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Poverty Bay Standard, Volume II, Issue 137, 19 February 1874, Page 2

Sir, — Mr. Root seems to have the nerve of an iron horse. I have been reading his Napier speech, and, although I am not astonished (knowing what the rev. gentleman can do in the “ long bow ” line) I am, nevertheless, very much annoyed at the attempts he makes to reflect all the credit of Church initiation in Gisborne on himself. Mr. Root is under too much obligation to the members of other denominations (who, after having been politely fleeced out of the major part of the £177 he prates so much about, have yet to build their own Churches) for him easily to forget to what influences he owes the near prospect of a Church at all. It is not true, as Mr. Root implies, that because he set about Church building, “ two others ” are about to follow suit. Both the Church of England and the Catholic Church had the subject under consideration, prior to the Rev. Mr. Root taking up the Presbyterian list, only they proceed in a little more modest way. In fact Mr. Root must remember that until the Church of England members had decided to build a Church without further delay, no decided action was taken by him, and as he had acknowledged to seeing no prospect of having funds sufficient for that purpose, suggestions were made that the use of the English Church, when built, should be guaranteed to the Presbyterian body. Mr. Root should have said that not until he saw a probability of general aid being withdrawn from him altogether, — on his project becoming known that he intended to build a Manse for himself with the bazaar proceeds, instead of erecting a Church—did he really set to work in the matter of Church building. On the whole I think the support given to Mr. Root’s Church business is far more creditable to the community than the means employed to get the money together.—Yours, &c., Churchman.