ST. SAVIOUR'S CHURCH WALLSEND.

Greymouth Evening Star, 24 January 1903, Page 2

ST. SAVIOUR'S CHURCH WALLSEND.

A meeting of the parishioners of the above church was held in the W allsend* Hall Hast evening. The Kev A. W. C. Stace occupied the chair. The meeting was called for the purpose of considering the bent means of eradicating a debt or mortgage of £325 owing to the Pension Fund of the Diocese and incurred at the time of the erection of theWallsend Hall. The Rev, G, W. York < who was curate of Bruonerton at the time the hall was built v?as present at the meeting and explained very fully the position of affairs. It appears that the money was borrowed from the Pension Fund under certain conditions, which were not clearly understood by subsequent Vestries, who had the management of the Church finances, hencs moneys received from the hall for rent were devoted to genera! church purposes, and assisted for some time in supporting the clergyman’s stipend. The country districts at this time were not in a position to contribute their quota to the Stipend therefore the hail receipts came in most opportunately. At the present time the Brunner population haa considerably diminished and the Church finances as well as hall receipts had suffered but the country districts, owing to the dredging industry were fairly prosperous. It seemed therefore to those present to be only fair and equitable that an appeal should be made to the country districts for their assistance, Franklin, the Minister’s warden, regretted thai the Pension Fund Trustees should have pressed their claim during the period of depression. There were two ways of inducing a horse to draw a load, one by feeding him with corn, and the other by whipping. The present time was not the time to apply the “whip,’ in Brunner. The Vestry found it very hard to fulfil their obligation regarding the clergyman’s stipend, and while they were anxious to do something for the Hali, and to meet the Pension Fund Trustees demands, they found it impossible to do so now even if they had to submit to the Hall being locked up against them. Mr Schofield having spoken in the same strain, the Rev Stace said that he was sure the Trustees would not push things to extremes and he pointed out the Tplain obligations of the Vestry and signified his own intention of doing all that he coaid to assist both the Church and Hall. The meeting was closed with the Benediction.