NEW RESIDENCE FOR BISHOP HADFIELD.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5393, 10 July 1878, Page 2

NEW RESIDENCE FOR BISHOP HADFIELD.

At. eight o’clock last evening a meeting of the members of the Church of England residing in the diocese of Wellington was held in the Athenaeum Hall, for the purpose of considering what steps are to be taken to raise funds for erecting a new residence for the Bishop of the diocese. The chair was occupied by his Excellency the Marquis of Normanby, who arrived a few minutes before the time fixed for the commencement, of the meeting. The attendance was not large, but the downpour of rain that continued at the time of meeting perhaps accounts for the small number of persons present. There was only one lady in attendance. On the platform, besides his Excellency, were Lord Hervey Phipps, his Hon. Mr. Justice Richmond, the Venerable Archdeacon Stock, Mr. George Hunter, M.H.8., Hon. Mr. Gisborne, Mr. E. Pearce, Mr. J. C. Crawford, Mr. Le Patourel,

.The Chairman said he was sorry that the inclemency of.the weather had caused the meeting on this occasion to be so small. They were met together to consider what steps should be taken for the erection of a new residence for the Bishop of Wellington. For his own part, the necessity of this was so self-evident that a public meeting was unnecessary. It was to him (the Chairman) self-evident that it was the duty of the people of this diocese to provide a proper residence for their Bishop. He was sorry to say that it did not reflect great credit upon the people of the diocese to have allowed their Bishop to reside in such a residence as his Lordship now lived in. Whenever he took the chair on an occasion of this kind it was his custom to apeak out his mind, whether those whom he addressed liked it or not. (Hear, hear.) This the case, he did not think the position was a creditable one to the diocese of Wellington, nor had the diocese anything to be proud of so far as the Bishop’s residence was concerned. That residence owed nothing to the diocese. The late lamented Bishop Selwyn contributed £IOOO towards it, and Bishop Abraham also contributed £SOO more. From a return that he had seen, it appeared that towards the establishment of a bishopric fund the New Zealand Company contributed £2OOO, and £2OOO more were contributed by the Society for Promoting-Christian Knowledge, and the same society contributed £IOOO more on the establishment of the bishopric. Since that period up to 1876 the amount of stipend received by the Bishop was £490. Since then he was happy to say that arrangements had been made by which £2OO more was secured by certain persons in the diocese, and the Hon. Mr. Tollemache gave land which produced about £4O a year. The official income of the Bishop, he regretted to say, was hardly as much as was paid by some merchants to their clerks. What was £750 a year for a gentleman occupying the position of Bishop of a diocese like Wellington ? He believed the diocese contained a population of somewhere about 50,000, of which it was fairly assumed that nearly one-half belonged to the Church of England. They were mostly all rich, and those who were called poor were not so, and they could well afford to contribute towards the erection of a new residence for bis Lordship. It appeared that about £2OOO was required. IE there was any heart or sincerity in the members of the Church, there ought to be no difficulty in raising this amount. He trusted, therefore, there would be a hearty co-operation in the undertaking from one end of the diocese to the other, and that the’ result would be the erection, not of a palace, but of such a residence as was fit for a gentleman occupying the high position of Bishop to reside in. (Hear, hear.) He did not now address them as Governor, but as a member of the Church of England, and he trusted a sincere one—(applause)—and he trusted that the result of this meeting would be the erection of a proper residence for their Bishop. From a report that was placed before him as to the condition of the present building, • it appeared that it was. actually in ain unsafe condition, and that in the event of a fire occurring in the lower storey, it would be impossible to escape from above. Therefore it was quite self-evident that the Bishop of the diocese should be provided with a residence .much more in keeping with the high position he had been called on to.occupy. He had now much pleasure in calling on Mr. J. O. Crawford to propose the first resolution. Mr. J. C. Crawford said he had much pleasure in moving the first resolution as follows :—That in the opinion of this meeting a new residence for the Bishop of this diocese should be erected as soon as possible, and that the members of the Church of England throughout the diocese be asked to contribute towards raising at least £2OOO for this purpose. He could only reiterate what had. been said by bis Excellency with reference to the necessity for providing the Bishop of the diocese with a ‘suitable residence. Besides • being in a very* bad condition, the present building was totally inadequate for the accommodation of the Bishop and bis family, and his Lordship was also unable to show ordinary hospitality to clergymen visiting the diocese from other places, in consequence of the want of sufficient accommodation. The people, of the dipcese had been fortunate in having two bishops whom they loved and respected. Bishop Hadfield was deeply loved by the people of the diocese, and he hoped they would give practical demonstration of their love and reverence by providing him with a proper house to live. in. (Applause). The Venerable Archdeacon Stock had great pleasure in seconding the resolution. Reference had been made to the smalLattendauce, and it was said the small number present was due to the inclemency of the weather. He (Archdeacon Stock) took quite a different view of the matter. He thought the people of the diocese were of one mind as to the necessity for erecting a residence for the Bishop, and it was because their minds were made up on this subject that they did not think it necessary to attend. Archdeacon Stock dwelt at some length on the self-denial displayed by Bishop Selwyn, and on the good that had been done in the country by missionary labor. There were some persons who objected to the mis-’ sionaries, but he (Archdeacon Stock) would assert that but for the missionaries those people would not.bS in New Zealand to object. (Hear, hear, and applause). The resolution was then put from the chair, and carried unanimously, amid applause. The Chairman then called on Mr. George Hunter to propose the next resolution. Mr. Hunter said that in consequence of the absence of Sir William -Fitzherbert he had been requested to propose the next resolution, as follows :—That a subscription list be now opened. Of course he could not help agreeing with every word that had fallen from previous speakers with reference to the necessity that existed for the erection of a new residence for the Bishop of .Wellington. The present building was in a very unsafe condition, and ho time should be lost in providing Bishop Hadfield with a more suitable residence. He regretted that owing to the inclemency of the weather the attendance was so small; but if the attendance was small, there was a channel through which the people.of the diocese could be appealed to in this matter, —he meant the Press, —and he trusted its representatives would publish full reports of the proceedings of that meeting, in order that they might be read, not only in Wellington itself, but in the remotest corner of the diocese. He consider 1 that this was a subject in which every part of the diocese was interested. It was not a question that-affected one parish only, but one in which every parish in the diocese had an interest in common. Therefore he trusted that what had been said tbat night would be read throughout all parts of the diocese, and that the erection of a new residence for their Bishop would iv.eet with the hearty co-opera-tion of every churchman. Reference had been made to the manner in which the present residence hod been erected. It was quite true, as the noble chairman had stated, that the late Bishop Selwyn contributed £IOOO and Bishop Abraham £SOO more towards its erection, but it should n!*o be added that the ground was the gift of the Hon. Mr. Tollemache. He would not occupy the time of the meeting any longer, but would at once conclude by reiterating a hope that the result of this meeting would be the erection of a building more worthy of their Bishop and the high office be had been called on to fill. (Hear, .hear, and applause.) By doing this it was the first small return they should be able to make for one who had done so much for them. (Loud applause.) . The Chairman called oh Mr, Barraud to second the resolution. Mr. Barradd, in the absence of Mr. Levin, seconded 'the motion. He agreed with what had been said by previous speakers with regard to the necessity for erecting a uew residence for the Bishop of the diocese. He .was in- : formed that the present building was quite decayed by dry rot. Therefore no time should

be lost in providing their Bishop with a proper place for himself and his family to reside in, (Hear, hear.) ' , ;

The; resolution was then put, and carried unanimously. The .Chairman, called on Mr. E. Pearce to move the next resolution.

r - Pearce said the meeting had already decided as<to the necessity for erecting a new residence for the Bishop, but to give effect to that decision ; he bad now to propose the following practical - resolution That the following gentlemen be requested to act as a committee for obtaining subscriptions Sir William Fitzherbert, Messrs. W. M Bannatyne,_ Geo. Hutiter, ■‘G.'-lUEBail - Johnson, P. Kebhell, \V. Levin, E. Pearce, C. J. Pharaayn P.' Povvles. .the Chief Justice. G. E. I dhurst, and the late members for the time being of the Standing Committee ” The episcopal office was an eaaential-.eleraent of their Church system, and it behoved them therefore to make every provision that was necessary for maintaining the office In a fit and proper manner. . Wellington had bean most fortunate m regard to its bishops. . They were men thoroughly. earnest in their work, and had displayed a great deal of self denial; and he felt sure that their present Bishop was so much loved by the people of the diocese that there would be uo difficult whatever in raising the amount that was necessary to provide him with a new residence. (Loud applause.) The Chairman called on the Hon. Mr. Gisborne to second the resolution.

The Hon. Mr. Gisborne, xr seconding Mr. Pearce s resolution, made a very humorous speech. He said the present residence of the Bishop was a crcs \ between a caravansary and an almshouse, and gave such a graphic discription of its pre-historic style , of architecture, its chimneys, and its general state of dilapidation, as to convulse the audience with laughter, and at the same time convince them of the urgent necessity for providing a new residence for the Bishop. The resolution proposed by Mr. Pearce and seconded by Mr. Gisborne was then put, and carried unanimously. His Honor Mr. Justice Richmond moved that the thanks of the meeting be given to the chairman—their most worthy Governor. ‘ (Applause). His Excellency had.opened the proceedings with a -very practical, business-like speech, and with every word said by His Excellency he (Judge Richmond) agreed. Ha thought the meeting would pass a vote of thanks to the noble chairman* by acclamation. •The vote of thanks was carried amid loud applause. --

The Chaibman, in returning thanks, again expressed a hope that the people of the diocese would exert themselves in this matter, and in a short time provide their Bishop with a proper place to live in. He thought, also,, that the question of the emoluments of the office was worthy of their consideration. These were decidedly inadequate for the position. Had he felt it necessary. to refer .to the personal merits of Bishop Hadfield, he could have said a great deal more than he did in his opening address, but in a matter oL thia kind he thought it sufficient to refer, to the office only, and to impress upon churchmen what was their duty in maintaining that office as it should be maintained. He had only again to express a hope that in a short time they would all see a proper residence provided for his Lordship in place of the unsafe building in which he at present resided. (Applause.) • The proceedings then terminated.