for that object, hence they had companies, societies, and clubs,' for men found that by combining they, could better accomplish any purpose than would be possible by individual effort. These combinations were, however, mostly for the purposes of gain ; but this society combined for a nobler purpose, not for worldly objects, but for those of another and a better world. Ho again heartily thanked them for their address. The deputation then retired. The anniversary soiree of St. John's Wesleyan Sunday-school took place on September '25. Tea was provided in the schoolroom, to which a large number sac down. The after public meeting took place in the church, Mr. Banbury presiding as chairman. Mr. Donald W. Jack, the secretary, read the report, which showed there were at present '245 scholars and 31 teachers on the roll. Mr. W. Hartley read the balance-sheet, which showed tin- receipts to be i'Stj 8s '2d, and the expenditure slightly in excess of that amount. Several speeches were delivered, and votes of thanks were passed to all who had assisted at the anniversary, especially mentioning Mr. C. Bartley, for their valuable help. At St. Matthew's schoolroom on Sept. '20 a very pleasant conversazione was held by the parishioners of the church. Several tables, upon which were exhibited many interesting models, curios, etc., attracted considerable attention, while the microscopes and galvanic battery kindly lent by Drs. Dawson and Walker, and "some excellent photographic views by Mr. Josiah Martin, were eagerly patronised by many of the large audience that was present. The proceedings were opened by a few introductory remarks by Rev. W. Tebbs, the incumbent, succeeding which the vocal duet, " Begone Dull Care,'' was rendered with great taste and execution by Miss and Mr. Gill. A number of other musical pieces were rendered in excellent style. A well-attended and successful soiree and entertainment was held on September 26 in the Mount Eden Congregational Church. The church was tastefully decorated with flowers, and a tempting tea was provided by Mesdames Lyon, Mears, Potter, Whetham, Misses Turner, Frith, Patterson, and L. Ball. In the concert held afterwards, the majority of the items were given by the children, many of whom displayed considerable talent for music and recitation. The annual conference of the Church of England Lay Readers Association was held on the 28th of September at eleven o'clock, at Bishops-court. His Lordship Bishop Harper, Primate of New Zealand, presided. The Primate delivered an address to those assembled, taking for his text John ix. 4, "I must work the work of Him that sent me while it is day." At one o'clock luncheon was served in the Cathedral library, and after officers for the ensuing year were appointed, papers were read by Mr. Hemery on "The Life and Conversation of a Lay-reader as tin Officer of the Church of God," and by Mr. W. E. Jourdain on " Some of the Religious Tendencies of the Age in Connection with the Work of a Lay-reader. The cn. Archdeacon Maunscll also delivered an address. Two deacons of the Church of England, the Rev. X. Boyes (Waiuku) and A. English (Coromandel), were admitted to the order of priesthood at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the 20th September. The ceremony was performed by the Primate, assisted by the Ven. Archdeacon Dudley and the Rev. C. M. Nelson, and a goodly number of other clergymen and a large congregation were also present.