HAWKES BAY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XIII, Issue 750, 14 January 1860, Page 4

HAWKES BAY.

Our dates from Napier are to the 24th ult. The ' Herald' of that date contains the following paragraphs :— Chtjbch op England.—On Tuesday evening last, the members of the Church of England met the Bishop of Wellington at the School-house, Napier. The attendance was more numerous than at previous meetings, but smaller than might have been anticipated on the present occasion. Mr. Braithwaite having been'called to the chair, the Bishop of Wellington entered into a lengthened explanation of his views relative to providing a minister for the church at Napier and Clive. He had anticipated that the Rev. W. Tanner, on his arrival in New Zealand, would have taken the duty at this place, and he had kept it open for him; but that gentleman was not willing to accept it, and his Lordship therefore recommended the Key. Woodford St. Hill, who was disengaged, and whose services might he thought be obtained, if the members of the church would enable him (the Bishop) to write to Wellington by the next steamer; but for this purpose it was necessary that they should guarantee him a salary for at least three years, commencing at £200 per annum, and increasing ten pounds a year, according to the principle which had been adopted in this diocese. It would also be necessary to provide the minister with a house, and some allowance for a horse, if he had to attend Clive; but these two items he thought would be met, partly from the endowment fund which had already been raised in this district, and partly from a fund contributed by a society at home. It would, therefore, only be necessary that the meeting should guarantee the stipend he had named; that is, they should undertake to raise the amount for the next three years, and become personally responsible to make good any deficiency, in the proportion of their respective contributions to the guarantee. His Lordship was, however, of opinion, that a considerable part might be raised by letting a portion of the sittings when the church was built, and he strongly recommended the adoption of a weekly offertory, which would no doubt be found sufficient for contingent expenses, such as lighting and repairing the building, &c, and he understood that the military authorities would probably be authorised to contribute one guinea for each occasion on which a separate service might be held for the troops.

The Bishop having resumed his seat, a resolution was adopted, appointing a committee to manage the affairs of. the Church, and take the necessary steps to procure land and proceed with the erection of a building. The following gentlemen were elected as members of the committee :-— Messrs. Triphook, Braithwaite, Lyndon, Edwards, Newton, Scaly, M. FitzGerald, and Mr. Ferguson for Clive. Mr. Scaly agreed to act as secretary until the first meeting of the committee. A form of guarantee having then been drawn up, it was signed by most of the members present. In consequence, however, of the shortness of the notice, and the thin attendance, the aggregate amount fell short of the required sum; but we understand that in the course of the ensuing day, by the oxettions of Mr. Braithwaite, the signatures to the guarantee exceeded *the necessary amount, and we may therefore shortly look for the arrival of a clergyman. The proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to the Bishop, and a similar vote to the chairman. Mechanics' Institute. —The adjourned public meeting took place on the 16th inst., at Marshall's

Hotel, and was very numerously attended. His Honor the Superintendent, having been called to the chair, expressed the pleasure he felt in presiding upon such an occasion, and addressed the meeting upon tho importance of auch institutions, not as mere places of recreation, but as affording the means of instruotion to those whose early education had been neglected. Kegarding the institute in this light—that of an educational establishment— ho would feel it his duty to propose to the Council next session a grant for building purposes equal in amount to that raised by public donation, as well as an annual grant to correspond with the yearly subscriptions. With regard to the site, his Honor anticipated no difficulty in obtaining possession of the reserve in Clivo square, and recommended that the meeting should elect trustees, in whose names the property should be vested. It was then decided that the designation of the institute should bo the " Napier Athenaum and Mechanics' Institute," —arid that the committee be directed to take steps towards obtaining possession of the reserve in Clive square. The rules were then agreed to, and officers elected for the ensuing year.

The town election came off very quietly. Mr. FitzGerald was proposed by Mr. Taylor, seconded by Mr. Gany, and declared to be duly elected. Dr. Hitchings read a letter from the Superintendent, expressing regret that, from a severe cold, he was unable to attend, more particularly as he wished to explain that although for some time past he had almost given up business, he was so circumstanced, from having previously made arrangements for a mill, &c, that he could not entirely relinquish mercantile pursuits; nor would he wish to do so were it in his power, seeing that the office he held was a purely political one, and that he would not attempt to retain it should he at any time find that he could not conscientiously agree with the majority of the gentlemen who placed him in it. It would, however, be his endeavour, so long m he held office, to perform his duties satisfactorily.