THE OVER-LORDSHIP OF CANTERBURY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 776, 28 March 1910, Page 8

THE OVER-LORDSHIP OF CANTERBURY.

EXPLANATION BY THE PRIMATE. •In reference to .the extracts which' have appeared in The Dojuniok recently from English papers commenting on the, portion of ■ his address to the Anglican: General, Synod which referred to the over-lordship of the Archbishop oft Canterbury, .the Primate of New ZeaA' land (Bishop Nevill, of Dunedin)writes* "None of these' extracts, impugn th« justioe'of my indictment, assuming that the new .Archbishop of Sydney, was called upon to make the declaration of subordination referred to, ,but a correspondent of the 'Yorkshire Post' declares that no such oath or declaration, was tendered to him, and therefore not taken. Of course, if this be so, my strictures have no place, but they were made 'upon the authority of a .press cable of that date which I had befora me at the time of writing my address. I notice that 'The Record,' while approving of the tenor of. my argument states that the "declaration was made in a modified form.. I have.also received. this very morning (March 22) a. letter from .England thanking me.for my protest, and saying. that,it was called for.

"It may be that.the improper course to which I referred is' no longer, pursued, and if so I greatly rejoice; but I do regard the question as one of portance since a pledge of obedience in any form seems to bring the oerson who makes it under the jurisdiction of the one to whom it is made, and thus a Bishop, or even an Archbishop, if he made such a! promise, should he: become amenable to discipline,, might be carried into what would be ecclesiastically a foreign court. I need hardly say that this would be contrary to Church principles onunciated as early as the Council of Nice itself,'

"May I take advantage of this opportunity to express my strong feeling that, apart from its advantages from other points of view, the proper way of escape from the difficulties under consideration is for all bishops (from wheresoever, they may be selected) to be consecrated, 'intlse dioceses over which they are to preside, or, at all events, within the province, concerned/ is' the law of the Church of New Zealand.'.' - S. T. DUNEDIN, ... Primate,' NIZ. Bishopsgrove,' Dunedin, March 22, 1910. * u