CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5533, 20 December 1878, Page 3

CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

Last evening a meeting of the members of the Anglican Church in Wellington was held at the Athenamm Hall, to consider the question of establishing a General Church Fund for tho diocese. There were present, among others, Bishop Hadfield (in the chair), "Ven. Archdeacon Stock, Revs. B. W. Harvey, Thorpe, Coffey, Fancourt (of tho Hutt), Ballachy (of .Karori), Gossett (of Mastorton), and his Honor the Chief Justice. Proceedings having been opened with prayer, The Bishop said the meeting had been called together in pursuance of a resolution of the Synod of the diocese, in order that the support of members of tho Church in the diocese might be enlisted for a scheme which the Synod had prepared for the purpose of extending the action of the Church throughout the diocese, and which had been agreed to almost unanimously. In all matters connected with Church extension or Church operations in future in this country it was necessary of course to obtain the support of Church members, and for the Synod to pass resolutions or to originate schemes which did not meet with the support and -sanction of Church members throughout the diocese would be simply a waste of its time—(hear, hear) — . and it would likewise be very unwise to send a deputation into the country districts for the purpose of bringing before Church members either such a scheme as that which was now proposed or any other, unless the subject were previously brought before the city Church members and received their careful co-opera-tion—unless, in fact, it was heartily supported. These were the principal reasons which induced him to call the meetiug. With regard to this matter he ought to say that he felt some little difficulty in addressing them, because he felt, he might almost say remorse, that he had not in previous years done more for the purpose of establishing some scheme which would enable the Church in this diocese properly to discharge its duty. He felt that the present effort had not come too soon, but too late. There were difficulties in reference to the extension of the work of the Church in the country districts which were hardly felt or understood by town residents. What he meant was this—that it was quite possible Church members in the country were tolerably well off so far as worldly means go; but at the same time, in order to establish a system that would work in the country, it was necessary there should be co-operation, and it was difficult to get country settlers together for such a purpose. Then again there was this difficulty: On his visits to the country he was well received, aud settlers appeared willing to do anything in their power, but his demands seemed to frighten them out of the spirit of action. Take as an instance the case of Hawera—a placo twenty miles away from any clergyman, and in which there was a large population growing up, many of whom were pretty well off. He had last year met a number of gentlemen there. They expressed themselves as. willing to do everything possible to establish a church there, but they enquired, " What do you want us to do ?" He replied, " I want you to obtain a stipend for a clergyman, I want funds for a church and funds for a parsonage." Then they wanted to know if there was any chance of getting help from a central fund, and of course he could hold out small hope. They were very anxious to have a church and a clergyman, and wero willing to do what they could, but they felt that the attempt to do what he wished them to do was iitterly beyond their power, and they intimated that they must defer the matter. That was an ordinary case. But it was not so much that the country districts were unable to do what was required of them, rather it was the case that when the demands | were-made upon them'they became frightened of the responsibility, and believed themselves unable to grapple with the difficulties. As all present were aware, population in the country districts had of late been largely increasing. On that point he need say nothing, nor would he waste the time of the meeting by endeavoring to show that it was" not right these districts should be left without the miniatra-J tioau of religion; but lie ~ would simply say that in districts where there was no clergymen, no church, no parsonage, the state of thing 3, not to use a harsh term, was Bimply lameutable. The scheme which had been put forward in order to do 'away with the state of things he had just alluded to must be pretty well known to all present, seeing it had been in circulation for some six weeks. Its object simply was if possible that Church matters financially should be conducted by means of a general organisation, instead of leaving the initiative to isolated districts, and consequently weak effort. It was intended there should be a central organisation and a central fund. The fund would first be called upon to provide stipends for the clergy of the whole diocese, next to provide for churches and parsonages, and another point was that it should liquidate, if possible, the debts which had been incurred in different parishes or parochial districts. The scheme ought to be, and he hoped it would be, successful; certainly it would be if churchmen considered what their duty was in the matter, if they bore in mind that they were not merely members of it congregation, but members of a Church whose unit was not. the congregation or the district but the diocese, and that their respon sibilities extended over the whole of the diocese in which they were situated. He waß afraid that churchmen in this country had not yet quite accepted the idea that they were members of the diocese and that they had duties to perform to the whole diocese, but that was a fundamental maxim of the Church to which they belonged, and persons who acted contrary to it went against the practice of the Church in the olden days. Incidentally this very point had come up in discussion with a friend tho other day, and that gentleman seemed to take an opposite view, and referred to the circumstances which existed at Home as rather supporting him. But it was of no use to go to the Church at Home, as at present constituted, for precedents. All acquainted with history knew very well there had been a union between Church and State from very early times—from the time when Augustine first went to England there had been more or less a union between Church and State, and in the early age, long before Augustine, even before Alfred's time, parishes had been established; but what he wanted to state was this, that in the earliest stages of the Ohureh's history—that stage when the position of the Church in England was very analagous to that in which they in New Zealand now found themselves —they found a condition of things which formed an excellent example for them now to follow. Going back to that stage of the Church's history what did they find ? They found that there were no such things as parishes, no such things as parochial districts. Tho funds of the Church were all in the hands of the Bishop, and he administered those funds for the benefit of tho whole of the diocese by the aid of a council of presbyters, generally assisted by one or two officers, including a steward of the diocese. A good deal of • interesting information on this and other points wag to bo found in Bingham's " Antiquities of the Church." Tho funds of thei Church in those days seemed to be made up out of tho ordinary weekly offertories which formed part of tho service, and monthly payments, all of which found their way into the hands of the central treasurer, and wero dealt with in favor of tho whole dioceso. His Lordship traced the decline of the voluntary system which then existed, and the gradual union of Church and State, tho first step in which union was the grant made by Constantino ; arid in favor of the efficacy of the voluntary system cited the opinion of Chrysostom, who stated distinctly that the Church was far better supported and maintained previously to grants being made by Constantino and his successors than it had ever been subsequently down to his time. The Bishop also noted the gradual extension of the Church into tho country districts of England, under tho voluntary system, during tho era to which he was alluding. He then went on to say he hopod the proposal of tho Synod would bo taken up carefully, and that Church members would not allow themselves to be discouraged by difficulties. Whenever anything groat had to be dons obstacles must always be expected, but it had not been tho practice of tho Church to allow difficulties to stand in its way in carrying out what it boHored to bo the Divine will, No doubt it was

a bold scheme, but there waa sometimes considerable wisdom shown in entering upon bold schemes. He believed in such a'case us iUiJ palliatives were not the kind ol treatment which would be most succussful or : most acceptable to the people. He next alluded to the diocesan fund, and said thu differed frooi-' it materially. The object of that fund was to subsidise exertious made in various parts of tho, diocese, but this was a scheme for the purpose of grappling with nil their difficulties, a soheme in fact for setting peoule upon their legs, and then saying "now walk by yourself." He reviewed the history ot the diocesan fund, and admitted it had only proved partly eatisfactory. Ninetaen years ago it might have suited the require-.; merits of the diocese, but it did so no longer,] and hence the necessity for a change. In elusion be urged upon all systematic effort and support. Let overy man take into conJ sideration what ho could conscientiously' afford, and give that sum regularly. Some times one felt generous, and would give much ; other times he did not feel so generous, and gave little. That spasmodic sort of support was not tho kind of support wanted, and he hoped all would at once determine what they could give, aud contiuue the support promised. Some said they did not like to put their name down for so much a year, because it was an ostentatious kind of charity, and was contrary to the Gospel principle of not letting the left hand know what the right hand did. But let them look upon this not as a charity but as a duty, and not be ashamed to give in the manner prescribed, be it little or much. As to private charity, that was another matter, and had nothing to do with a work of this character. (Applause.)

Dr. Johnston moved the first resolution. He said he had been very much impressed by the circular lately distributed. After reading it he had felt himself face to face with a crisis in our Church history, and he was sure that unless we roused ourselves we should have great difficulties to surmount directly. As churchmen they must be ashamed of the position of the country districts in the diocese on reading the circular, and he hoped the interest created in his mind would have also been aroused in others. It had certainly brought him to the meeting that evening. He felt compelled to come and help this good aud great object forward. Some few years ngo the Church of England in New Zealand was but a small body, but its members were active men. The greater portion of them devoted their zeal and energy to Church matters, aud things progressed better than they. had done lately. It was well to contrast their interest in Church work with their efforts at money-making. They had taken credit to themselves for keeping up the efficiency of their own imme Hate parishes, but they had forgotten their country brethren. They must remedy this, and commence by getting their successful business men to take a part in the management of the Church. All believed that religious aud spiritual aspirations were as much a necessity to the hutnau mind as food to the body, and neglect in assisting their country friends in getting spiritual bread in that case became as culpable as withholding material bread from hungry fellow creatures. For one he should do all in his power to help the movement farward, and he hoped the circular would have a similar effect upon others. He moved, —That this meeting recognises the necessity for taking immediate steps to raise an adequate fund for maintaining and exten ling the ministrations of the Church in this diocese. (Applause).

Mr. W. H. Levin said the resolution needed very little recommendation, because it must bo patent to all that in the past Church administration had been crippled for want of funds. At the same time he thought they had not been so remiss as Dr. Johnston had made out. The city congregations in the past had had great difficulties, and now that they could see their way out of their difficulties they would no doubt help on their country brethren. He hoped at any rate the effort about to be made would hava the effect of rousing Church of England members in this diocese from tint apathy which seemed peculiar to them. Other denominations had displayed much more energy. He advocated a thorough canvass of the whole diocese, so that every ' Ihurch member should be appealed to, and so that the willing horse should not bo worked too hard. Many people now had. a feeling, rightly or wrongly, that efforts were partial and only extended to those who happened to be rich. It was well to remove that feeling. He seconded the motion with great pleasure.

The motion was carried unanimously. The Rev. It. CorFEY congratulated himself upon beingpresent at a thoroughly representative meeting, aud was glad to see the laity so well represented. He hoped that in future the laity would be called upon to take a more active part in Church matters, and wouKFihaet at least once a year to consider the position>tof the Church. - tN<jVUmkt the- Ohucot U*3Kooa apathetic, but that apathy had arisen first irom the difficulty which attended the movements of large bodies, also from the fact that in the country from which the Church of England people had come they had not been called upon to take pirt in Church work. Churchmen also insisted upon maintaining a certain amount of dignity and order in their proceedings. They refused to accept anybody who might have a wish to minister to them in spiritual things, and he thought rightly, for it would be much better to sacrifice a little progress now than to admit an element into their polity which might bring about evil effects that would last not merely for centuries but for thousands of years ; for he was not one of those who belie Ted the world was coming to an end yet. Perhaps from the causes he had mentioned the Church of England might be deemed apathetic, but he confessed he preferred her apathy to the ' twopenny hafpenny activity exhibited elsewhere. He had seen clergymen dwelling iu a Btorey below the chapel, something like a cellar in fact. He would not like to see a Church of England clergyman doing that. In Dunedin he had seen the washtub just outside the chapel door.' The Church of England had more respect for the God of the universe than to dishonor his service in that way. However, ho must return to his text. A clergyman must have a text, if he did not stick to it, as these gentlemen below (pointing to the reporters) readily understand. In further remarks he commended the scheme. He said it was not new. The Presbyterians had found it worked well, and in Sydney last year £II,OOO or £12,000 had been raised for the Church of England by means of it. He moved, —That the plan proposed by the Synod for a General Church Eund is, in the opinion of this meeting, sound in principle and likely to prove acceptable to churchmen generally.

Mr. C. P. Powles seconded the resolution. What had fallen from the Bishop and others must have convinced all present that there was a necessity for such a scheme as this, and he believed that the members of the Church would respond to the demand made upon them heartily. It must be remembered that although for purposes of government and convenience there were parishes and so forth, yet the Churoh of England was one body, and not a series of disjointed and unconnected parishes, The diocesan fund had been greatly augmented lately through the help of the ladies of the city congregations. During the year ending 30th September, 1875, there was' subscribed £l2l 25.; in 1876 the amount was £173 ss. In 1877 the financial year was made to end in June, and during the year ended last Juno £394 os. 9di was subscribed. That was a good result from the efforts of .Indies, and gave confidence in the feasibility of working out this scheme. (Applause.) In answer to the Chief Justice, The Bishop said when promises of sufficient assistance had been obtained it would be his duty to call the Synod together and arrange what should be the new modo of operation. The diocesan fund would last as it was now till the next meeting of Synod. The Chief Justice believed the scheme was worthy of support, but ho thought there was a disposition to over-rate the wealth of the city He did not believe they had so much to spare as waa supposed, and if they were called upon they ought to have the spectacle before them of willingness on the part of country churches to help themselves. The principle on which the fund when raised ought $o be administered was that assistance should be given to parishes about starting, just as Dunedin, and ho had no doubt Wellington, had at the start received aid from Home. But just as they could not expect the English societies to help Now Zealand cities now, thoy could not expect the cities to assist the country districts after they had made a start. (Applause.) Tho Rev. Mr. GossETT, of Masterton, said that the country districts must be assisted by the oity parishes, aud any monies raised for this fund must go to the country churches, not to town churches, as tho diocesan fund had gone. Another point was this, that until all the churches were made free general subscrip-tions-could not bo expected, an/; 1 , certainly would not be given.

Mr. SboHaKAN pointed out that tho last speaker had madman err6r. r No 1 part of the diooesan fund < bad been given to the

town churches. As to tho question of free seats, that ought not to be uiixud up with tho subject. Speaking on the general quuHtion, he approved of thu; scheme, and said ho thought the congregational elemout had bocomo too strong of lato years. Though uot sanguiue .of , securing tho largo amount of revenue expected still he thought tho sohomo would do groat good. (Applause.) : The motion was carried unanimously. ; The'Rev, B. W. IJakvey (in the absence of Mr. H. T. Clarke) moved the next resolution, which, he remarked, was the natural sequel of what had gone bef jrc. He believed the schoine was a good thing, and would bo heartily supported by all in the diocese. The voluntary system was very well iu towns, but in the country it involved great hardships, and the sooner all stipends were paid out of a general f uud tho better it would be. That was one object of tho scheme. Another was to provide means for initiating work in new districts. A great foaturo of tho Bchemo was the relief it would afford to the laity. At present a man did not know at tho commencement of a year what ho would almost be compelled to give, but under this scheme he would estimate what ho could afford, give it, and the matter would be at an oud. The reveuue of tho diocese was now about £6OOO, and they wanted to raise at least £II,OOO, or about 10s. per head of tho population. The people of this city paid £3 a head for municipal government, and £i a head for general government purposes, in . all £7. No doubt what they received in return was fully worth that,butwere not the ministrations of religion worth 10s. per head per year! Of course all could not afford that, but there were others who could afford more, and the sum ought easily to be raised. He believed it could be done if the matter was fairly set before the people, because churchmen here loved their Church thoroughly well. The evil was that the people were insensible of the danger creeping upon the Church. Were they once aroused 10s. a year would soon bo raised. He confidently submitted the following resolution : That those present at this meeting pledge themselves to xise their hearty endeavors to ensure tho success of the proposed plan, both by subscribing to the fund themselves and trying to induce others to do so, according to their means. (Applause). Colonel Leckie seconded, and promised to do all he could in favor of the scheme.

••Mf; G. Allen, in supporting the resolution, expressed regret that there was not a larger attendance.

The motion was carried unanimously, and the benediction having been pronounced by the Bishop, the proceedings closed.