ST. PAUL'S CHURCH SOIREE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume III, Issue 635, 16 May 1878, Page 2

ST. PAUL'S CHURCH SOIREE.

The annual soiree in connection with the Presbyterirn Church took place lastevening in the Volunteer Hall, and passed off in the most successful manner, the attendance at the tea and public meeting being very large, and the arrangements all that could be desired. About 400 persons, young and old, sat down to the tea provided at the expense of the congregation. Mr. M'Kcnzie was the caterer, and the tables were presided over by the followingh'dies : M-.sdamesTodd, Hood, Milligan. SiniJb'e, GemmeJl, Falconer. M'lutosh, H. Watson, 11. Wilson. HercV i man. Mitchell, Hedlev. Evans. J. Bee, .Mainland: Misses M. Gardiner, J. Gardiner. Waddell, Cooke (2). M'ln tosh. Watson.' Liddle, Turnbull, Hewatt, Mitchell, E.-.ston, and Sly. After the tables had been removed, the public nnwin" was held, when there were 500 people Pivs.-nt. The E-. A. B. Todd occupied the chair, and the following gentlemen occupied seats on the platform: —The .R'-v-. Dr. Stuart. H. Dewsbury, Barclay (&Vr-ddine). J. Steven, Cameron, i>.ndM<'-s!=rs. W. J. Steward,and.l. Falconer. The choir. nnd' r the direction of Mr. D. M-.-oth. were also seated on the platform, Mr. E. Booth presiding at the harmonium. The proceedings were o:--':ed by singing the lOOfh Psalm, aft-.r -.vhich the Rev. Dr. Stuart offered up a shot' :vn- -r. The rev. Chairman expressed t';:■„■ ■• pleasure he felt at presiding at the u. nig, and said lie was glad to see so mai.\ of his congregation present, as well as the large number of members of other congregations, to whom he offered a hearfy welcome. The reports in connection with the church having been read at a meeting of the congregation and afterwards printed and circulated, it was not intended to make any statement at that meeting. The soiree was not held for the purpose of making money, but to promote Christian sociality, and the office-bearers of the church would be satisfied if the receipts covered the expenditure. It was nine years last Sunday since lie commenced his ministry in Oamaru, and nineteen years since he arrived in the Colony. He then spoke of the many changes which had taken place during the time he had been in Oamaru, and of the progress which had been made in the town and district. They had also progressed ecclesiastically, the one congregation over which he had formerly presided having developed into three, there being now separate charges at lower Waitaki and Waiareka, while, before long, he hoped to see a fourth minister stationed at Duntioon. He concluded by calling xipon The Rev. Dr. Stuart,'who said that in looking over the large meeting he was forcibly reminded of the great progress which had been made since he first visited Oamaru. At that time he believed scarcely a sheaf of wheat was grown in the district, and the populution was very sparse ; while now tens of thousands of bushels of .grain were grown, and the population was as thick as blackberries. Having briefly referred to the advantages which Oamaru possessed in its glorious climate and fertile soil —perhaps the finest in the Middle Island—he said that the subject which, he had chosen to address the meeting upon was "Sowing and Sowers." In a highly humorous manner he dilated upon the evils resultant from evil sowing upon his land of a. large crop of " dock'ug blades " through the instrumentality r>f (he Dunedin Corporation, and of thisiles imported in some trusses of hay from Tasmania. He then proceeded to enlarge upon the scriptural injunctions to sow the good seed of the kingdom diligeTitly beside all waters. He gave an instance in his own congregation of ho\v great good could be effected by the, quiet, unobtrusive work of those who sowed in obscure corners. The churches depended greatly upon the good, work done by such sowers in the congregations for much of their success. Having spoken of many kinds of sowers of the seed of the Gospel, and of the great good which would result from their labors, he spoke in glowing terms of the beneficial ril'ects resulting from the work done in families by Christian wives aud mothers, and said such women were worth their weight in gold. He next referred to the many disparaging remarks made with regard to Christianity, and said they must not expect the milleuium to result solely from the work done by Ministers. The great success which greeted Luther was not the result of his preaching alone ; the way had been paved for him by a large army, who had been working diligently long before Luther entered the field. The same might be said of the Reformation in Scotland, which was not solely attributable to Knox's efforts, for the way had been prepared by many others, who had been working quietly. The r.v. gentleman

then appealed to his hearers to share in the good work, and asked them to remember that there was no stream, however lowly, but some land was refreshed and gladdened by it. He concluded by quoting the lines "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand," and by a strong appeal to his hearers to assist in the good work. Choir—" What shall the harvest be."

The Rev. Mr. Dewsbury congratulated the Rev. Mr. Todd in having completed the ninth year of his ministry, and the congregation upon having so long had the services of so excellent a minister. He spoke of the sneers,which they had heard cast at religion, that the Gospel was behind the age ; that the ago had become too enlightened for the doctrines of Christianity, etc., and expressed the belief that the religion of Christ would triumph over all opposition in the future as it had in the past. He asked those who sneered at Christianity to look at the great work that had been performed through the medium of the Scriptures, and forever hold their peace. He sketched out the triumphs of the Gospel in China, in India, in North America, and in all parts of the world, and asked if there was any evidence in all this that the Gospel had lost its power. Choir: Anthem—"lncline thine ear."

The Rev. Mr. Steven spoke of the necessity of controlling the temper, and endeavouring to be always in good humour, as was the case that evening. If this were done, the millenium would be much nearer than they thought. Choir : " Joy, Joy, Joy."

The Rev. Mr. Barclay spoke at great I length of the prophesies which were being | made of the titter ruin of Christianity, and of the efforts which wore being put forth to bring about that result. He said he had studied the writings of the early critics, and the amount of similarity between the arguments and reasons then urged, and those which they now heard used against the Scriptures, was remarkable. In those writings they would have every one of the arguments bandied about liy Huxley, Tyndall, and Spencer. He pointed out what had already been done by religious teaching, and said that Christianity had withstood the attacks which had been made upon it. and would continue to do so. Choir : Anthem, "In Jewry is God known." 'Plie Rev. Mr. Cameron next briefly addressed the meeting on the necessity for not only being Christians, but useful Christians. Choir : " Where hast thou gleaned today." Mr. W. J. Steward spoke upon the necessity for cultivating a spirit of charity and tolerance between the churches, and asked that there might be unity of feeling amongst the different sects. Choir : " There's a beautiful land on high." The usual votes of thanks were then accorded to the ladies for presiding over the tables, on the motion of Mr. M'Farlane : to the choir for their excellent music, on the motion of Mr. Mollison ; to the. speakers, on the motion of Mr. Falconer ; and to the officediearers for the way in which they had carried out the arrangements, on the motion of the Rev. Mr. Todd. Hymn 382 having been sung, and the benediction pronounced by the Rev. Mr. Todd, the pleasant gathering was brought to a close. We must certainly congratulate the. choir upon the manner in which the musical selections were rendered : and a word of praise is due to Mr. Daniel Booth for his singing of the solo in the anthem "Incline thine ear."