THE BISHOP OF DUNEDIN.

Southland Times, Issue 894, 5 February 1868, Page 2

THE BISHOP OF DUNEDIN.

The following correspondence, extracted front the Guardian, will be read with interest :— Sir —Allow me to draw attention, through. your columns, to a memorial to the Archbishop of Canterbury from Churchmen in the Province of Southland, New Zealand, part of the proposed new diocese of Dunedin. [We quoted this . memorial in the Gfvardian of September 11.] Iti object, you will see, is to pray His Grace to represent to Dr Jenner, the Bishop consecrated with a view to his taking charge of this southern portion of the Colony, the strong feeling of Church-people against the new derelopments of doctrine and ritual. We are a set of very good moderate Churchmen, and are anxious for th© future peace and welfare of the Church of England in New Zealand. A few remarks only need be made upon the petition to render it clear to those ignorant of all the circumstances of the case. The Bishop of New Zealand, without any authority to do so at that time, wrote to the Archbishop of Canterbury to nominate a clergyman suitable for a new see he was anxious to ! have, formed. The Archbishop nominated Dr Jenner, who wrote out to learn the feelings of the members of the Church, whether they would receive him as their chief pastor. Their representatives were summoned to meet in Dunedin, and passed the strongest resolutions condemning the whole business, and alno declaring it premature. This was the prompt and decided answer of the Church out here. These resolutions, however, were never sent officially to Or Jenner, having been afterwards vetoed by the Bishop of Christchurch. r. We much wish the opinion of our brother Churchman at Home upon the way of doing things out here. The result was that, whether Dr Jenner received this reply of the members of the Church to his question or not, we very shortly afterwards heard that he was consecrated. The Board met again in February, 186S, and the impression then was that Dr Jenner was at that time very probably on his way, or he would be before communications could reach him; and very naturally resolutions were allowed to pass that he should be welcomed on his arrival. Since then we have heard, but only lately, that he was likely to remain in England for the Lambeth Conference, and steps were immediately taken to make known to him the dissatisfaction felt in the colony, and, above all, at his making himself conspicuous among the leaders of the extreme party, which has more and more continually shaken confidence in him. For his own sake, and for the peace of the Church in the future, we would urge upon him the inexpediency of coming out to New Zealand under any circumstances. By finding room for this despatch you will oblige a large number of the Churchmen, and also, —Your obedient servant, W. F. OIJOHAM, Incumbent of Eiverton, N.Z. Kirerton, Southland, N.Z., July 20,1867. Sib, —Mr Oldham's letter in your impression of this week requires some notice from me. I beg, therefore, that you will be good enough, to insert the following observations in your next number. Mr Oldham is a hard-working clergyman in Southland. All I have heard of him is most favorable, and all has been told me by an intimate lay friend and neighbor of his in the colony. Yet it is from this very friend and neighbor that I have received a letter, dated July 18th —two days before Mr Oldham's —which contains the following passages: — i v." There is a movement on foot which, should this find you still in England, may. cause yon much annoyance, although I trust you will not see in it anything, to defer you from entering upon your duties, but rather an incentive to exertion. Let me explain my meaning. I enclose a copy of a memorial, originated, I grieve to say, by my Jriend Mr Oldham, to obtain signatures to which the most discreditable means have been resorted to —garbled extracts from Home papers have been industriously circulated, also all sorts of misrepresentations of your words, actions, &c. Every name on the list has thus been obtained by personal canvass. But this is not all. I have positively ascertained that the names of known and professed Nonconformists have been appended, among the members and office-bearers of the Church. Unless from this class, Ido not believe a single person in Invercargill [the metropolis of Southland] has signed, for the Invercargill vestry very properly prohibited Mr Oldham from introducing the memorial among the congregation, and passed a resolution requesting him not to interfere in that parish. I also send you a letter from Mr Oldham, which appeared in last Monday's paper. I cannot express strongly enough my disgust at the discourtesy and uncharitableness both of the letter and the me* morial. Long ago I warned you that my father and I, in common with most Churchmen down here (Southland), were averse to the new bishopric, but assured you that, now the step has been taken, you might rely on our support. I now repeat the assurance; .and, to show you that we are in earnest, I may tell you that my father, as churchwarden and lay reader, has this vary day written to the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of New Zealand, and the Bishop of Christchurch, warning them of the true character of the memorial." My object in giving these extracts from my correspondent's letter is assuredly not to cause pain or mortification to Mr Oldham, to whom I can* not for a moment impute complicity with the " discreditable "• measures above described, but only to show my friends in England that the opposition to my appointment, formidable as it ssems to be, is by no means universal. As to the future, I have only to say that nothing that has yet been advanced —perhaps I ought to say that can be advanced —will prevent, though ifc will no doubt delay, my proceeding to my diocese, and giving myself to the work to which I have been set apart, and to which I humbly trust God has called me. With Mr Oldham, and my other opponents, I hope to be associated in many a labor of love, having for its object the glory of God and the building up of His Church. They may be assured that wherever I see real worth, wherever real zeal and earnestness are displayed in the service of our common Lord, thither,- whatever differences of opinion there may be, will my warm sympathies extend. For myself, I purpose, God helping me,- to work as hard as my strength, enables me; so that, in one thing at least, I shall have a bond of union with all true and- hearty laborers in the Lord's vineyard. It is too much to ask my present enemies, but as I trust future friends, not to judge me, unseen and unheard, on mere vague rumours or unfriendly newspaper reports, or to impute to me views and intentions that I disclaim ? I appeared to those who have known me longest, and have had the best opportunity of observing my career as a parish priest, whether, amidst many shortcomings, 1 have ever been charge* ble with disturbing the peace of. the Church, or of particular parishes; or of attempting to force or drive people into an acceptance of my opinions. And I repeat here what I declared at York this time last year, that if any one expects that, on my arrival in. New Zealand, I am going to set up advanced ritual or any ritual beyond what the Colonial Churchmen are prepared for and desire, he wiil find himself very much mistaken. H. L, Duitidih. October 5,1867. Sir—lt seems only right that some notice should be taken of the letter in your last impression signed "W. F. Oldham, Incumbent of Kivertoh, N.Z." with reference to the appointment of Bishop Jenner to the diocese of Dunedin. I have had every opportunity for being able to bear my testimony aa to the way in which Bishop Jenner has worked for thirteen years in the parish of Preston-next-Wingham, of' which he is the vicar, as my. relations have been the: parishioners, of the Bishop during the whole of his incumbency. ,: I am able, then,, to affirm, not only to satisfy those friends of the Mission who may not be personally acquainted with the Bishop, but also to re.-

assure those members of his dico3se who may be hesitating to -welcome him as their chief pastor, th»t the work of the Church in Preston parish has been carried on not only faithfully but •wisely. The daily service, "weekly celebrations, beautifully restored church, with their increased congelations and multiplied communicants, bear witness to his zeal ; while the /act that though all these things hare been done in a place ■where from long prescription Protestantism had prevailed, yet none of the " weaker brethren hare been hurt, nor could an "aggrieved parishioner" be found, gives evidence of the charity and care with which the Bishop has acted. Nothing can be more hearty than were the yearly Harvest Festivals, when the parishioners (farmers, &c) bore their willing testimony to the reformation that " their worthy vicar had carried out j and equally significant was the universal regret that was expressed upon Jhe appointment to the Bishopric of Dunedin, which they felt would be their loss. What I desire to impress upon your readers is this, that there has not been the usual acquiesce nee in the ministrations of a clergyman content to let his par.sh care ior itself, and willing to leave it as he found it, but a hearty appreciation of much work which, however good in itself, is seldom | carried out without some opposition, inasmuch as it calls for self-sacrifice from the people as well as the priest, and which therefore testifies to the manner in which Bishop Jenner has wrought What has been his rule and habit in an English parish will, we may be sure, be the mark of his ministry in the New Zealand diocese. Those over whom he is set in the Lord may be assured that he will give them just what ritual they may be able to receive ; and I have no doubt but that Mr Oldham himself will one day be found to bear his testimony on behalf of that Bishop whom he now condemns unheard, and whom he seeks to prejudice in the eyes of his friends and future people. Feanoxs Slateb. The Grammar-school, Sudbury, Suffolk.

Sib, — My attention has been directed, in a recent number of your journal, to a letter from the Bishop of Dunedin, in reply to cne from the Key W. F. Oldham, incumbent of Riverton, N Z. Having taken an active part in Church matters in Dunedin, as churchwarden and lay reader, since I first landed there in 1854, and having also been present, as a member, at the February meeting of the Rural Deanery Board to which Mr Oldham refers, I beg permission to mate known, through your columns, certain proceedings initiated by myself in reference to the Bishop of Dunedin, prior to your receipt of Mr Oldham's communication, which may throw some light on the subject of the letters in question. First of all, it is necessary to refer for a moment to the deliberations of the Rural Deanery Board in February. The appointment of a Bishop was then condemned by all as premature, and was totally rejected by some as unauthorised. But there is no doubt that the chief, if not the only Berious objection was purely on personal grounds; for with the news of the appointment we received public and private reports of Bishop Jenner's High Ceurch views and ritualistic practices, to which I am happy to believe the Church in New Zealand is firmly and • unanimously opposed. Indeed, had it not been for the expectations of his lordship's early arrival, I am satisfied there would have been, even upon the strength of those vague rumors, a unanimous protest against the appointment, and measures would then have been taken to get it rescinded if possible. For myself, I was disinclined to believe those reports, but soon after my arrival in England at the end of last May I saw enough at the " Feast of Dedication" of St. Matthias's, Stote Newington, in the celebration of which the Bishop of Dunedin took a most conspicuous part, to prove that the reports were in no way exaggerated, and to convince me that we may well be alarmed for the safety of our Colonial Church if the doctrines and practices inculcated at St. Matthias be ever introduced into New Zealand, especially if introduced under the auspices of a Bishop selected for the Colony by the Primate of England. I am so convinced of the sympathy of all my fellow-colonists on this moat important question, that I represented the facts to his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, when his Grace expressed his entire disapproval of Bishop Jenner's practices since the appointment was made, and ■anctioned the course which I proposed to adopt with a view to the Bishop's resignation— viz., to obtain a decided expression of opinion from Churchmembers in the diocese in regard to that appointment. I accordingly despatched by the June mail a full report of the proceedings which I witnessed at St. Matthias's, together with the result of my interview with his Grace, and have no doubt that the reply, which may be expected shortly, will satisfy Bishop Jenner that the opposition is not Only formidable but universal. Meanwhile, the " Memorial " referred to was set on foot in the diocese before my arrival in England was reported, and although said to be not altogether genuine, it is at least, on the part of all Church members who signed it, a confirmation of my own feelings against the introduction of ritualism in the Colonial Church. With regard to the Bishop disclaiming in his letter any intention of "setting up advanced ritual, or any ritual, beyond what the colonists are prepared for and desire," we can only judge of the tree by its fruits, and since his lordship has exhibited not only at St Matthias's, but in other so-called Proteßtant Churcheß, unmistakeable evidences of faith in advanced ritualism, I cannot understand how with his " real earnestness and zeal " he can do otherwise than both preach and practise it, as opportunities may occur, in the Colonial diocese. I therefore consider it to be the duty of all true Churchmen in the Colony to unite in protecting the Colonial Church against the admission of Ritual innovations, which as police reports too frequently show, are productive of scandal and riot in many sacred edifices, and are assuredly undermining the constitution of the Church generally in the Mother Ojuntrv. I have only to add that I did not fail to acquaint Bishop Jenner with every step in the course which I have pursued in opposition to him, and urged the expediency of delaying his departure from England until he could.«atisfy himself as to the views entertained in the diocese of his appointment, and the reception he was likely to meet in the Colony. The Bishop, no doubt, rankß me among the number of those whom he calls his " enemies. I can assure his lordship that, as I entertain every feeling of respect for his high office, so I disclaim any idea of enmity against himself personally ; but I am most thoroughly opposed to his extreme views and practices which I conscientiously believe to be un-Protestant, and fetal to the unity of the Church of England. Wh. Cabb Yomsa. 8, Albion-street, Hyde Park, W,; October 23, 1867.