OTAGO DAILY TIMES JUBILEE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15301, 15 November 1911, Page 9

OTAGO DAILY TIMES JUBILEE

RESOLUTION Br THE PRESBY- .. TERIAN ASSEMBLY.

!At tho evening eoesion of the General Assembly of the • Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, held in Knox Church last tiighi, the Rev. Dr Gibb proposed the following icsolutioa: —- " The ►Assembly, learning that the Ctago Daily Times newspaper is about to celebrate tlio jubilee of its origin, desires, to congratulate the' proprietors and.the stall of tho papiT «pon so .distinguished tut honour. It rejoices to recognise the great pithis newspaper has had in the development of tlie oomimmitv. Representing) as the Assembly docs, tlie forces which historically have secured for the nation thoee'principles of civil and rciigioue liberty that in turn conccrn the foundations of public' happiness, and ever encouraging in tie discussion of public que3tio'ns perfect freedom of debate. The chDTch courts have at all times found this newspaper ready to articulate their efforts for tne promotion of public righteousness. In particular during the years of its asso-, ciation with these proprietors, by whom tin church paper lias been prepared for publication, the Assembly would gratefully acknowledge their real and skill and courtejy. Tlio Assembly prays that the blessing of God may rest upon this newspaper, furthering, its beneficcnt career in tho maintenance of tlio moral, social, and intellectual and material interests of this and of the whoJo Dominion." In speaking to tho resolution, Dr Gibb said ho bad known the Otaqo Daily Times for 26 years, and all that the moiion said •boat it by way of congratulation he knew personally to be true. It .had seemed to him after he came out to New Zealand in 1886 that the Otngo Daily Times stood almost a kmc amongst the newspapers ot the Dominion in its realisation of tho significance of the Christian Church and in its willingness to give an adequate expression in its cohimns to the proceedings of tlie church. 'Hie Times deserved well of them for the services it had rendered them indirectly throujll the oammunity, and also for manifold services rendered diroctlv to tie Presbyterian Church of New Zealand.

Mr J. G. W. Aitken said it gave him great pleasure to second that resolution. Ho did not.endorse all the sentiments expressed by tho Daily Timos, but ho had observed that it gave a fairer report in its columns nf the work of the church than any other paper in the whole of New Zealand. For that reason ho thought' they were entitled to pass the, motion moved. The Rev. P. B. FTaaer contended that, for such a motion, strictly epcaking, notice should have been given. He made complimentary' referenoo to its leading columns, but asserted that the Times devoted one column weekly to holding up to scorn tbo things that their church stood for.—(Hear, hears.) Tho motion was carried by a considerable majority, but several dissentient voices were hcerd, evidently in sympathy with Mr Fraser's protest.

Mr C. W. Parnel], of Ashburton, who was a member of the literary staff of tho Otago Daily Times in tho seventies, be fore ho was.admitted to tho Bar, vritcs concerning that period of his connection with the paperAt that time, and during my subsequent residence in Dunedin, when practising law thcro, a marked intellectual activity stirred tho city, which manifested itself in various ways. Tho sea of politics was. stormy indeed, and the politicial struggles of tie present day aro but mild skirmishes in comparison with the desperate contests which were then fought out in Otago. A battle royal constantly raged over the land question, aird a party did in very truth exist in those days which was .unable to see any uso for tho small farm#/in- the. colony. Tho struggle .over tho abolition of tho provinces was of tho fiercest, and tho issue epoch-making. Provincialism bad a very strong hold in Otago, and when, tho Abolition of Provinces Act becamo law Uicro was talk by the: defeated'party of seizing ihc Customs House, and establishing Home Rule by force. Each party was animated by an honest belief, in tho - justice of its cause; Many other 'controversies shook the air from time to tiino. One related to tho proposed, introduction of an organ, or " kist o' whustles," into Knox Church.. A desperate . resistance was offered, but in the; end tho Progressives 'won the day-. Periodical debates upon all > subjects affecting heaven.or. earth used to be hold in the lower room; of the old Athenaeum building,,and ihb : ' divisions 'which took place aftefc these debates were looked forward to witli'al.most'as much eagerness as tho result of a division or a no-oonfldence motion in Parliament. A free-thought .lecturer was imported from Melbourne, and in a huge marqueo enlightened tho public upon the shortcomings, of tho clergy.. The, most , valuable outcomo of this abundant mental energy was.perhaps tlio establishment of the. University of Otago, /which, 'although a college rather than a university properly , so-called, has done., admirable work,' and exercised a marked influence upon ' the. education of the youth of ; the Dominion, white its medical '• school is gradually build-1 ing up a high reputation for itself. Tho older' residents of Dunedin will know, but j mora recent comora - -will . probably not kntiw, that' the building in Princes street, lately belonging to the Colonial Bank, which was elected by tho Provincial Government for a post- office, was the first home of the university. 1' The university authorities, however, 'deeming the site to be unsuitable, sold the property, and erected new buildings on the present site. Tho. Otago Daily Times, as might be expected, warmly supported the project for establishing, a university, and, I have no dojibt, largely helped to mould public opinion on tho matter. As a final reminiscence, I may mention that, when I was j residing m Dunedin, four of tho present judges of tho Supreme Court—namely, Sir I Robert Stout, Mr Justico Detmiston, Mr I Justice Chapman, and Mr Justice Sim— wero also residents of that city, tho Bar I of which was a pretty strong one. Mr D. S. Jolhr, of Dunedin, sends us tho ,lollowing interesting note:—"ln tlw sixties it was tho rule for all the bovn in tho Times offico <o take their turn in Veep, ing the offico open 011 Sundays from lo o'clock in the morning till 5* All thev had to do was to tako a book to rea<i and draw their overtimo on the following Saturday. It happened to l>o mv turn ono Sunday when the birr, robußt Captain liirnbiul, of the p.s. Geelong, swaggered into the office, with the remark. 'Boy got a sheet of paper, and write down a local. . Siv that two men have arrived at Chnstchurch from the West Coast with as much gold as they could carrv. I don't know their names, bi6 ono wa/a German or a foreigner of some kind. I think thev said they got il ot place called Okitika— put in plenty 'k's and 'i* and I think that will be right.' I wrote a local in mv best 'style,_ which appeared in Monday morning's issue, and, if a.nvone likes to tako tho iroublo of looking' up the old files of the Daily Times, they will roe that Hokitika was spelt for a long time with a capital ' o.' "