DUNEDIN PRESBYTERY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2258, 10 June 1897, Page 9

DUNEDIN PRESBYTERY.

The monthly meeting of the Presbytery of Dunedin was held in First Church Hall on the Ist inst. ; present — Revs. R. J. Porter (moderator), W. Will, A. Greig, J. Kirkland, ! A. M. Finlayson, R. R. M. Sutherland, J. Christie, D. Borrie, A. Cameron, J. Gibb, I. Jolly, J. M. M'Kerrow, D. Datton, J. M. Fraaer, A. Don, I. K. M'lntyre, E. C. Tennent, J. Griffiths, W. Hewitson, and Dr Waddell (ministers), Messrs W. Scott, D. Thomson, W. Hutton, T. C. de Lacy, G. Reid, C. Moore, A. C. Begg, and Captain Thomson (elders). i TUB BECORD KEIGN. The Rev. J. Gibb reported that the. com- j mittee appointed at last meeting had arranged ! to hold a service in commemoration of her j Majesty's Diamond Jubilee in First Church on | the evening of Wednesday, 23rd June. The | leaders of the city and suburban choirs had been consulted, with the result that a large combined choir had been arranged for, with Messrs Barih and Tiimon as conductor and organist respectively. This choir would render Sullivan's anthem "Sing, O Heavena" and the "Hallelujah chorus" from " The Messiah." It was proposed thah the choir and the congregation should together sing the National Anthem, orcittiog the second verse, and adding one or two verseH which had been written for the Jubilee of 1887. Two hymns specially prepared for the Record Keign celebrations and one or two hymn« from Church Praise would also be sung. For the two special hymns Mr B«.rth and Mr Timson bad written tunes, which,' sofar as he could judge, spemed to be excellent pieces ot music,, and would form an interesting feature of the evening's service. The moderator of presbytery (Mr Porter) would preside, and it was suggested that the prayers, of which there would be three, and tihe two Scripture readings should bo allocatad to' the Rer. Messrs Borrie, H'-witson, Sutherland, and Will. It was also suggested that thtre should ! be two speeches of 15 minutes earh, to be delivered.by Mr E. B. Cargill and himself (Mr Gibb). A complete programme, containing the words of all the hymns and anthems, would be printed, and a copy handed to every person entering the churcii. A collection woald bs taken up during the evening to defray expenses. The report was adopted, and on the monion of the Rev. J. Gibb it was resolved that the presbytery recommend that on Sunday. 20th inst., references should be made in all the ' churches and Sabbath cchooln to the goodness of God in granting so long and ben* Scent reign i to her Majesty, aud that the National Anthem \ eh on Id also be sung. LAY PREACHING. The Rev. D. Dxjtton introduced a motion with regard to lay preaching. He said that it •was not necessary at th&t hour of the day to dwell upon the value of lay preaching. There were now thousands of lay preachers at Home, and almost every church but their church gave due recognition to lay preaching. His id>»a was that the church should give a status to lay preachers iv the bounds and form them into an association. He thought that it was neccsaary that thess 'preacher} should go -focth with authority, and that prpvision should be made for their adequate training. He intended to move that a committee of the presbytery should be formed to formulate a scheme and draw up a basis for a lay preacher*' association, lie thought that it this were done it would encourage lay j>re°-chers, and there were many places where mission services might bo established. Other churches were doiDg a lot of work in thiß direction, and he felt there would be always room in their church for lay missionaries. ; It was desirable that these should go through ' some couree of study. Lecturen could be given occasionally, and they could go through not necessarily a compulsory examiual ion that the pres-bjtery might prescribe. They nil recognised the immense value of the work that had been done by Mr Patterson and Mr Webb, and personally he felt oftentimes considerably relieved when he knew that he could call upon Mr Patterson to conduct a service in his church. He would move — " That a committee consisting of Messrs Gibb, Hewitaou, M'lntyre, Borrie, and the mover be Appointed to meet and consider the whole matter, and, if possible, to formulate a scheme for presentation to the presbytery." The Rev. J. M. M'Kebbow seconded the motion. He said that elders did a. lot of good work, but as a rule they did not deliver aermons but read them. He thought; the proposition made by Mr Dutton was a valuable one, and they should give it careful consideration. The Rev E. C. Tennent said that work of the nature referred to by Mr Duttoa had been carried on in Victoria with much acceptance. The Rev. I. Jolly thought that the mitter was an exceedingly important one, snd was one rather for the synod than for the presbytery. The motion was carried. CONGRATULATORY. The Rev. A. Camsbon observed that the/ had a distinguished friend in their midst. He thought they had all observed that the Bslfa«fc College had done itself the honour to confer the degree of Doctor of Divinity on the Rev. Mr Waddell, and he was sure they were one and all delighted that it had the good sense to do so^— (Applause). He would move — "That the prtsbytery congratulates the Rev. Dr Waddell on the recognition of his work and worth by his Alma Mater in conferring on him the degree of D.D , and preys that he may be long spared to the church he has so well served in the past." The motion was received with emohatic and prolonged applause, and each member of the presbytery tendered his hand in personal congratulation to Dr Waddell. The Rev. Dr Waddell expressed his great gratification at the manner in which the presbytery bad received the motion. It was an honour he had never dreamt of re eiving. Some people got honours because they deserved them, and some people got honours in order that they might deserve them. — (Laughter.) He was not conscious of having doi;e anything to deserve the honour of D D. from his college, and he was afraid that he had got it in order that he might deserve it. He did not know if he could do anything to deserve it, and he only hoped he would do nothing to disgrace it. If there were anything that could reconcile him to the honour it was the kind expressions of congratulation and of good feeling that he had received, not only from the presbytery but from all over the colony. He had no idea previously that he had so many friends. — (Applause.) MB JOHN HYLEY'S CASE. The- committee appointed to consider the relation of Mr John Ryley to the church reported that they had met and dealt with Mr Ryley's case. The matter was taken in committee, and after a brief discussion it was resolved, on the notion of the Rev. J. Gibb, seconded by the 'Rev. A. Cameron — ♦'That the presbytery, having heard the report of the committee, declare that Mr John Ryley has ceased to be and is co longer a minister of this church." The output of coal from the mines of the Westport Coal Company (Limited) for the month of May was 22,199 tons scvrt.