Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

8 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

The Late Rev Hugh Price Hughes.

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The Late Rev Hugh Price Hughes. The Rev Hugh Price Hughes, whose death it was our sad duty to chronicle in our last issue was one of the most striking personali- ties in contemporary social, political, and religions life. As author, editor, temperance worker, educationist, social reformer, and religicT'S leader, he was one of the great forctes of the times, and his death will be lamented by all sections of the Christian com munity the world over. No man preached the gospel of industry with greater force or practised it with more fidelity. A man of Liberal views, both in religion and politics, he always had the courage of his convictions and the persistence which often carried them to effective application. In conference he was an. effective debater, and as president (1898-99) he, had a year of office characterised by wonderful activity with corresponding results. One of h's first acts as president was to summon special conventions of the Wesleyan districts in all parts of the coun- try, to take, the mca,si-ire, of the' Christian work that was being carried- on, and in the light, of the findings of the delegates to apply new power and new methods to the definitely ascertained needs of the times. The first conventioM was held in Cardiff for the, South "Wi-T-es district, a. selection which he ascribed to his Welsh birth and origin. His year of office was marked, too, by signal service to his native land. for it was mainly through his instrumentality that the North and South Wales Synods were joined together, and Wales was given its General Asesmbly, the first meeting of which was held under his presidency. Mr Hugh Price Hughes was a native of Carmarthen, and was. born on February 8th, 1817, being the son of the label Dr John Hughes, for many years medical officer and coroner for the Borough. His grandfather. Hugh Hughes, W3S the first Welsh minister elected a member of the Legal Hundred, and for fourteen years, by vote of the conference he occupied the chair of the South Wales Sny On his mother's side Mr Hugh Price Hughes claimed Jewish ancestry, her great- grandfather being a Jew named Levi. Her grandfather become a christian, and took the name of Phillips. He lived at 1faverforclwcst was by profession a banker, married an Englishwoman, and had three daughters. From one of these Mr Hugh Price Hughes is descended, and from another the. Irish, family of Plunkett's trace, their descent, so that there was thus a, species of cousinship between the late Archbishop of Dublin and Mr Hugh Price Hughes. The- other daughter was married to the Rev D. Charles, of Car- marthen, a brother of the eminent "Chprles o'r Bala." The late two brothers the Rev D. Charles Davies, of London, and after- wards Trefecca, and Mr R. J. Davies, Cwrt- mawr. Llangeithio, Cardiganshire, were also direct descendants; of the other daughter of the Haverfordwest banker. The future president of the, Conference, when nine, years old, was sent to a boarding school in Swansea. A few years later this school was removed to Thistleboon House, Mumbles, and it was there that Mr Hughes preached his first sermon. Soon after this, Mr Hughes sent the following terse letter to his father My dear father, I believe it is the will of God that I should be a, Metho- dist preacher. Your affectionate son, Hugh." By return of post there came from the father the equally laconic rep'y: "My dear boy,—I would rather you. be a Methodist ip(rteacher than the Lord Chancellor of Eng- land. Your affectionate father, John Hughes. It may be explained that this reference, to the Lord Chancellor is to be attributed to the fact. that it was Dr Hughes' intention, to train his son for the bar. Mr Hughes' trial sermon was delivered before the district meeting at 6 o'clock in the morning in Wes- ley Chapel, Swansea, in the year 1865, when he was in his 17th year. Two years earlier he was invited by the Welsh Methodists of Carmarthen to preach an anniversary sermon for them. This was the chaepl where his grandfather had been minister, and where he had preached his last, sermon. The im- pression created by that sermon may be gathered from the following entry, written by Mr G eorge Bagirall, a giteat friend of the family under that date:—"Yesterday at Ebenezer Chapel Hugh, eldest son of John Hughes, surgeon, preached to a. crowded congregation congregation from I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.' A lad of 16 only he spoke thirty-five minutes and con- sidering his extreme youth, wonderfully well giving great promise, if his life is preserved." The Church at Ebenezer showed their appre- ciation by presenting the young preacher with a. copy of Watson's Institutes," the first occasion on which his pulpit siervices were recognised. Having successfuly sur- vived his trial sermons. Mr Hughes when 17 years of age, entered the Theological College Richmond, and proved such a brilliant stu- dent that the usual three years' period of training was in his cace extended to four, and it is interesting to note that he was the first, student to enjoy this privilege. At the beginning of the fourth year, under the guidance of tbe,lat,eDrl-lotiltonh-,gradii.,i,ted at the University of London. It was during these college days at Richmond that the young student met Miss Barratt, daughter of the governor of the College, who after- wards became his wife. In September, of 1896, Mr Hughes having by this time quali- fied as a minister of the connexion, was appointed to the Dover Circuit,. It was here he made the acquaintance of Mrs Josephine Butelr, and under her influeuce, he be.ca.me an enthusiastic worker for the repeal of the C.D. Acts, his first literary venture, The Protest," being a monthly journal, which he published for the purpose of supporting the repeal propaganda. Three useful, busy years were spent at Dover. In 1872, he removed to Brighton, and there established a, reputa- tion as a fearless- and vigorous worker in the cause of temperance. From Brighton, Mr Hughes in 1875 had his first introduction to London, being stationed at Tottenham in the Stoke Newington Church. Already his fervid ipulpit oratory had marked him out as eminently qualified fbr missionary pur- poses, and in 1876 he was selected by the president (Rev Alexander Macaulay) as home missionary reputation to Cornwall. Under his ministry, during the: visit a remarkable revival was witnessed, which spread through- out the county of Cornwall. At the Con- ference of next year, ex-President Macaulay a,sked Mr Hughes to tell conference the story of how a revival came. to people who did not want it. "It was my first; speech in Confer,ence," wrote Mr Hugffes many years afterwards, and my legs smote each other like the legs of Belshazzar." In 1878 Mr Hughes removed to Barry road Church, Dulwich. Subsequently he conducted that remarkable mission, in Oxford which attrac- ted the attention of the whole country, and which demonstrated that he was equally at home in his appeal to the higher social circles as to the mavises, and is 1884 he re- turned to London, ha,ving been appointed to Brixton Hill. Here, he resolved upon an aggressive en,terprise invovling an outlay of £ 5,000. Three mission halls were built in the circuit where it was possible to asso- cia-te all sorts of social work with evangelis- tic efforts. A! the close of the meeting. when this scheme had been inaugurated, it was found that no less a sum than £2,300 had been contributed. His progressive methods led to a desire on the part of his I sympathisers for a new journal to enunciate 1 the principles of the advanced party. With this object a small limited company was formed in the autumn of 1884, of which Mr W. A. M'Arthur, afterwards the popular Liberal Whip, became chairman, and the first number of the Method Times, witn Mr Hughes as editor, saw the light on the first day of the following year. Meanwhile, the Weslevan Conference were preparing a scheme to deal with the spiritual destitution of London, and at, the Conference of 1885 the Methodists of the provinces led the way in the forward movement by erecting the, Great Central Hall in Manchester. Mr Hughes was a ked by Conference to under- take mission work in the East End, and two years afterwards a similar effort was decided upon for the West, End, and in October 1887 Mr Hughes and Mr. Mark Guy Pearse inau- gurated the West London Mission at St. James' Hall. Mr Hughes took an active part in the social purrity movement and the Anti- Gambling League. It was mainly owing to his suggestion that j he National Federation of Evangelical Free Churches was formed, and he was first president of the organisation In July, 1898, Mr Hughes was elected the president of the Weslevan Conference, and during his year the million guinea fund was inaugurated. He was an M.A. of London University, and among the products of his literary labours were Social Christianity," "Ethical Christianity," Essential Christianity." In the autumn of 1891 Mr Hughes visited the United States, and preached there with much acceptance. Mr Hughes leaves a, widow, two sons, and two daughters. His only brother is Mr J. Arthur Hughes, chairman of the Barry Dis- trict Council, and both his sisters are well known. One is the wife of the Rev Webb Peploe, who. resides in the North of England and the other, Miss E. P. Hughes, who has ,i n rendered signal service to the cause of Welsn education, has, the distinction of being the first woman who beat, all the men of her yea,r in the Cambridge Honours Tripos. It is said that under Mr Hugh Price Hughes, St James's-hall had on Sundays the most cosmopolitan congregation in the world. Mr Hugh Price Hughes had Princes and Prime Ministers among his hearers it was said a year or two ago that, the Prince of Wales was present at one of the evening services. Lord BoseWery has several times been seen in the hall on Sunday nights. There are stories, too, of human waifs and strays who have been persuaded by a kindly police- man to walk into St. James's hall instead of into the Thames, and who have lived to be grateful to the man who thus turned their steps. One Sunday afternoon some years ago there sat listening to Mr Hughes, a baroness moving in the highest circle of society in London and on the Continent, the wifo of a man who had been ambassador at the Court of the Czar and in two other capitals and Mr Hughes was not likely ever to forget the scene in the hall as the baroness—who died a few months ago after living for charity's sake-took off her jewels and placed them on the col lection-plate. Impressed by the sermon, the baroness went back to Vienna and transformed one of her houses into a home for poor girls. — :o:-« THE FUNERAL. Amidst the widespread manifestations of sorrow the remains of he late Rev Hugh Price Hughes were laid to rest on Friday afternoon in London. The funeral was of a semi-public character, and the .esteem and affection in which the deceased was held could not have been more markedly demon- strated than in iie gathering of almost every sect and creed which attended the final obse- quies. The interment took place at High- gate Cemetery, but previous to this there was a, service at the Wesley Chapel, City- road. No more fitting sanctuary could have been selected in which to pay earthly rever- ence and regard to the eminent Wesleyan divine who had passed so suddenly from the midst of thosiei who loved him so well. But it was not only to Free Churchmen that the Rev Price Hughes had endeared himself TIroad in his sympathies and in views—which he never failed fearlessly to express—he also gathered around him a. band of admirers belonging to the Anglican community r on Friday some of the best known English Churchmen in the, Metropolis assembled in Wesley s Tabernaeel to pay a living and practIcal tribute his memory. M*??, fmieral service (says the "Western Mail ') commenced soon after one o'clock, but. long before that the chapel was filled rleil" capacity, and crowds of the frri™l fUS'° St0°d °Utside to »'i*ch the hni diL COTtege' The "«« insitte bonding was mostl jmpressi(ro Wj(h excel), on of an arrangement, of choice, white flowers and ferns at, the caching desk and the erection of a, bier, the chapel remained as it, is on ordinary occasions. Behind the platform on which those who took chief part in the service stood there were seated the, Dean of Westminster, the Rev Canon Barker, Rev J. J. Coxhead, and the Rev J. H. Neardwell (of St. Anne's, Soho). The archdeacon of London was desirous of being present, but in his unavoidable: absence he sent a clergmaii, to represent him. Sitting in the same enclosure-behind th# altar rails —with these well-known Churchman were such prominent Nonconformists as Rev Dr. Clifford, Dr Monro G-bson (of the NationaJ Free, Church Council), and other ministers of the Free Churches. All sorts and condi- tions had there united to do reverence to the deceased. Amongst them were Sir Horace Brooks Marshall, Sir J. MDougall, Dr H. _r T b. Lunn, Mr J. Ba.mford black, Mr v. w. Bunting (editor of the Contemporary Re- view"), Rev J. H. Jowett, of Birmingham (reprosentin.g The Oongregationalis-t") the Rev R. J. Campbell, the Rev S. F. Collier, Rev W. F. Macdonald, Rev R. W Hopkins, Rev J. H. Shakespeare (Baptist Union), Sir Clarence Smith. Rev Richard Roberts (an ex-pr -sidciit, of the Wesleyan Conference), Mr R. W. Porks, M.P. Mr Lloyd-George, M.P., Mr Wolford Green, M.P., Mr Helme, M.P., Mr Georgei White, M.P., Mr M'Kenna M.P., Mr W. MArthur, M.P., Mr A. W. Black (of Nottingham), Mr Robert White. Gipsy Smith, and the'Rev Westerdale. I The Rev W. L. Watkinson, one of the de- ceased gentleman's most formidable, oppo- nents in conference debate, was also present to show his undiminished affection for his doughty controversial antagonist.. Many societies: and organ-sat ions wTere represented. *ey included the Home Mission Society, t .e Wesleyan Temperance Soc-ietv, the various synods cf the Wesleyan Church, the Na.t,ional Free Church Council, the London Congregational Union, the B^lfu.st Union, the Salvation Army, the Methodist. New Con- nexiolli, the Methodist Free Churches, the Prumtm, Methodist Church, the Bible Chris- tian Church, the Sisterhood of the West London Mi™ and the Ma n oh Me r T-eds Edinburgh, Hull, a,nd Dolton Missions. There were, indeed, amongst, the congrega- J tion ministers and laymen who represented every .section of the Nonconformist body. every .section of the Nonconformist body. The deceased himself at one time a presi- dent of the Wesleyan Conference, it was appropriate that there should pre-side, over the solemn function one; who is now at the head of that powerful assembly. According- ly Professor Banks (the president of the Cenlerenee) conducted the service, and de- livered an address1, and he was assisted by the «v Guy Mark the Rev Dr I livered an address1, and he was assisted by the "V Guy Mark Poarse, the Rev Dr Towwcnd, and the Rev F. W. Macdonald. The coffin which was brought from No. 8, Ta,vington street, Gordon Square, where Mr Price died, reached the chapel soon after one. The hearse was covered with a fire- fusion of choicest, wreaths, but the casket itself only contained one. This consisted of n, plain wreath of bay leaves sent by the widow and children. The incription upon it was "Fer Hugh, from Katie." and the text "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept th efaith." On the other side were the names of the deceased's two sons and two daughters. The coffin was of plain elm, and on the brass plate was engraved:- Hugh Price Hughes, Died Noernber 17, 1902, Ag.ed 55 years." It was carried shoulder high into the chapel by the principal entrance, and behind walked the chief mourners. These were the widow and her '•ens and daughters, Mr Arthur Hughes (brother of the deceased), Dr Howard Barrett, Mr Edmund Barrett, and Mr Alfred Howard Barrett. Other mourners were Mr and Mrs Langridge, Mr and Mrs Norman, Clegg, Mr and Mrs Clifford Barrett, Mr F. Nutter, Mr A. Nutter, Mr S. Farrer. Rev J. M. Walters (secretary of the London the Rev R. W. Hopkins, the Rev Murk Guy Pearse, and the Rev C. E. Walters. The casket was placed on the bier immediately oipposite the platform from which the service was read, and the widow which the service was read, and the widow and her children knelt close by. Then the huge assembly joined reverently in singing the well-known hymn 0 God, our help in ages past." Following this, the Rev F. W. Mcdonald said prayer, whilst, the people re- mained with heads bent. The congregation joined in the; wish by uttering a, fervent Amen." After the singing of "The Saints of God, their conflict. past," the Rev Dr Towiisend recited a passage of Scripture from the Corinthians, and then a choir chiefly composed of boys from Dr Stephen- son's homes sang very prettily and with much feeling the anthem" Blessed are the departed." Led by the organ, the assem- blage broke forth in song once1 more, and rendered with due solemnity the hymn "Jesu Lover of my souJ." This was the favourite hymn of the late Mr Hughes, a.nd especially the third verse, which begins- Thou, 0 Christ, art, all I want, Mere than all in Thee I find." The funeral sermon was preached gy Pro- fessor Banks, who said the blow which had fallen upon them was staggering in its suddenness. The mourning to-day over their dear brother and friend was as widespread as it was sincere and deep, not only in his own Church, but all the, Churches of the United Kingdom, the Colonies, and United States, sorrowfully felt that a, great. moral force had passed away. No one did more in the cause of humanity among the Churches cf Christ than, Mr Hughes, and the more kindly feeling which existed between the different branches of the Christian Church were due in very great measutre to God's blessing upon his advocacy of a, true Christian unity and catholicity. Mr Hughes ™s the most brotherly of men, He was W hard fighter; he was always a, fair fighter; he was the soul of chivalry and of honour. Accord- ing to the. best judgment which he (Professor Banks) was able to form, Mr Hughes ren- dered to his church great and memorable <o('TY s in two directions. First, he re- kindled the fires of the old evangelists. Then again, Mr Hughes rendered priceless service in bringing the community more into touch and ]ine with the great movements and the life of the nation. In Mr Hughes's heart, J' there was a, passionat,e affection for national righteousness as the path to national safety and honour, and, the work which God enabled His servants to do would live. li had taken possession of the younger ministry and laity. The coffin was then borne from the chapel, whilst the congregation remained standing. When the hearse was reached there were thousands of people in the enclosed space bctv aen the building a.nd the roadway, who raisied their liats in reverential salutation. The City-road was occupied by an immense throng, and as the cortege emerged into the roadway and pursued its slow journey to Ilighgatc, nothing could be more respectful than the attitude of the people aJong the entire line of route, which was. something like three miles. In some places, blinds were drawn, but everywhere proper regard was shown to the memory of the deceased. The weather was bitterly cold, but that did not deter a crowd of considerable dimensions coming together to witness the last funeral rites. The widow and other chief mourners were at the graveside, and many of the more intimate friends of the deceased had jour- neyed in funeral and private carriages to the burial ground. The- Rev Mark Guy Pearse delivered an address, and the hymn, "Rock of Ages, cleft for me," was sung. After- wai ,s the people quietly dispersed. Amongst present at the. chapel were the Rev. Prebendary a,nd mv A Frederick^w*161^111"13' of t,,e deceased). Sir Upwads of a huml l? nothing but including one, « oe trom Countess of Aberd<wn MEMORIAL SE-RVICFI AT THE ENGLISH WESLEYAN CHAPEL, CARMARTHEN A memorial service to the Rev H».A T> • Hughes was held at the English, WP 1 °* Ch^l, Carmarthen, on Si^y TveniT The meeting was introduced by Mr R. J. Jones. The portions, of Scripture read were 2 Cor. iv, 15-21 and Rev. xxii.—The Rev E. Owen, the resident minister, preached from the first clause of Heb. xi, 13 These, all died in faith." He said that this chafer had been called the Westminster Abbey of. the New Testament. When tone eazed on the monuments in Westminster Abbey one began to live ovr again scenes in history, and to recall memories of the glorious dead. So it. was with this chapter. It was the New Testament elegy. There is a strain of poetry in it. Its dominant note is not. a dirge for the departed, but. a song of triumph for those who though they are dead nevertheless' live1. It does not commemorate departed earthly greatness, but the triumphs of faith. These mentioned tb,ere-Abel, Noe Enoch. Abram, Jacob, Joseph, Moses-died in faith because they lived in faith. Men die as they live. A l'fe of faith is thp; most reasonable thing in the world; to human eyes it is, of course, the most foolish. Take a case from this chapter—Abraham. To his neighbours it, seemed a very foolish thing for him to leave his pastures and his flocks and to go forth into an unknown countrv. But he lived according to faith; he ditd according to faith. They met. that evening with a sense of sorrow and irretrievable loss —After referring to the death of Mrs Jones (90, Lammas street) who had passed away after a long life of Christian service, like a ripe shock of com ready for the granary, the rev. gentleman said that the case of our departed brother and leader Rev Hugh Price Hughes was entirely different. He W¡S in the very zenith of his; power, and his fame. Death claimed him in the midst of his great work, when there was so much to be done. and it foemed as though we could not do without, iiim. He had superabundant vita- lity them was no limit to his irresistible vitality. Although he knew that his life was hanging on a thread, it was impossible to hold him down. We have to thank God for him. He was a born leader of men. HP He has left a big impress on the younger generation of Methodist ministers. He was the type of the aggressive Christian; he carried the war right inta the enemy's camp. He had a powerful intellect, eloquence was burned at white heat, great business ability. and all the (passion and enthusiasm of a Welshman. If Hugh Price Hughes had been 1 1 1 a lawyer as his father intended mm ne wouia- bave be>en alive to-day. "The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up." Whatsoever he did, he did with all his might. At the Manchester inauguration of thie< Free Church Council, he said "More of this, or none at i all." That was tlie keynote ot his me. ±le never faltered or wavered. His sympathies were wide and catholic. How significant of this was the last meeting me was privileged to attend. He sat on the platform with two Anglican clergyman, a canon belonging to the same great church, a Fransisean friar belonging to the Roman Catholic Church, one of our leading laymen, and a minister of the French Protestant. Church. Broad in his sympathies, in his conv'ctions, he was loyal to Christ in all that he undertook. Hugh Price Hughes had revolutionised modern Hethodism. He came at a time when the Methodist churches were settling down to an easy-going inlifference. He saw that the working men of England were alienated from the Church s there were old chapels nearly empty in the great centres of popu- lation ? What did he do ? He leaped into the breach, and by example; and precept he showed how these chapels might be filled, and how the horny handed sons of toil m'ght be reached. As St. James's Hall, princes, statesmen, soldiers, labourers, lads from the gutter gathered to hear him preach. His faith was contained in the words Christ is above all." His ministry was evangelical. When he .left College he was inclinel to be scholarly, and to despise' what is called the appeal to the whole man "—the appeal to the emotions as well as the intellect. But at his first charge at Dover, he surprised himself; he preachel a fervent sermon, .at the close of which twenty souls sought peace in Christ. That determined the character of his ministry. He was an express that went at a terrible pace, but he never left the track. Although he was a politician, an editor, and mingled in the thousand-and-one activities of life, he above everything else preached Christ and him crucified as the only hope. of men. His first sermon preached when he was a bay was from the text For clus is a faithful saying and worthy of accep- tation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." At St. James Hall on the, Sunday before his death, he preached to listening thousands on the parable of the prodigal Son. He based his discourse on the Fatherhood of God. In his last article printed after his death he wrote" It is by proclaiming the sinfulness of sin, and the love cf God as revealed in the Cross and the power of Christ to deliver from the power of sin that we phall melt hearts." That was the sum and substance of Hugh Price Hughes' faith. He was not an ignorant man He knew all about the Higher Criticism, and he knew all the changes science had wrought in the minls of men to-day; but he used to say "Jeus is enough for me Thou 0 Christ art all I want." He, knew in whom he had believed. Because he knew he spoke. He fought bravely for all that he knew to bo iright-purity, temperance, labour move- ments, Trades Unionism, and the thousand and one agencies that are at work in the modern work of the 19th and 20th century. As Frree Churchmen, we, owe him a debt we can never repay. It was he and Dr Berry who framed the Fr: Church Federation as it is, end prevented it from becoming a mere political instrument. These two had made the Free Church Councils a power in the spiritual life of England; when the history of that period came to be written that movement would have to be reckoned with. Now h<e is gone. The last time the speaker had heard him was at the Conference when he was pleading fcr the Methodists of Car- marthen. Then he Jookled the picture of life full of energy and full of power. But he is not dead. His spirit lives in us, and with us Who now will be baptised for the dead ? Who will take, up the great causes to -vh:cli he had set himself. The voice that lifted against tyranny, and against en ry form of irreligion and vice is silent. Who will take up the mantle of the fallen prophet* and work as he had for the cause of liberty, progress and truth. God grant, us to like him, then in death we shall be glorious through Him that lovieth us. At the close of the service, the organist (Mr Bertie Williams) flayed the Dead March," the congregation standing.

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