-10-;' " able funotiph whioh Twas full of hope and oncouragomont for tho Methodist,Church in Natal, THB OPENING GBRaiONY. Tho now school buildings vrere opened on July 10th by His Excellency tho Govemor-Gonoral, Sir Patrick Duncan, After a stormy wook-end, tho weather cleared for tho opening ceremony, the s\m vjas bright and tho air crisp as the hundreds of visit ors assembled to await.the arrival of His Excellency the Govomor-Gonofal, In introducing and welcoming tho Govomor-Gonoral, tho Rev, E, Bottrill, President of the Methodist Conference, men tioned the change in the relations beti'/een the Government and the Methodist Church in the past century, "One hundred and tvrenty-five years ago," he said, "our missionaries were serious ly checked at Government House when they arrived in Cape Town, The relationship betiireen the church and education has constant ly been debated. It is the duty of the State to educate. That wo admit. But \vg feel "that religion does contribute to the education of youth by furnishing the necessary foundation and background to a successful life". That the present generation realised tliis was proved by the interest and support of the Education Department, and the presence, in representative cap acity, of the Govoraor-General and the Administrator of Natal. Mr,.If?',-/J, Williams, Chairman of the-Board of Governors, outlined the development of tho Kearsney scheme frcHii the tiime when it was no more than a vision of the distant future to tho time when tho school was now a fait accompli. This school was tho joint gift of Methodism, Apart from tho donors of largo sums of money, hundreds of people had given liberally,.seeking to bo materially associated with the "building of tho school. These friends had already boon publicly thanlcodj ho now wished to thank the architect, Mr, Payne, the builder,Mr,Johnson, and tho foreman, ?lr, Reardon, Those gentlomen had been mainly re sponsible for convorting cash into stone-work. Sir Patrick Dunoan then spoke. Ho made a strong g^peal
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