Reception Soiree.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume IV, Issue 522, 23 October 1890, Page 3

Reception Soiree.

WELCOME TO KEV. K. M. BYBURN. The soiree on Tuesday evening was a great success. The attendance was very large, and the whole of the arrangements were carried out with much credit to the ladies and others eonce’-ned. All the tables were beautifully set off with fbw rs, and grea’ trouble had evidently been gone to by th' 1 ladies, each one one seeming to vie with the other as to which should have th* mist excellent spread. Large ac the a?ten<ance was, the supplies would have been ample for double the number, and everything was of the best, jellies, custards, etc., and all those dainties that give the m st trouble in preparing being ihere in great sufficiency. More than that, the ladies were very assiduous in their attentions, and no one could fail to be highly satisfied. An eye to the hean’iful had been observed in the arrangement and setting off of the tables and tha crowd of smiling assistants in th*ir pretty dresses added cheerfulness to the scene, to say nothing of the happy gues’s of ail sort’* and sizes, whose unanimou« opinion was tha *he re uninn was an unqualified »u«ess. Toe f dlowibg ladies supplied “ trays ’ :— Mesdames Adam*, WPty, Johnstone, King, Pollock, Partington, Warren, Evans Bushnell t MeClive. Rosie, McLeod, Turnbull, Dickie, Caldwell: Miss Helen Morgan, and M iss Morris. Bachelors’ tabl»—Mifws McKee, Good, Aoums. and Rosie; table—Misses Adair, Colley, Steele, and Sutherland. Among the others whn asais'ed —the list being hard to make complete under the circum-tances—were : Mesdame* Good, Stevens, Doug as and P* airet. and Mi b s Adams (4), Andrew, (2;, Ca-n?ron, Cumming, Dole. Duckwnr h, Evan- (3) Good, Hall. Johnstone (2), King (2), Morris, Oatridge, Rosie (2). T-tvlor, Watson, Warren, Witty (2). The boys’ table is generally a vexatious one to have to deal wi h, but it wa« admirably managed, and the lads, though brimful of humor, behaved in quite a gentle* manly wsy.

After the tables had been cleared away, « the seats were re-arranged, and an in- j teres ting 1 program me was gone through, i Mr J. T. Evans occupied the chair, and I after the proceedings hid been op ned in | the usual way, th« chai rm -*n made a few * introductory remarks During th- evening the choir sang some anthems, and songs were given by Mrs Miss Steele, and Messrs Mitchell and J. Searle, and Mr and Mrs Hamblett sang a duet. Each item was well received, the junior vocalists especially being warmly encour aged. Miss G. Adair plaved the accompaniments. The Chairman invited the Rev. Canon Fox (Anglican Church) to give an address, and that gentleman was warmly applauded on responding. He apologised for the absence of Archdeacon Williams and Rev. Mr Gardiner. He < xpresaed his pleasure at the hearty welcome Mr Rvburn had received, and he also cordially joined wi n the welcome, one fr< m the members of the Anglican Church, and from himself personally, saying that he would always be ?*lad to co-op?ra’e with that gentleman. Applause.) There had always been a feeling of great cordiality between himself and the late Rev. Mr Me Ara. He assured Mr Ryburn that in Gisborne there Would be nothing of the nature of drawing members from one Church to another. It was a pleasant thing to See ( so much cordiality between the Christian Ministry, and he earnestly advised Mr Bybum’s flock to see that the cordiality with which they bad greeted him was made pf a lasting nature—that they should not allow it to cool down again. They must not expect au impossible perfection, but be thankful that the pastor earnestly does all that he can in the intereats of his Master, and he had no doubt Mr Ryburn would do his (Applause.) They should show that it was not so much his personal powers that they appreciated, as that through him they were being led to the Saviour. They ghopld cheerfully respond to all his efforts Dealing with sectarian differences of opinion, the speaker said there were points which could nrt be minimised, but there was much upon which they could agree He could return a compliment that had once been paid to his own Church, and say of the Presbyterian Church, that it was a great and good Church, holding a very high position. There was much they could work together in, and turn a firm front to the Common foe. (Applause.) Mr DeLnutour was next called on. On rising he gave things a humorous turn by twitting the Chairman with a breach of confidence by calling on him to speak when they had made a bargain that he (Mr DeLautoin) woild not be called od to speak if the Rev. Oanon Fox arrived in good time. He warmly approved of what th? reverend gentleman had said as to the cordial welcome from ilu denomination to which they belonged, and of all denomination?, as shown by the attendance there that evening and by the sympathies of those who were not able to be there. Bui jn spite of that welcome ’heie was a deep regret, Oh, for the touch of a vanished hand and the sound of a voice that was still! It almost seemed to him that God in Hiprovidence is treasuring up f r some purpose we do not yet see all those workers whn had nobly worked for Him. As time passed On, and we lost me after another of those noble men who have done heroic work, it was wen that we should have the band of cou*ag* to give to the young men coming on, treading in the path of their predecessors. They Wanted all the encouragement that could b given them—those wuo hardly realised that they were men yet, called upon to become leaders of mankind in the spiritual w-i far-. It was well that some laym* n should be called on the platform besides the clergy, to give their wbh of -uccess to Mr Ryburn, who though now in the full plenitude of manhood’s power, was yet a trembling young man who mu-t feel that he was taking upon himself an enormous responsibility. They would gfty to him, *• Friend, take courage; your privileges are treat, and your are great; at the same time your Master’s help is greater than yonr power*, and by asking His strength you are sure to succeed/’ (Applause.) The Bev. J. Ward, on his own behalf and 00 behalf, of the Wesleyan Church tendered hb oongraiuiatious and welcome to Mr Ryburn. He compared the recent ordination service to ft marriage ceremony, and he wished him joy ftnd success. Mr Ryburn hxd come to a grand district, which Captain Coak had wrongly named. It had been his (Mr Ward’s) indention to try and get the name changed, but pressure of duties had prevented ‘he attempt, and he hoped Mr Ryburn could do it “ Poverty Ray ’’ was a misnomer. (Applause ) The district was a grand one, and we were going to have a grand time here yet. Hftdv sed all to cheer on the young pastor, Whose open countenance had made him (th * Speaker) like that gentleman the fl-st time he had seen him. There were periods when the most hopeful were apt to feel weary and depressed, but let them cheer on the young man, and be would cheer them back with bright words, and they would go home from church feeling m rch better for having been there. (Applause.) Captain Garbutt, of the Salvation Army, lent »n apology for not being present at the after-meeting, but conveying in the letter & Warm welcome to Mr Ryburn. The Bev. Mr Douglas, in congratulating Mr Ryburn, also complimented iha Church

S embers on their st-lection, The speaker an went on to make some interesting

remarks on the subject of licensing, ordination, and induction in the Presbyterian Church, and concluded by hoping that Mr Byburn’s connection with the Presbyterian Church in Gisborne would be a long, happy, and useful one, and that he would be heartily Supported in his work. The Bev. Mr Monroe commenced by referring to the pleasant nature of meeting, ftnd said that he had that nay paid a visit to the public scboql and had been greatly Surprised at the excellence of the work, while the arrangements, discipline, and good behaviour, he bad never seen surpassed. In Auckland they had a great idea of their qualifications in this respect, hut he must Confess that what he had seen in thd Gisborne School had greatly astonished him. Indeed the smartness of the children in the second standard in mental arithmetic Was such that he felt that if he were put in ihat standard now he would not be ab‘e to Bab htaeelt (Laughter.) Hia pride in ytbing belonging to Auckland was further

reduc?d when he was shiwn two copy books owned by two boys in the one standard. One showed beautiful penm inship, and th J other he was told was a very bad sample of the woik done—the latter was that of >n Auckland boy I (Lauahter ) He had th-*n visited the High School, the woik in which had also asteni hed and greatly nleased him. (Applause.) When passing by Gisborne in a steamer one got a very erroneous idea of what the place was really like. N» street in Auckl md could surpass G adstone Road, with its beautiful rows of shady trees on either side. Gisborne had a grand future before it. Like the rest of the colony it had been affected by financial depression, but the period of depression was now passing away and Gisborne would share in the prosperity Referring to the ordination service on Sunday, he said he had taken part in many such services, but the one in Gisborne h >d specially p’eased him for three things The Minister could not have a better motto than that behind the pulpit, “ Lo. I come to do Thy will,” and i’ he could read his Christian brother’s heart he felt sure that the motto would he his. The flowers in the church showed"an expression of sympathy and interest in the new minister. He had sever heard an anthem before at an ordination service, but nothing could be m ire hwnvifuliy appropriate than that chosen on Sunday last, “God hies- our p stor.” He won d not savmuch ahoutMr Ryburn, as they might think he was flattering that eentlernan, and moreover Mr Rvburn wasprepent. If he wer? not there he (Mr Monroe) might say a g ’at deal in his praise. He had known him intimately, and watched all his literary and theological course with the deepest interest. He was sorry Mr Riburn’s father was not ablp to be 'h°rp that evening, but he would no d''ubt. be very glad to hear of -the warm welc'-'m? accorded by the G aborne peop’e. Mr Rvburn was an excellent minister, an excellent scholar (an M.A.), and what whs better his heart was in the right p’ace ( AppTanskT Unfortunately there was ag md deal nf truth in the assertion that the m°n drifted from th* l churches, as could he seen by the large of females in ths congregationa. Thev should try and/get ho‘d of the young m^n —the church that possessed young men wou’d be strong and health?. In or’er tn be Buccp«i»fnl they should try and make the chu’-ehe’ chee-fnl and homelike. He related a story-of a «baf womartpf whom it had been naked what could she do in church work, and the r*nly was that, she con’d smile the people in, and umVe them out. Whep anyone went to the chttreh it was the custom f»r thiwnmm ’O give each one a smile, warmly shaking hands with them, and making them feel at home, and amtle and sh ike hands as they were going out. miking them feel a desire to again attend suoh- a h tppy place of worship. What they wanted to get hold of were the non-church goers. He gave an ; ru»tra’inu of a man who had sunk a well. It went dry, and f he man wondered haw this cnu ? d he, until ha discovered that someone in the neighborhood had sunk a well ten foot deeper, and thus drained the other well. So he felt, it was wi"h the churches-the one that dug the deepest into the spiritual nreds of the people would be the most successful. In some churches there wis neglect in welcoming strangers that came into church. He gave a story tn’d of a stringer whn had gone into a church in another town. The man walked into the r-horch and right up to the pulpit, no one r ff >’ing to show him to a seat, or to rise an l mike way for him. then turned back to th? door, and asked s one there what chmeh that was. “Ch ;st’a Church,” was the reply. Well,” .said the stranger, “he isn’t a’, bom??’ and the man Mg. They waited more cheerfulness, sympathy, and cordiality. Snm? people, he was aPai 1, kept their relieinn like jhe woman of whom it Wis t *ld that sh? had an umbr Ila, and on a-k?d why she did not use. it replied that s’ e had not u<pd ir for over twenty years and was not going to allow it to be used now, (Laush’ pt ) So ft was with Rotn? people and th-ir religion, they k?pt it folded up—if the umbrella had been taken out it might have h>-en found were holes in. it. Church members should hear in mind that they each had talents th y might usp, and each do something to help. He hoped the Divine blessing would rest on them, and that they would have cause to bless God for the union forme! last Sabbath. (Applause.) Mr Bright said so man? welcomes had been accorded, that it would almost be superfluous for him to say anything further, but. as yet no one had represented the country residents, so many of whom, however, had shown their sympathy by their presence there that evening. In the country they were more cosmopolitan than in town. In the town they had their different churches, and each ons attended that which agreed with bis belief. In the country ’ll* l e’ergy of all denominations visi’ed them, and they attended the services without discrimination, giving them all their hearty support. Life was made np of meetings and partings, and to him ir seemed only yesterday when they were shocked to hear of the accident to Mr Me Ara, and then had the mournful duty of following his earthly remains to the grave. On behalf of the country residents he welcomed Mr Ryburn most, cordially and heartily. He himself had bad some experience - f meetings and partings. He had made many friends and lost many, but during ’he «hort time he had been in Poverty Bay he found many good staunch friends whom hp would be sorry tn part from. He had bad experience from Invercargill to »he North, and there was no place he would care to change for this oneca’led Poverty Bay. (Hear, hear, and applause.) The name to which Mr Ward had objected was one he thought wh-oh they could well afford to continue. If his friend had looked into tb 3 statistics which he (Mr Bright) had done in the course of his business he would perhaps agree with him People w j re flocking to the place, and had already taken up every inch of country available for settlement, (Applause ) if Mr Ward had been with him that, day, and seen some of the splendid back country he had viewed, he would indeed say that. Poverty Bay was making pr gress, and had a grand future before it, and that Mr Ryburn had cast his lot in a happy place. H> pressed upon Mr Ryburn the necessity of exercising tact in dealing with people, the value of that faculty being very great. In conclusion he stated he thought, by the reception given, that Mr Ryburn would have no cause to be disatisfied that he had linked bis fortunes with tfie place rejoicing in the name of Poverty Bay. (Applause.) The Chairman, on behalf of the Session and Sunday school, tendered their hearty welcome. During the vacancy they had had able ministers, but it could not be expected that gentlemen, only there temporarily, could apply themselves to all the different branches of work, the same as one who was settled in the place The consequence was that Church matters had assumed a retrogressive tendency, but he hoped that would soon be removed, and he added some words of warm encouragement to Mr Ryburn.

The Bev. Mr Ryburn was loudly applauded on rising to speak. He was evidently deeply moved by the kindly welcome he had received, and began in a quivering voice, though he soon regained an approach to composure. He said he felt lie Wts never in a more diflicu't position than he w is in that evening. Their great kindness, 'he personal character of the remarks, and what had been said by Mr DeLautour. all made it difficult. That gentleman must have p werful spectacles to look within ns he had done. There was in him (the speakei) a certain amount of trembling and ccnsci< usness of f he, great responsibility upon him ; and yet he felt vfcry confident, feeling that there was Ouu upon whose assistance he could rely. Last Sabbath was one of the happiest he nad ever spent. It was to h m a ma’ter of great surprise, when he th ught of his past fife, that he should stand there upon such an occasion—he had nwer dreamt that his course|would be so si aped. When he first met his respected mil isvtr he had no idea that he (the speaker) would occupy such a calling. When he looked back on his past life—though he was yet young as they could see—he could not but recognise that it was

under the guidance of the A mighty that he had been led on, in some way he could not understand. Taking them into his confidence he might say that he had been led from the rowdiest boy in the school, up through the grammar school, through his college education and finally through the education for the ministry. -He took the oppportunity of thanking Mr Mon« roe for all that he had done for him«

Rut there was One he had to thank more than all, and that was our Master. Coming to the present, he thanked them for the kind and cordial welcome which they had accorded to him. Like Mr Bright, ho had also travelled from Invercargill to Auckland, and he realised what a nice place Gisborne was. During the short time he had been here, and through their kindness to him, he had felt quite at home. He tendered his thanks to members of the various denominations, and he had the greater pleasure in being here that evening because, as Canon Fox had pointed out, the reception was not a personal one, but a representative one because he was there as a representative of rhe Christian ministry. He was very pleased to see the motto in the church, and he would always recognise that it was his Master’s work that had to be done. He hoped to have the sympathy and cooperation of those around him ; he would sincerely pray that their union would be blessed by God, and hoped that they would work together in harmony, and that there would be. a frankness, especially in spiritual matters, between pastor and people. The speaker concluded by asking their earnest prayers, and on resuming his seat he was again enthusiastically applauded. Mr Monroe rose to present Mr Ryburn with a copy of ’he beautiful work on New Zealand flora. This had been kept a secret from that gentleman, the presentation being made on behalf of ’he Session in the district which Mr Ryburn had labored. The speaker highly comp'imented Mrs Featon on the beautiful work, saying that it was only on coming here that he had learnt, that the “ Art Album of New Zealand F.ora ” was by a Gisborne lady, and they should be proud of it. (App'ause ) Mr Ryburn replied, asking Mr Monroe to tender his thanks to those people who had so kindly made the presentation. The Rev. Dr Warren joined in the welcomes accorded, and said that he would shortly bid them adieu with 3 me feeling of sadness. He had travelled much in the world, bat he had never preached in any place where he had been so cordially received. He believed that the penpie had prayed for the success of his efforts. And as he again went out into the world, taking his little buy by the hand, he asked them to still grant him their prayers. He wished that God’s blessing might rest upnn them al).

Mr J. Somervell then proposed votes of thinks to all those who had assisted in the gathering, inc'uding the ladies. The speech was a humorous one, and in the course of it, the speakpr expressed his wonder why an did married man like himself had been asked to propose a vote of thanks lo the ladies, when it might have bean more appropriately done by some of the bachelors. He said he might claim to have .relationship wiih Mr Ryburn on the principle that held good in the Highlands, wh?re a man was said to somgjJmHS claim rela’ionship on the ground that h’s grandfa'her had peeled potatoes to feed the other man’s grandfather’s stock. The scholarship which Mr Kyburn had w n had been provided by the lata hus-r bind of an auut of his (the speiker), and he had received a telegram from that lady, asking him to congra’U ate Mr Ryburn on her behfif. He hoped one diy to see his (the speaker’s) own sons competing for the s me prize. The votes of thanks were of course carried by acclamation, including one to the Chairmm, and the meet! g cone uded by the singing of the Doxology, followed by prayer.