PRESBYTERIAN PARSONS INSESSION (BY A STRANGER.) Auckland Feb 20.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 345, 23 February 1889, Page 3

PRESBYTERIAN PARSONS INSESSION (BY A STRANGER.) Auckland Feb 20.

It is a painful bufc undeniable faob that during bhc past quarter of a century it has been almost impossible to be present at a Presbyterian Assembly for moie than an hourvvithoubhearing a squabble. Onereason for this i.s that the ministers themselves as a body are extremely opinionative, and will rarely lisben to an outside word of advice. As my own father is a Presbyterian pai'son, I was brought in contact with shoals of white chokers from boj'hood, and speak from behind the scenes. They are much better company in a smok-ing-room, and much better Christians at home, than when they appear in Congress. The Moderator of the Assembly now completing- its session at Auckland is the Rev. A. M. Beattie ; he is, of course, chairman, and as such seems to have the respect ot the house, inasmuch as he was not attacked all morning, his black gown and good presence perhaps going a long way to command attention. Alongside you see the venerable ex-Moderator with a mitreshaped smoking cap on, and on the other hand the clerk with jaunty-air smoking cap, and sorb of expression which says — "lam de boss." The members themselves are well dressed, a great thing -nothing like appearances in matters clerical — and one or two had pretty flowers in their coats, the Rev. J. Tread we 11 being a downright swell. The Rev. Mr Steel now has a grievance. He wants bo know why the clerk of the Assembly sent cortain instructions to the Registrar-General on behalf of a Presbytery when those instructions were not what were wanted nor what were correct, j The Rev. J. Sidey, who is not so affected as his name implies, and who is the gentleman responsible for letters and minutes of the Church, gave a look that would take the edge oH harder steel than his " brother," and translates the statement gratuitously into a distinct charge of carelessness or something else. Mr Steel begins to explain, of course. Mr Runciman, a sorb of powerful Aaron, rises to a point of order and objects to Mr Steel spaaking at all. Mr Lennox, an elder, rises to a point of order. Mr Sidey begins to blame previous Moderator. Mr Treadwell rises to a point of order and wants to know from the Moderator how Mr Sidey dare interrupt Mr Lennox. Mr Gillies in a business-like way recounted the whole circumstances and tried to pour the usual oil on the customary troubled waters, which by the way, must have been Grey's lemonade. This game wouldn't work — in fact, was utterly futile, as Mr Steel would make an amendment. Four gentlemen rose to points of order. Mr Steel tried another amendment. Fi\e ministers rose bo points of order. Mr Steel gave notice of motion. The Moderator finished him in one short act. Driven to desperation, he then moved, '" That the cleik's explanation is unsatisfactory." St. St. Binp — the flint and steel had met, and the spark was on the P res by be nan tinder. Mr Sidey then announces trouble for everyone and thieatens to " call bhe whole Auckland Presbytery to the bar." Oh, shades of Sir William Fox 1 Oh, poor pious Presbyterian Ponsonby people, that such an invitation should be given in such a place ; how c*n you close your baits with a body like that thirsty ? The explosion blew the rules of debate sky-hisrh, but what goes up must come down, which things did mnst, ignominiously. Mr Gillies magnanimously withdrew his amendment : Mr Steel withdrew his motion, and the gentle pei suasion of the quiet members of the house made Mr Steel eat back the oi'iginal question, and the v\ hole matter dropped. It had served its purpose. A ro,w had to come, and ib was done handsomely and well ; the onlookers got the value of their money, and the Assembly could go on with business without feeling thafthey acted with foo much brotherly love. The Modei ator then called on the overture ot the Confession of Faith. The Rev. R. Sommervillc is a man of extremely thoughtful countenance, high forehead and short grey beard ; the hair on his head was standing on end on Friday, presumably with fear of bhe consequences which his bombshell would bring forth. Before he finished several of hife brethren's hair was also on end with Scottish horror. The broadside which was poured into the Westminster Confession of Faith was something that seveiely taxed the ingenuity of the following speakers to answer. Mr Sommerville was, indeed, a plucky man to undertake such a burden, and yefc all men of thought should thank him sincerely for so doing. Hundreds of the old school will speak of him as a heretic — he may even lose to some"exteut in popularity ; but, as he him&elf pointed out, was not Christ the most unpopular man of his time ? Moreover, every man who has endeavoured to broaden nanow tiacks in the thought of the religious world has been coldly, and sometimes even disgracefully, treated. Finality in theological science, as the reverendgentleman expressed ib,isathing to bedeploied; the Christian Churches allow the Holy Bible to be revised so soon as it became certain that enors had crept in, and yet they object to any alteiation in a work where the errors are undoubted and where many paragraphs are such as to make Christianity repulsive in the extreme ; it seems bo onlookers that a desire still exists to cling superstittou&ly to everything old and that savours of fire and brimstone. Mr Sommerville said all he was prepared to in the 20 minutes allowed him, and just said ib so well that no subsequent speaker was able to shake his arguments ; they one afcer another avoided the subject by putting it off. " Nob yet bhe time " was their cry. Therein lies the safety of the Confession — nob in its merits in its present state, but in the fact that the " meenisters " are frightened of a few members perhaps in their church or of studying the matter properly for themselves. There is one man whom I should like to have heard opeak in the matter — the Rev. A. Carrick ; he seemed bo be much of a specbator at bhe Assembly. The evening session is the one most patronised by the public, but on Friday nighb bhe "show " opened rather quiebly. The Rev. Erwin had something to say about missions. Among other speakers, one gentleman struck me very much - the Rev. Mr Patterson, of Wellington. His clerical co&bume is nearly evening dress — albogebher very spruee — bub from the seat of Government you expect more than from elsewhere. It was proposed to give a missionary two years' furlough, and on thoroughly good grounds Mr Patterson opposed ib, and carried bhe house with him. The Rev. Mr Macnicol, in his own mild, gentle manner, agreed to reduce bhe bime, and retired fiom debate. J Then a gentleman, small of stature bub of high degree, read a short speech from his

J belltopper in the pew in front of him on the | splendid work the missionary had done. 1 During all this there i& a short, stout minister, who always sits with his back to the Moderator, eyeing the reporters' table, where the two courteous pressmen allowed me to &it. This is the Rev. Mr Ogg ; he did his best to mesmerise me. He, by the way, ig one of the swells here. The Rev. Mr Calder is very quiet afc night time ; he bad gone in straight for the Contep&ion in the morning and his high forehead seemed tumblingoverhisspectaclesjnot so with our friend, Mr Tread well for he is right up to time again ; the flower of the morning is still there, but very dried-up looking. However, it was to the last named gentleman that we were indebted for the pantomime of the evening: ; a row could not be worked up anyhow ; not a soul would even ask the clerk a question about minutes; so Mr Tread well got up, declared that the missionaries had great deal easier times than many cleigymen here, and it is so without doubt — in fact, it is just a question whether there is not ample scope for two or more missionaries in this city, where English savages abound. The speaker's words carried great weight, inasmuch as his chair collapsed, so that after finishing speaking he still occupied the "floor of the house." The downfall was a godsend to listeners who were not directly interested. After it I went home to feet and slog the cat because no one rose to a point of order. Saturday morning was the last show of a disturbance before the Sabbath, and walking up I silently bet St. Andrew's spire a shilling that disappointment awaited me. St. Andrew of course knew a thing or two and won : the shilling went to the collection plate there on Sunday because the row came off. If the Board of Management have any compunctions about that shilling they can return it to me — gambling is a pernicious habit. In a moment of mental aberration, Aye presume, the Rev. Mr Fell decided to join the Presbyterian Church. The Rev. G. B. Monro asked the Assembly fco admit him. Mr Gillies didn't see this, and there followed a regular " barney," in which pretty warm words were used, which resulted in the applicant being refuged admission to a church that had " so much unity of action," as he nicely, but surely ironically, put it in his request. Oh yes, Presbyterians ai'e all the same : I suppose Mr Fell does not carry a bhorter catechism in the lining oE his bat — there must be something like that. The motion, made was one by Gillies, The cause of strife was hard to tell. Oh. white-tied blackcoats, aren't you sillies To waste you're time in " fighting Fell V