PRESBYTERIAN REUNION.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 4591, 4 March 1884, Page 2

PRESBYTERIAN REUNION.

LECTURE ON HOME LIFE.

Last evening there was a large attendance at the Wesleyan Church for the purpose of hearing a lecture on " Home Life " by the Rev. Mr. Patterson, of Wellington. Previous to the lecture a short "meeting was held at which addresses were given, the Rev. Mr. Grant presiding. The Chairman, in his opening remarks, made a short statement of the position of the finances in connection Avith the new Presbyterian Church opened last j Sunday. ■ The total liabilities for J erecting the building were £630, and towards which £235 had been obtained outside of -New Plymouth—principally in Wellington, Auckland, Wanganui, and Napier. In Taranaki £145 had been obtained by subscriptions, while £150 had been realized from the bazaar, which, with the collections last Sunday amounting to £15, made a total of £540, and left a balance of £84. To meet this balance several items had yet to oome in, including £14 which he had received notice was being sent from Dunedin in subscriptions obtained there. There was also about £20, subscriptions promised, to be collected in New Plymouth, and goods left from the bazaar, yet to be realised. A deficiency of about £31 would atill exist in the building fund, which he hoped would soon be wiped off. He considered they had reason to be thankful at the results of the efforts that had been put forth. He wished on behalf of the Presbyterians of New Plymouth to express their thanks to the persons in other parts of the Colony who contributed so liberally to the building fund, and thus assisted in the erection of the Church which was opened last Sabbath. To the Rev. Mr. Patterson was due the thanks of the congregation for the active part taken by him in connection with the Church. Indeed had it not been for Mr. Patterson's action in the General Assembly held at Auckland last year, the Presbyterian Church in New Plymouth would probably have been abandoned.

The Rev. Mr. Gut addressed a few words to the jneeting, stating that as he was a stranger in New Plymouth he was glad of the opportunity of being present and congratulating the Presbyterians on the success that had attended their efforts to build a new church. He hoped, as Minister of the Primitive Methodist body, that kindly feeling would prevail between his people and the Presbyterians, and that they would work harmoniously together in the common ( cause. Mr. Elisha Vkale said as a representative of the Wesleyans in New Plymouth he was very glad to meet £he Presbyterians in the Wesleyan Church, and he thought that in granting the use of the church to the Presbyterians on this occasion tho Wesleyans had only shown the good feeling j which should exist between religious bedies, and he was sure that such acts would lead to more mutual friendship. He hoped that these re-unions would be more frequent. He offered his congratulations at the splendid result of their efforts in building a new church. The Rev. Mr. Patterson said before commencing his lecture he would like to say a few words about the Church. His main object in coming to New Plymouth was not to give a lecture, but to testify the great interest the Presbytery took in the Church at Taranaki. The Church Extension Committee in the colony did all in their power to meet the wants of Presbyterian families who on arriving from Home went to settle in the out districts whe*re there were no churches. The Committee appointed student Evangelists to go to these out districts and establish religious services until the congregations grew large enough to support ministers. The circumstances under which the congregation in New Plymouth had lost their church awoke great sympathy in other distiicts for them, and the General Assembly resolved that if the people here made an effort to re-build, assistance would be given them. While the Assembly was sitting last year a letter was received from the New Plymouth congregation, of a very desponding character with regard to the prospects of the cause here. Yet the Assembly resolved to do their best to .set the congregation on their feet again. It was decided to take the charge of the district from the Auckland Presbytery and place it under the core of the Wellington Presbytery, as it was more convenient to Wellington. ' Since that time, however, the Wellington Presbytery had been divided, and the Wanganui portion was constituted a separate Presbytery, and the New Plymouth District was placed under its charge. He hoped that before long more churches would be built in the district, and that it would be necessary to appoint a Presbytery for Taranaki, including Patea. The Church Extension Committee had sent Mr. Grant here, and they all knetv what Mr. Grant had done amongst them. He had done a noble work here in promoting the cause, and helping in the erection of the church (applause). Mr. Grant being a student, had determined to complete his study, and, in order to do so, he would have to leaye the district, and go to Dunedin. A worthy successor to Mr. Grant had, however, been appointed — the Rev. Mr. Jolly, who had recently arrived from Scotland, who was a man of learning and culture,, ond/was well" s^tited to carry on the << *srk'-wlifch v 'Mh / ''Gran^'had commenced. [The speaker hero read Mr. Jolly's testimonials, which ' were exceptionally good/] He hoped that in the course of a month or twp the church would be out of debt. He lad sent a telegram to Dr. Stuart, of Dunedin, stating that the church was about £60 in debt, and also intimating that the sponge had been squeezed here, and' asking for nssietaiice to, wipe oft" the debt. He hoped the_ answer to the telegram would be a cheque for.£6o. (Laughter.) He considered the congregation had been treated' very shabbily by the Victoria ■Insurance Company. The Company had accepted the premium for the insurance policy on the Church, and he thought that in generosity tKey^ ought to have given a handsome subscription to the building fund.

A hymn was then sung by the Ghoir, after which tho reverend lecturer delivered his lecture on "Home Life," which proved to be mostf Ihstractive, abd 1 at the same time contained a lino vein of humour, which frequently provoked the most hearty laughter He was frequently applauded during its delivery, the audience thoroughly appreciating the style in which he treated his subject. He commenced with tho Home of Childhood, and after drawing many beautiful sketches, proceeded to describe tho making of a new home, which included courtship and marriage — subjects which he evidently was quite at "homp" in. On the motion of Mr. 'W. Br,ACK, seconded by Mr. Thornton, a hearty vote of thanks was passed to ttie Rev. Mr. Patterson for visiting New Plymouth aud aiding as he had donein the erection of the church.

'. At the conclusion of tho lecture, v collection was made, which amounted to £5 135, after which ' the meeting was concluded with the Benediction.

At tlio Police Court this morning, Mrs. Prince applied to bitve her two children, named Frederick Albert, and William James (aged 7 years and ton months, and 7 years respectfully), went to the Industrial Scheol. She btated that her husband was dead, and oho was too unwell at the present time' to earn a living with her two children at home ; she had no friends to take care of the children for hen His Worship grunted tin order committing the children to the Isolson Industrial School. I