The Synod.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 18 February 1892, Page 2

The Synod.

» The Primate yesterday afternoon again set the Synod at defiance, and showed conclusively that he was pre- ! pared to go to any length in enforcing his own personal views. Before describing the " scene " it may be as well to mention that when the Synod came out of committee on Tuesday night there was a quarter of an hour to spare before the usual hour of adjournment arrived, and that Sir John Hall suggested the advisability of utilising this time (instead of immediately adjourning) in further considering the report of the Select Committee on the Wanganui petition to restore to local purposes a property trust revenue of £180 per annum which, for the past two and a half years, has been HjppUed to general purposes. The Primate; however, "promptly demurred to the suggestion, remarking i as he did bo that it was not worth

while, as he himself intended to speak on the subject at great length. A significant smile played upon the faces of many Synodsmen as they heard the objection, for they remembered how strenuously the Primate had been opposing this petition. Sir John Hall did not give way without firing a parting shot. He said he had noticect with »considerable surprise that both the matters in which he had taken a direot interest (viz., the Wanganui Petition and the question of woman franchise) had been placed at the very bottom of the Order Paper, The Synod was now approaching its close, and he hoped fair treatment would be given him on the following day. This appeal proved of no avail. , When the Synod met yesterday after, noon it was noticed that the two matters to which Sir John Hall had referred the previous night, as well as the suspended debate on Bishop Neville resolutions re the Marriage ' Act, again stood at the foot of the Order Paper. As soon as the minutes had been confirmed, Sir John Hall rose and moved that Standing Order No 24 should be suspended in order that he might move without notice that for the remainder of the session the re* solution obliging the Synod to adjourn at 10.30. p.m. be suspended. He ex* plained that his object was to enable the Synod to reach and deal with an amount of important business that under ordinary circumstances could not be attended to. Members were gradually departing for their homes, and it would be impossible to count on a quorum beyond the following day. The motion to suspend the Stand* ing Order was put to the Synod, and unanimously affirmed. There was, however, the Primate still to reckon with. Without resuming-his seat he proceeded to say that he thought it inexpedient to sit late, as his experience had taught him that the work done at late sittings was frequently very faulty. Sir John Hall (with sparkling eyes and rising colour): Do I understand that your Lordship refuses to allow the Standing Order to be suspended ? The Primate : Yes, I object, for the reason I now give : that no good is done by holding these late sittings. Sir John Hall at once threw down his copy of the Standing Orders with a gesture of disgust, thrust away his papers into his desk, and seizing his hat left the room, and did not reappear. Several members followed him.— N.Z. Times.