prayers in the sacred language, which took about an hour and a half. Mr. Mody, the chairman then thanked the community for having assembled in such a large number to do honour to the occasion. He recounted the innumerable benefits the Parsees had derived under the just and benign British rule. He said that it was a most fortunate thing for the Parsees to have come under the sway of such an enlightened, liberal, and paternal government, and hoped that the British rule might continue for ever. He next spoke in the most eulogistic terms of the eminent personal character and virtues of Her Most Gracious Majesty, the Queen Empress. He referred to the spontaneous expression of gratitude loyalty, and devotion to the throne from millions of her subjects as an infallible proof of the deep impression made in the hearts of the people by her noble character, her kindness of heart, and her sympathetic solicitude for their welfare. He exhorted the audience to offer fervent prayers to the Great Author of Creation to guard and protect our Most Gracious Sovereign, to prolong her life and to shower upon her all His choicest blessings to the end of her days. All present then rose up and recited from printed copies previously handed to them a short and appropriate prayer in the Gujarati language prepared for the occasion, following the lead of the Chairman, who went through it in a very impressive manner. The English version of the prayer is as follows:-
O Holy Ahuramazda, we Thy humble servants of the Mazdaznan faith with heartfelt devotion praise Thy divine goodness for the many and signal blessings which Thou hast conferred upon the various people of the British Empire through the honoured instrumentality of our gracious Sovereign the Queen Victoria. We, Thy humble Zoroastrian worshippers,
O holy Creator, thank Thee for having prolonged her reign to the term of Fifty years, and, with uplifted hand, pray unto Thee, O Merciful Mazda, to bestow upon our illustrious Sovereign many years of a happy reign, replete with glory, and to continue her reign, Holy God, with all honour. We implore Thee, O Great Almighty, to bestow on our beloved ruler blessings of fruitful peace and plenty in her vast dominions and We supplicate Thee, O Good God, with all our hearts to crown the fulness of her days with the fulness of divine blessings, grace, and love. Listen, we pray Thee, to this humble invocation of Thy Servants of the Zoroastrian faith in Hongkong, and grant us our wishes. AMEN.
The Chairman then announced that in order to commemorate the auspicious occasion of the Jubilee by some permanent memorial in honour of Her Most Gracious Majesty and to mark also their loyalty to the just and humane British Raj, it was proposed at his suggestion, which was cordially endorsed by his colleagues and which found many supporters among the community, to establish a special fund to be styled the "Victoria Jubilee Parsee Charity Fund". The object of this charity will be to give help and succour to the destitute, disabled, sick, infirm, and distressed of all nationalities, without distinction as to race or creed, and to give donations or subscriptions having that object in view; the operation of the charity to extend only to cases arising in Hongkong, Canton, and Macao. Mr. Mody, at the close of his address, earnestly appealed to the gentlemen around him to testify their loyalty by subscribing liberally to the fund and at the same time to verify and uphold their reputation for generosity and benevolence, which attributes had been inherited by them from their venerable ancestors in ancient Persia. The appeal was enthusiastically responded to and about $2,500 were subscribed to the fund on the spot and a further good sum is likely to be collected.
After a vote of thanks to the Chairman and other Trustees, which was carried by acclamation, the meeting separated.
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