Person Page - 224

We announce with regret the death of Dr. Donald Fraser, minister of the Marylebone Presbyterian Church, which took place at his residence, 3, Cambridge Square on Friday night, after an illness which lasted only four days. Dr. Fraser was born at Inverness, where his father filled the office of Provost, on January 15, 1826. He was educated at the University of Aberdeen, and afterwards studied divinity at Knox College, Toronto, and the New College, Edinburgh. In 1851 he accepted the charge of a church at Montreal, becoming eight years later minister of the congregation of the Free High Church, Inverness. In 1870 he came to London on a call from the Marylebone Presbyterian Church, and has since taken a leading part in the Presbyterian Church of England, having been twice Moderator of the Synod. Yesterday morning, long before the beginning of the service, Marylebone Presbyterian Church, 'Upper George Street, Bryanston Square, was crowded in every part, the announcement in Saturday morning's papers that the pastor, the Rev. Dr. Donald Fraser, would occupy the pulpit tho following forenoon, and the report of his sudden death in the evening journals, being, no doubt, instrumental in attracting such immense attendance. Before the service began Mr. Cecil Robertson, one of the deacons, who was accompanied by Dr. Renton, MP., and other prominent members of the congregation, broke the intelligence of their minister's sudden and unexpected death, Dr. Fraser, he said, died en Friday night, at 10 o'clock, of pneumonia after an illness of only four days' duration. On Sunday last he occupied the pulpit in that church as usual, and no later than Monday he occupied the choir at the annual business meeting of the congregation. Dr. Fraser was for 23 years the minister of that church. His fame was in all the churches, and everywhere he was honoured and revered; but they who know him intimately and had constant intercourse with him regarded him with deep, warm, ardent affection. The funeral would take place at Inverness on Saturday next; the mortal remains of their beloved minister would be brought to that church on Thursday, when a memorial service would be held. An appropriate service then followed, with a short address from a Canadian clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Hamilton (who was a personal friend of the deceased minister nearly years ago in Montreal). In the evening the Rev. Dr. Matthews, of Toronto, and secretary of the Pan-Presbyterian Alliance, preached to a numerous congregation. The late Dr. Fraser was unanimously elected at tho last sederunt of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of England to represent the London churches at the Great Synod to be held in Toronto this year.

At the close of his sermon in the City Temple yesterday morning, Dr. Parker spoke of the event as follows:- I have heard that Dr. Donald Fraser is dead. When will this ruthless sword, invisible, tremendous in action, cease, and give us rest awhile, lest our poverty become too painful? That sword has already wrought grievous desolation in the churches. Man after man has fallen, some go suddenly; especially in the last case for I hear that Dr. Fraser who was ill only some four days. Is it possible that some of us can only be four days off the grave? Can we be arrested, imprisoned, driven into the nameless darkness in four little days? Surely the lesson is: Work while it is called day, for the night cometh wherein no man can work. Dr. Donald Fraser has been long in London. He has been one of the most conspicuous ornaments of the Presbyterian Church in England. He was passionately devoted to the holy ministry. If now and again he came into other fields, they were collateral and not alien grounds into which he came that he might fight some battle for righteousness and liberty. In theology he was intensely orthodox; in preaching he was vigorous, varied, eloquent, practical, and most Useful. As a leader of his Church he was always to the front, wise, progressive without being rash, and strong in his very cautiousness. We cannot allow such a man to disappear in silence. We owe something to holy memories. Our recollections of this kind should be amongst our chief treasures. What a call we have had this year of desolation to the younger ministers to prepare themselves for filling great vacancies, to he baptised for the dead, to be ready to take the places of the standard-bearer. Yet of the future I have no fear. The Church is God's, not ours. He will find the leaders, the men of valour, the men needful for the present occasion and opportunity. Not one of us is indispensable to God. Yet, looking within narrow and social and fraternal lines, how poor we are made by same deaths; the air has changed its temperature, the earth has taken upon it a look of strangeness, the very ground once so familiar seems now not to care for our trespass. To outlive your generation, to become a stranger amongst the multiplied millions of earth - O this would be a penalty, this would be one of the cruel judgments of fate! I sympathize with our bereaved friends, men who gather around vacant pulpits and wonder when the familiar figure will be there. God help us to work, to love, to suffer, if need be! This is the day of splendid opportunity.^6,3

He was educated at the University of Aberdeen (M.A., 1842, D.D., 1872), and studied divinity at Knox College, Toronto, and New College, Edinburgh. He was ordained in 1851 a minister of the Presbyterian Church in Canada and from 1851 to 1859 he was minister of the Coté St. Presbyterian Church in Montreal. He then accepted a charge in Inverness and in 1870 he became minister of Marylebone Presbyterian Church in London.⁶

Fraser wrote several plays and the lyrics to many songs, some of which were performed by Amy Woodforde-Finden. He took action to recover damages for plagiarism of a plot of one of his plays. This was reported in a several newspapers:

Loud and frequent laughter was heard in Mr Justice Darling's crowded court during the hearing of the action brought by Captain Frederick J. Fraser against Mr George Edwardes, the well-known theatrical manager, who, he alleges, appropriated the "general scheme" of 'The Cingalee" from a play submitted to him under the title of "The Hanjiahn, or The Lotus Girl."
Mr George Edwardes, wearing a light grey suit, joined heartily in the hilarity provoked now and again by Mr Justice Darling's witticisms, and Mr Hayden Coffin, Miss Louie Pounds, Mr Pinero, Mr Huntley Wright, Mr Lionel Monckton, Captain Basil Hood, Mr Adrian Rose and Mr Howard Talbot followed the case with intense interest.
Mr Bankes, K.C., described the interview which took place between Mr J.L. Tanner and Captain Fraser after Mr Edwardes had agreed to produce "The Lotus Girl," on the understanding that the officer collaborated with Mr Tanner in making the dialogue more humorous.
In March, 1903, Mr Edwardes wrote to Captain Fraser's solicitors in London, saying that as a consequence of the difficulty about collaboration he had decided not to utilise Captain Fraser's play. "At that very time," said counsel, "Mr Tanner must have been writing the play, for in August he was actually in communication with Mr Anstey with reference to their writing up a Babu part for Mr Huntley Wright. This character was not to be taken from Mr Anstey's book 'Babu Jaberjee, B. A.' to which Captain Fraser had himself referred Mr Edwardes as a good model for a Huntley Wright part." Then counsel plunged into a glowing description of "The Lotus Girl," its beautiful Kashmir scenery, its characters, and its plot. One of the scenes was a lake fringed with wild iris. "When Mr Tanner changed the scene from Kashmir to Ceylon in his own play he took the iris .with him, and wild iris does not grow in Ceylon," said counsel. "But this was not the only mistake committed by Mr Tanner in copying," added Mr Bankes. "In 'The Lotus Girl' was the character of an Eastern potentate who, being a Kashmir Mahometan, would have a large number of wives; in fact, in the play he wanted to marry as many as 20 of the characters. But Mr Tanner made his Ceylon ruler also the possessor of a harem. Now, a ruler in Ceylon must be a Buddhist, who does not approve of harems."
"A Buddhist?" remarked Mr Justice Darling. "He was a bigamist, too." The court rippled with merriment.
"The only difference between the plays," concluded Mr Bankes, "is that Mr Tanner introduced a character named Lady Patricia Vane."
Then Captain Fraser described his various interviews with Mr Edwardes, with scene-painters, costume designers, and, finally, with Mr Huntley Wright. The latter objected to playing a native part, as suggested by Mr Anstey's "Babu" book.
"Mr Edwardes told me that Huntley Wright would have to play what he was told," said the captain. There was not a vestige of smile on the captain's face, but the court roared with laughter.
"In 'The Cingalee, he continued, "there was a half-caste girl, who should, of course, have no caste mark, but who was identified by mach a mark. In my play the Babu had the mark."
"That reminds me of Box and Cox." murmured Mr Justice Darling, meditatively, "and of the man who was identified because he did not have a strawberry mark on his arm."
The Babu in Captain Fraser's scenario was described by Mr Justice Darling, with the manuscript before him, in the words: "He has been partly educated and called to the bar."
Rows of grey wigs shook with mirth as the judge read the description in tones of sorrow rather than of anger.
There was another shout of laughter when Captain Fraser referred to the fact that, as in "The Lotus Girl," there was a lotus lake in "The Cingalee." This was in spite of the fact that there was no such lake in Ceylon. "I maintain that they took my lake," exclaimed the captain in a voice of thunder.
The "Hanjiahn" boat girls are fair to look upon, but the tea girls in Ceylon are coolies from Madras, "the very blackest and ugliest of their kind," exclaimed the captain. "The tea girls in 'The Cingalee' came from Kashmir.
Captain Fraser continued that while in "Hanjiahn" he introduced a party of officers dressed to play polo, a party of tea planters came on in "The Cingalee" in similar costume.
The "chee chee" accent, peculiar to Hindus who had learnt English, and found in the "Hanjiahn," was also found in "The Cingalee.'' Characters, said: "I am veree soree," instead of "I am very sorry.
"In "The Cingalee" one of the characters said to a friend. "Sell yourself, old Chutney. Sell your black hair, old Bombay duck."
Captain Fraser claimed that "Bombay duck" was taken from "The Lotus Girl."
"What is a Bombay duck?" asked the judge.
"It is a dried fish," said the captain solemnly.
"You know that musical comedy in written on conventional lines?" asked Mr Issacs, who appeared for Mr Edwardes.
"We know they all are," said the judge in a weary tone. Then his lordship proceeded to examine photographs of pretty Kashmir girls. "I see that Captain Fraser has written on the back of them, 'The prettiest do not allow themselves to be photographed.' "
"It is very different in this country," said Mr Rufus Isaacs.
"In 'San Toy,' 'The Geisha' snd 'The Cingalee,' is there not an English officer who falls in love with the beautiful girl of each country?" continued counsel.
"It must be a common habit." remarked the judge.
"Not peculiar to English officers abroad," replied Mr Isaacs.
Mr Isaacs was putting to Captain Fraser a series of questions as to the commonplace nature of the general scheme of musical comedies, when Mr Justice Darling said: "If these plays are so common, why are they not written by machinery?"

The jury had found for the plaintiff, and awarded him £3000 damages. The Otago Witness, 17 May 1905.