PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH-ANNI VERSARY SOIREE.

Thames Advertiser, Volume IX, Issue 2458, 31 October 1876, Page 3

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH-ANNI VERSARY SOIREE.

The auniversary kbir.ee of tho Presbyterian Church, to celebrate the induction, of'theliev James Hill to the charge of tjhe church, was held last evening at the Academy of. Music. There was a, very large attendance, and the table's were well provided. After those present had enjoyed the good things provided the, tables were cleared away,, and.,tile choir having taken'their position on the.stage, ■ the' Rev, J.".Hill took.the, ;',.,, : ., i Tho Ohaieman,said,'haying, finisTaedl/ the first'parfc of i.tbp • of: tHe Evening; they would:now.'commence, the second..' As. usual,' some remarks'wereexpected- from 1 4he> chairman -of. the meeting but as'several gehtlemeii were to a'd'dresVthemy and as'thfire w'aVa pretty long, musical programme, he..would not jdb : taih'thejin' ! for;'ariyTon'gth'bftime.. On. 'the,'2Bth ,'o'f thia ; month.' he onte're'don the. ninth year "of Mb ministry at the Thames., (For eigli't yoars he had been .located, here.-, (Cheers.)' Somo time before, hp.: ; was ; 'settled as minis.terle visited tho place; in fact, very shortly after .the field was • opened, and when there was'not a house {erected, ho came" down from Auckland and 'preached >to the diggers who had then 'arrived. He had therefore seen the jThames andibeetEassooiated.-withit infill jits ups and downs fr.om the beginning to the presorit'time.'■ Cheers:)::'. For a year 'or two afterl the commencement of the field the community 'was .verydifferent to what it ws&'nbw.- Ijito iother goldfields, it had attracted men from far and near— fr'dm \ eVory rf placb mM4f. Zealand';atfdfrom ;A.flytr'alia r^-r a'iid ! there' were' .among) t th'om,' W'inigiit T i!jfH} j ! be very rough customers." These; to'"a'''considerable extqnt/vgave a complexion to )thecommunityvnbt/of the most favourSable kind. in the world-finds it's level:sooner qr later. Tho not subsist. |t gradually and there wastftowjin regards to:peace and good -ventured to/s'ay, a community on-the. Thames not'surpassed by I any other community on tHe face of the earth. He found;!that most people who'jhad.r'esj.dedior Some time at the haU ttf'leave it, left it with regrei He was muc|r struck with this during his visit to the South last year. He mot with not a few who had beeVa't.Mthe Thames, and he found: that, aimbit' with'oufc":exception, they looked back to as a desirable place to'live aV'aM tney -regretted that' thoy had .to leave it; J#mb"\oi;.'them,';'wer9 / ! doiug tte «!gfwyi 'donVllere? I but on aocoUnkbf^rmealtfiiriess 'of the | climate, and friendliness of,:;theV peqple,, no'.-, secret, of it, that they, preferred'; the, Thame"? ! to.-'the,' places; in. ."vrhjoh. - : - they >~ weje then ■■ |(Oh,eers3- let them, he said, then hope'that' the which 1-: large, and industrious community .deserved would,soonrbe enjoyed,' and that'men and their families would'not have to leave it;- and .that they would see somo of the old faces in thoir midst again; ■" (Ohoorß,}r..Ho was 'glad to think "'that' the Presbyterian • oause had existedt'afc'th'e Thames opening of the field,' and the periodical had been maintained asgoo'd "fs 'could be expected, • In regard to tbe past year, he should say nothing, oxcept that it had been an congregation; aud#at e ie.smoercry hoped that it would all tendjrancf ease'his zeal and effioiency ;'as %|pister,v and.- their fidelity and effort afW Christian pebpl'o. As : heretofore he"* looked forward with confidence—confidence first af all in the congregation.'" 'He'had'been pleasedwith the increased attendance on divine ordin-. ances which he had observed during the last three months. He did riot'allude to the evenings,. but the forenoons. It: seemed at one time that some portion of; the Thames community had come to, the conclusion that;; they-:were so; respectable, so well conducted, that they I did not need to 1 go to church at all, and; not a few Presbyterians seemed th: have imbibed this heresy. Latterly it; would seem that been convinced; of their error, and a "little attendance on; the Sabbath was the result. (Cheers.); He hoped that would continue, and be-! lieved it would. And he had confidence, • not only in his people, but' in Ms Master. \ He know that Ho would command the I blessing if it was-earnestlynought, and; that He would perfect His strength in his weakness. Ono thing was very vividly | impressed on his mind that night, and; that was how rapidly the past year hadfled away. It looked to him but a veryj short time indeed since their lastsoiree' was held, and the thought suggested'the. necessity for diligence. He hoped that', while he tried to do his duty they would j seek ,to : do theirs, and that during the! ninth year of his ministry amongst them! the blessing of God might rest abundantly; upon them all. (Applause;) The choir, which was under the direc-, tion of Mr Weeks, and which was; strengthened from the choirs of other' churches, then sang the ,! anthem" Lift up your heads" in a very _ pleasing manner. Mr Christiansen's string band assisted, and Mr Paul presided at the. harmonium. ; The Eov.J", T. Hintok (Baptist) said that he-could riot look back over a long period at the Thames. That day was tho first anniversary of bis landing on these shores. He had now been here 12 months, and when he last took part in the anni-i vcr'sary of the Presbyterian Church he •was,'as his friends often told him, a " new •chum.'' When ho theu looked round oh the crowd assembled in St. Goorge's Flail he knew not a face; but now, on looking round on them, lie could see a large number of persons with whom he was on terms of friendly greeting, He was thankful to be present amongst them that night. He. sympathised with the Chairman's remarks as to how rapidly the twelve months had,passed; ,but he, had been'very'busy and very happy, and that, no doubt, tended' to : m'ako .the time fly rapidly; but .tho'twelve months had gone; and he was very happy to :givo their minister a cordial Christian greeting. He felt thankful'for what'he had been able to-say in regard to.his Church; Deop had boen the sympathy accorded to mm in his ' time 'of darkness and sorrow, aud he well know that that sympathy was not confined to his own congregation, but was widely felt by other denominations. .But tho darkest clouds had given way, and he was pleased at the hopeful way in which their Chair! man spoke of tho immediate prosont and . tho future. .(Cheers.) In regard to the lectures which Mr Hill was. delivering, ho was ono of those who wished they might, as suggested, be delivered before wider audiences, and ho hoped the lime would come when ho would see his way to deliver them in public, ev.on if a monoy charge for admission, to g0.,t0 some charitable purpose, was made for admission, he would find how' widely outside his own church deep interest was felt on those subjeots. Like Mr Hill, ho had

met many who spoke highly of the Thames, When be first got the letter inviting bim to the Thames, ho inquired o'f many at Orange if they know anything of Now Zealand, or what sort of a place it was, and he met with more than one or two who spoko cordially of it, One who had been a resident at the Thames said he would be sure to liko Now Zealand, and the Thames, especially, they were such nice people. Tlien the Eev Mr Jones, his'predecessor, who had to leave in consequence of ill health, -writing to him, said that tlie.;Tbaiiies, like >n;eel, Sad more length than breadth,, arid coming :to it frbtii London he tliought ifc tho ugliest place he had ever seen, but .since he left it many .Uglier, (Laughter.) ' here" several apologised for .the • saying that (here were only two walks—ono to Tararu, the other to .. Parawai-but he told them / that if they were living,in some-of the-up-country townsin Australia, they would not eveii have one Walk, but would have to,borrow a : horse, if they wanted to go about. ; He; liad now; for twelve months experienced the vi'ci&situdes of the New Zealand climate,; .Da hi§Darrival ho was. -yearly Browned from the, incessant -rains which prevailed, and some of "h!is 'friends apologised for the.climate, andtold him that it was fine sbmetimes. (Laughter.) The Dimerous anniversary soirees last year jWd'beidiii 'Wot weather] • but l it did .not' feeems to make fnjy; and if, during ,the t this year, they Wore ■as'aaccdssfuljftliey would have good reason to.tye satisfied.;; He felt disposed how ! tb' giro credeiabe'to the 'remark '■ that it was fipehere-sotaejimtfs. / 'He liked the climate,. and his . wife liked the climate,, and they | were jjjlad they came to the Thames. Bo di'd'notn'owleel'Ja stringer 'amongst them. He-was taking root, and he. trusted ifi-.timo he wonjd [Datable to refer back to nine,years' intercourse, with, the Thames people, and trusted'that he' would then 'have : i'n proportion atf many friends as their chairman. .(Cheers.) He hoped their pastor's highest anticipations .would be, realised to fill his heart with joy anfrlliankfulness to God. : (Olieers.. i The choir snng the 'anthem; 1 .' 1 Before' Jehovah's awful throne'''very | The Rev R. ist) said. tUafc it wouldbe a relief to them"{o about to make,'.'a. speech ; in fact, all he had to say 'wo ( uld Ifit'ini a nutshell, and; would .not ooftupy more than five minutes. He had.:gfeat to testify tp<tho ihigl,estimation in ; whiph their respected he . couldssaty t pth did-.'not '|rip^j.^tether. • -Uglily concluded: to ,'Winain amongst- tfeiij. -i,(Cheers.) His .presence ;life're;added height and influence to'pulpit : jinfluencS in a vefy important degree, and j Ills'teaching conveyied thb idapressioft that: .the pulpit was-a fountain- of-'intelligence' as well as-'6f instrtlction.ir(OtteeH;) :* He therefore, thathe'Md-ehosori to r'eniain, and fihiit ffiey round' 'hi& : io'encoUrago HijaW^''.Mister's > service.'.Tho. congregation; to ;whi'clr he' (Mr Uaisliipy j /eft. deeply gratiß : ful and kindness ; they had other.' denominations. It made llieml feel,' more than ever that they belonged ,t(?a MdeChristian brother,- r hood. He would.be glad to see them at the Congregational soiree on Monday next, and they would then endeavour Ao show how grateful they were for the r assistance they-had received from , their friends on the right and those on the left. (Cheers.) .. ; Choir: Anthem," 0! how amiablp'.are tiiy dwellings I" , , The liev E. S. Bum ( Wealeyati) said there was no dust of antiquity to., take from him, for he. was very young, and had not yet been twelve months at the , Thames. The nine-year-olds deserved . dusting sometimes, but they got not time j ; to take root except they could do so in | :i three years. , .But when the work was done so well by Mr Hill there was no ; neod for others, to como. to' do them any, ; good other than to sit down under the ,i branches. (Laughter.) The object'* of the' meeting was, he gathered,'to con-, ; gratulate their minister and themselves! [i also. They were all so good that their fame, i| filled,the Southern hemisphere. '(Cheers: I and laughter.) J?ancy their fame'getting, .j as far as Orange, and then getting it rc-| , tailed to them as it had been that night. | He was beginning to think that they II really must get some bad people, or there [•: would bo no need for polico; and ho sup- - i posed this was the best way to congratulate them. He heard, also,, that they: |i were very good looking people, and many; j present would no doubt confirm that.; •i (taughter) They all understood somei' thing of influence, but there was no i : influence greater than the teapot., When-; ' ever they wanted anything done all they, j had to do..,was to put .a handful of tea il into the walls of (he teapot, and if they; ,i wanted a large gathering.what so'effectual •; as the teapotP He did not know'who else i than the teapot -could, have'filled, that; ~ building as it was that i night. They; f could tell each other how mUch they •I .loved and' l how:well they looked about. !■ their prosperity, and how rich they were; ; to get ;■ how they were the people, and i they would knock that Auckland on the s. head; and-as for those places in the: South they must sink before they [ stood in the way of their pro- ; gress. (Cheers and laughter.) 1 As i he would have to leave the Thames at > the end of three, years he could not say , go on.. Wesleyan ministers were always ; young. He remembered when he first j set out. His first appointment was to' t Ingle wood, where there were about i 35,000 pcoplo, and they had a pretty i rough, time of it. In three weeks they i had erected a church. A young Presbyi teriau out from Scotland came to the j district, and he was ao thoroughly Prosj byteriau that he (Mr Bunn) called him i John Knox, and he in return called liimj j John Wesley. So far they were agreedj > but as thoy met frequently his object was I to inculcate into the mind of the other • John that the Methodisls were the best ' sort of Presbyterians.. (Laughter.) But i lie would not take it.. Tliat, however, • was his creed—that he was a Presby- , terian of the better sort* that Wesleyans i .wei;e just an improvement on the Presby- , torians. (Laughter.) The other John used to say that the Wesleyans were only copyists ~ that their conferences •'were founded on the Presbyterian assemblies, &o. It looked very like it j but ho stuck .to . his text. Howevor L he did not know_ of any . two branches of the Christian Church which would more readily commingle . and amalgamate than the Presby? i terians and Methodists,' and Mr Hill,' he i he hoped, was preparing himself for , admission. (Laughter.) There was a 1 ononess in government, but they might . save ministers from being vagabonds on . tho faoe ,of the earth, and .if Mr Hill could.do anything iu that direction, the sooner he was admitted the better. He ■ concluded a humorous address by coni gratulating. the Prosbyteriau Ohurch, and i trusted that next year they would have I all joy and increase and prosperity.

• The. Chairman then called on the Bey .. Ejavid Bruce to address a few words to the meclin'g.i He : regretted, arid.no doubt •: so did all present, that Mr Bruce wassuffering from a loss of'tis voice, and his doctor had ordered bi&j not to preach for some timo. He felt a delicacy, therefore, in asking him to speak, and,would',npt - have done so, but in consequence of his own offer. : ' I Tho liov Mr Bkuoe said he was there that night simply to be looked at and,' to look at them, and to' testify toHhemin " this way the great pleasure which he felt in being.present with them. ~'.JEte knetfrhe , was transgressing his. doctor's by . speaking, but he felt anxious,ty put in'an appearaneo on Sunday, although he could not preach'}.;; itnd thatrmjglit.i.flt; their soiree, to, show.tho interest ho felt in them, and how pleased he was to meet them. He was all the more pleased, as he.... required to make an apology for having taken partiii an attompt to remove Hheir • pastor from them. ■ jH e would apologise ! in this way, while he would bo glad to seo Mr Hill back in Auckland lie had more pleasure in seeing him thero amongst them.' ,(Chee|:s.)i,He hopod at their next Anniversary ; that he would .'to",; i ifficiate in thei?;phurch, and At their soiree', and hoped that they would, hear him in the best side of their heads, i Choir: Anthem, "Awake, put on Strength." ! This brought the first part of the programme.—to a_close, ..and after .a short intermission the second part, ion&isting 1 of secular"!musical s selee-1 ions,, was commenced. The concerted ' iec'ea were'weir rendered; and fcho ; songs pnd duets were Wry meribri6us^ r "Milly's faith," by Miss Hunter, was loudly and deSertfedly applauded {»< so-"also.-Were the Peace to' ;i thj' Spirit,ffe!wKichi.l Miss' ! Hiinter' ! wad 'assistbdj by Miss-Sin-' r blaii'j'abd;" A 8.0,".in whieh.;Mr Weeks took, patt. " The Tillage' Blacksffithf''' by Mr 01 Brown, J was' alio.' deservedly'' applauded; and " Uncle John," by' Pulloine, waß.also received well. „At the conclusioii of' tho concertMr'Tcatee proposed a vote of thank's to the choir, WhiElnm heartily ;responded-to-, and-all-then stood while tho National Anthem was ps- I '' '" {}