DIOCESAN SYNOD.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2673, 31 October 1882, Page 3

DIOCESAN SYNOD.

Monday, Octobee 30th,

The sitting of the Synod was resumed at 4 p.m., at which hour the President took the chair.

.After about one hour’s delay, caused by reading the minutes, the business was proceeded with at 4.50 p.m. Rev. E. A. Lingard was elected as clerical secretary, in the absence- of Rev. T. Plavell. The President ruled that the first notice of motion on the paper, that on which a count out took place on Saturday morning, had lapsed. On the motion of the Very Rev. the Dean, seconded by Mr Hamilton, the Bill to Amend the Regulations relating to the Capitular Body was read a third time and passed. Archdeacon Harris moved —“ That it he a recommendation to the Standing Committee to consider during the recess the amendment of Diocesan Statute, No. 4, so as to provide for the institution of preliminary enquiries by the Archdeacon before any petition for the division of a parish can be entertained by the Synod.” The motion was seconded and agreed to.

Mr C. E. Blakiston moved—“ That it be an instruction to the Standing Committee to prepare during the recess, and lay before the Synod at its next session, a draft Bill to amend statute No. 4, 1876, ' For regulating the formation of parishes and the appointment of parish officers.’ Such draft Bill to contain inter alia a provision that in all cases of proposals for. the severance of an existing parish, the creation of a fresh parish out of one or more parishes, the creation of a fresh parochial district out of any existing parish or parishes, the severance of existing parochial districts, the creation of a parish out of a parochial district, notices of such proposed alteration in any of the above cases shall be sent in to the Standing Committee, accompanied by necessary plans and other documents —inclusive of petitions praying for such alterations, signed by at least ten male adults, being certified church members —on or before the Ist day of July in each year ; the Standing Committee to communicate, as soon as possible after the receipt of such notice or notices, the particulars of any proposed alterations to the incumbents [or curates and church officers of any parish or parochial district affected by such proposed alterations. Further, that, if found necessary, the Standing Committee should promote legislation by the General Synod during its next meeting, in the direction of altering the provisions of Statute No- 4 of the General Synod, so as to enable the Diocesan Synod at its next session to legislate in the direction as above stated.” Eov. H. B. Cocks seconded the motion.

The Very Eev. the Dean thought it would be better if an amendment were agreed to referring the suggestions contained in the resolution to the Standing Committee, to consider the matter of the amendment of statute No. -1 in connection with the resolution already passed on the same subject. He would move this as an amendment.

Eev. H. C. M. Watson seconded the amendment, which was carried on the voices.

The Dean moved —“ That the Standing Committee be requested to take such steps as may seem to them expedient for the publication of such information respecting the various properties vested in the Church Property Trustees and in the Diocesan Board of Trustees as may be useful to members of the Synod and to Churchmen generally, and may tend tc remove prevailing misconceptions.” He thought short papers containing the statement might be drawn up and circulated amongst the Church people, which would go far to remove the misconceptions which now existed as to the extent of property and value of the same. There was plenty of data whereon the Standing Committee could frame the report he suggested. The motion was seconded.

Mr Weston said that he desired to move an amendment to the resolution, which ho did not think went far enough. If information was necessary to be given, it should not be in the power of any member of the Standing Committee to limit the information to ho afforded. He should move as an amendment—“ That during the recess the Standing Committee bo requested to publish full information respecting the situation, value of, dealings with, and liabilities upon, the various properties vested in the Church Property Trustees and Diocesan Board of Trustees.”

Mr C. E. Blakiston rose to a point of order. The standing orders provided that a motion having been disposed of, no motion on the same subject could be brought forward during the same session. Th® President ruled that the motion was in order.

Rev. 11. C. M. Watson seconded the amendment.

Rev. Mr Mortimer pointed out that tl}G Church property did not belong - to Christchurch alone, but was spread over the whole diocese.

The Rev. Canon Cholmondeley should vote against both the resolution and amendment. There was ample information afforded in Synod reports year by year. Every year full statements of the amount of and dealings with the properties by the various Boards of Trustees were published.

Mr Malet said the Synod should know exactly to what amount they had pledged their credit for the various parishes, and that the accounts should be brought up in a more easily understandable form. Rev. Mr Wyatt agreed with Canon Cholmondely and Mr Malet that the publication of the information contained in the Synod reports was quite sufficient. The fact was that the misconceptions prevailing arose from the cavilling of men who were indisposed to assist the Church under any circumstances whatever. He did not think the publication of the information would make the illiberal more generous or the generous less so. [Hear, hear.] Mr Tancred said he thought that Mr Weston's motion was necessary so as to know how their property stood. He was a member of the Church Property Trustees and also of the Cathedral Chapter, but he confessed he was unable to understand the accounts. The fact was the accounts did not afford any information to those not used to bookkeeping. What was wanted was that the accounts should be put in a more simple form. Rev. F. Knowles said that the accounts as published were but the cash accounts of the year. It might be supplemented by a statement of assets and liabilities. (Hear,

hear.) Still, if the accounts were given fully he did not think they would be much more informed.

Hon. H. B. Grcsson said he had a great deal of sympathy with the amendment of Mr Weston. What was wanted was that the accounts should be drawn up in such a form that any one of ordinary intelligence, hut not an expert accountant, c juld become acquainted with the state of the property, its revenue, and the incumbrances upon it. Mr Hamilton said he thought that the regulations now in their statutes, if carried out, would give all the information that Mr Weston and the Dean required. Mr Thomas Gordon said all that was wanted was a summary of the accounts, with a statement of assets and liabilities.

Kev. B. A. Lingard said that all the diocesan accounts had been closed and audited for tbis year, so that any steps to he taken to procure the statement of assets and liabilities asked for by Mr Gordon would have to be done by printing such a statement at the end of the Synod reports for the present year. The Dean said he would accept Mr Weston’s amendment, as his only wish was to see the fullest information afforded. He trusted that Mr Weston’s motion would be carried, because if it was thrown out, following the example of that proposed by Mr Weston the other day, it would give color to the idea that there was a desire to refuse information. -

The amendment of Mr Weston was put as a substantive motion, and carried on the voices.

The Rev. H. C. M. Watson moved—“l. That the Bishop, who has the right of dealing with the paper, having given hia consent to the proposal, it is expedient that a Limited Liability Company he formed for the purpose of publishing the ' New Zealand Church News.’ 2. That the Church Work Society ho requested to take the necessary steps to carry out the foregoing resolution, making such conditions as may seem to them necessary, in order to preserve the Diocesan character of the paper. 3. That it be an understanding that the company to he formed undertake the , liability to the Bishop, amounting to £2.22 15s Cd (see Synod Report, page S 9), and any other liabilities that may be outstanding at the time of the formation of the company. 4. Contingent upon the above resolutions being adopted, the committee recommend that a Bill to amend clause 1, subsection e, and clause 13 of the Diocesan Statute for constituting a Church Work Society (page 47) be introduced and passed through all its stages during the present session of Synod.” 1

The Rev. Canon Cotterill seconded the motion, and said that, instead of GOO copies of the paper being printed, as stated in tbe report of the select committee, there were 750.

The first resolution, on being moved by the Rev. Mr Watson, was declared to b£ lost on the voices.

A division was called for by the Eev. M>; Watson, but, on the doors'being locked and!’ the question put again, the demand for a division was not repeated.

The rest of the resolutions were no't moved.

The Eev. Canon Cotterill moved—- “ That Standing Orders 30, 49, and 50 be suspended in order to facilitate the transaction of business on the Order Paper, and other business of a formal nature.” The Eev. Mr Pascoe seconded the motion, which was agreed to.

The Eev. Canon Cotterill moved—“ That certain words introduced inadvertently bo erased from the resolution respecting f rants to cures passed at last sitting of the ynod.” Mr Mountfort seconded the resolution, which was agreed to. On the motion of Canon Cotterill, the Synod went into committee to consider a proposal to substitute the words “ first Monday in November” for the words “ the fifteenth of November ” in clause 15tb of Duties of Churchwardens. In committee the alteration was carried, and on the Synod resuming, reported and agreed to. On the motion cf Eev. Canon Cotterill, the following was added to the statute for election of Synodsmen, vis., “ District of St. Albans, one Synodsman; district cf Tengawai, one Synodsman." Several clerical alterations in statutes were agreed to. On the motion of Mr Malet, it was resolved “ That a gratuity of jBo as he paid to the clerk in the diocesan office.”

The Synod at this stage adjourned till 7.30 p.m. On resuming, Mr Willes desired to ask the President a question on a point which would affect the legality of some of the Synod’s proceedings. The question was this : whether the application to have the district of Fendalton constituted a parish was made through the Bishop, as directed by the Statutes of General Synod. The President replied that the application referred to did not come through the Bishop to the Synod. On the motion of Mr Willes, the question and the Primate’s answer were ordered to be entered on the minutes.

sgjMr Willes would give notice that ha would subsequently move that in the opinion of the Synod the division of the parish of Eiccarton be deferred until the next sitting of the Synod. It was ruled that the notice of motion could not be received.

The Synod went into committee for the revision of its resolutions preparatory to their being printed. The resolutions as revised were reported and adopted by the Synod. Mr Malet moved—“ That the Standing Committee he instructed to lay before the Synod on the first day of the annual session of 1883 a printed financial statement allowing the value, charge upon, and income of the various estates and other funds available for carrying on the work of the diocese, and the way in which it is proposed to make provision from thes® estates and funds for its requirements.” The motion having been seconded, was put and carried. On the motion of the Hon. H. 13. Gresson, a cordial vote of thanks w:is accorded to the G oveming Body of Christ’s College for the use of the room for the session.

On the motion of the Eev. Mr Anderson, the Synod expressed its appreciation of the services provided for its members by the Cathedral body during the session, special reference being made to the opening services.

Votes of thanks were passer! to the chairman and the clerk of committees, to the clerical and lay secretaries, for tliJr serv ices, and to the Press for its reports. The Rev. S. A. Llngard threw out a suggestion to the effect that in future the sessions of the Synod should not conflict with the festivals in the town churches. The festival of St. Luke the Evangelist for instance had been greatly interfered with.

The President, before the sitting closed, thanked the members of the Synod for " their attention to the important business which had been carried through. There had been mere select committees this sion than during any other, and he was quite sure from the reports which had been brought up that the meetings of those committees had given very careful consideration to the subjects submitted to them, and the Synod owed thorn a debt of gratitude for the care they had devoted to the business entrusted to them. He wished to remind not only the members of the Synod but all the members of the Church that they had important business before them in the election of representatives at the nest General Synod. On the last occasion hardly any nominations were made, and he was obliged himself to suggest to the different districts that they should make nominations, or otherwise they would bo without lay representatives. He believed that some very important business was likely to come before the General Synod, which would he asked to lay down general - s principles of action, on which they word T , i have to proceed on future occasions, it'-' was therefore of the utmost importance I that they should send up to Napier duringthe first week in April the best men they could select, both as [clerical and lay ropra- i . sentatives of this diocese. . ■

His Lordship then closed the Synod with the Benediction.