DAY OF MOURNING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20793, 9 February 1931, Page 15

DAY OF MOURNING.

AUCKLAND OBSERVANCE.

SPECIAL CHURCH SERVjCES. EXPRESSIONS OF SYMPATHY. ALL DENOMINATIONS JOIN Auckland churches were filled by largo congregations yesterday when a national day of mourning for the victims of the earthquake disaster was observed. Flags throughout the city, and on all shipping in port, were flown at half-mas., and many picnics which were to have been held yesterday tvere postponed as a mark of respect to those who suffered i as a result of the catastrophe. Collections in aid of the relief fund met with a generous response from the public in. all the churches.

A memorial service, which was attended by the Mayor, Mr. George Baildon, the town clerk, Mr. J. S. Brighatn, and nine members of the City Council, was held in St. Mary's Cathedral in the morning.

A message of sympathy received from the Archbishop of York, on behalf of the Church Assembly in England, and a special message from Archbishop Averill, who is at present attending General Synod in Christchurch, urged the members of the congregation to give liberally. for the relief of the sufferers. Canon Fancourt's Messages.

The service was conducted by Canon Fancourt, who said he had three messages to give—one to the bereaved, one to the perplexed, and one to the general public. Addressing himself to those who had suffered bereavement, Canon Fancourt said he would exhort them to remember that the dead were living, and that the future life was possessed of infinitely greater possibilities than the present life. They should not. weep for the dead or for .their happiness, although they might mourn their own losses.

The speaker then referred to the description of the earthquake as "an act of God." It was generally that an earthquake was due in some form or other, to a cooling of the earth's crust, and the people of New Zealand took the risk of living in a country where a danger, though comparatively slight, did exist. It was wrong to say that God had caused the earthquake. In a few years it was hoped that science would be able to forecast earthquakes with the same ease as the weather was at present predicted, but in the meantime it was the duty of the people to see that their buildings were built in such a manner as to give them a better chance of withstanding shocks.

In conclusion Canon Fancourt referred to the disaster as a warning of the seriousness of life, and enjoined those present to give generously in order that those who had been ruined should be. assisted, and that help should be afforded for the rebuilding of Napier. Special organ music was played by Mr. Edgar Randal. Dominion's Saddest and Darkest Page. Large congregations in St. David's Presbyterian Church were addressed at both services, by the Rev. W. Lawson Marsh, who made a heartfelt appeal for assistance in the relief of the sufferers. He referred to the disaster as one which was unparalleled in the gentle history of this country, and compared the destruction of the two towns to the havoc wrought in the Great War.

The swiftness of the blow and its poignant accompaniments of dreadful death and cruel injury, the anguish of distracted survivors seeking their.-relatives and the exodus of refugees provided material for the saddest and darkest page in the records of New Zealand.

If there was a silver lining fo the cloud it was to be found in the magnificent response from the Government, authorities and people alike, to do whatever was possible to meet the need. 1

The public might be baffled by the mystery of so much ruin, but the call came clear to share whatever they possessed with those who had lost homes and livelihood. People's Courage in Affliction. In all the /Roman Catholic churchen of the city and suburbs sympathetic references were made to the victims of the earthquake and prayers were for the dead and for the early recovery of thu injured.

A very large congregation in St. Patrick's Cathedral in the evening joined in an intercessory service, conducted by Bishop Liston.

In the course of his address the bishop said Roman Catholic peoplo had come to mingle their tears with those who had suffered and lost during the past week, hoping that their token of sympathy might be some consolation to the stricken and the sorrowful.

" You have come," the speaker continued, " to offer your prayers for both the living and the dead. If I may act as spokesman for the Roman Catholics of the diocese of Auckland, I would say that in common/with all New Zealand we grieve with a heartfelt sympathy for all those who have suffered."

Bishop Liston added that even while hearts were heavy with grief the minds of New Zealanders were filled" with two unforgettable pictures which woijd enrich their country's history. There was a glowing picture of a people's courage in the midst of sudden and overwhelming disaster. There was, too, a wonderful picture of beneficence and Christina charity on the part of ail New Zealand. Significance ol the Earthquake.

Addressing a large congregation in the Pitt Street Methodist Church last evening, the Rev. W. Walker said that while the sympathies of the whole country would go out in unrestrained measure to those who had suffered in the disaster, the significance of the earthquake would lead the thoughts of the people to God. Also it would serve to remind them of the unity of the nation in a time of trouble. ! The heroic efforts of the rescue workers had revealed with dazzling clarity how one touch of nature made the whole world kin, and people who had been numbed with the suddenness of disaster had rallied swiftly lo the succour of others less fortunate than themselves.

There was a good attendance at the Aucklhnd Synagogue in the forenoon, when a special memorial service was conducted by the Rev. S. A. Goldstein, who delivered an address of sympathy with the sufferers in the disaster. St. Peter's Cathedral, Hamilton, was packed to the doors yesterday morning, when a memorial .service was held. Hie Mayor and members of the Borough Council and other local bodies were present. Special hymns were sung and special prayers and the Litany were sai|l. D«san Barnetfc preached an appropriate sermon.