A MAORILANPER IN YANKEELAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 2105, 28 June 1894, Page 50

A MAORILANPER IN YANKEELAND.

By W. H. Mathie«on

While at Chicago I had the pleasure of hearing several not able preachers— among the camber being Mr Moody, of Moody and Sankey fame, and the Eav. John M'Neil, who is to arrive next month in the Gothic. The first Sunday I spent in Chicago I took a long walk across to the .other side of the river to the Emmanuel Baptist Church, Michigan Avenue, near 23rd street, in order to hear Mr Moody. Aa I previously mentioned, the Chicago river is without exception the filthiest seething mass o? black corruption in the form of a river I have ever cast my eyea on, and the stench from it is the most offensive I have ever experienc?d. I thought that Old Father Thames, or even the Yarra, were hard to beat, but they cannot hold a candle to Chicago. I asked a resident iv the city whom I happened to be •walking with how it was that the residents in this locality tolerated for a single day such a disgraceful state of things. He admitted that it was a standing disgrace to the civic authorities, and said they had been repeatedly spoken to on the subject, but the conncil was perfectly demoralised, and hence nothing was done. The wholesale establishments on both bides of the river bad half their clerks 4 down with fever even at that time, and I see by late telegrams thdt smallpox baß broken out, the schools are closed, and the residents are dying by hundreds— a state of affairs which does not surprise me in the least. When I reached the church I was informed by a courteous office-bearer whom I engaged in conversation that the pastor, the Rev. D. L. Moody, would not preach day, but that the pulpit would be occupied by a great preacher from London —the Rev. John M'Neil. As I had heard 80 much of this rising young preacher, I was delighted to have.tbe opportunity of hearing him. The Emmaneul Church is a circular one, the roof being round and not unusually high. The acoustic properties are therefore of the highest order. As the method of conducting church worship in America is not generally known I will give a few particulars here, as it will no doubt be of interest to your readers. The pnlpit is nearly in the centre of the church. Immediately behind it is seated a large choir, in which both sexes are represented, who have a small organ. Another organ is placed near the pulpit, while on the opposite sides, in a small gallery, is a children's choir consisting of 60 girls. The large choir commetced the service by singing one of Sankey's Hymns, and when the minister entered they sang " Praise God, from whom ail blessiDgs flow." The coDgr-. gation were stam'.JDg while this was being sang, and it must have comprised fully 2500 persons, there not being an empty scat. The children then sang a very pre ty anthem, tbeir fresh young voices bounding clear and formirjg a veiy nice contrast to those of tbeir elders. A young minister, apparently a student, then rose and read alternate verees with the congregation, as in the Litany of the Knglish Church. He then engaged in prayer, after which the Etv. John M'Neil rose, and in go>>d broad Scotch accent a:kod fi-r 191 of Sank- y's Hymn?, "My nm countiie," -vbioh was sung as a solo by a gfcnUeman, evidently a professional. After this was over he gave out the 23rd Psalm, and asked the.vast congregation to rise and sing it. The old Scotch tune was sung with a will, which showed me at once that the audience was composed principally of those who were either Scotch or of Scotch parentage, and I at once felt at home amoDg them. Tne rev. gentleman has, like all eminent men of whafevtr nationality, a strorjgly-mark» j d face, and bears a resemblance co the It v. Jt.hu Ferguson, the First Church, Invercargill. Indeed he would pasß for an elder brother of our Invercargill divine, only, if I ' may say so, be has even a stronger Scottish face. His manner in the pulpit is perfectly easy. He uses no notes of any kind, is decidedly humorous, never coarse, and is a most elcqufnt preacher. His text was the whole rf »he 23rd Psnlro, and his pauky opening of the subject put the people in the best of spirits. After speaking of the uncertainty as to who wrote this wonderful Psalm, which he characterised as being one of the most lovely in any language, he said it was so modern that he might have written it bimself. He was often amused to hear the ideas people had in reference to shepherding. The general acceptation of the position seemed to be that a shepherd had nothing fo do, acd that he was in this respect very much like a minister. He may be seen in pictures reclining on the side of a bill in black velvet knee breeches, playirag a pipe, while his flock are painted as reposing around him listening to the music. Tue reality was very different to this, however. He once followed a shepherd mustering, and he never had euch a bard day's work iv his life. Up before dawn and away to the hills, and steadily at it all day loDg, with bard fare, exposure to the Bun by day and the frost by night, his work was never done. He referred to Christ aa the good shepherd, and said that they could go down to hell to day and tbey would not find one sheep with Cbrist'e brand en it— no, noi one. He told in a most touching manner of a poor idiot boy whoße father and. mother were both drunkards.

This poor child used to attend both the day and Sabbath schools. His (the speaker's) sister was not a professional visitor, as she had a large congregation to preach to (her large family), but she found time to visit this poor child on his deathbed. She repeated the 23rd Psalm to the last verse, when the child, in a perfectly clear voice, repeated the words : In God's House for evor move My dwelling place shall be — and died. The discourse, which was a most eloquent one, was full of anecdotes suitable for the occabion. It was a magnificent sermon, told in plain language, and created a marked impression. At the close I waitd nearly half an hour to get a few words with MrM'Neil — to many people were anxious to shake hands with him. In reply to my inquiriea he said he would like to visit New Zealand, as he had received a most cordial invitation from the late liev. Dr Stuart. He had given up his settled charge at his wife's death, some two years before. He said he would very much like to visit the Australian colonies, but thought they were in a very bad way at present. I was careful to explain to him that although that mfght apply to Victoria, it certainly had no referee ce to New Zealand. He had, he informed me, been away four mouths from his four children, and his rugged features softened considerably as he said, " I want to go back to them, so I cannot .promise you a vißit at present." He was remarkably popular while in Chicago. I have heard Principal Rainey and the Rev. Mr M Gregor, both eminent men, but as preachers with the power to move the masses they are both inferior to the Ray. John M'Neil. With the exception of the Rev. Dr Parker, I consider he was themost eminent preacher I beard in my trip,