ANGLICAN SYNOD.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 728, 29 January 1910, Page 14

ANGLICAN SYNOD.

■0' .-;:,-,■-',".,;.» '■■:.: ' THE; CHURCH CONSTITUTION. bishop julius replies.to bishop : : : neligan and others; '• ' iconclusion-op : a'vigorous ■'■ ■■■;• debate; •.-.-,- ■-'•"■; ;";The Anglican General Synod was again engaged during the- greater part of yesterday afternoon in- discussing; the constitution of the Church.' -Some ; striking contributions to the discussion' came from the ; bench ; of. bishops. Finally Bishop Julius's motion was-put'to the vote, but only one clause—affirming ; the -Church's possession of inherent powers of self-gov-ernment—was' '■' carried.. .A considerable numbs? of church people attended, thesittings, and'the -ladies- again provided afternoon tea. - -'; , : ;SEE HOUSE FOR WELLINGTON."•; ' The Committee on Trusts: reported that they: were-unanimously of opinion that, owing to the -proximity of the' railway yards'. and, the : inevitable - extension -of business, premises in its direction, the Miilgrave Street -residence had become unsuitable as a residence for the Bishop of Wellington;-'■■; The members were, ■' however, ' strongly • of opinion that' to' sell' any portion of the land would be a great mistake,'as it .would '(with -the site of St. ; Paul's. ;Church) ,make an excellent'■■■ site for the future'cathedral of the diocese,' a 'position greatly superior to the presently- proposed site, in Taranaki Street. As-land,in every way.-suitable for a See - House, in 1 Hobson Street, at present ■ on -.lease,'would,; in >the.;course of six years, fall into the hands of: the Bishopric Endowment. Trustees, they.' considered. : that the' question"of,''building: a:new' bishop's residence 'might with advantage, be deferred,-, as it was possible that those.iands might come, into . the • trustees' hands earlier. They suggested that, for thepre;sent, a suitable house;'for >the ". bishop 'might be leased. .They'recommended/the leasing. Of the Mulgrave"Street house in order to. provide funds.to, pay. the ~rent of another 'Bishopscpurt.. - The, committee thought the ■: proposed' site at Kelburne ;a most unsuitable one. The consideration of makin'g.'a grant towards the cost'of a new .house ..from the. General-Trust Fund had been-deferred until-all-applications 'for: other grants from this fund-likely'.to. be .'received, had: come to-hand. -.'•-" ■ The-report will come up for consideration next week.'.: : .., : v;''V : - :. : , -4;. THE CONSTITUTION, i ■■"■■■'[ REMARKABLE'SPEECHES. ,';;"'- .':. On the" resumptibn of the debate onthe ■Bishop of Christchurch s' motion touching the fundamental provisions of- the ; Constitution of the Church, the Bishop' of .Nelson withdrew his amendment in order, to allow, the"Bishop ofi;Auckland 'to move one of which he had given notice. •' This was as-'follows— .-"'..■.■ • ; v--.;X'-/-;,.. "y ':■-!■ :■:.. To'substitute the'following for the' 'clause of the motion— ",-'■". ..-'.-;.- '•.,'.;"■ -': ';- 1. That the Church-, of. the. Province: -of.New-Zealand,:being a;duly organ-' ■ :,ised. province of the'.Catholic Church, ; ~, is,. and ■ desires: to remain,' an autono-: „'.mbus Church in' full communion .with' ,'.; the England. '; ,'■ •:':■'.' i :.-^ / the quieting yof. : ,;.;sciences and the; relief ;6f doubt con-)'' ■",-■ corning -various' questions.' ponnectedV with, both the':.liberty'of action of this ..-'Church; and :;thb-tenure' of .'property,' it'.■:' V-.is .'advisable ..that'legislation", be pror"' ;.'.;mpted. ih; : .the:,Ne'w,' Zealand:'.Parlia--; .- merit: in ■' order'' to "set at'rest such - ; ''.disquietude and .doubtfulness. '.'.■■•'•.-. ">'•■■' V ■'J'.ii. That a" commission '.be appointed -'vto 'prepare: a bill for the purposes set'■:-'■ '■i.i forth in..the 'foregoing. \ resolution;; '■;:that such .commission have; authority. '■/■to 'secure..such legal, assistance; as :■:;they'; may.: require'; that the.- expenses ■; ?of the commission. ibe, a charge-on the : .;' ; "funds of- the General:Synod;. %'■'?:<.<.';&'}'.. ~:;'4.: T hat the commission—.- ~,': V ~(a) Submit'the .draft Bill,: in ; its.' .original or'amended forms,'to the sevVeraT Standing Committees of the pro- '.' .•'.'■'vince for their, consider,ation;iij(jT. >;[ ,:(b')-: Submit' the'Bi'll' to the New".. ' Zealand Parliament if the Standing -'. f Committees , of : the: several ■;; dioceses,.; ' on : aivote' taken : .by order's, agree, with-. : .: the provisions of the Bill in its orig-'-' - inal or amended forms. • ■: '(c)' Report their proceedings and ac;tions. to, the next General Synod. ,'.; 'Bishop:.Neljgkti's;. ; yiews. y ' ; ; ..-''; '■'The-Bishop- of Auckland, in moving.as. above, isaid;,he; : agreed-with:- Mr... Martin ;that unless they went to Parliament they could not iknow: whether they had power to alter the fundamentals. He considered on the question had undergone a remarkable change, which he_ attributed ;.'to:sdme,',extent:.to v.the' -opinions: (which he had quoted in his Diocesan Synod) of the:Vicar-General of. the Canterbury': and-York A. Cripps)'"'.-' and - the ; Dean ■ ' of ".* the Court of -Arches-.- ; (Sir.,-Lewis Dibdin). l The. point,; ' as:. ~shown by .those • 'authorities,' .- was . v '■ that ...the i-which: .drew '.up : the '■■ Constitution of 1857, and the General Synod did; not appear, to .be; legally 'the sa.me corpus.' no> sympathy-; personally'.'.with,-, the < proposal. ' \ Neither '.in .theory nor.an practice:-had heifound any difficulty. in\: working under "the - present Constitution,'-v;with ;■;its'V,fundamental clauses. He.was not'afraid'of the respond sibility' of the jus liturgicunv -which was conferred upon ;him at his consecration.;. Fear ; of '.-,'' ; ;■'■;,';''..■,';.. ,'■ 'The...Bishop.■:of,..Christ'churoh's motion ■guarded, against' a. schism 'lite the "WeeIVee''"'schism; but it: would'.open-the way; to a: worse kind of schism,'and make people, feel, that their: religious liberty ;an'd .churchin'aiiship. 'were. .being interfered with'.,. There would be.the greatest schism ; the Anglican,' Communion had .ever experienced, : and the:-greatest sore in■, Christendom. .■ He,, prayed :.that -the Church would not do. anything to lead to Bop'aration or' party spirit, '. and hinder .the-work God 'had given the Church: to. do. . There was; however, in' New Zealand 'a : 'public opinion that had, to be.counted with, and that, was'■fasburahle to some such action as-the Bishop of Christchurch, proposed, and- though -not; personally in ;sympath'y:, with- the -.demand, he recog'nised:' that it was not his will, nor - the ; will;;of the Bishop of.:.Christchurch' that hail ; to be done,' but the. will of God, and that'could '.not be done if ; there was strife .in the Church. Hence he had introduced his;.amendment The- Church of the Provinco would ' develop its own self-consciousness; in'-■: time,: but not in five, ten, or perhaps'fifty, years, and he believed that Bishop Selwyn and his cbadjutw-s intended to guard against selfconsciousness coming too ' soon. He believed that -many,, like- .himself,. had doubts about 'the powers' of the church and its: propeTty, and hence the need for, an Act of Parliament, as proposed in : his; amendment. .' "An Awful arid' Horrible Fear." :,In: the. clause for the setting up of: a commission to prepare a.Billior Parliament, his- proposal differed ..widely from that.of the.Bishop of Christchurch. It might be said that-his - (the speaker's) scheme, by, requiring the approval of the Standing; Committee's voting by orders, would present-the Bill being sent to Parliament for fifty years. He felt that if it: kept it back for one hundred years it would: be the right thing in the end to do so. The matter, should-, not be submitted to, Parliament, for final decision until it .'had'' the agreement of.-.all the .dioceses behind it. When that was obtained, Parliament would say "Yes." The Government always gave facilities for, what was reasonable, fair, and right, because this was a British Dominion. "It.is difficult for.me to 'express, without extravagant language," added Bishop Neligan, "the awful, horrible fear in my mind as to what willfollow, if this'or any other General Synod passes a motion like that of the 'Bishop of Christchurch, if it .does not carry with it. the unanimity of every diocese in the province." Admonition by the Primate. : : The Primate said that the last speaker with- that, eloquence and earnestness which were ,characteristic :of; him: ap-' peared to have called up a picture of a state of things of which-there was not, in his judgment, the slightest probability. He (the Primate) had been, accustomed to hear strong language from people who exaggerated a'position, and, }& bis opinjss, eo. -"l..am .fl.n

old member of the ■ Synod," continued the president, "and this sort of" exaggeration carries me back to 1874 and 1877, when important proposals -were before us, and there rwere threatenings. of divisions, but when the provisions had been carried, I anr thankful to say;.that, nothing of the. sort-even happened. .-. I deprecate any threat of. schism, or even, any allusion to such a. possibility, and- I _ hope,..therefore, that future speakers will be so. good as, to; confine. themselves to the merits of the question, without indulging in prognostications of schism." .'•-_■ No.Constitution? ■Mr: J. B. Fielder (Napier) said he was sorry ; the ' question', had come up. .It would do harm to have it go abroad that the' Church had no constitution. Ho did not like either the motion or the amendment. Mr. J. H. Upton (Auckland) said he could'see no reason for going to Parliament The property of the Church was in no danger. ..The "Saturday Review" once said: "The art of making-prayers has gone out." .He believed, the art of making prayer-books had gone , out. It wohld be '■' a -remarkable document that could not be improved, but it did not follow that it would .be wise to improve it. i In,regard to' the independence of. the Church, ho would recommend the Bishop of Waiapu to read English history. (Oh! oh!) He did not think fie. amendment was necessary. ">", ~ .Canon Mac Murray (Auckland) said no Act of Parliament would-quiet; his conscience. If it required quieting, he would not go to 'the- Parliament of New Zealand for the purpose. Parliament could deal with property.. but not with« the fundamental' provisions Vof the" Church, He' believed ' the General' Synod, either: with '.or' without the support of Parliament,' had..no. power to alter"the funda-. mentals: "He -was against -the, setting up of a 1 commission, as, the .Synod had: no mandate from the Church to do so. Only two of the Diocesan Synods had.approved the;.principle :of the. Bishop of "Christchurch's ,-■ '■'■.'■' ■ A-Glanceat History.' . The Eight Rev.,W.L. Williams >. (late Bishop of-: Waiapu) quoted-a. pastoral letter.by Bishop Selwyn,to show'that the fram'ers. of -tho,constitution did 'not. regard 'the .Church here ;as a portion- ..of the iChurch' of -England. •'■- The funda- , mental', clauses,were put in-,because some . Church people: ; v f eared 7 that - differences would arise between the Church at Home .andthe Church here.' Many at that time still called 'themselves -members-of- the Church'.of England, and the fundamental provisions were put in -to satisfy -them and prevent.schisra. j Hepreferred the Bishop of Auckland's amendment to the original motion; ' ■;'.' '",- ' .-" Bishop.. Julius,, in: Reply. ■ ';" . The 'Bishop :of ■ Christchurch ,declined I to accept the amendirient;. "I can hardly realise,; .he said,; '"what an enemy to the Church;'of ;:G6d : ..in'thi6 ■ country 1 must appear'in: the eyes of many. here.". He had -thought his motion . was. innocent enough. .He "had not proposed.:a single change. ;■ There was nothing. of a "snap division" •' about his proposals, for the subject, had been, before the, Churoh -for vpry many years. He believed the Synod was'.;' generally.,.of''' the- opinion. that it could -alter -, the' Prayer -Book. ■'■ (Hear, hear.)' Nor,could it be denied that'they had-already, altered it. ".'(Hear, .hear.) Clause 6, whioh was supposed to be necessary .'for,. the security ;of .the;Churoh, could'; be' rescinded by. one - vote' of any Genefal ; Synod. It; was in '.itself null and'void.'. iHe'-had not urged, any-fall-ing foul of the Prayer Book,, but: had suggested : -. that some additions'"; might bV made: to it.~ As.for the.jus liturgicum in the; sense ~in' -.'which ' .it,' had been referral -".-to,.■■;■-;it ...had.: .' never'.: /been conferred "upon'•'him'/. and' he was" l hot. going: to, use; it.' .It would be 'folly.'for the Church: ..'of. New,: Zealand -alone', to try v.'tb" revise' ;th'e iPrayer'' Book', ■ but' it might '.'welT consider : , alterations" made elsewhere. He,protested:against the.idea .that.-' any''; subject .was. too solemn or too sacred fori tho'General Synod. -Else what, was .the Synod, for? ::■'; . •/•-.,. ■'.• A Slip, of the Tongue. M. .'..:,"'- .'Eeferring;: tp;'tbe',: clauses' -of' .the amendment, -Bishop Julius said :''.'T. can't help', feeling that.;!, must' characterise ■them, as the-'.Bishop.; of' Auckland himself by. a slip >. of , the;, tongue characterised them, when he.said he was .moving "these emotions.''.' • (Laughterj.' Bishop' Julius; went on- to ' ridicule, the idea of going to' Parliament /'for: tho quieting of consciences and.: the' •relief of-'doubt." ..Parliament, had, nothing" to ' do- with anything pertaining to the Church,-excepti-its'pro-perty.. ;." _•■ ' .:. They should not wait, for litigation, but go to Parliament in times of quiet, and get' the,, questions, about -the \ property, ..settled;*; ' ■";",'"■ ...V,'. ; '. >.>•:'- ''■ ■■.•'. ! -;'"-'';"';-•),'■'.'■ ■:":'i'he' "Bishop .'of Auckland: Then ''there is. doubt, ._■-....',■,'. ... ...V : V.„'■■ " 'The 'Bishop; of.,'Christchurch:' doubts Parliament can.relieved He did not, in his motion/provide against such fright-' ful-divisions in.the Church as the Bishop of-Auckland had foreshadowed, for -,he' did : npt';believe;in'them-.,.',Such fears had boon- expressed agiin; and '.again,■-. whenover .'changes'were'proposed. They: were , now - told that schism would follow— what?, An attempt to puti-themselves in •a' more legal-and more, catholic position, an -attempt. to' get..free from the domination ,of.the Parliament.in.England which neither, knew'' nor cared anything 'about thev.Church in New Zealand; and. to make themselves truly autonomous. . ■■ VJ/ait a. Hundred Years I, : -, vl'h'e .Bishop of.! Auckland's proposal to delay,.'approaching Parliament until,,the Diocesan Standing' Committees had approved of a,draft Bill, would'mean that every "bishop; and. a : majority, of: each order,: every Standing Committee, must approve before the step could be taken. "Wait fifty years?" cried'the speaker. "Why, .you would.'have to' wait' a hundred years! .Wait till you'havo cleared the masses out of your churches! Wait a hundred .years, -.till you.,are reading prayers to .'.half-a-dozen'old women ■ in your, churches, when all the "thinking men. have gone 'put of, them.. :Wait a hundred years, till 'oll'.'.the bishops. and every .Standing Committee approve '.of-:every ■ clause of- an Act iof ■ to pro'tect; you in making such changes -in i the Constitution of .the Church as you, its proper- representatives—and:' there have never beeu any who were more truly its ■ determine.; Talk . about; a hundred .years! I hope my dear brother of., Auckland .will live to see it. Why, it will be two hundred." 'In'• conclusion, the Bishop, said the •subject' had been discussed again and again. He was not ;trying:' ; tb'iake a sudden rise-out of tho General rSynod., The'.matter would still come up. again and.again, until they got free of the unworthy., fears 'of their predecessors, who felt that they must: be , tacked on to the Church of. EnglandParliament . and' aIL .They should rely on the spirit and gTace of God to keep and guard the Church, in the future as in the past.i (Applause.): Voting ion the Motion. In order to clear the issue for voting the Bishop of-Auckland withdrew his amendment..: Bishop Julius's motion was then put clause;. by clause. : Clause (a) was carried on the voices. It reads:as follows:— ." ' "That this Synod affirms that while ' • the_ Church of this province is, and desires to remain, in full communion" '_ -with the Church of England, yet, as. a duly'organised- province of the ' Catholic Church, -it inherently pos- , sesses the fullest powers of self-gov-ernment." .. :■ Clauses (bV (c), and (d)'were lost on divisions., Clause (e) was not put, as the Primate ' ruled 'that it fell -with clause (c). It provided machinery :for the drafting .of the Bill .'.proposed in' clause (c). The rejected, clauses, and,the votes for and against 1 each were as follow:— ' (b) That in order to the exercise of such inherent powers,, it will be necessary, to rescind Clause VI of the Constitution-. ~..'". " ; . Ayes: Bishops 5, clergy ,9, laity 11. Noes: Bishops 1, clergy 11, laity 9. (o) That in order to safeguard all : rights of property, and to [Becure legal recognition of the continuance, of the' identity of the Church of this pro- • • yince, after such change in the Constitution; it,'is desirable; that the : General Synod shall promote such legislation in the New Zealand Parliament as may best secure these ; .ends. -', :..;.. Ayes: Bishops 5, clergy 10, laity f l2. Noes:. Bishops I,' clergy 10, laity, 9. fd) That in order to guard the Church against hasty and ill-consid-ered, legislation, the Synod, hereby de- i dares that no alteration shall be made

the form and manner of making, ordaining, and consecrating, of bishops, . priests and deacons, or in the'Thirtynine Articles of-Beligion, except such . altration be first adopted,in one Gen-eral-Synod, then referred to the Dio.cesan Synods, approved by L a majority of them, and finally confirmed.in.the next ensuing General .Synod. ;. ,'. Ayes: Bishops -5, clergy,9, "laity 10.. Noes:. Bishops, 1, clergy 11, laity 10. • MAORIMISSION. WORK.;' , The Bishoj), of Christchurch moved tho second;reading of a : Bill to repeal Title B, Canon VII (dealing with the constitution and. duties of. tho Maori Mission Board), ahd>to' formulate a,new canon in lieu thereof. He stated that: the Maori Mission 'Board' could not carry 'on, the work for which it was set up, and,the work had to -be given over to, an executive. The Wellington; Bioceso had made it clear, that it required- a- very ■ considerable 'change, and the diocese of Wellington had not..paid; anything towards..the assessments for two years. The.diocese of Christchurch had paid its- assessments, but the diocese of Dunedin, anxious as it was to see the work oarried on, .had fallen into arrears. It was utterly hopeless: to try to carry on ..the Maori mission.: work with the old .canon.: At, the same .time, he, could say. that., in his .own diocese there was quite, three. times the interest taken in Maori, mission, work, -to-day .that there was-six years' ago. / Tho;-board would, .under the . Bill, • consist, .of J one bishop, two clergymen, and two laymen of the, Church... It-would: be the,duty, of the members of ■ the ;board ] to; promote an interest in the Maori' mission: .by every means" in, its.'power... The aboard ..would .havb the management of .funds.raisedin support 'of the mission,.arid;it: would,beies duty -to■-, obtain a full! report.,of, all work done for the Native .population." He hoped the-Bill wbuld.be passed... '■_;';";• •: Canon Mac Murray said ;tha;t the diocese of.';Christchurch: had .been in. the efforts itih'ad made.to.:'help;.ori God's work amongst tho Maoris. The work had 'grown, and, extended in' a wonderful way', and" in.the Waikato arid King.Countrythe Maori;missionaries wera received; with' the. * heartiest ' welcome. Mahuta —the Maori king—hod informed his. people that his hand was behind the missionaries'.:He had -"great' : .'pleasure'" in supporting ,the ■Bill. ,'!■■'■: - ' - ; '-. '-. ■ Archdeacon Ruddock (Napier) opposed the Bill. He would greatly; prefer that each diocese should manage,its owh.,wbrk among the Maori's;"' ' ,':. v-.:''-"'■'.'•-.■'■' Tho Bishop of Auckland. welcomed>the Bill, and expressed., his confidence thai his diocese would welcome-.it. . The Bishop of Waiapu .'supported the Bill, which he'said would leave the dioceses perfectly free to control their ...own work.airibrig the. Maoris. The,. BilKwOul'd lead tb'iriore interest being taken'in the Maori. Mission work; throughout :the vince. ,: , . ■-.'- ":.. Archdeacon Williams saidr the proposed ; new. constitution of the board: would be a vast. improvement.- -: They should. realise as soon-as they, could that, -Maori, or European, ' they were ; one , Church in Christ. ■'-.■ ~, , :' ; ■ '■■"• v- '"' '-"-v The Primate gave an interesting account of Maori-; mission work in'his." diocese, and. said that his people felt it their duty; to assist such work in other I dioceses where there; were more Maoris.,..'-. ',■,'' ■ The Bishop of: Christchurch said it was not intended'that tho ■ board- Bhotdd ,take the management of the mission work .out of- the hands, of -the;dioceses. ,--.. '•■'. ;: ' Subsequently,; when the Bill had; been committed, an amendment, as by the Bishop, of Christchurch, was made.' Minor amendments , were also .effected, and the Billwas reported..... . '>'.'-:, ';-'■".■'-Trust'Boards;-. . ;■;;■.-: ' Mr. T; J.'Martin "moved': the-.secorid reading of a Bill to'amend; TitloE, Canon Uj Clause 10.. that the'- ob-. jectof the'Bill was, to: give; the Diocesan ■ Synods; more'.elasticity in. ' fixing-, the number-, of-.-trustees' of, various, church trusts; The immediate'occasion 'of, the proposal' was : that a number of-Maoris, had petitioned for representation on the Otakr and Pbririia .Trusts-Bbard. The board favoured the petition. ,The number, of trustees on: the,.board: was now .fixed, at five; . .Some:.' of .'the members lived:: in the couritry.'.and it, was! therefore '.some-' times difficult.', to.'.get tt quorum,for;an urgent meetingv-'A Maori,.'memberrwo'uld, also be "a'country'resident, and,hence.the desirability of obtaining power to in-.: crease'the number'of members. . ' ..,- .. The Bill passed its second; reading and committee stages. '-~',, -^': : ''il' '";■;■"" '■'•'.'' >, ■ A Bill to ..make'verbal, amendments in,Clauses 9'and 15.0f the same canon;was read-a second' time on the, motion' 'of Archdeacon Willis,: arid;,; put' through, committee. '•', ','■■ -■'';' ' : ' '■ '.\r■;'■■/■'■"--The Synod adjourned -.until : : : Monday: afternoon. : '' : - \':'" ■' ■'*• -•-•■'■''■-- ■''.