The Lyttelton Times. October 11, 1851.

Lyttelton Times, Volume I, Issue 40, 11 October 1851, Page 5

The Lyttelton Times. October 11, 1851.

Upon the 26tli of last March we had occasion to made some remarks upon the ecclesiastical policy of the Association. The Managing Committee had issued a minute, in which they spoke of perfecting a scheme for the management of the temporalities of the Church in this settlement, and we then expressed a definite opinion as to what we conceived the nature of that scheme ought to he. The scheme of the Association has now appeared in the Annual Report of the Managing Committee. We printed it in our number of the 27th September, and a careful perusal of its provisions will shew how widely it differs from what we had hoped and anticipated. It cannot be too often repeated that the proper function of the Canterbury Association was to found a settlement, not to manage or govern it. This applies equally to ecclesiastical and to temporal matters. The independence and self-government of the Colonial Church is quite as important, as that of the Colonial State. What the Association undertook to do, in Church matters, was to found a branch of the Reformed Church of England, to endow it, and to set it going, giving it such a machinery as would enable it to work itself. Now let us judge how far this scheme fulfils these conditions. " By the terms of their Charter, the Association are bound to apply this fund for the purposes of religion and education ; a responsibility which they cannot if they would devolve upon others. They reserve therefore to themselves the fullest power to enable them to discharge this obligation, and for this purpose to exercise an absolute control over the fund itself, and over all persons concerned in its management and distribution." Such is the language with which this scheme *Is introduced. It contains the most uncompromising assertion of the doctrine of management by a distant and irresponsible governing body, which has, perhaps, ever been put forth. Why should not the same principle, expressed in the same language, apply to all the affairs of the Association? and, if so, what becomes of local self-government, which was to be the mainspring of all the Association's policy in their dealings with the colonists ? Subject to the general principle thus broadly stated, the Association enter upon details. They deal first with the question of the expenditure of funds; and they say that they propose to use t their own discretion in expending capital upon current objects, or in investing it in endowments. Now this is just the power which we think the

Association ought to relinquish. The expendituve of the fund is necessarily of two kinds :—investments for permanent endowments, and current expenses, such as the building of churches, schools, and parsonages. Now the amount required-for current expenses is one of which the Committee in London can form no correct opinion. It can be properly decided here alone. The • expenditure of the fund ought therefore to be placed in the hands of trustees in the colony, who alone ought to judge how much it is necessary to expend for the purposes of building and so on, and how much ought to be invested in permanent securities for the purposes of endowment. There is no part of the funds at the disposal of the Association, the efficient management of which requires so much local knowledge. The clustering of population in a particular spot creates the demand for a church and a school. Clearly therefore, the local authority alone can determine what expenditure is necessary, and what endowment is required. The one single' question for the Association to determine is, who shall be the trustees in the colony for the management of the fund. Let us see how they deal with this question. They propose that there* shall be a managing committee in the colony, composed of the bishop, the dean, archdeacons, rural deans, and four beneficed clergymen, with a certain number of lay members. We do not. quarrel at all with the constitution of this body, but respecting the appointment of the lay members, these words occur :—" They reserve the question as to the mode of appointing such lay members of the managing committee." That is to say, they postpone doing that which it was their sole function to determine. This " mode of appointing "the lay members is the only single thing necessary in order to set the machine going. The whole of the details into which the Association enters subsequently to this sentence, are absolutely unimportant and uninteresting. We are sure that there is not one of our readers who, in perusing the document, did not feel that the authors were dealing with questions which did not belong to them ; that all those could only be satisfactorily dealt with in the colony ; that the one thing wanting was the local authority set at work and nothing else.

We stated, in formerly treating of this question, what we conceived that local authority should be. It should be the Church in this settlemeut'; the Church, composed of the bishop, clergy, and laity ; lay members being all who attested their bonafide membership, by the habit of using the ordinances of the Church. It did not appear to us an unreasonable hope that the Church might be formed into a corporation with specih'ed government and defined membership by the authority of a royal charter, and that being so incorporated it should become the sole Trustees for the management of the Ecclesiastical Fund. But without this legal incorporation the Association might and ought atoncetohave created a body in the colony to whom all the funds might have been entrusted. Their greattask was to fix the franchise of church membership, and, having fixed it, to leave the Church to work out its own destinies. To such a body we should be content to leave the question of spending the fund—either upon casual objects or in endowments; with this proviso that endowments once created should be permanent. There should be no power ts withdraw capital from endowments or to do other than deal with the income thus produced. It is a matter of deep regret to us to differ for the first time, and upon so fundamental a point, from the founders of the settlement. But our first and highest duty is to our fellow-colonists, whose interests we conceive are not sufficiently consulted by this scheme which the Committee of has put forth. ;It would be a great inconsistency in us were we not to protest against such a scheme—a scheme which leaves undone all it ought to do, and does all it ought not to do, entering upon trifling details about .which the authors are utterly ignorant, and jnotproviding the one thing wanted, a permanent' in the colony for the management of "the Ecclesiastical and' Educational Fund.

We beg earnestly to remind our readers of the Anti-Convict Transportation Meeting to be held to-day at one o'clock, at Christchurch, as notified in our advertising columns, and of the importance of their presence and countenance.

It will be useful to state that a registry for employers and for persons seeking work, has been opened at the White Hart Inn, Christchurch. We think it likely that this will prove a great convenience in bringing both classes together, and affording some insight into the state of the labour-market.

As a suggestion, we think an importation of Early Seed Potatoes, made at once, would be a profitable speculation, and a benefit to this settlement, the supply of them having been apparently by no means equal to the demand. We think we are correct in stating that there are none to be obtained here.