WHAT CONSTITUTES A CLERGYMAN?

Evening Star, Issue 3272, 15 August 1873, Page 3

WHAT CONSTITUTES A CLERGYMAN?

The Sydney Mail states that the Su preme Court of New South Wales has again had to occupy itself with trying to find out what constitutes a clergyman, and what constitutes a congregation. The Rev. W. X. Bailey, having applied in vain to the Registrar-General to register him as qualified to celebrate marriages, appealed to the Court to compel him by mandamus to do so. On behalf of Dr Bailey it was contended that more than forty years ago he had been regularly ordained as a Presbyter of the United Church of England and Ireland, and that he was now a minister of the Free Church of England, and that his congregation had petitioned for his recognition. On the other side it was contended that he preached at the Starr-Bowkect Rooms, that he had no regular congregation, that those who attended his preaching were casual hearers, that sometimes there was nobody to preach to at all, and at other times there was a congregation ranging from three up to fifty. The Court decided that Dr Bailey had not proved that he was a minister ordinarily officiating as such within the meaning of the Act, and the Chief Justice maintained that no person could invent a denomination and constitute himself a clergyman thereof. Mr Justice Hargrave was disposed to recognise the fact that he was a clergyman in virtue of his ordination, but could not recognise his small and shifting collection of hearers as a congregation in a city of 150,000 inhabitants. In order to get evidence with regard to Dr Bailey’s application it appears that a detective officer had been employed to visit the rooms on Sunday, and take notes of the attendance, and it was contended by Dr Bailey’s counsel that it was outside the functions of a RegistrarG meral to busy himself with inquiries of this kind. There is no doubt that it is a difficult and invidious task to cast upon this officer to decide who is a clergyman and who is not. Where the State recognises only one national Church, the question is an easy one of solution ; nor is there much difficulty with the great and organised denominations ; but with regard to smaller sects and individual seceders, the clerical status is not so easily defined.