ANGLICAN MISSION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 808, 4 May 1910, Page 6

ANGLICAN MISSION.

ALLEGED RITUALISM. ARTICLE IN AN ENGLISH PAPER. REPLY BY CANON POLLOCK AND REV. H. A. KENNEDY. (By Taleeranh—! Special Correspondent.) Auckland, May 3. Somewhat startling statements aa to the objects and personnel of the Angli-. can Mission of Help which, is to tali© place-in New Zealand next September are mad© in an article in the "English Churchman - " (a" paper published in England with extreme Low Church opinions). The writer is Mr. 'Walter Walsh, author of "The Secret History of the Oxford Movement," who says: "There will be a big invasion of New Zealand by ritualistic priests early next September, when a church mission will be conducted by twelve clergymen sent out from England at the .request of the bishops of New Zealand. At present two ritualistic priests from England are in New Zealand organising the mission. These aie Canon Kennedy, who, when in his own parish church, wears the Popish vestments of a mass priest, antf Canon Pollock-, of Rochester, ,who is a member of the Romanising Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament. • Amongst the twelve mission preachers we find the names of only four evangelicals. As to the others Canon Ivens, is a clergyman, whose church was reported to the late Royal Commission on ecclesiastical disorders for ritualistic practices. He is also a member of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament, and of the English Church Union. The Rev. J. C. Fitzgerald is a member of both the lastnamed societies, and he is one also of the Mirficld monks. The Rev. A. D. Tupper Carey, in his own parish church wears the Popish vestments of a mass priest. The Rev. Cyril Hepher is a member of the Secret Society of the Holy Cross which issued The Priest in Absolution'. He is also a member of the Romanising 'English Church Union.. The Rev. J. J. S. Stockley, was reported for ritrialistic practices to tho Royal Commission on ecclesiastical disorders. Ho is a member of the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament and the English Church Union. I hope no, Protestant incumbents in New Zealand will invite any of these ritualistic clergymen to preach in their churches." THE OTHER SIDE. THE BISHOP DISMISSES THE ASSERTIONS WITH CONTEMPT. STATEMENTS BY CANON POLLOCK AND REV. H. A. EENNEpY. ■ TMb extract from, the "Churchman" was referred to tho Anglican Bishop of Auckland (Dr. Ncligan) and Canon Pollock and the Eev. H. A. Kennedy, the two forerunners of the Anglican Mission of Help, the members of the which axo the object of Mr. WaJel's remarks. Bishop Neligan was both brief and contemptuous in his dismissal of the statements. "The paper tha.t sajis what you have shown me," his Lordship oaid to a "Herald" representative, "is beneath contempt. It is a party organ and works for party purposes. Nobody but' aji extreme party man would think of giving it a consideration at all." Asked to make a further statement in reply to the allegations of the English writer, the bishop declared that he hod nothing more to add-, except that ho was extremely sorry that any body, or any school, or party in the Church of England could far a moment imagine that they served God's purpose for the world by ministering to tho'woret passions in human nature. Canon Pollock said he felt very much grieved ' that such pernicious reports should find currency,, as tHey were so wide of tho truth.- Suoh statements did not call for serious 'consideration, and were, in his opinion, unworthy to find their way into responsible journals. Referring to the General Mission, Canon Pollock said:—"Had I thought for a moment that the mission in Now Zealand was to be allied, to any party in the Church, I certainly would • have - had nothing whatever to do with it, because it would have been contrary to the fundamental principles upon which all true mission work tnat is to succeed must be based." Asked if thore .was any truth in the suggestion that the mission had for its object the reorganising of the . Church in New Zealand, the canon warmly retorted that such I suggestion was a "perfidious lie." The mission was under the anspioes of the head of the Anglican Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the bishops of this Dominion. As regarded the members of the mission who would atrive in September, they would be churchmen holding high and. responsible positions in the Established Church of the Motherland. They were drawn from no particular school of thought in the Church, and were of all shades of opinion on the subject of so-called ritualism.

The Rev. H. A. Kennedy was equally emphatic in his protest against the statements published in the "Churchman." "In the first place," he said, "I would like to point out that the Canon Ivens referred to by the writer of the_ article is not the gentleman who is coming out as a missioner. There are two Canons Ivens. The one connected with this mission is a pronounced Evangelical. He is yicar of Sowerby Bridge, Yorkshire. As regards the general mission, the majority of those clergy who are coining out to New Zealand are evangelicals Canon Stewart, of Canterbury, for instance, is a leader of the evangelical party. Then thero is the Eev. A. Lillingson, and at least four others. All the rest are mission preachers. The Eev. J. J. G. Stockier, by the way, will not bo coming, a cablegram having been r©ceived to that effect. "I agree entirely with Bishop Neligan, continued Mr. Kennedy. 'It is perfectly wicked' to stigmatise a movement which is for the uplifting of the whole Church, and in which the bulk of the mißsioners are on the opposite 6ide to ritualism. The movement is not meant for any party purposes whatever. When it was organised, it was realised that all schools of thought were represented in New Zealand, and that missioners would need to be selected to meet the wishes of all these. It will be found that they differ very little in so far a 9 their methods are concerned." . Questioned further on the imputations of ritualism made in the "Churchman article, Mr. .Kennedy said: "We have nothing to do with these question in the mission, and nothing of the sort is involved. Some of the missioners are High Churchmen, but they are not coming out us missioners of High Church views at all. To think that Canon Stewart would have anything to do -with tho mission were it as alleged is ridiculous in the extreme." THE MISSIONERS. THEIR CAREERS IN KBrEF. The London correspondent of the Auckland "Herald," writing on March 24, gives the following information regarding the clergymen chosen to .take part in the Anglican Mission of Help to New ZeaCanon E. A. Stuart (Canterbury) is a woll-known evangelical missioner _ and preacher, <uid took part in the Mission of Help to South Alrica. Ho was for some timo Prebendary of Mapeabury in St. Paul's Cathedral. The Kev. H. V. Stuart, brother of Canon Stuart, is a vicar of Stoko-on-Trent and Prebendary of Lichfield Cathedral. He is well-known as having worked for como period in the mine 3 with his parishioners in ordor to know tho hardships of their lives. The Rev. A. B. G. Lillingston, vicar of Hull, is a very popular preacher, Ho also took part in the Mission of Help to South Africa. _ The Rev. C. T. Horan, vicar of Holbrooke, Derby, is a retired lieutenant- of tho Royal Indian Marine, and is associated with tho Missions to Seamen. ' His father served in- the Maori War, and his own earlv vears were spent in New Zealand.

The Eev. Cyril Hepher, vicar of St. John's, Newcastlo-upon-Tyn.B, has done mission work under tho >7cli-known missioned Canon Body. Canon C. LI. Irene, vicar of Sowerby Bridge, is a popular preacher, who is known throughout the West Riding of Yorks.

Tho Rov. G. C. de Carteret is vicar of Christ Church, Greenwich. Tho Rev. H. R. W. Farrer, vicar of Briduort, Dorsot, has lived for some time in Now Zealand. He is a well-known clergyman in the , Salisbury diocese. The Rev. C. FitzGerald belongs to the Mission Society' at Mirfield, "lorkshire. Ho is an able and much-eought-after missioner in the North of England.

The Rev. Timothy Rees, also a missioner from Mirfield, is well-known, for his striking power witli children. The Rov. A. D. Tupper-Carey, vicar of Lowestoft, is a great favourite among,'the fishermen of the North Sea. He has followed his fishing parishioners to their summer fishing grounds at Lerwick, in the Orkneys, and has lived in their boats. He is a great personal friend of the Archbishop of York, who has just appointed him Canon of York and superintendent of the Home and Foreign Missions work

of that diocese. Mr. Carey was formerly curate of the Leeds Parish Church.