BOOK NOTICE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2299, 24 March 1898, Page 61

BOOK NOTICE.

Fifty Years Syne : A Jubilee Memorial of the Presbyterian Church of Otago. By Jtav. James Chisholm. Dunedia : J. Wilkie and Co. ; New Zealand Bible, Tract, and Book Society. The Jubilee of Otago is being exceptionally well commemorated trom a literary point of view. Dr Hccken's able work we have already noticed ab leiigth. The popular taste has been successfully appealed to by the newspaper?, and probably ia no other pro,Tince which has celebrated its jubilee have memorials of the half century been distributed in greater profusion or received with greater cordiality. It may be aaid that the Jubilee of Otago has fairly seizsd the public imagination, and this haß given exceptional spontaneity and warmth to every section of the celebration. Naturally, no bistory of the first 50 yeara of the existence of 0 tago would be complete without special reference to the circumstances attending the birth and deTelopmenc of the' Presbyterian Church, and the sjnod deputed ths task of preparing each a memorial to the Rev. James Chisholm, of Milton. The reßnlt is the Dook now under review. - First, as to its external appearance, it may be said to", be worthy of the occasion. " It has been handsomely bound and 'well ■printed on good paper, and contains quite a pyefdsion -of. handsome illustrations, which are in themselves a histoiy. Messrs Wilkie and Co. mu3t be complimented upon their work. With respect to the contents of the book, it is apparent that the writer recognised the difficulty at the outset. In his preface he says : " From the firat it was evident that a bare recital of fact?, in connec'.ion with the immediate origin and growth of onr comparatively small chnrcu, so far from being stimulating, might become very wearisome, and lend itself to provincial conceit. I have thought it necessary, therefore, to widen the b/jriz m and introduce a good deal of what in one aspsov may be deemed eztransjua matter." The problem, in short, was to write a book which should be at once historical and entertaining ; which might embody the bistory of the Presbyterian Church of Ofcago, and yet present those minor shades which illustrate the early struggles and hardships of the first ministers and their congregations. To Otagana the history of the Presbyterian Church must be ever interesting, for though the settlement never did have that exclusiveness that its founders dreamed of, the birth of the Chuich of Ocago and that of the province were simultaneous. Naturally, Mr Chisholm does nob concern himaelr with general matters except in so far as they hear upon the history o£ the church, bub even each references as he does make to these matters ate valuable in throwing a side light on the eventa of the history of the province. It we .mistake not, these Bide lights will eventually form not the least valuable feature of the book. There are vivid sketches of Captain Cargill and Dr Burns. Tae author has had the advantage of intercourse with Eevs. Will and Bannerman, who ■were inducted to their charges at Taieri and Clutna respectively in 1854, and has thus been enabled to place on record the features we have mentioned. For formal records as to openings of churches and so on he has no doubt had access to the synodical books. Mr Chisholm begins with a proem, which dramatically portrays the trials of a cottar and his wife and family, who, having followed their minister at the Disruption, are psrsecuted by the landlord, and, having neard of Otago, resolve to go thither. ' The sketch itself is beautifully written, but ib does not bear upon anything in the book. It is a disjointed fragment, bypical of conditions such as might be expected to lead to a Scotch settlement. It would be a mistake, however, to suppose that the settlers were exclusively of the agricultural cottar class. Many of them were employers of labour, to ■whom the others looked for work on their arrival, and etill others were artisans and mechanics. Even at this remote distance it is not difficult to see that it would be untrue to ascribe to the whole band cf pioneers the same sentiments, tbe same conviction?, and the same impatience of religious restraint that animated the Pilgrim Fathers. Tbe proem, therefore, though, as we have said, beautifully written, is out of proportion. What we like best about Mr Chisholm's book is the narrative of the development of the church. First a single congregation, and a few years afterwards the constitution of a presbytery, consisting of Revs. Barns, Will, and Banneraiau, and Messrs Cargill, M'G-lashan, and J. Allan; then the flioging off of congregational swarms, the importation of additional ministers, and co on until wa reach the synod of 1897, well represented by a folding sheet containing 147 portraits. All is told ijfoat gac be of interest, ana jit is told in a

very interesting way. The narratives of the development of the church would have greatly enhanced the value of the work as a book cf reference if they had contained more dates. For example, the Waibola charge was erected in 1858 under Mr M'Nicol. He was followed by Messrs Allan, Pater&on, Borrie, Hal], and Somerville, bat there is no ■record cf the dates of the induction of each. The admirers of Dr Stuart will here find a most sympathetic sketoh of his life, which has been often described, indeed, but rarely so faithfully as this. The growth of the various missiona is also set foitb, the history of the church publications given, thorise and progress cf the Theological HaJl recounted, the history and present position o£ the church property clearly set forth, the hietorical trend of union with the Northern Cburch delineated in a way that, its opponents should study carefully, and finally is given a dissertation oa the catholicity ot Presbyierianisiß. On the whole we are glad to be able to say that in his ta?k in compiling a memorial of the Jubilee of the church Mr Chisholm has j succeeded admirably. We may not quite j agree with his deductions as to ths motive | power which lay behind the pioneers and led to thß establishment of the settlement, because we think he has omitted to note the influence of Mr Itennie at the inception of the 'scheme in Scotland. Probably he considers this hss no beariDg on the subsequent history of the church, and from a purely narrative point of view perhaps he is right, i But he amply compensates for this by the effectiveness of hia sketches. We append one taken at random ac a specimen : Mr Bannerrnan had arranged .to marry a coupe at the accommodation house kept by Mr MacQibbon. There was no indication of such sn event ; bub after a time the bridegroom j appeared. He informed them that the bride ■was staying with her sister at the foot of the Hokouuig, and begged them to accompany him, and celebrate fche marriage there. " How far might it be ?'" " Ob, not far — about five miles along *he bank of the Waimumu " TLe eyes and voice of the expectant bridegroom pleaded successfully, and they mounted their horses and rode behind him. The short afternoon was well nigh spent, and yet there was no eign of Cubin's station. "Surely ib must be more than five miles ? " " Ab, wel), it may be a little over that — perhaps sty en." And still they rode on with ebbing patience and a ; growing suspicion that th<-y were being duped by a desperate man. When at length they reached the place and charged tte man with deceiving them, he stoutly replied : "There are three kinds of miles in this couatry. There j is the bullock driver's mile, aad the iootman's mile, and the horseman's mile. You may hare come 13 bullock driver's miles, or seven footman's miles, bub it's not more ih&n five horseman's miles."