Every place of business and every private house now betokens permanency, and why should our churches not bear the same character? I must confess to having a great veneration for the monks of old, who spent as much in decorating a pillar or an altar as we have done on the whole church. It may be something like sedition to say so here, but I have somewhat of a 'down' on our own peculiar patron, John Knox, for smashing up so many of those fine edifices. In all probability he did what under the circumstances was right, but that does not detract from the depth of feeling that originally called into existence those grand old structures, fit mansions for the Great King. We in Otago have been raising structures for our personal glory and delectation; let us now build up the House of God in a manner befitting the times. I think it was Dr Roseby who happily designated Knox Church as a 'national institution.' It is, therefore, incumbent on us to sustain this high character by erecting a building that will be a credit to the congregation, an ornament to the city, and an example to the whole colony. Now, as to the price we have paid for our church, I frankly confess that it has exceeded my utmost limits, but I am convinced that we have had full value for our money, and there is some satisfaction in knowing that the contractors and workmen have been fully paid for their labour. After raising the structure, the next thing to be done is to 'raise the wind' and pay off the debt. I see no difficulty in doing so if all will put their shoulders to the wheel. In admiring this building—which, I hold, is the finest piece of architecture in New Zealand—we must not lose sight of the architect, Mr Lawson, to whose taste it is entirely due. He deserves the thanks not only of the congregation, but of the whole community, for giving the city such a handsome structure—one in which every line bears the impress of genius and study, and in which a single eyesore or misproportion cannot be detected. I have now, Dr Stuart, on behalf of the Building Committee, to present you with the key of the new church, and in doing so I wish that you may be long spared to occupy its pulpit, and be the mainspring in the machinery that makes Knox Church a national institution for the diffusion of good. I do not say that this key will open the front door, but it is typical of the event. Dr Stuart made a suitable reply. The key, which is a very handsome gold one, was manufactured by Mr George Young, of Princes street.
