TARANAKI.

New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 561, 30 August 1851, Page 2

TARANAKI.

[Fiom a Coi respondent of the " Wellington Spectator."] At a general meeting of the New Plymouth settlers, held on the 2nd August, to consider a proposal of the Governor-in- Chief to diminish the size of the present town, and to introduce Peivsioners with their families into New Plymouth, it was resolved — " That His Excellency's plan may be carried out with great benefit to the owners of town sections, and to the inhabitants generally." " That talcing into considertion the unprotected state of this settlement, it is most desirable that the proposed addition to the European population should consist, as regards the male adults, of the more able-bodied Pensioners, and to be so organised as to become a defensive force against possible native aggression." "That the Resident Magistrate be requested to transmit these resolutions to the Governor-in-Chief." " We understand that is is proposed by the Government to reduce the town of New Plymouth to one-half of its present size, and to permit a general re-selection of town lands. Of the residue, computed at 275 acres, 105 acres will be set apart for two hundred families of Pensioners (one hundred to be obtained from the regiments now serving in New Zealand, the remaining one hundred to be sent from England) ; twenty acres are to be set apart for educational and religious purposes, and the remaining hundred and fifty acres will be sold in allotments, at prices less than those now charged for town lands. These arrangements of the Governor-in- Chief have caused very general satisfaction, as it is scarcely possible that better propositions could have been devised for New Plymouth, situated as it _ is, ov any that would be more acceptable to its inhabitants.

We have received via Sydney a number of Van Diemen's Land papers. The dales come down to the Gth inst. The " Church of England question" continued to excite strong interest, especially at Hobait Town} andit occupies a very prominent

place in the columns of most of the journals before us. The subject which commanded liveliest attention was connected with a publication cal'ed "Steps to the Altar," which the Rev. W. Tancrxd, Curate of St. David's, had circulated, and especially had placed in the hands of several young females as a manual of study pieparatory to confirmation. The following declaration, issued by the " Church of England Association." will enable our leadeis to judge of the grounds on which that Book was censured, and the strength of the feelings which its distribution by a piofessedly Protestant clergyman excited :—: — At a full meeting of the Committee of the " Church of England Association for maintaining m Van Diemen's Land the Refoimation," held in the Evening of SGlh June instant, in Macquarie-street ; 'J .J. Knight, Esq. in the Chair ; the following Resolution was unanimously adopted, and oideicd to ho punished. Whereas this Committee baa had positive evidence that a Book, named "Sups 10 mr Altar" was en en hy the llev Mr. Tancred, in his capacity as religious msti actor, to several young females m this°City previous to the locont Conformation, at St. l^Wvid's Cathedral : And whereas the said book mAuricular Confession to be made to a Piiest <m humble poUw eon the knees ;' and suggest^ for selfexamination and Confebsion questions of an indecent and disgusting character, tending especially to corrupt the minds of the young, who are dnected < to t, ust their soulb to the F> lest,' and to ' choose jar a Contenor only wch a penon as lull jatthjidly U*p an<) seoet committed to him,' and whom thoy aie to lvgaid 'as a trmtee jrom God, commii>soined by Him ai His Ministerial deputy to hear, and jiulge and absolve them." 1 . , . And whereas the hook in question teaches that there is a propitiatoiy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper ; and sanctions Prayeia for the Dead, and for the Intercession j of the Saints; . . This Committee is unanimously of opinion, that the giving to young persons, members of the Church of England, the book named "Steps to the Alur" as a means of affording them religious instruction is calculated to pervert their minds, to inculcate the most dangerous errors of Romanism, to introduce into the Clnuch of England the abominations of the Confessional, and to undermine the principles of the Protestant religion. Tins Committee deeply laments the obligation which las devolved upon it of co'nmunicating to their brother Membeis of the Church of England their solemn conviction that the Chuioh in this Colony is endangered by Romanising or Tract arian spirit and teaching ot seveinl of the Clergy ; and that, in disseminating tins book, the Ministerial office has been employed to inculcate dangerous and erroneous principles ; and that all members of the Church, who value the evangelical truths of Religion, are called upon to join wnh this Association in adopting eSicient ineasutes to preaeive themselves and their families from the continuance of such false and pernicious teaching, and prevent the Ministry of the Church in this Colony from being exercised by persons imbued with Romanising pnnciple3. J. Barnard, ~iHon. Secretaries, Thos. Docson, ) /)) o temp. The Rey. Dr. Beoford concurred so decidedly with the Association in condemning the Book, and took such vigorous means to prevent the further spread in his parish of what he believed to be the dangerous errors inculcated in it, that Mr. Tancred judged it expedient to resign his curacy of St. David's. He published, however, an elaborate vindication of the " Steps to the Altar," and of his own procedure in relation to it, which appeared in a form of a Letter to the Bishop of Tasmania, and occupies nearly two whole pages of the Courier of the 9th ult. His main positions are, that the statement made by the Association contains a gross perversion of the devotional practices recommended in the Book ; and, secondly, " that not one of the passages upon ■which objections to the woik have been founded may not be borne out by the literal statements in the Prayer Book itself, as well as by the received expositors of its formularies." He denies that the work inculcates Auricular , Confession, as practised in the Church of Rome, but only such confession as the Homilies, the Rubric, and numerous Bishops and other divines of the Church of England have sanctioned ; and as respects the questions on the Seventh Commandment, contends that they are not only as free from " indecency" as is possible in treating of the extremely subtle sin which that Commandment is designed to prohibit, but that they are proposed merely as suggestions for self-examination in order to confession to God, not with reference to confession to a priest. The charge that the Book " teaches that there is a propitiatory sacrifice in. the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper," is dismissed by Mr. Tancred with a declaration that, although he is;himself quite prepaied to adopt and defend everything advanced in the " Steps to the Altar" on the subject, yet he deems the matter too high and sacred to be discussed in an advertisement in a newspaper. His comments on the objections that the woik " sanctions Prayers for the Dead and for the Intercession of Saints' ' chiefly go to maintain his position that the expressions employed in it are reconcilable with expressions employed in the Liturgy and by some eminent Anglican theologians. The entire Letter (of which, from its great length, our outline is unavoidably but meagre) seems to us conceived and executed in the genuine spirit of the Oxford Tracts. It was addressed, however, to a sympathising ecclesiastical Father. As there have been Romanizing curates before Mr. Tancred, so there have been Romanizing Bishops before Dr. Nixon. Mr. Tancred's high church authorities in support of his views might be expected to have weight with his Tractarianized Bishop, and the subjoined expression of episcopal approbation accordingly &oon followed the publication of the Letter :—: — Bisliopstowc, July 14, 1851. My Dear Mr. TANniED, — A Tier perusing your explanation of the positions ldid down in the hook entitled " Steps to the Altai," I can come to no other conclusion, than that you have satisfactorily cleared youiscH horn the heavy ehniges brought against you by the " Protcbtaut Association" in consequence of its circulation. My'coniidenec in you is unshaken, my esteem unabated, my appreciation olyour worth as a minister and a man, unaltered. I shall bo quite content to entrust you with another spiritual charge in this Diocese, at ihe oiliest possible opportunity; in the perfect conviction, that your many valuable qualities will cnsuie you, elsewhere, that same affectionate respect nhch has been the result of youi ministrations heie. I lemain, my dear Mr. Tancied, Your faithful hiend and brother, (Signed) P. 11. Tasmania.

*'• Second thoughts aie best,"' however. So says the proveib, and Bishop Nixon seems to have been of the same opinion. In one of the last papers of our file, we find (he following Circular which his Loidship had just addressed to his Clei'. y. Though far from satisfactory to those who believe that in these Jays of tiial the Prelates of the Church of England should be valiant and uncompromising champions for faith of the Reformation in its entirety, yet it is, so far as it goes, a gratifying concession to to the Protestantism of the Diocese.

[circular] Bishoptowe, July 30, 18J1. Rnvtßr.Nn BROTiirR, —I have witnessed with mi eh concern the apprehensions that exist amongst some members of the Church of England, as to the supposed Romanizing tendency of certun Manuals ol devotion which have been circulated in tins Diocese, You aie aw.iic that I do not myself participate in these appiehcnsions; ncveithcless, for the sake of Christian peace, I deem it advisable to icconvnend that m giving books, especially manuals of instiuction or devotion, to the young, within join cine, you should pievioirJy consult the wishes ot then patents 01 guardians. As a general Mile, I should veiy eirncstly counsel you to select vich tiacts as you may lequnc for paiodual distubutioti fiom the extensive Catalogue of the Society io\ promoting Chiistian Knowlcd c. Praying the 1-mvuic blessing on all -\our labours, I remain, llevuend ISiother. jour afi.'Clionato fuend, (Signed) F. It. Tasmania. The Anti-Transpoitation movement, stimulated, by the ..impetus communicated by the growing strength of the Australasian League, was going forward with an energy befitting the Colony which has the most immediate and vital interest in its success. Since the return from Victoria and New South Wales <-f the Ttev. John Wkst, and W. P. Weston, Esq., (the Tasmanian Delegates to the League), several Public Dinners and Meetings had taken place, which at once manifested and elevated the popular enthusiasm in the cause. The candidates for seats in the Legislative Council, had, with very few exceptions, avouched thenheat ty adherence to it. Two inteiesting schemes of Immigration engaged attention. From the Shetland Isles, where the adult female population greatly preponderates, a number of industrious young women, with a few married persons, were expected. '1 his plan was progressing through the instrumentality of Lady Franklin, Miss Cracroft, and othei ladies. The Home Government had offered the emigrants fiee passages, and it was stated that about two hundred would avail themselves of the ptivilege... An extensive plan of German Emigration was being negociated by Mr. Nkwhauss, as agent forMessis. Godefkoy and Son, of Hamburgh, who proposed to impoit agiicultural kbomeis, shepherds, and domestic servants on the following terms: —£6 of the passage money to be paid each by the emigrants themselves on cmbaikatiou, and £7 by the employers on their arrival in Van Uiemen's Land; the wages payable to ploughmen, shepherds, Le, to be £20, and to female sen ants £12 per annum, —the emigrants to bind themselves befoie the English Consul at Hamburgh to serve for twelve months at these rates, and the £7 advanced by the employers for passage money to be deducted from the year's wages. On these stipulations, Mr. Newiiauss was prepared to enter into engagements to land emigrants in 1852. The proposal seemed to find a very favourable reception. The Directors of the Chamber of Commeice at Hobart Town had turned serious attention of an Intel-Colonial and General Tariff, and had communicated with leading mci can tile men in Sydney, who united with them in a strong desire to have the inter-colonial duties abolished, and an unifoun Tariff for the Colonies established... The Building Committee of the Hobart Town Royal Exchange Association hjd advertised for designs and specifications for the proposed erections. The " Tasmanian Public Library " was in a flourishing condition, as shown by the leport for the year ending June 30. The number of subscribers had doubled ; and there were 3,487 volumes in the Libraiy, though only (wo yeais established, —the library of the late J. E. BicnrNO, Esq., consisting of neaily 2,000 volumes, having been puichased for £300. The Agiicultural state and prospects of the country are thus described by the Hobart foum Advertiser; — 11 Besides the breadth of grain winch has been got in this season, the seitleis eneoinaged by the late accounts sales fiom Caluoitiii aie busily enyrijred in sowing onions, whuh has now become an impoitant article of field culture. This esculent a year or two since, confined to a few patches in the maikct gaiden, is now sowed or planted in aciGS, and the pioduce estimated like potatoes by tons. Potatoes too are becoming a gi eater staple than ever. Already contracts are made for the ensuing year crops of both, and at high figures. One future speculator has given an order for thiee thousand boxes, to be made for the purpose of packing them. In fine the piospccts of the iarmers are excellent. Thisyeai high pnees mled, but the short ciops presented there being moie reimmeiative to the fanner than the average ot seasons, the next harvest pi onuses abunddant produce and iaii puce 1-. The price of Wheat in the Hobait Town maiket on the sth instant v,as 9s. 6'd. to 10s. per bushel; Flour, £25 per ton ; Potatoes, £3 to £3 ss, perton ; Onions, £23 per ton (scarce).