Further Scenes at the Synod.

Manawatu Herald, 16 February 1892, Page 2

Further Scenes at the Synod.

» Saturday's New Zealand Times reports a further scene at the Anglican Synod on Friday, in which the Primate again exhibited a domineering manner. The Rev. Mr Fitchett. again asked to be heard on the subject mentioned the previous day, and again the Primate refused, and called on the next business. The Rev. Mr Fitchett again applied for a hearing, and after a short delay he moved the adjournment of the Synod till 7 80 p.m. on Tuesday. He then proceeded to say that "he only wished to be heard," when he was interrupted by the Primate, who said he must only speak on the point of whether the adjournment was desirable. The Rev. Mr Fitchett: I am going to speak to that point. The Primate : Will yon be so good as to sit down. . i . The Bey. Mr Fitchett : I think I have a right, wfyh'all due deference— - The Primate:, 1 insist upon you sitting down. I call on the next business. The Rev Mr -Fitchett submitted that the Synod could only be carried on by observing the orders made by themselves, but was frequently .interrupted by, the Primate,, who at length said : " I will not allow Mr Fitchett to speak. You must sit d ;wn while the business of the Synod, is going on." Mr Fitchett said he wou'd sit down, but should rise again; and the Primate then said that unless he was allowed to rule the Synod he might as well leave the chair. Subsequently he again insisted on Mr Fitchett resuming Jiis seat, and "ceasing to disturb the proceedings of the Synod." If not he should leave the chair without any adjournment at all. Mr Fitchett appealed to his Lord' ship's sense of justice, but his Lordship merely said he had called on the business of the Synod, and would not have it interrupted. 'Again and again Mr Fitchett attempted ho justify his conduct, and again and again the Primate interrupted, him on. the ground that he was not spea < ing to the adjournment, and at last rose to leave the chair, as he had several times threatened to do. The Rev. Mr Coffey hoped his Lordship would not take such =a course,' -arid that. : the Synod would support him whether right or wrong, and his Lordship, resuming his seat, some of the Synod«men expressed their views of what had occurred, the Bishop of Christchurch remarking that he was sure what had happeged would be a heavy loss to the Church, and he, hoped for the interests of all that matters would now proceed quietly. •.-..• A motion for an adjournment till 7.30 p.m. was put and lost by one. v ite, and the business of the Synod proceeded. As the Rev. Mr Fitchett had to leave for the South, he forwarded a letter to the Times, of which the following is to the point at issue : In substance, what I would have said, had the President consented to hear me, was this : Since our coming to Wellington something hadbccuirecl which to us, the Dunedin representatives, seemed damaging to the reputation of one of our number, and consequently injurious to his standing and influence in the Synod. In these circumstances we felt it due to our colleague— who is a clergyman— to say that in his own diocese his reputation was unchallenged , and, we believed, unchallengable. As Chairman of the Board of Nominators I was acquainted with all the circumstances of this clergyman's appointment to an important parish in tho City of Dunedin, and knew that he came to us with a good record. After a residence in our diocese of only a few months he was chosen ,, in a contested election, as one of the clerical representatives to the General Synod He was held in high esteem by his colleagues, clerical and lay, and we believed him entitled to the respect and confidence of the Synod. This, in substance, was the statement that I desired to make this and nothing more