CHURCH OF ENGLAND ANNUAL MEETING.

Patea Mail, Volume II, Issue 131, 12 July 1876, Page 2

CHURCH OF ENGLAND ANNUAL MEETING.

The annual meeting of members of the Church of England in this district _ was held on Friday evening last, the 7th inst., in the Court House, the Rev. A. Dasent in the chair. r ; ' The Chairman commenced the business of the meeting V>3 r intimating that tiro time had come when it was desirable that church mattyys ..should bo brought under a more regular system of management, and to that end suggested the meeting should consider the propriety of adopting a set of resolutions, embodied in a report of !a Select Committee of the Diocese of Wellington. The Chairman then called upon the Churchwardens to read the report and balance-sheet, for the year ended 30th July, 1876, which was done, and formally adopted by the meeting. REPORT. In presenting to members of the Church of England a report and balance-sheet for the financial year just closed, the Churchwardens have to regret that the hopes expressed in last years report, of an increased revenue, not only have not been realised, but that there .has bpcil an actual falling oft in the receipts. As this will be a matter of surprise and disappointment to many of those who, having watched the steady and rapid increase of material prosperity in the district, have looked confidently forward to better results, it may not be considered out of place fo indicate briefly what appear to be the proximate causes of the difficulty of collecting funds for church purposes, and to suggest such measures as seem to promise to bring about more sati.sfactory'rofiidhv Of the three modes of raising funds, viz., by voluntary subscription or guarantee, by offertories, and by pew" results, he first named appears to be the least popular with the settlers, and the most difficult to collect, and it is this branch of the revenue which exhibits the greatest deficiency. It was expected that the appointment of Mr Coworn to collect these subscriptions would both lead to more punctual payments, and relieve the Churchwardens from” what must always be an onerous di.tv among scattered country homesteads. The plan answered tolerably well in the neighbourhood of Carlyle, but from one cause and another, hardly any subscriptions were obtained bv Mr Cowern from the country districts. This being the case, the Churchwardens have since relieved that gentleman of the duty. Since the other religious denominations have been in a position to support resident ministers, considerable difficulty has been experienced at small centres like Manutahi, Kakaramea, Wairoa, &c., in arranging time and place for services in such a way as not. to clash with each other. It is not easy for the Churchwardens to suggest a remedy for what seems a fruitful source of embarrassment both to clergymen and congregations, and they only hope that it will be found in .mutual forbearance and good souse. So much for the causes, and now for the suggestions. Aided by the advice, and liberal support of the Bishop of Wellington, a bazaar was held in Carlyle some months ago for the purpose of raising sufficient funds to enlarge St. George’s Church. The object of this was to increase the number of sittings, anil, by consequence the receipts accruing from pew rents. Something over £IOO was realised in addition to which some surplus goods are still in hand' and will be disposed of at an early opportunity, probably for £2O Flans have been prepared, and instructions given to Mr Aitchson to proceed with the building with the least possible delay, and when this is finished the church will contain sittings. As the enlargement will effect an alteration in the internal arrangement of the church, it is proposed to re-let the whole of the seats which are notreservedfree, or.for the choir, and to raise the, rent from 10s to 20s for each sitting per atmiim ; to do away with the guarantee fund as far as possible, and to depend principally upon the increased rents derived from the increased number of sittings, and upon the offertories which it may reasonably be hoped will be augmented by the additional, accommodation offered to those who wish to attend church services.

With . regard to the country settlements which for convenience may be called subdistricts, it has been proposed at a meeting recently held in Carlyle, that gentlemen in, or near these places shall be asked to undertake to collect funds in their several districts, and remit the amounts tb the treasurer at Carlyle periodically. It is also thought that it would relieve those who are charged with the management of the funis from much anxiety if Waihi, Hawera, Manutahi, Kakaramca, Wairoa, and Waitotara could be induced to guarantee a certain fixed sum each annually in proportion to the sizes, of those places. In furtherance of this proposal it is suggested that in accordance with the regulations contained in a report of a select committee of the Diocesan Synod -On the organization of parochial districts, meetings should bo held during the present months if possible, in all the sub-districts where services are given periodically as well as at Carlyle, for the purpose of electing one or more church officers whose duties shall be such as arc detailed in the report above referred to. As a guide by which to determine what amount each sub-district should raise, it is further suggested that these. shall be assessed according to the number of services held in that district during the year, valuing each service at £2 2s. Taking the existing arrangement of services, Waitotara would bo assessed at £25; Wairoa at £SO; Kakaramea and Manutahi at £25 ; Hawera and Waihi.at £35 ; and Carlyle at the remaining sum required. ' While'it is encouraging to note that contingent expenses for the past year have been very much less than those for the year 1874-5, the Churchwardens arc compelled to add that they have been earnestly requested by The Bishop of the Diocese, to take immediate steps for collecting the interest on the money borrowed for the parsonage, amounting to £36 per annum. It is not creditable to a district of the, size and resources of Patea that this responsibility should be any longer evaded, as it places the Bishop in a very awkward position towards those who advanced the money. Last year about £75 was received from Wellington' to supplement moneys raised in the district, raid during the present year £SO, in addition lo the goods furnished to the bazaar have been contributed by the Bishop. . It becomes an imperative duty to slate that is not sufficient money available to meet the last quarter's' salary, and one or two small items, although the amounts given below are still, owing, and if these could yet be'collected there would be sufficient money to discharge all liabilities up to date.

£33 3 3 In addition to 'these amounts,. we understand that another half-year's subscriptions, amounting to £8 Is., have been raised at Waitotara by*Mr Kells, who displays a com-

mendable energy in collecting and remitting funds. "We should have stated that there are more subscriptions on the booh for Carlyle than those we have given above, but that some of these are due from people who have left, and others which, being doubtful, we have not reckoned upon. The following is the lowest estimate which it is calculated would be sufficient to meet an

J. W. mLI. } Ctoclwavdcns. Proposed by Mr Wraj-, seconded by Mr Williams—“ That with - a view to the efficient organisation of this district as a parochial district, the resolutions of the report of a Select Committee appointed by the Diocesan Synod, ‘ to consider the better organisation of missionary and parochial districts,’ bo adopted.” A discussion here ensuing as to the propriety of bringing the district under the operation of the resolutions as above quoted, the above resolution lapsed, and as it seemed likely that matters would be allowed to remain in tlieir former condition it was proposed by Mr Williams, seconded by Mr Wray—“That there shall be a committee appointed, to consist of the Curate, Curate’s Churchwarden, People's Churchwarden, and two members of the Church of England to bo appointed at the annual meeting; the Curate to be chairman cx officio ; the committee to manage all business connected with the church in the Patca district, and to he guided as far as possible ‘by the regulations contained in act No. 4 in 1 lie report of the Ist Session of the Seventh Synod of Wellington.”Carried. The Chairman here appointed Mr C. Finnerty ns hie Churchwarden. Proposed by Mr Taplin, seconded by Mr Mr Dyer—“ That a vote of thanks be offered to the Churchwardens for their report, statement of accounts, and for the satisfactory manner in which they had performed their deties ” —Gamed. Proposed by Mr Williams, seconded by Dr. Croft —“ That Messrs Wray and Tennant be appointed the two hay members of committee.”—Carried. Proposed by Mr Tennant, seconded by Dr, Croft—“ That Mr Taplin be appointed People’s Churchwarden.’’—Carried. Proposed by Mr Tennant, seconded by Mr Taplin “ That the pew rents be raised from 10s to 20a per sitting from the 30th June. 1876, and that a pew be considered to contain four sittings.”—Carried. A vote of thanks to the Chairman terminated the proceedings. [The balance-sheet will be found in our advertising columns.]

' £ 8. d. Car] vie subscriptions ... 13 10 0 Wairoa do 13 0 Manui ahi do • • • • ■ • ... 2 1G 0 Hawera do ... 0 15 0 Pew Kents ... ... 7 2 f»

ordinary year’s expenditure :— £ S. d. Minister’s salary 200 0 0 Interest on Parsonage 0 0 Lighting & cleaning Church 15 0 0 Contingencies ... 29 0 0 £280 0 0