SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8726, 17 November 1891, Page 6

SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION.

PRESENTATION OF* AWARDS. The presentation of the prizes and certificates won by the {successful candidates in the annual Scripture examinations, held under the auspices of the Auckland Sundayschool Union, took place in St. James's Hall last night-, the Rev. R. F. Macnicol presiding. The meeting opened with a hymn by St. James's choir, Mr. R. Walton presiding at the harmonium, after which prayer was offered by the Rev. Mr. Miller.

The Chairman* said he had great pleasure in presiding on that occasion, an occasion which was of j the very deepest interest to all Christians and especially to those labouring in connection with the Sabbath schools. The prizes to be presented that evening were of a very select character. The winners were few in number, but their success was all the more creditable to them and the values of the prizes were proportionately greater. Not only would the successful enjoy the possession of the prizes which had fallen to them, but they would also reap the more permanent advantage of obtaining a thorough grasp of the truths they had been studying. In this great advantage those who had not won prizes would also participate, and the general result would be to cultivate in the minds of the scholars the habit of studying God's Word in a thorough and systematic manner. A large number of certificates would be presented to those who had not won prizes, and he hoped they would have the effect of stimulating the recipients to further work. The prizes seemed to be very well distributed, not only in relation to the sexes, but also in relation to the different denominations. In looking over the prize papers, he had been struck with their excellence, and also with the fact that they were the work of an equal number of boys and girls. Th ere were 1 eight prizes, and they had been won by four girls and four boys. That was a satisfactory feature, and another was that the larger churches connected with the examination were well represented. The first prize in the senior division had fallen to the Congregational bod}', then came two to the Wesleyaus, one to the Primitive Methodist?, and three to the Presbyterians. The Presbyterians were among the juniors, far down "the list., but as they grew older they would no doubt do better things. He had very great satisfaction in knowing that the papers might be taken as very fair specimens of the work required, and he hoped the examination would stimulate the children to greater attention, and lead to yet higher results. The Rev. T. F. Robertson*, one of the examiners, next addressed the meeting. He said he had found his work by no means easy, but he was greatly pleased with the pupils in the second division. He had some experience in these matters, because in the old country he had for ten years set the papers and examined a. large boardschool. The children in that school had been taught the Bible every day for half an hour, and were then prepared very thoroughly for the examination by their teachers. Bud although they enjoyed these additional advantages he could say, without being guilty of flattery, that they were very little ahead of the Sunday-school children here. He could testify that the labours of the teachers had borne valuable results, and he thought the teachers should take heart. He spoke of the great importance of the work they were carrying on, and pointed out that, besides testing the results of the teaching, examinations had also the effect of, in the work of preparation, bringing teachers and scholars closer together. His auditors would know that some of those connected with the churches were anxious for church union. The Sabbath schools were laving the foundations of true church union, "and he firmly believed that the boys and girls now attending them would live to see it established.

The Rev. H. W. J. Miller, another of the examiners, expressed his gratification at the fact that the Auckland Sundayschool Union had taken the matter up, because he felt that unless such a body did so, the examinations could not be brought to a satisfactory and successful issue. He characterised the papers giveu by the candidates as generally excellent, referred to the extreme youth of some of the examinees, stated that the subject had been a difficult one, and quoted several instances of amusing answers to the questions. He suggested that at future examinations the age of each child should be placed on his or her paper. Each division at present had its limits, but there was nothing to show the examiners whether the candidate was just under the maximum or just over the minimum, and so a paper might be awarded the greatest number of marks, whereas if age were taken into consideration it might not be so worthy. He was glad to be able to make a favourable report on the examination, and to congratulate the children on their work. In conclusion, he expressed the hope that next year's examination would be even more successful than that of the present year. The Chairman*, after apologising for the unavoidable absence of the other examiners, presented the prizes to the winners and the certificates to the representatives of the various churches, intimating that the books had been chosen by the boys and girls themselves. The prize-list was as follows: — Fir3t Division (examiner, Rev. W. Laycock) : Christina May Sutherland, Fordell Presbyterian, Ist prize; Gordon Dennison, St. Luke's Presbyterian, 2nd. Second Division (examiner. Rev. T. F. Robertson): Mary Eyre, Onehunija Wesleyan, Ist prize ; John Reid, Avondale Presbyterian. 2nd. Third Division (examiner, Rev. H. W. J. Miller): Charles J. Hemery, Devonport Wesleyan, Ist prize; Mark H. Moon, Alexandra-street Primitive Methodist, 2nd. Fourth or Senior Division (examiner Rev. J. H. Simmonds) : Mabel Wood, Newton Congregational, Ist prize; Lilian A. M. Armstrong, Beresford-street Congregational, 2nd.

The numbers of certificates gained by the various schools were as follow : —

Alexandra-street Primitive Methodist, 2; Avondale Presbyterian, 11; Beresford-street Congregational, 7; Church of Christ, Foresters' Hall, 12; Coromandel Wesleyan, 3; DevonpOrt Congregational. 3; Devonport Presbyterian, 13; l)evonport Wesleyan, 15; Franklin Road Primitive Methodist, 4; Gisborne (St. Andrew's), Presbyterian, 7; Grafton Road Wesleyan, 7; Hamilton Wesleyan, 4; Helping Hand Mission, 2; Mount Eden Baptist, 2; Mount Eden United Free Methodist, 1 ; Mount Eden Congregational, 11; Newton Congregational, 5: Onehunga Presbyterian, 9; Onehunga Wesleyan, 5; Otahuhu Wesleyan, 5; Parua Bay Undenominational, 6; Pitt-street Wesleyan, 13; Ponsonby Baptist, 8; Puke* kohe Wesleyan, 2; St. Johns Wesleyan, 9; St. James' Presbyterian, 13; St. Andrew's Presbyterian, 8 ; St. David's Presbyterian, 8; St. Luke's Presbyterian, 19; St. Stephen's Presbyterian, 7 ; Tabernacle Baptist, 13 ; Tuakau Wesleyan, 9; Pitt and Vincent-street United Free Methodist, 2 ; Upper Matakana Undenominational, 2; Thames Congregational, 1; Thames Primitive Methodist, 2; Thames Wesleyan, 4 : Thames Baptist, 6 ; Wanganui (Trinity) Wesleyan, 10; Wanganui (St. John's) Presbyterian, 1 ; Wanganui (St. Paul's) Presbyterian, 4; Fordell Presbyterian, 4; Patea Presbyterian, 4; Hawera Wesleyan, 6; Norsewood Wesleyan, 2.

The ceremony of presentation being over, votes of thanks were accorded to the examiners and secretaries (Messrs. J. R. Hanua and J. A. Bradstreet), the choir (by whom a number of anthems, etc., had been sung during the evening), and the chairman, the meeting closing with the Benediction.