KNOX CHURCH CONVERSAZIONE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10417, 20 July 1895, Page 6

KNOX CHURCH CONVERSAZIONE.

A conversazione wag held ,in the Garriaon Hall laat evening to. welcome the Ray. W. Hewitsou, the recently-inducted pastor of Knox Church. The hall was crowded, and' amoug those present, were the Reva. Dr Danlop (who presided), Dr Watt, T. Tait (Albert Park, Melbourne), W. Will, W- i Saunders, A. North, D. Dufcfcon, J. Kirkland, j A. Greig, J. J. Lewis, J. Waters, A. Don, J. ■ M. Eraser, D. Borrie, A. Cameron, I. Jolly, J. I Clarke, and I. K. 55'Intyre, and representstive ' mainbers of nearly every denomination in the city. Apolofjies were received for the absence of Bishop Nevill and the Yen. Archdeacou , Edwards. j

■ The Chairman, after stating that they wera j met that night in a social capacity to give a ' welcome to Mr aad Mrs Hewitson, said Mr Hewitson was very much to ba congratulated upon beginning his pastorate in Knox Church , under conditions that were practically ideal, j because there were no hostile factions to j conciliate and there was no gullet) suspicious- i ness to dissipate—that kind of sullen suspicion- ! ness that was calculated to interfere with ths ; flow of general candour and sympathy. In con- ! gratulating Mr Hewitson the congregation must ' in a_ sense congratulate themselves in having obtained for their pastor one whom they could ; look upon and love and trust as they did their i present pastor, Mr Hewitson.—(Applause.) He j might be permitted to congratulate them not i only upon the unanimity of their choice but j also upon the choice itself. As to the wisdom ' of the choice, he thought that- God'a best j gift to any- congregation was a religious! teacher who combined in an eminent degree ! piety and cultured ability, and he ventured to say there never had been a case whare those two things were combined, if they added the ! paving grace of common sense—and ha credited 1 Mr _ Hawitson with, that too—where such ministry, was not fruitful in the beat and highest Rense of tha word, '. Mr Howitaon's record and what they, knew of Mr Hewitson gave them the right to confidently anticipate i a happy future. He hoped that the bright ! augury that evening of a happy ministry would I be realised, and he believed most confidently it would.-i(Applanse.) Mr B. B. Cahgill offered his sincere congratulations to -Mr ; Hewitson upon his induction to the-..'.Ministry of the congregae'' -4- oon Bwgation. expected great things from Mr Hewitson, and had high anticipations ot what might be the result- of his miufstry in long years to come. The congregation had been in existence for 35 years, and throughout that time it/grew until it had reached its present position of magnitude under the care ot tbeir late dear pastor, Dr Stuarc— (Applause.) He. had no doubt the lar»e- ---■ he»rted, liberal, godly, zealous spirit which t filled Dr Stuart enabled him to sscure the iT, rCe^, a i ar.se body of co-workers in the ! church, and had impressed itself very largely I |on the. congregation, and so they had been Sble jto go on along those 35 years- without anything 1«3 a- J"iu He WBS s«o Mr Hewitsou would Una in the congregation . adapbibilities and readiness to concede.and. fall ia with his views ot things so as to enable them to work with the utmost readiness -In concluding his remarks, Mr Carg.ll.said he had the very pleasant duty ! -to perform ot aaking Mr Hewitson's acceptance ! from the ladies of the congregation of a gowu, i hassock, and bands in testimony' of the affectionate respect and hearty welcorse and good ! (A) llute 7 WBS reoeived by them.— The Rev. W. Hewitson, who was received with prolonged appUuse,-said he found some difficulty in knowing what to say to them. He. hart been trying as intervals during the day. to hatch a Bpencb, and he'tald hio wife late in the afternoon that he coaldnot do it. She said he was a oeautjrj-(Und laughter.) That was a compUawnß she did nob: usually pay him. She said be wag to say "For what we have received aud tor what we are about to receive, may tho Lord make us truly thaakful." ■He had already said that, but he did not feel it was quite a long enough speech for an evening like that Having thanked Dr Danlop for the personal kindness he bad received from him as the of the congregation, the ladies, for the very -Handsome gown they had-given W; the ladies and office-bearers for the Bplßndid meeting they had arranged, and Mr Biirth and his choir for the entertainment they were giving, he said he must thank the congregation f ur the ' very large numbers' in -which they went'to hear .'him-on Sabbath Day iaßt, and for the large numbers in which they Had come, to welcome him and his wife that evening., One other matter for gratitude was the very cordial way in* which he had been received by his brother ministers, not only of the Presbyterian Church, but ■ also of fh? y II churchßS- ~ (Applause.) He did think ■ the ■ welcome ' i they had ' extended ■■v i m was all' ;'thE:t ' his heaifc could'desire, and 'was very much beyond the highest expectation that he had:fornied: : When the tekgi-sinj.announcing that he had been called to the, pastorate of Kuox Church it excited very mingled feelings in his .^l'.' ■*? r. he,- s*w tha6 the acceptance of that call involved a -great;'deal for him It meant severing his connection with his p&st lite; it meauß leaving,. and probably for good, the land ot his birth and the khd where he had lived^aU Ins days. Those who had come from the old country would'understand the feelings through which ho had recently been passing 1 hey knew what it was to leave their patents iv their mcreased years, to leave the relatives and mends of a lifetims—friends whose charity had never failed, whose love had sustained the stresH and strain of one's .weakness, wilfumess, aud folly. It meant leaving the home where one had spent his childhood, and where one hatt spent his early married years. It meant, too, leaving some spots-iu : the graveyard that were dear to one's hearb. To him it meant a,so the leaving of a loyal knd attached congregation—a congregation that had been perfectly united during the seven and a-half years that he kuesv it—and he had learned from the clerk of the session that ia the records of the session minutes there w*s notoue notice of a division during the whole history of that congregation.—(Applause.) He left that congregation with great pain of heart to himself, and he bblieved with paiu of heart to many of them. Then he saw that in the future there wero difficulties. They were ail strangers to him. Of the faces that looked up at him at the- iuduefcion service or at his first sermon on Sibbath Day he did not know that more than one looked up with the sympathy fsr him that was born of knowledge—the.facs of a young man who for a while went to the church over in Brunswick. Then ib was an exceedingly difficult thing to follow in the. footsteps of a man like Dr Stuart. He knew about his extraordinary, popularity, .his, great physical strength, the force of his character, his aptitude in the management of affairs, his wisdom in tlie management of men, the catholicity oi' his. spirit and of his sympathy, and ihe greatest tcibute of all to bis power was that after tbe trying experience of a 12 months' vacancy the great congregation that he had built up.with their help stood, as Professor Harper remarked to the speaker, without a crack. —(Applsu-se.) To follow a. man like that was a matter of very great difficulty, and might cause any man to pause before entering on so difficult an undertaking. He knew, too, that there were difficulties in the congre.?atiou. Its record had been a good one. The sizo of tbe congregation, its iraportauce in the city, in tha Presbyterian Church of Ofcigo and Southland, and as a Preebyterian churoh throughout the Australian J.colonies, made the,position''of its minister a very grave and very difficult one. On of the minicters on the other side—a man who knew Dr Stuart as his persona! friend, and who knew many of the leading members of the congregation—told him that he had the finest; (sphere of usefulness iv the southern hemisphere ; and another man who was introduced to him said: "There are all sorts of quter people in that Knox Church— (laughter) : —it ha.a been gathered together and held together by the great perEonMifcy o f y>i Stuart, aud I can assure you they'll take some managing."—(Loud laughter.) The difficulty of the position aad the difficulty of following a man like Dr Stuart impressed him vary greatly indeed, and made him feel be wonld be" very giad if ho could fiod some clear indication of God's will that he should stop on the other side among his old people. He prayed about the matter and ha went to Ms relatives and a-sked them. A relative whose age at)d whose loveliness made parting bitter, and relatives who could not ■ read the tekgrauaa which came because of what they felt they miehb contain, aud relatives who could not write about the pain of: parting, said to him that he must go. Frieuds of his lifetime and of his student days said he must go, aad his eldats said he must go. Prof K ec-or Harp°r said to him, ". If you don't go you'll bs shutfcW the door of the opportunity of the work of your life.;" and Dr Eentoul Baid to him, " If%ou don't go then you're a fooL»-(Loud-Uughter.} | And he had come.—(Loud applause.) He could heartily wish it had been his privilege to have known, to have even seen, Dr Stuart If he had known him he shoald have Mt thai know ledge heked him with the past history of the congregation, and that knowledge might have enabled him to underatend the congregation better and perhaps to do his work batter The next best thing to knowiag a man was to hear his trusted friends talk about him, p U d he h.Td heard them speak fully and frankly about DStarts character au d about hs method of work, and nearly every day he iearnt something new about him. He was told by a cvulirl friend on ihe other s ide that he woufd he^ o much about DrStnatt. "the good eld doctor" and how the doctor did this, and how he : d.d ihat, that he would prethy soon tire of bear! apout toe old dactor."-(La llg hter.) Ha did | not thmk ,t He wns a wor,e man than heg?w himteh credit, for ,t he did, and he waa brd j enough in all cot;s«ence—fkui'hter) —but ho I did not think he would tire of hearing men and * women who Avere friends and parishioners of

Dr Stuart talk about his good work. He believed he could, and he did, thank God for Dc Stuart's good works, for if there was a happy sphere of usefulness for him h*?re, then Dr Staart made it.—(Applause). Dr Sfcuiirt w?.g their minister, and more than that, lie was their friend, and the deepest and tenderesfc ties that bound man to man ware the-ties'that" bound a minister to the members of his congregation. He gAve his life to building up their splendid church and congregation ; he gave his great strength and time ungrudgingly, even prodigally, aud it hsd been the speaker's pleasure to see the letter he (Dr Stuart) wroSe to the office-bearers a few days before his death—a letter breathing of love''and leaning upon the congregation he hud served through so many years. Their balk of Dr Staart aud of Kuox Church, and their singing of his praissis and of the praises of the church were one reason why he hid courage to come amongst them, for it was their loyalty to Dr Stuart and to Knox Charch that gave him one ground of hope that they would stand by the church he (Dr Stuart) lived and died to build, r.nd h« trusted that some day, if he proved himself worthy, they would give him the regard and affeebion they had given his predecessor. He w&8 not going to copy Dr Stuart. Gfdd'gave Dr Staart an individuality, and his work ky along the line of that, and he s'panfc him.-eU' to do it; but the speaker must work akiDg the line -of the individuality that God had given him.—(Applauss.) Aa a rale ho would nut; treat lightly the traditions of the cong^atiou, but toey would not expect him to tight with Dr Stuart's weapons. Hie went onto ?.ppeal, to the congregation for-what Dc SU'.kei- called " the long unbroken focauoou " to 2 o'clock, and said if they gave him that tiiua he would do his bust to bring them messages from Gcd that would help, their life, and he knew he could depend upon Mr Ba.rth and his choir to assist in making the Sunday services helpful and profitable.—-(Loud applause.) The Rev. Dr. Watt and the Rev. T. Tait also addressed the meeting. - Daring the evening a couple of choruses from Lahee's cantata, "The Building of the Ship," were sung by the choir (Mrs Htslop taking the solo in one of these), s vocal bolo was rendered by Mr A. Wright, a .piano s* by Mr A. J. Barth, and two pianoforte dutts by Messrs A. J. BarSh and Gr. Moore. At an.interval in the procee<3ingo light refreshments were served oub to those present. . '