THE PRESENTATION TO THE REV. L. M. ISITT.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 839, 30 March 1888, Page 2

THE PRESENTATION TO THE REV. L. M. ISITT.

Atthe Opera House last Friday uigbt a complimentary farewell concert was tendered to tlie llev L. M. Jsitt, who is about to leave -Wellington for Christchurch, to which place | lie has been removed by the Wesleyan Con- ! ference, and advantage was taken of the occasion to present the rev. gentleman with a valedictory address and a purse of sovereigns.. -There was a very large attendance, the building being crowded in all parts. His Excellency the Governor aod the Misses Jervois occupied seats in the dress circle, and Sir Harry Atku son, Mr Fergus, and Mr Fisher were also present. r l he large and influential committee which had undertaken to carry out' the project had succeeded in securing the services of many favorite amateur vocalists and musicians, and consequently an excellent concert was given. Most of tile items oil the • programme were encored,, but the demand for repetitions. was only, complied With- in oiie or two.instances. Mrs Greenwood sang “The Star of Bethlehem ” very successfully, and the same lady also took part in Pinsuti’a duet, “ There is a Reaper,” with Mr J. Prouse, which was encored. Miss TrehairOsborne sang “ Mary Morrisson ” very ellectively, and in response to an encore she gave “Home, Sweet Home ” v ith. much feeling, and Miss Randeli was heard to:considerable advantage in “JSrnani Involaini'.” Mr J. Prouse gave “The King’s Highway” with great effect, but.declined an encore. Mr E. J. Hill and Mr E. S. Widdop also contributed songs, both of which were loudly applauded. Instrumental solos were given by Messrs Macduff. Boyd and C. D. Mackintosh, and a localised c mio song, which created great amusement, by Mr vV; D. LyoD. An excellent orchestra, under the direction of Mr Schwartz, performed two selections during the evening, which were much" enjoyed;— The accompaniments, were in the hands of JTer Mosch aiid Miss Widdop. \ .The presentation took place during the interval between the first and second parts of the programme. On the curtain rising after a short intermission. Sir Harry Atkinson, Messrs G. Fi-dier, Fergus, T. K Mao donald' (Chairman of ' the Committee), «T. Dutbie, Rev L. M. Isitt, and several other gentlemen , were discovered seated oh the stage. Mr Macdonald, in the course of a felicitous little speech, called upon the Premier to present the address. In doing this, he said, he was sure he was speaking the minds of the citizens of AVellihgton when he took that occasion of publicly congratulating. Sir Harry Atkinson on the high honor which' he- had--, received at .the hands of: our most gracious -Sovereign; - (Applause.) . >S:r Harry- Atkinson, said it. was. with great pleasure that he had eonseuted to take part in that evening’s proceedings, a: pleas sure which -he felt sure was shared by all those, assembled, because. :it arose,-from, a feeling that they were there to., express publicly and personally to M>- Isitt the respect and admiration which they, all entertained for the ability ana untiring zeal with which he had worked in a good cause sc near bis- heart.- They were not there to honor the work of the statesman or the soldier, but to honor one of greater importance. Without the qualities which Mr Isttt had endeavored to arouse in the community the work of - the statesman or the soldier jp 'uld have but little efleet. Tfi conclusion the speaker wished the rev gentleman God speed in the name of the assemblage present. (Continued applause.) He tlieu presented the address and purse of sovereigns.-v-The address was as follows To the Rev Leonard M. Isitt, minister, of

Wesley Church, Taranaki-street. _ Dear Sir,—We, the undersigned, citizens of Wellington, learn with regret that at the recent meeting of the Wesleyan Couhrence you were allocated a new sphere of labor. We cahiiot, however, allow you, to depart from tlie city in which you- have spent the past three years without expressing to you our deep sense of the value of your labors in' connection with the cause of temperance and the social improvement of the mass of the people. We recognise l that the whole of your ministerial work has been carried on in the most catholic and unselfish spirit,, and that no difference of' creed or opinion has interfered with your efforts to ameliorate the condition of those you have fouud unfortunate and unhappy in our city. We trust that your energy and buoyant spirit may long exist for similar good works in other quarters of the Colony. In wishing you “Good-bye,' 1 we ask your acceptauce'of. the accompanying purse of sovereigns, and ,de sire to assure you that you have a host of friends in all classes of; this community to whom your happiness and success -in your life’s labor will always be a matter of the deepest - interest.—We ore, dear sir. very faithfully yours, HV Ar Atkinson, W. H. Levin, John Dutliie, George Tolburst.-E. Pearce, H. Blundell, William Dawson, J. R. Blair, A. K. Newman, Samuel Brown, A. Young, T. Kennedy Macdonald (chairman), Robert E. Bannister (secretary and treasurer , and over 200 others. ' v’t-f- ;•••-• r The Rev L. M. Isitt said it was no mere figure of speech when he said that it was utterly impossible for him to adequately express the surprise and gratitude hefelt when he saw bo large an assemblage, and experienced so much kindness. He went on to remark that the kind gilt they had presented him with would in many ways add to the comfort of his new home. He sinoerely believed that the gift was gladly and -freely bestowed, and therefore it was gladly and freely taken. He quite; recognised the extended influence he'would have in the future through that large assemblage, graced by hia Excellency, being present that night. It sent him down to his work at Christchurch strengthened by ■ their approval, and he assured them that it would call for a pledge

on his part to work harder in the good cause than he had done before—(applause) —and he sincerely thanked r them for the great honor they ha 1 - done him.' He assured' them -that, although removed out of Wellington, they could never remove him beyond the recollections of the kindness he had received from the Wellington people, and he hoped that at some future time be might be permitted bv the church he served to spend another term of office .in their 'midst-; (Applause:) -He thanked the members' of the committee, particularly the Secretary (Mr E. Bannister) fortheir services, aud in conclusion he once more expressed his thanks - to all who had been so kind to him. The rev gentleman resumed his seat amidst great applause. ■'? '-I:!'