GENERAL SYNOD.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 36, 10 February 1877, Page 2

GENERAL SYNOD.

I The Synod met yesterday at 3*30 p.m. The Bishop of A«ckland?s motion, "That the Synod do adopt the provisions of the Act for the amendment of the Act bf Uniformity passed by the Imperial Parliament on July .18, 1872," was postponed until after the Constitution Interpretation Bill. On the motion of the Bishop of Nelson the following Board of Theological Studies was elected: all the Bishops (er officio), the Dean of Christchurch, Archdeacon Maunsell, the Reverend B. W. Harvey, Hon ; Mr Acland, Mr Carleton, and Mr Hunter Brown. On the motion of the Bishop of Nelson the Synod then went into Committee to consider the resolutions appended to the report of the Select Committee on the Board of Theological; Studies. The resolutions were adopted' unanimously, and a vote of thanks was passed to the Bishop of Nelson for the important work undertaken by him in bringing up youne men for the ministry. It was resolved, on the motion of the Dean of Christchurch, "That a Commission be appointed to sit durihg the recess of the Synod, and to report at the next triennial session, on the expediency of forming a digest of the existing statutes in the shape of canons, and best method to be adopted in the future legislation; and that' they be authorised to re-arrange, under appropriate headings, the provisions of the Constitution

ancl statutes now in force, and submit such rearrangement to the Synod for its consideration: such Commission to consist of the the most Rev the Primate, -the Right Revs the Bishops of Wellington and Dunedin, the Very: Rev the Dean of Christchurch, the Yen Archdeacon Williams, Philip Hanmer. Esq., and W. H.Quwk, Esq. - X X On the motion of the Bishop of Auckland it was resolved, " That the following persons be the members of the Standing Commission: the Most Rev The Primate, the Very Rev .the Dean of Christchurch, P. Hanmer, Esq., Hon J.,8. Acland, H. J. Tancred, Esq. It was. resolved, on the motion of the Bishop of Auckland, "That the memorial of the Good Templar Lodges of the City of Nelson be acknowledged by the Most Rev the President on behalf of the Synod; recognising the earnest spirit which pervades the statement of the memorialists; thanking the Lodges for their courteous invitation to arrange for a meeting in their Temperance Hall; and informing the memorialists of the inability of the Synod to set apart an evening for such a meeting from the few that remain to the Synod for the special work of the session. The Bishop of Aucklaud then moved the following resolution, which was carried unanimously, "That this Synod desires to record the removal by death from among their ..number, since the last session of the Synod, Of the following members of the clergy of this Church, and holds their names in loving remembrance:— The Rev Charles Baker, of Auckland; Rev Thomas Chapman, of AuckJ^?r d . ; . 1{ < v Hare Ta wha, of Turanganui (Wanapu);' Rev Basil Kirke. Taylor, of Wanganui (Wellington); Rev William- John Cranmer Dobie, of Christchurch." Archdeacon Harper moved, " That the Report of the Committee on Marriages be con--4 sidered, and that the resolutions appended thereto be adopted." . The report attributed the decrease in the number of marriages celebrated in the Churches of .England to ordinary causes, and not to any falling off, in loyalty on the part of church members. The principal reason suggested' was the general preference to be married in private houses, instead of in a place of worship, for the sake of the greater privacy secured by the former mode. The report suggested that the Synod's previous resolution on the subject should be re-af-firmed; but that the clergymen should be authorised to deviate therefrom in special cases ; also that it was desirable that all clergymeu should be surrogates. Archdeacon Maunsell. made a vigorous speech against such mild proposals, and especially condemned the system of license, which he described as in fact amounting to a declaration on the part of a Bishop, « Give me £l and you may break the rubric if you like." The report was agreed to. The Bishop of Wellington moved the second reading of the Enactments Bill, which provided that notice must be given a certain time before the meetiug of Synod of any intended legislation, but empowered a majority of the bishops and two-thirds of the clergy and laity to permit the introduction of measures without such notice if deemed of sufficient importance. After a long debate, in which nearly all the members took part, the second reading of the Bill was lost by the clerical votes being •equal, the votes being— Ayes : Bishops, 3; clergy, 9; laity, 9. Noes: Bishops, 2; clergy, The Nominators Bill was read a third time and passed: On the motion of the Dean of Christchurch it was resolved:— « That it be an instruction to the Printing Committee to cause the 39th Canon to be appended as a note to the . 'Nominators Statnte, 1877.' " The Bishop of Dunedin then moved the resolution of which he had given notice:— * That this Synod of Bishops, Clergy, and Lay communicants of the Church of the Province of New Zealand having read with deep interest of the progress of the old .-Catholic movement, records [its appreciation pf the devoted efforts of the leaders of that movement to bring; about a return to primitive doctrine, discipline, and unity, and respectfully requests the Primate of this Church to forward their resolution to the Bishops of the old Catholic communion, and to Dr Von Dol linger. as an expression of Christian regard." The Right Rev Prelate gave a' most interesting sketch of the history of the movement, which he characterised as the most important since the Reformation. The Ecclesiastical Tribunals Bill was read a second time without debate,, and ordered . to be committed ou Monday at 7-30 p.m. The Rev- Mr Lingard moved the second reading of "Statute No. 1 Amendment Bill," which was carried after considerable discussion.. .The Bill then was committed, and ■ several clauses agreed to with verbal amend- ! ments, after which progress was reported, and the Synod adjourned at midnight.