THE SERVICE AT THE TABERNACLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13210, 22 June 1906, Page 6

THE SERVICE AT THE TABERNACLE.

AN IMPRESSIVE FUNCTION

EULOGISTIC REFER EN

The united memorial- service held in the Baptist Tabernacle, under the auspices of the Auckland Ministers' Association, was a most impressive one. and was largely attended, nearly the whole of the seating accommodation* of the great building l*"ig taken up. '1 lie pulpit was draped in black. The. prayers and addresses were followed with close attention. The Rev. Joseph Clark presided, and associated will) him were the Revs. B. F.Rothwell, R. L. Walker, M.A.. G. W. Smailes, W. Gray Dixon. M.A.. W. Day, G. Bond. A. North, John Wilkins, and " others. Two hundred cadets were present. The service was opened with prayer by the Rev. B. F. Rothwell, and then succeeded the hymn, "0 God our Help in Ages Past," and prayer by the Rev. G. B. Monro. The Rev. R. L. Walker, M.A., then read the tirst lesson, from Psalms xxxix. commencing at the fourth verse. This was followed by the hymn, " Peace, Perfect Peace," after which the Rev. G. W. Smailes read the second lesson, which was Psalm xc. The Rev. J. Clark said the occasion which brought them- together would be remembered in New Zealand for many, many years to come. They met as fellow-citi-zens to mourn the loss of a great citizen. Mr. Seridon had rendered to this colony, and to the Empire, distinguished service. He was, he might venture to say, the first imperialist of the Empire. They met to remember these things, and while expressing their appreciation, to offer the sincerest sympathies of which they were capable to the sorrowing widow and her children. It was no ordinary occasion. Mr. Seddon. was a great man, who loved his country, and who had made for himself a worldwide reputation. He was, indeed, a statesman of great power, foresight, and determination. He was a loving husband, father, and true friend. And they must not forget that there were two Richard John Seddons—the one whose dust would be put into the tomb, and the other who lives and would live in the hearts of the people of New Zealand.

The Rev. W. Gray, Dixon said they met in circumstances calculated to deeply stir (lie imagination as well as the.,eniotion«. Ulysses, hero of Greece, cared, not how meanly he lived if he might find a noble tomb after death ; and surely no hero could well wish for more in this regard than wvs being .accorded, that day to one who came to the colonies a poor working lad

from -Lancashire: ' Success bad surely been spelt large in the career of Richard John Seddon. " This man had _ succeeded amazingly, uniquely, in attracting the attention of our vast. Empire, and his death sent a thrill of unity through lands which were most remote." but ever nigh .when they heard':the call imperial. God, Himself, had conspicuously crowned his career with the stamp of success. The death He gave him had undoubtedly' enhanced his reputation. It "came at "the psychological moment, and in a manner full of poetry. Viewed through hi<s death, the farcer of Richard John Seddon was invested with a glow of romance, to the spell of which his keenest critics must yield. That voyage to '"God's own country" could never be forgotten. And yet-they would have but a poor reason for their gathering had they but tin; fact of. success. Greatness was not to be gauged by the cheers of imagination, or the decoration of princes. Failure was often the highest success. Nay, heaven's consummate successes had always been earthly failures. They therefore had to look deep through the successes for the full justification of the honour they accorded to the memory of Richard John Seddon. Such success, success",of the quality which he achieved, could not but have had behind it some eminently admirable qualities. Would that every young New Zealanderthat day might feel the electric touch of one who toiled terribly. Would that they might all revive, and stand upon their feel in fresh- energy and enterprise that day through touching the. bones of the resolute and indefatigable man .they mourned. How his career rebuked all indolence and forgetfulness, all slackness of will and effort: all tendency to trust to luck or to inborn ability, and'all disposition to sleep at our posts. Mr. Seddon must- have been born a commanding personality, but his almost royal obsequies that day would never have been known had lie no! toiled terribly. Mr. Gray Dixon went on to refer to the Premier's .family life. . It was tilting., he said, that this man. living in the blaze of publicity as lie did. master of legislative experiments, should yet die among the oldfashioned simplicities of his family, and that his last word should be, "mother;" for among all the temptations of public life his heart beat to the sanctities of his home. This example on the part of our most prominent citizen was invaluable. The home hud suffered alarmingly in this as in other modern communities, awakening many misgivings ass to the future of the race, and it was a mattter for' devout/ thankfulness that our eminent imperialist should have been conspicuously faithful to that patriarchal and domestic bliss without which there could be no wound or enduring society. God called him at the height of his fame. God called him in the midst of his family. He lived strenuously. He died beautifully. The hymn " Now the Labourer's Task is O'er-" was", sung, and was followed by a prayer by the Rev. W. Hay. , The Rev. G. Bond, Pitt-street, said he had had the privilege of seeing a side of the Premier's life- which it was not- the. privilege of the public to see, and, he might say that the more he had seen of him the more he had been impressed with his great personality. They were too near the great man to rightly estimate his character or appraise his work, but a future generation which stood back would say that Richard John Seddon. was a prince, and that a. great man had fallen in Israel. He was undoubtedly a great man, gifted with great intellectual endowment? and with lofty ideals, and great in the bigness of his heart. In regard to the last- phase,-of the late Premier's character Mr. Pond went on to relate an incident in which he found the Premier and his wife, in the Wellington Hospital sitting beside the bedside of a. dying man, who had once. been.a messenger in the Parliamentary .Buildings. Continuing, Mr. Bond said the measures which the Premier placed upon the Statute Book were humane, and for the betterment of human circumstances, the lightening of the toiler.-. Burdens, and the equalisation of educational advantages. He was a successful man, buthad only reached the top by climbing. He had worked hard and zealously. If it was true that a matt who mads a blade of grass grow where nothing grew" before was »i benefactor to his race, then how much'more was he a benefactor who left behind him philanthropic institutions and social conditions which; made our : colony the envy of other countries? He hoped that the lessons of the noble life just closed would be imprinted upon our memories, and .that we would re-.; produce them in our lives, and become more' real and earnest, and departing leave behind us footprints on the sands of time." : .•'■■' A lament was played upon the bagpipes by Piper J. W. Ernslie. of the. Black Watch. : :' , T ." '. The Rev. A. North moved: — ,\. . This meeting, convened by the Auckland Minister?' Association, hereby expresses its tender sympathy with .Mrs. Seddon in the sorrow she. suffers from her great and sudden los3;.9ind the earnest desire and hope that she may be enabled to realise the. sweetness and strength yielded by the assurances of the fatherly pity of the Eternal God, and of the ali-snnicicney of His grace. The meeting also expresses its warm sympathy with the sons and daughters of the late Premier, and all other members of his family, it prays that they, in the dark honr of their trial, may have given to them a vivid sense of the presence with thein of Him who wept with the sisters of the dead Lazarus, and of the consolations of His infinite compassion and perfect sympathy. The speaker said that while we were,indebted to Mr. Seddon for his services we should also remember that he. was greatly helped by his helpmate throughout life, nad he hoped that God would comfort her. The Rev. John Wilkins seconded the motion, which was carried amid an. impressive silence, the whole congregation standing. The Rev. T. W. Newbold then led in the Lord's Prayer., after which the congregation resumed their, seats. An offertory to dofray expenses was then taken up, and the Rev. Joseph Clark announced that any surplus Mould be devoted towards furthering the objects'of the Ministers' Association. Miss V. Ellingham sang " Crossing the Bar." which .was followed by the singing of the hymn, "Rock of Ages." and the playing of the Dead March" in "Saul," during which everyone stood. Several of the congregation were much affected. The service was brought to ;-, close by the Bene-! diction, pronounced by the Rev. B. V. Mac- i . nicol. . .