BURNS' ANNIVERSARY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10574, 27 January 1906, Page 4

BURNS' ANNIVERSARY.

THE CHAIIRMAN'B SPEECH

At the Burns celebration on Tiuursday evening the following able address was delivered by tho Chairman (Dr. Scott) m proposing the toast "The Bard o' Caledonia" : —

Gcnliemen, — We are gathered here foi the express purpuso of paying honorable tribute to the .memory of Scotland's national bard, so that wherever Scotsmen are found the memory of their departed poet may be kept evergreen. Keeping this .purpose steadily m view, on*- programme to-night is made up of selections from his works alone. The tonr?t which I have the honor of proposing, the toiyst of the evening, is "The Bard o' Caledonia" (Robert Burns); and here I would offer you my heartfelt thanks for conferring so much honor upon me, an honor I shall look back upon m time to come with feelings of the highest satisfaction, the more so when I confiider tliat this is the first occasion m the district of Poverty Bay, that our gloriow countryman's "birtliday has been celebrated m a spirit more or less general amongst those with Scotch blood iv their veini. This desire to honor the "ploughman poet" is also evidenced m other quarters by the attendance here to-night of tQiose gentlemen of English and Irish descent I see m various seats at thin table. This puts me iv mind of the story of the few good fellows who were going to start a St. Andrew's Society, and discussing the rules of admission, decided that as Scotsmen, were so scarce m their district those having Scotch possessions should also be eligible, such ar. owning a Scotch terrier or keeping a drop of "Scotch" m the house, one man holding the opinion that a Scotch wife .'ihould be sufficient qualification to admit the fortunate owner. What yow expect from me to-night iv tho way of a speech I scarcely know. A gentleman who had been prdsent at a "Bums night" was asked the following day what took place. He remarked his memory served him badly ; he knew a lot oftoaists were drunk, and the main thing seemed to be to drink them. So with me; my object is to have you honor this toast with small regard lo the reteiitivenes.- of your memories over my speech. I would not wish that you should regard me as hi. critic. Born m obscurity, m a little clay cottage, near the then small-country town of Ayr, reared to the plough, the, man who.c lofty genius could carry liis name and perpetuate his poetry nearly 150 years after liis, birth m the most remote corneip of the British Empire, the man whose life history has interested no fewer tlum some 40 biographers, Avhose wisdom Wordsworth wrote was :

"Beautiful as a flower that might have arisen from seed sown from above." This man requires no critic. But if, perchance, some 16,000 miles from his native land some one should hold his brief, then hero stand I, the ohampion of my couiitryni-Ui. Oh, would that 1 was gifted with the powers of oratory ; the melody of language would then flow from my lips like a silvery cascade from a rippling brook m praise of his great name. His heart was so full of the "milk of human kindness" that the world even now vinderstands not his philosophy. In this democratic country of New Zealand the people owe lo Robert Burns the deepest debt of gratitude, m that his writings inspired their forefathers with that independent mind which is the fountain of happiness iv any community or individual. Tlie banner of tho Seddon Government might, well be inneribed with his noble words : "Hank is but the guinea stamp, a man's a man for a' thai.' He was the pioneer of Liberalism, m word and action so far aa Scotland's sous arc concerned. He lived m an age when vulgaiisni|- passed for wit, and this must be the excuse for bhe few blobs which not unnaturally crept into' his writings; but then he placed all his thoughts and actions m cold print. Who dares follow his example? He is thought by many to have been some lowly-born, uneducated, unsophisticated barbarian, but to those who have made an intimate study of his life and writings, it became evident m the i-.-trongest seuse, that he wa.s the i>ossessor bf a good, sound, scholastic education likely to be obtained from his old tutor, Fleming, the dominie m flhose days, vent on instilling knowledge ..with the help of the coaxing birch. From, his early youth he had the benefit of a sound, religious education, m his own home, under the style of "Family Worship," graphically described m "The Cotters' Saturday Night," a form of instruction which has been .gradually replaced by the less eloquent, though more decorative, art of our preachers of today. He .associated with the highest m the land, and had for his most esteemed friends titled people, whex-© kindly actions and monetary help gave Burns' genius to the world. I would rather dream of Burns tihan speak of him. Words from mo fail to paint? a picture of the God-gifted bard. The kindly sentiments that pervaded tho breast of the man who would write a nirte-versc "Ode to a Mountain Daisy"— the man who watched with anxious eyes, tho fear of the little field mou-e, scampering from his little home upturned' by tlio plough, and found it worth his while to have one protective thought for this, one of God's lowliest creatures — might- well- have been copied by the world to the world' 6 advantage. The protector of tlio poor, the champion of the weak and oppressed, the merry-maker, the -widow's friend, the orphan's guide, the Scotsman's pride, comforter of those m isorreny, sharer of our joys and hopes, if we but liave ono small spark of his "Humanity to man" m our composition, when "Death, the poor man's dearest friend," the friend of those who have lived to die m disappointment, claims us, then we might bo entitled to the epitaph, "He had not lived m vain." From the cradle to the grave "we see his face m every flower." "As the sun rises iv the cast to open aud^ adorn the day, circles round lo tho south to be the glory and beauty of tho day, and sets m the west to close the day," so rose Robert Burr/*, to open up new joys for his native land, to give hi 6 beauteous thoughts and inspirations to the nation, and closed his glorious life, leaving a canopy of light m the heavens, extending to tlio furthermost parte of the earth, a sublime and isnrivalled picture of a golden sunset. He taught the human race to gather the joy.'< of life as one would gather the fruits "of the harvest, "wisely and well," at the same time that sorrows and disappointments were also the dispensation.. of a far-seeiiLg Providence, to be borne as part of the heat and burden of the day. He taught the lesson of contentment with our lot' — •"Sworn foe to sorrow, care, and proso 1 rhyme away." He taught, us to despise hypocrisy, cant, arrogance, and pride, and" exposes these as worthless raiment, having no value to the honest citizen : "An , honest man's the ]ioble»t work of God." His ode "To a. Mountain Daisy"' teaches us humility ; "To a Mouse," kindness to the lowliest of God' 6 creatures ; "Man was made to Mourn,'' submission to the will of the Creator, broadening our backs m the horn' of trouble, so that Aye may better .carry' the load. ''The Cotters Saturday Night" draws us a beautiful picture of the smiplo life, and charges us with that SUiprcmo Belief without which no man's life is perfect. "His Love Sonnets" place women m the most exalted light, and tcacliu» us to guard their name and honor with true knight's loyalty. In hi., life of comparative poverty and hardship, m liis early death., we read the lesson of submission to tilio wisdom of the Great Helmsman of the universe. ~and when "Once life's day draws near the gloamin' " well will.it be with us if only a few of hi., virtues have been practised, so that m the end avc may fall asleep, thanking God for sw.li a teacher. Gentlemen, join with me, honor tlus toast to the glorious evergreen memory of the bard o' Caledonia, our fellow countryman, Scotland's immortal bard, tliat his name may continue to flourish throughout tlie ages. Before concluding, I will give you six lines of my own composition—

Burns the father, sync the brother, Whiles the teacher, whiles the scholar; Scotia's sons their tribute proffer To patriot bard, who taught lo suffer Griefs and burdens, heavy laden, With fortitude inspired from Heaven.