CAMBRIDGE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH SOIREE.

Waikato Times, Volume XV, Issue 1322, 18 December 1880, Page 2

CAMBRIDGE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH SOIREE.

A soikee or toa meeting 1 , in connection with Trinity Church, was held in tbo Public Hall Cambridge, the evening of Wednesday. Preparations were made upon the most liberal scale ; the hall being neatly decorated according to the most approved plan of festive occ isions. Tables liberally provided with tea, cake, andother edibles we supplied *\y the following ladies: — Me-dames Evan«, Feruru^son, Fisher. Hewitt". Heany, Shnrp, Brooks, Young, Rhodes, Thomson and Miss R u id. The hall, which was seated to nccomodate, some 300 persons, was well filled ; a Urge proportion of the audience consisting of ladies. The comestible part of the eutertainment having boon s itisfactorily disposed of, and the body of the hall rearranged, the Pastor, the Rev. Mr. Evans, took the eh nr, the pl.uform being likewise occupied by, the Rev. Uessisßull, and Bruce (We4yan), andFultan (Piesbyterian). This part of tho evening's programme was introduced by an organ «010, executed with m.irked ta^te, by Mr. A. G. Evans. The ch.irman said the member for the di trict Mr Whyte, had been invired to preside, and, in urging th.it invitation upon him, he (Mr Evans) had promised him a pleasant evening's entertainment, varied by the lighter class of refreshment, such as tea and cake. In the erenG of that not proving sufficiently stimulating, ho promised a supply of sod, i water and .such other beverages as might tend to cool the Te Aroha s:oldfields excitement, in which ho was deeply engaged. Mr Whyte was disposed to accept the invitation, but at the last moment he forwarded an apology, the excuse given bring a pressing engagement which could not be delayed. In that case he (Mr Evans) had no alternative bat to make the 1 most of the situation of chairman in his own person. (Applause). The question had been asked what was the real motive for this gathering, the most readily accepted solution being that the object was to raise money for wiping off a debt. He was hippy to say such was not the case. Fortunately they had no debt to press heavily upon them. Their ordinary income was sufficient to meet ordinary expenditure. The question, still remained, what was the object 'i He would tell them in a word. It was to avert a possible debt that might arise. Alterations and additions were made upon, the preseufc church buildings. The-e would probably cost £20, and it was to make provision for that contingency the present social uathering h.id been convened. Having congratulated them on the numerous attendance, the rev. gentleman proceeded to discuss the programme and his duties in relation thereto, which he did with a <*oodhumoured banter that provoked the laughter and applause of his hearers. The choir having sunjr the Anthem, " Oh, Love the Lord," which thpy did in a rno^c effective manner, the Rev. Mr Bull addressed the meeting on the power and influence of the pulpit. He contrasted its functions with those of the Pi ess, assigning to tho litter the wider scope, although not by any means the more important spheie. He compared the co-relative position of tho two with that of the army and navy, where well directed efforts tended towards the one great achievement, although their spheres of action might lay in different directions. He dealt with the different descriptions ot preachers — the popular, the prosaic, the pompous &c, and provoked a good deal of merriment by the graphic descriptions he gave of these different classes. Illustrating the latter, he instanced the case of a preacher who had been appointed to the chaplaincy ot a gaol. He introduced hiinsi'lf to one of the prisoners l>v asking him if he knew who he was. On being answered in the negative the nowl} appointed chaplain enlightened him on the point. "1 have heard of you," replied the other. "And what havejou heard about mu?" (juuned tho chaplain. "Nothing," retorted the prisoner " but that you luvo preached two churches empty, but you will have some difficulty in doing the same thing here.' Altogether the rev. gjntl<jman\ address was both amusing and instructive, interspersed as it was, with numerous welltold anecdotes of clerical life and character. On resuming his> seat he was greeted with hearty applause. Mrs Macinto-.h smu, in a reimrkably .rood rau<-re of voirv», and with {food tt>te and precision, '' Mi->erere D.muue," after which, a seii'i-eoinio piece was road by 31 r J. P. Campbell, deline iting tho whims and caprice of infant character. la demonstrating their vocal abilities, Mr Campbells effi rU were ably seconded by an " armful," m the body of the hall, setting up a lu-^ty scream which, as a question of cause and. effect, showed rather a heavy pressure to the square inch. Thoconiucidence was laconic, if not conducive feu the peace and harmony of the proceedings. Mr Macintosh q ive a solo performance on the clarionete, which took with the audience so well, that a loud encore was given, although, on the remonstrances of tho chairman, it was not insisted upon. The Key. J. Bruce, delivered a telling address on the relative duties of pastor and people, inculcating upon the latter, the duty of regular attendance on public worship. A youuar lady, Miss Johnson, suug, "Hearts and Homes," very swoetly indeed, although, the novelty of the situation, appeared to render her slightly nervous. Mr R. Watson gave a characteristic recitatiou entitled, J "The bapteisment o' the bairn," which, although rather lengthy, conveyed a sound rebuke to puritanical notions of religious morality. There was a harmony between the humors of the piece and the manners of the reciter which exercised the risible faculties of the audience. The anthem, "Thine, 0 Lord," was sung by the choir, after which a number of articles left over from last year's bazaar were submitted to sale by auction, Mr H. E. Cotton kindly officiating as auctioneer. Thanks to his tact and good-natured banter, the various lots realised well ; cent, per cent., perhaps, on their prime cost. The remainder of the programme consisted of an address on "The importano3 of starting well," by Mr R. D. Stewart ; a pianoforte solo by Miss Fleming ; song, " Here's a health, bonnie Scotland," by Mrs Fergusson ; and other melodies, each of which were well re. ceived and enthusiastically applauded ; the Rev. Mr Fulton also delivered a short address. Captain Runciman proposed a vote of thanks to the ladies, for the abjv

manner in which they had catered and otherwise contributed to the success of the entertainment, after which the meeting, in breaking up, joined in singing the National Anthem.