ENGLISH.

New Zealand Herald and Auckland Gazette, Volume I, Issue 47, 29 January 1842, Page 3

ENGLISH.

PUBLIC TESTIMONIAL OF RESPECT TO THE RECENTLY APPOINTED BISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND. (From the St, James' Chronicle ) Windsor, Wednesday Evening, Aug. 4. The Rev. Mr. Selwyn, one of the assistant curates of New Windsor, who has just been appointed to the recently created Bishopric of New Zealand, being shortly about to leave this town for the scene of his new labors, a public meeting of the inhabitants was convened this afternoon by the Mayor, in consequence of a numerously signed requisition for the purpose of expressing how " deeply they lament and deplore the loss they are about to sustain in the removal of their much esteemed and valued curate; and also to take into consideration the best mode of offering a tribute of their respect, esteem, and gratitude for his great zeal, indefatigable labours, and usafulness amongst them."

There were present, amongst others, at the meeting, the Rev. Isaac Gosset (the vicar), the Rev. Mr. Cotton (curate), Dr. Stanford, Captain Bulkely, Mr. Robert Blunt, Aldermen Clode and Soley, Messrs. W. Jennings, C. S. Voules, T. B. Holderness, T. Clarke, H. and W. Adams, J. Voules, J. B, Brown, F. Twinch, W. Spier;, T. Adams, W, Ingleton, E. P. Williams, &c.

Mr. J. Banister, the Mayor, briefly opened the proceedings, and alluded to the obligations which the whole of the inhabitants were under to the Rev. Mr. Selwyn during his ministry, and wishing him health and happiness to undergo the labours of his new undertaking. Mr. T. Clarke, in moving the first resolution and urging its adoption, bore testimony to the merits of the rev. gentleman, who would shortly leave Windsor for a foreign land, and to the great advantages the town had derived from his labors. After an excellent address, in which allusion was made to the spiritual consolation which Mr. Selwyn had rendered to the poor throughout the town, and to the gratitude they had expressed for his kindness. Mr. Clarke called the attention of the meeting to a speech delivered at a late meeting of the incorporated Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, held" at Manchester, by the Rev. J. S. M. Anderson, in which the following reference was made to the appointment of Mr. Selwyn to the new bishopric : —" I should certainly be guilty of great neglect," said the rev. gentleman, referring to the establishment of foreign bishoprics, " were I to pass away from this point without adverting to that devoted servant of the Lord, who is about to enter on the Bishopric of New Zealand, who a short time since received from Lord John Russell the nomination for this office. I believe, I speak in the presence of many who know him ; and all who know must love him. I speak of one who is of a family famed for distinction. I speak of one who, not only at Eton, when he was a boy, showed what he would be when he was a man, but upon whose young path afterwards academic distinction shed its brightest rays of glory ; who, in his early years, which he has devoted to the service of God in the ministry, has acquired for himself, through the blessing of God, far higher honours than academic distinctions, or distinctions of any other descrip-tion,-can give him. He has shown himself to be a faithful and courageous servant of the Lord Jesus; and if ever there was a man—l say it without exaggeration—to whom the brightest prospects in this country were open, the Rev. Mr. Selwyn is the man. He is in a place where he is known for arduous enterprise. In that field he has laboured successfully; but not courting th bright prospects as man's wisdom would brightness, he is ready to count things bu dross, for the excellence of the wisdom of And he goes forth, leaving father, mother, brand kindred at home, that he may in that s< land, New Zealand, watch as an oversee Christ's flock." Mr. Clarke concluded by n "That in consequence of the severe h parish is about to sustain by the appoint its respected curate, the Rev. George / Selwyn, to the Bishopric of New Zealand, it is desirable the inhabitants should express their gratitude to him for the great benefits he has conferred upon them by the constant, untiring, and devoted attention he had shown to their best interests ; and also for the singleness of purpose, universal kindness, and good feeling he has evinced towards all who have enjoyed the blessings of his ministry." Dr. Stanford seconded the resolution.

Mr. C. S. Voules proposed, in a neat speech, the second resolution, which was as follows : " That, in pursuance of the foregoing resolution, it is the opinion of this meeting that, in addition to the thanks of his parishioners, some lasting testimonial of plate, with a suitable inscription, be presented to the Rev. G. A, Selwyn." Mr. Alderman Soley said he most cordially coincided with the resolution, and he felt great pleasure in seconding it.

Mr. R. Blunt, in moving that a subscription be entered into for the purchase of a piece of plate, and that a committee be appointed to take into consideration the best means of carrying out the wishes of the meeting, expressed the great regret which he, in common with the rest of the parishioners, felt in losing the valuable services of Mr. Selwyn. The resolution was seconded by Mr. W.Jennings, and, as the two preceding ones, was unanimously adopted. The committee was afterwards appointed. The Rev. I. Gosset, the vicar of New Windsor, then rose, and expressed his cordial and heartfelt assent to the objects of the meeting. He could bear testimony,on thepart of the Rev. Mr. Selwyn, that from the period of his leaving Eton to his becoming the evening pieacher in the town, he had done most invaluable service—service which all must appreciate, and which must cause every one of the inhabitants to deplore and lament his loss. "I, for one," concluded the rev. speaker, evidently much affected, " part with him with sincere and heartfelt regret." After a vote of thanks to the Mayor, the meeting broke up. Nearly £IOO was subscribed before the party separated ; and it is expected, frona the estimation Mr. Selwyn is held throughout the town, that the subscription will exceed £SOO. It is in contemplation to form a Windsor and Eton New Zealand Missionary Society, in connection with the Established Church.