CHURCH MEETING.

Auckland Star, Volume II, Issue 558, 24 October 1871, Page 2

CHURCH MEETING.

A very largely attended meeting of member^ and frienis of the' Church of England waij held yesterday evening, in the City Hall. The Bishop ol Auckland presided, and "carried out most judiciously and strictly the programme laid down for his guidance-. The lecturer? were limited to fifteen nihmtes each, and gentlemen whaspoke on the subjects.treated of, were limited to five minutes. Immediately on the expiration of the time appointed the gong was sounded, and the speaker "was obliged to give vp — & most judicious plan.— Dr. Maiins.i-ll read the first paper, the subject chosen boi'uig " The History ot the Maori Mission," of which the rev. gentleman gave o short outline; but he was brought to a standstill before completing the paper, by the inexorable gong.—Archdeacon Williams, with a few well chosen sentences, endorsed the statements made by Dr. Muunsell, and referred at some length to the state of the Maori Church on iho East, Coast.— ihe next paper was by Mr. Boardman, on " The Supply aud Maintenance of the Clergy."—This was one of the best paper's of the evening; but the limits of our space prevent us from giving even an outline of the lecture. Throughout the reading the lecturer was frequently applauded; und although the paper exceeded the allotted period, at the request Of some of those present, he was allowed to conclude, and was rewarded with a burst of applause.—The Rev. Mr. Nelson then read o paper on " Christian Burials." After giving a brief description of the various modes of burial —ancient and modern—lie went on to condemn, in no measured terms, the pomp aud parade which are, now-a-days, considered the essentials of a so-called good funeral, aud urged that all necessary acts should be performed by loving hands instead of hirelings, and that a groat part of the burial service should be read in the church, instead of the whole being delivered over the grave as at present. —Mr. H. H. Lusk next read a paper on the Melanesia Mission, and on its conclusion the Key. Mr. Dudley gave some interesting statistics in reference to the subject.—The last paper, and one which was of great importance, was read by theEev. D. Jones on the subject of education, lie described education as a full and harmonious development of all the powers and capacities of life, »nd the bringing of the f moral and physical nature of man to !he highest state of perfection. He nr^nad that the formation of character w:is to "be kept in view, as the great end and aim' 1;':- ill education. This was only to be ati- - 'y-giving: the chiid just views of his mow i. : 'cements, —to place him in a posit i?»-i to I>.. onwafrd and upward, and to plucc i ■ cv m vantage ground as to his earthly caivcr. i'his could not be attained by a purely secular education. Reli»ioh was the foundationof morality, and they could not teach morality without, teaching that religion from which it derived its support. He regretted the withdrawal of the Education Bill this session. la his opinion, it embodied a large and important scheme |of general education, while it respected the rights of individual conscience. Without pledging himself to all the details of the bill, it seemed to be a bill of meu desirous of grappling with the question on great and moral principles. He suggested a modification of the Act now in force, so us to allow religious education to a certain extent, in all the public schools under the control of the Provincial Government. -rDuring the delivery of the address, the lecturer was frequently applaudea. —Mr. Worthington supported the remarks of the lecturer. —Mr. J. Crispe proposed a vote of thanks to the readers of the papers, and to the chairman. —This motion was seconded by Dr. Kidd, aud carried unanimously, after which the meeting broke up.