MEETINGS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13226, 11 July 1906, Page 3

MEETINGS.

,- „-. AUCKLAND PRESBYTER*:. . j^fafK-; monthly meeting tii-iii" .\iu:'iUnd X'r"»hy. ■ '. t«ry'.wa»' held. in St. ;- Andrew'*, Chtrrch/'towet §>!- : montU-«treet, yesterday afternoon, the Moderator. (the Rev. R. jr. Maeiitcol) presiding. 1

Call to the Rev. A. T. Tliorajuon: A leU»z «»s received from the clerk of the Wellington !'resbyteiy enclosing a call from the congregation of : the Presbyterian Church at s!aa£e'rton to the Rev. AT. Thompson, 8.A., 8.D., of the Thames. The I, call, tb'j writer pointed out, signed by 112 members of the church and 79 conimuhkants. ; The stipend was £250 per annum. The Rev*. O. B. Monro and W. Gray Dixon were appointed by ■ the Wellington Presbytery to act as their commissioners before the Auckland Presbytery. The Revs. Monro 3nd Gray Dixon, in supporting the call, referred in . terms of high praise to the work which had been done by Mr. Thompson in his present charge. A representative from the Thames congregation having stated that the congregation, while regretting Mr. Thompson's proposed departure, raised no objections to his accepting the call, the ca.ll ' was placed in Mr. rhoropson'H hands. Mr. Thompson, while thanking these present for the kindly references made, said he intended to accept the'call. The call was sustained by the Presbytery, and i: was decided to declare the Thames charge vacant. The Rev. It- Sormnerville was appointed moderator of the charge. , ■EdentialeV.Tlie Rev. W. Gray Dixon reported that he had been advised by the Rev. Alex. Miller, M.A., of Chatswood, Svdnev (who had been appointed to the charge of Edendale). that he purposed leaving Sydney by the Manuka on the 18th ins.t., and would arrive here about the 22nd. Ho moved, -That arrangements be made [or his induction to the Kdendale charge on Wednesday evening, July 25." The motion was carried. Mr. Dixon said it was proposed that the welcome by the congregation should take place in the following week. Dr. Sidey's Retirement: A communication was received from Dr. Erwin, of . CbrUtchurcb. stating that it had been proposed that, the valuable .services which had been rendered to the Church by Dr. Sidey, the late (secretary and treasurer, should bo recognised in some form by the ministers and elders of the. Church throughout NewZealand. It was proposed that this recognition should consist ,of an illuminated address and purse of sovereigns. - Suggestions were invited from the Auckland Presbytery. After some discussion it was decided to express entire sympathy with the movement and to suggest that the recognition should consist of a portrait in oils and la- purse of sovereigns. * Home Missions: The Home Missions Committee recommended that Mr.- McFadgen, home missionary, be relieved from, duty at Whangarei Heads and Parua, Bay. and that the following districts be added to" his parish:—Mangakahia. Poroti, Maungatapere, and Huatangnt*. The recommendation was adopted. It was also decided, on the recommendation of Hie committee,* that arrangements be made to work Whangaiei Heads with, an assistant attached to the Waip'u charge. "\ Bible Classes: En the evening a. conference was held with Bible class leaders and Sabbath school superintendents and teachers. There was a fair attendance. The questions of how best to conserve, safeguard, and extend the work of the Bible classes were discussed, and suggestions were made, among them being the necessity for making such associations as attractive as possible fox- the young people by introducing pleasure excursions, games, etc.. which would band members together and attract others. One of the speakers also referred to the desirableness of the converted members of Bible classes using their best endeavours to convert others. THE FRENCH CLUB. ,- The usual fortnightly meeting of the French Club was held last night in St. Paul's schoolroom, Syinonds-street. The president (M. R. Boeufve) was absent on account of indisposition and his place was filled by Mr.' Winter. Several new members were elected. A drama, entitled " Jean Marie," by Andre Pheuriet, was read by Mile. Bouillon (Therese), Mr. A. Boeufve (Joe), and Mr. Balliam (Jean Marie). lime. Boeufve recited " Castibelsa" (by Victor Hugo), and Mr. A. Boeufve recited three pieces of poetry. Mr. Gres--1 ham read an article on " L'Ententc Cordiale." Mr. Balham read a paper written by Miss Priestly, called " Pensees D'Uncelibataiie." The subject of discussion was, " Do we. overwork our children iu school?" several members taking part. The discussion will be continued at the next meeting. EPSOM ROAD BOARD. A meeting.of the Epsom Road Board was held last night, and was .attended by Messrs. W. ft. Bloonifield (chairman), J. Edgeily, A. McDonald. ! and S. Hesketh. Accounts amounting to £82 83 bd were passed for payment, ,£SB 2s 8d of this amount being the first instalment of the hospital and charitable, aid rate. A letter was received from the Premier (Mr. Hall-Jones) acknowledging the receipt of the Board's letter conveying an expression of .sympathy from the Board on the occasion of the" death of the late Premier. MOUNT WELLINGTON ROAD BOARD. , A'meeting', of the Mount Wellington Road Board fwas held at'EWerslie on Monday.. The chairman "gave notice to move at the next meeting that a general rate of five-eighths of a. penny in the £ on the capital value of all ratable property in the whole district of Mount- Wellington be levied for the current year, and a .water rate, of a. halfpenny in the" £ for the-Ellerslie'division 6r**lie' district .be also levied. A letter, was .-received* from.the . secretary of the Campbeil-Ehrenfried Company offering to provide one complete street. Tamp. This .was accepted with thanks. The question of erecting street lamps at several points in the Ellerslie township will come up for consideration at next, meeting. It was resolved to ask the members of the Otahuhu Road Board to meet the Mount. Wellington Board at Otahuhu on Wednesday- next to discuss the question of control and administration of the Mount Richmond reserve, on the southern boundary of the Mount, Wellington road district. Accounts amounting to £93 as were passed for payment. '<

PITT-STREET METHODIST QUARTERLY MEETING. At. the quarterly meeting of the Pitt-street Methodist circuit the Rev. J. A. Luxford presided and circuit ministers and 50 office-bearers were present. The Rev. George Bond and G. W. Spence, who had entered upon their work during the. quarter,'were welcomed by the superintendent. The returns for the roll book showed 1006 members.. Notice of the death of the Rev. H. H. La wry was read and received by the members standing. The balance-sheet showed receipts £416 and expenditure, including debit balance of £63 at the beginning of the quarter, £578. The increased expenditure was caused by the/furnishing of parsonages and the removal expenses of ministers. A scheme of special effort to yemove the debit balance was agreed upon. Committees were appointed and further instructed with regard to sites for churches at Epsom. Ellerslic. and Pakurahga. The Richmond Road Committee reported that services and a Sundayschool had been started in the hall in that district. Schemes for building a Sunday-school at Kingsland and for moving and re-erecting a church at Archhill were approved by the meeting. The Grafton Road trustees reported that an agreement had been arrived at, in connection with their trust difficulty, but that the whole matter had been referred back to the conference bv the Loan Fund Committee. A resolution expressing regret at this action, and asking tb« Loan Fund Committee to reconsider its decision, was passed. A committee of the- superintendents of the schools was appointed to discuss the conference report on the attitude of the parents to the Sunday-school. The circuit steward gave notice of motion for next meeting dealing with the division of the circuit into three separate circuits. It was resolved that details of the scheme be printed and sent to the various churches lor consideration. ... CHINA AND THE CHINESE. Miss Leslie, who has been for some years attached to the Zenana Mission in connection with the Church Missionary Society in Foocjiow, China, delivered a most interesting address on 'China and the Chinese" in St. Matthew's Parish Hall last evening. Iter remarks departed from the stereotyped lecture form and took the shape of a fireside chat, bat Miss Leslie was able by the intimate knowledge of her subject to make the chat extremely entertaining and full of instruction. She referred to the difficulties of mastering tho language; the native suspicion of foreigners, and especially of those engaged in mission work, which yielded no material return ; the foot-binding horror, the ancestor worships, and the food and manners of the people. She illustrated her remarks by referring to many things in daily use, such as chopsticks, handwarmers, shoes, idols, and models of clothing. An earnest appeal was made for financial help for the sending out of a lady from New Zealand to do Zenana work in Foochow. i —. *' LECTURE ON TECHNICAL EDUCATION. i Mr. George George, director of technical education, delivered a very interesting and instructive lecture on " Technical Education" to the members of the Otahuhu Mutual Improvement Association on Monday night (writes our correspondent). He paid a feeling tribute to the memory of his old friend, Mr. S. Luke, late chairman of the Board of Education. Mr. George defined technical education as meaning the application of scientific and artistic principles to manufactures and industries, the "know why" being as essential as tho " know how." The mistake was made in England of educating the workmen only and not. the heads of firms and industrial leader.-. This led to conservatism by retention of machinery which should be discarded. The reverse was the case in America, where the employees got more encouragement towards original invention. Dealing with the question, Does technical education par? Mr. George quoted numerous examples to prove that it did. Criticising the methods of education in New Zealand. Mr. George deplored the lack of suitable buildings and teachers for the pupils when gathered together. I and warmly commended the Japanese system of '■ importing trained teachers and so benefiting by the experience of older countries. Passing on to primary education, the lecturer condemned the present pupil-teacher system as tending to cram and discouragement of original work. He recommended more manual training right through all the standards. As the country was not likely to be for some time a great manufacturing place, the most suitable form of education would be one in which industrial trades and mining were well attended to, but. above all, the agricultural side should be studied, not alone in country, but mo in town, schools. The Arbitration Act, by destroying incentive to self-improvement. Mr. George considered, had done great harm to the cause of technical education, as all so-called competent workmen were placed on one level—-the duffer with the expert— paid uniform wages. A better apprenticeship svstem was strongly advocated.. The lecture was listened to with earnest attention bv a large and appreciative audience. •Mr. R. Dick proposed a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. George. This was seconded by the Rev. 11. Mason and carried unanimously by acclamation.