CONFERENCE OF LAYMEN. CHURCH CONSTITUTION AND SOCIAL REFORM. Auckland, September 20.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 405, 25 September 1889, Page 5

CONFERENCE OF LAYMEN.

CHURCH CONSTITUTION AND SOCIAL REFORM. Auckland, September 20.

A large audience assembled last night in the lecture hall of the V.M.C.A. Buildings, to attend the conference of laymen held in connection with the Auckland Diocese of the Church of the Province of New Zealand. The gallery was well filled with ladies. Bishop Cowie presided, and opened the proceedings by repeating the Lord's Prayer, and reading the Nicene Creed. Mr G. P. Pierce, Chairman of the Executive Committee, explained that the meeting had been resolved upon by a gathering of church-wardens, called by himself in re sponse to a requisition forwarded to him. That such a gathering was required was manifested by the correspondence which had appeared in the daily press. He trusted that the same freedom of thought would be manifested at the Conference as had appeared in the anonymous letters. H6 hoped that they would discuss matters calmly and in a temperate manner. The Committee hoped that this conference would become an annual gathering. Any suggestions that might be made which might be thought to reflect upon the clergy might easily be rebutted either from the pulpit or at the Synods. They all required to be made better and more devoted followers of their Master, and the Committee hoped that this would be the result of the Conference. In conclusion, the Committee disclaimed any connection with the opinions that might be expressed at the Conference. Bishop Cowie expressed the pleasure he felt at presiding. He spoke about the great good which had resulted from tho Lambeth Conference and others of a like nature. Although conferences could not legislate, still they did good. This Conference of laymen was new, but it did not follow that it was not good. He thought that the Executive Committee had chosen the subjects wisely, and it was understood that none but Churchmen would take part in the discussion. He hoped that theaubjecta would be discussed temperately and in a practicable manner. In order to do things in order, he would ask leave to appoint Mr Templar his secretary for the Conference. This was agreed to.

CHURCH CONSTITUTION. Mr Templar then read a paper on " The Constitution of this Provincial Church." He said that he was prepared to accept the utmost responsibility of what was contained in his paper. He should fear nothing but offending against the canon of good taste. Ho considered that their love for mother country was only exceeded by their love for mother (Jhurcb. They must remember how much they owed to the early founders of their Church in this colony. It had been truly said that of all churches, tho members of their Church were the most helpless of any in a new country. That was the difficulty which Bishop Selwyn had to face when he came to this colony. The first thing to be done was to define their position, and at lengch a conference of Bishops Harper and Selwyn, together with the clergy, resulted in a deed of constitution. Two things were laid down — the supremacy of the Crown and loyalty to Mother Church. Therefore no alteration could be made in doctrine by any synod or assembly. Later on, Bishop Selwyn admitted the laity into the Synod, which was perhap3 the surest way of welding together what until then was a rope of sand. But it was thought that those who paid the piper had the right to choose the tone. It had, however, the effect that all orders from the Synod bore the imprimatur of the bishops, clergy, and laity. Therefore they were bound to respect the laws they themselves had made. Their church government was thoroughly democratic. Still, there were some who thought there was developing what might be termed "adoration of Committee." Although they had the power to appoint these committees, still they knew scarcely anything as to who represented them. Their vestrymen they knew more about, *a they collected their small offerings, and let them timber at so much a yard in the shape of pews. The committeeß administered their endowments and the influence of their Synod was decreased. The result of this system was what might be termed the " exaltation of parochialism," which he considered created a kind of bastard Congregationalism, which seb one parish against the other and caused them to show forth their wares as it were and bid against each other for support. It made the priest the dependent minister of an independent congregation, It was a positive curse, as it struck deep at the root of the constitution of their Church. Th6y were, in fact, breaking down the constitution of their Church. What he had once considered the results of their constitution were rather the effects of not working up to their constitution. Let their Bishop speak with authority. Let the Synod, ' and its essence, the Standing Committee, do likewise. Let the Archdeacons — those eyes of the Bishop — instead of being merely ornamental appendages, examine the parochial working, and see that it is properly carried out ; for a feeble administration, like familiarity, bred contempt. (Applause. ) Mr Templar also objected to looseness manifested in taking in all who came from other churches. He pointed out that many simply signed the church-warden's book before the. annual meeting, and thus were made Churchmen for life with power to become a member of the vestry or Synod should the people choose them. He considered such a system bad all round, and dangerous to their constitution, added to which it had also the effect of disturbing the equilibrium of other denominations. God forbid that any should be shut out of the Church, but still it would be wise for them to receive instruction, and if they became loyal Churchmen they would support the Church ; if not they should not have the right to govern others. (Applause.) He also suggested that persons leaving the district should be provided with letters to the ministers of other churches where they were going. He concluded by exhorting them to be united, and then, come what might, they must conquer. (Applause.) Mr G. P« Pierce then spoke about the duties of the Standing Committee. That had such powers and an authority as were given to ifc by the Diocesan Synod. This body was fast losing the position of the fly » wheel which should keep the machinery in motion. At present the most it did was to administer the Home Mission, and in his opinion it should also collect those funds. The Standing Committee should be really a Council of Advice to the Bishop, though thej latter had power to veto any decision of that committee. Mr Fierce then enumerated the duties pf the Standing Committee, and pointed out the necessity that existed for having the best men in the diocese on such a committee. He considered that theirs was one of the freest systems of church government. Mr A. Boardman said that he was told that he would be permitted to speak out boldly what he conscientiously believed was for thegeneral good* He said there

were persons who wrote to the papers who were evidently ignorant of church government. That was shown when it was stated that the Bishop had sent to England for a clergyman, when he had not the power to do so. At present the clergyman was appointed for life, but could leave his parish at a few months' notice. He thought that rather one-sided. (Ap plause.) They had an instance only recently where a clergyman had left his church at a tew weeks' notice. He found, however, that these things might be regulated when the clergyman was appointed, by fixing the term beforehand. By that means they could get lid pf the disgraceful thing called " starving them ouV' He also referred to the system of sending to England for clergymen for city churches, which were really the prizes of the profession. He considered it unfair to the numbers of clergymen who were labouring on small salaries in country districts. It was all well to apeak about the "Hall mark of the University," but he had heard degrees could be got in Auckland equal to those at Home, and if such was the case why should it not be done ? Mr John Abbott expressed gratitude for the clever synopsis given them of the constitution of their Church. Their principles seemed as near perfection as they could get them, but i& was the carrying out lof these principles which was at fault. I He considered that there was not sufficient sympathy between the pulpit and the pew. The command was not *' Go ye into all the world and read the Gospel." Let them throw aside their crutches and preach the Gospel. Then they would hear no more of the odious three-penny bits — they might go to Howick — and funds would flow in abundantly and much good work would result. He would like to see in their churches more of the doctrine of the cross and less of the symbolofthecross. (Applause.) They should get rid of the ritualism and live more in the I spirit of the Father. Then they should j see the work of the Lord amazingly pros- ' por. They wanted men who for ten minutes could speak faithfully from the heart. The diction might perhaps not be so good, but the result would be more satisfactory, (Applause. ) He strongly deprecated the raising of church funds through the medium of bazaars, fancy fairs, lucky bags, raffles, and other cognate abominations, insisting that in their removal and in the adoption of the old Scriptural methods the injunction, "Freely ye have received, freely give," would produce its harvest of welcome and abundant fruit. He further ! advocated a simple form of worship, in which I the sensuous should be eliminated, stating the pleasures of men were divided into four classes, sensational, social, intellectual, 1 and religious ; that it was the duty of every I man on going to church to say to the first of these, " Stay ye bore, while I go and worship yonder," and, the service thus denuded of its sensuous character, a banquet for the intellectual and a good repast for the religious portion of the nature would act with talisinanic influence, and cause the Church to go forth according to marching orders, " clear as the sun, fair as the moon, and terrible as an army with banners."

THE CHURCH IN RELATION TO SOCIAL REFORM. Mr W. Duncan said that his subject wa s an important one. From the first the Church had exercised a great influence upon the people in their temporal as well as their spiritual affairs. He pointed out that under the Mosaic Dispensation religion and politics were blended together, and particular attention was paid to the good of the people. Everything was carefully regulated and the poor were cared for. . Then the minister of God looked after both the temporal and physical welfare of the people. Moses waa one of the greatest political reformers. About 1,400 years afterwards the greatest of all social reformers appeared in Jesus Christ, and through the law of pure benevolence, the narrow spirit of patriotism was raised to one of pure philanthropy. Mr Duncan referred to the good work done in the British Isles by Constantino after his conversion, by Alfred the Great, and in 1215, when the Church made a bold stand to defend the liberty of the people by obtaining the Magna Charta. During the middle ages the Church proved itself to be the true friend of the labourer. In the middle of the 18th century the state of morals was very low amongst the upper classes, and the poor were ignorant and brutal to a degree. In this colony towns were springing up, and it was the duty of the Church to see that a like state of affairs did not develop in these new lands. He spoke about the misery resulting from intemperance, and suggested the formation of inebriate asylums, and thought that the Church might be asked to assist in its promotion. He quoted from the report of the Lambeth Conference with regard to the banishment of the libertine from society, and that social parity wag essential to religious life. (Applause.) He also laid stress upon the necessity of caring for emigrants', which was referred to in the Encyclical letter from the Lambeth Conference. Mr Duncan considered that it was the duty of the Church to set its face against the sweating system. (Applause.) Let Churchmen aim at getting into sympathy with the poorer classes. The question of education also required consideration. He spoke upon thenecessity of moral teaching, when the Bible was excluded from the school. He liked their present system, and hoped they might be able to afford it still longer, but he thought perhaps moral teaching might even change that genus known as larrikins. Time would not permit him to speak on the land question, but he thought that even there the Church might do something towards ameliorating the condition of the poor. Was it outside the province of the Church to teach the people to keep away from social evils, such as gambling and betting, with which might also be classed commercial immorality, a growing evil in the community which they all deplored. Mr Duncan further said that he did not advocate anything like political propagandism on the part of their clergy. The fiecal policy of the Government need not, and should not, be introduced ; nor need the clergy denounce the Government or praise the Opposition. Such conduct wou,ld be derogatory to the success of their high calling. In no way could the Church do more towards social reform than by caring tor the working classes. They must be blind to the signs of the times if they did not see that this wqrk had been, to a great extent, left to other bodies. He advised steady and systematic parochial visitation by the clergy. They saw many of the working classes absenting themselves from church because of the indifference shown towards them by the clergy. He suggested that the clergy should try and impart to their sermons a freshness and a knowledge of the times which was at present somewhat lacking. They should be alive to the fact that the Gospel had to do with the bodies of their flock* as well as their souls, He testified to the good work dpne by past bishops, and also by their present Bishpp and his lady, as was shown in various institutions. (Applause.) Let them " ring out the false, ring in the true " and believe that the golden age was not far behind. Mr Duncan resumed bis seat amidst continued applause.

Mr F. G. Ewingfcon agreed with the sentiments expressed in Mr Duncans paper. The Church was, he considered, the greatest reforming agency in the world. By the term church he meant the organisation founded by Christ — the called out from the world. He spoke about the social evil, gambling, intemperance, the sweating system, that which led to strikes, and also to defying both God's and man's laws. All this was bin, and the Church in striking at sin struck at the root of all, for sin was the cause and the Gospel the cure. They should all combine to work the splendid organisation they had in the Church. The preacher might preach till he was black in the face, but it would be of no use unless he was backed up by the laity. Quickened Church life must of necessity come from the laity. He believed that if the men had the same spirit as the women the work would be much more successful. Mr Hamilton objected to the statement that the Church by apathy had lost its hold upon the masses. It it were true, it was worthy of serious consideration. He men tioned that although their parish rolls showed all sorts and conditions of men as members, still but few attended regularly at the services. The clergyman could not possibly cope with all the work. The laity must assist to the utmost of their ability. He referred to the fact that the greater part of the work in the Sunday-schools was done by the women, and not the men. He did not believe that there was any royal road towards the abolition of poverty by such means as "Land Nationalisation" or " The Single Tax." Society must be regenerated from within, and must be undertaken by all. At present there was a seething mass of discontent underneath society. Already they could hear the mutterings of thunder, and it would be wise for them to set their house in order. Mr Upton considered that some rather severe strictures had been passed upon the clergy, and as they could not speak for themselves he thought he would do so. The clergy had rather a large programme before them. They must visit the sick, marry those who wished, bury those who died, and prepare two sermons for each Sunday. He thought that perhaps they might drop some of the preaching. They did not really want so much. The service of the Church was not preaching, but common prayer. They should magnify a little more the devotional part of the service of the Church. Mr Cornish spoke on behalf of the poor. He did not think that the clergy were so very hard-worked. At Home the clergy managed to .keep their churches full of poor people. Go round the Auckland churches and they would not find the poor people. ; He considered that the people whom they wanted were not those who went to churoh, but those who did not attend. (Applause. ) Mr Hazaldean spoke about the spread of gambling, and expressed the opinion that it led both to intemperance and immorality. He said that the Church encouraged gambling to a most marked degree. (Applause.) If they could show him the difference between putting a pound on the totalisator and speculating in a raffle at a church bazaar he would give in, but he did not think they could. He also objected to theatrical performances in connection with the Church, as tending to develop a taste for theatre-going, and he unhesitatingly said that the Church aid not grapple with the question of social reform. Mr Cox said that the Church was but one aspect of human character. It shared the responsibility of social reform. Were not these things found in the Church itself in denominational strife, exclusiveness, cliquism, supremacy assumed by a few wealthy members of the Church, and gambling, as shown at bazaars ? Might they nob say, "Physician, heal thyself." Yes, let judgment begin at the House of God. The Church must give an answer to the moral sphinx — social reform— or perish. At 10 p.m. the Doxolgy was sung, and the Conference adjourned until this evening.

"CHURCH FINANCE." September 2J f Last evening the conference of laymen held in connection with the Auckland Diocese of the English Church of the Province of New Zealand, was continued in the Lecture Hall of the V.M.C.A. Buildings, The hall was crowded to the doors with churchmen and others, while a large number of ladies occupied seats in the gallery. His Lordship Bishop Cowie presided, and opened the conference with prayer and the reading of the Nicene Creed. The promised paper on "Church •Finance" was read by Mr Thomas Wells, of Cambridge. It dealt, with the subject in four aspect3— stipends of the clergy, maintenance of divine service, endowments and diocesan expenditure. "In addressing myself to this subject," said Mr Wells, " I ask the conference to remember that vital religion is a personal matter between the individual and his God, entailing certain duties absolutely intransferrable, and that to find funds wherewith to carry on the business of the Church is essentially a layman's duty. No excuse, such as the common one that the parson does not do his duty, can relieve us of our 3. !> He would endeavour to point out some drawbacks in the present system of Church finance and offer some suggestions. Amongst the drawbacks were : (1) A want of that vitality, zeal, and determination in religion that would keep people's thoughts and actions more nearly abreast of their professions ; (2) a want of allegiance to the Church and its dulyconstituted authorities ; (3) a miserably narrow congregational spirit rampant throughout the diocese, each congregation caring for and thinking of nothing but their own parish wants ; (4) a want of a more systematic method on the part of the Synod and the parish vestries in dealing generally with church finance. The majority of socalled churchmen thought only of the Church as a christening, marrying, or burying institution, or an institution to be appealed to for aid in time of trouble. They forgot that even for these purposes its existence must be maintained, or else they meanly shirked their liability. In another great section the men attended church occasionally and contributed their odd coins to the offertory, but for the most part delegated their family duties and maintenance of the Church fco others of their household and their female relatives. There were a worthy few iq every congregation on whom fell the burden of maintenance, the duties of vestrymen, Sundayschool teachers, lay readers, sick . visitors and other workers. •' Those few, be it noticed," observed Mr Wells, "form the congregation on wet Sundays." The bulk of the people were only interested in church work when finding fa,ult with the parson, the sermon, the choir, the instrument, the draught, the lights, the dust on the seats, quite ignoring the fact that if all others treated the Church as they did there would be neither parson, choir nqr light. Then, again, in the parishes it was no uncommon thing to find parson and priest practically treating th,e Synpd of the diocese with contempt, and withholding thpir allegiance from the very authprity they had helped to set up. Vfath all this, the Synod appeared powerless to grapple, The system of finance in Toque was most unsatisfactory and haphazard. Under

J it both Synod and jhwh had bub a very vague idea of what th« Ipiount of money at their disposal would t p\ until actually received. If all the pashes did nob help with contributions, nen the Synod's schemes were marred ; nd in the parishes the same was the cas payments being voted on no defined nn. If bhe money came in all was well ; p if not, as often happened, a species omrochial composition was made by jving— the parson, generally — a dividendnstead of the full amount promised.

SUGGESTIONS NT FINANCE. As suggestions for ftancial reform, M* Wells suggested fivt propositions : — (ll That the Diocesan Syijl be invested with authority to assess poshes and to enforce such assessments. (5, That assessments for diocesan purposes Ip made annually by the Synod in session,ad that these rank as a first charge 01 the funds of the parishes. (3) That pjchial estimates of receipts and expend ire, including the diocesan assessment, c considered and adopted by the pmhioners at their annual meetings i January. (4) That a diocesai j clergy endowment be raised for fcb purpose mainly of assisting the outdsticts, and secondly, subsidising parochia ports. (5) That a diocesan churoh Du\\\ing endowment be raised, from whici loaia are to be advanced, to be repaid witho\t irteresp ; no parish to be permitiel to birrov a greater sum than its previoto year* odinary income. A comprehensive, rdiable an< workable scheme of finance, Mi Wells &id, was a necessity to any board ofc directrs, if they were to do good work. 1\ was eqally necessary to the Synod and fes exective. Before the Church's business could be well administered, thy mus put the Synod in the posbion if saying that certain sums cm be reasonably levied in the several prishes ir diocesan purposes, and that the hen sumitted appropriations were the bdt uses t which the levies could be put. Th^assessnants should coyer the amount reqired forthe Home Mission, Melanesian Miiion, Pesion Fund, Diocesan Synod expens3, and he Synod's general votes. It woiid be ncessary to hold statutory meetir^s of he various vestries in December for tie purpose of framing a draft estinite, for .he ensuing year, of parochial receics and expenditure, including the diocesli assesment A minimum subscription nould c collected from every member, thondige t excepted. This would entail a hou^-to-hase canvass. The parson, vestry, andill chirch workers should impress upon he mmbera that «ach and everyone wa^moraiy bound to contribute towards tfe reqjired parish fund, to the best of his ibility The creation of a diocesan clerg' endowment was a matter of vital imporince, and should be proceeded with at tb firstopportunity. 11 Once started, might je nothbpe," asked Mr Wells, " that to he) the impoverished country clergy and tospretd the truths of the Gospel before isolated settlers aome generous Edward 6sfcle/might arise?" Referring to an endoroent raised in the diocese by Bishop Selwp, he said he would appeal to the presen, be^ificiaires' high sense of Christian love ai sel'-sacrifico, and ask them to give theiropq % ty to them to form thenucleus of atrujdisccsan church endowment, and to aid inisisting the country clergy, some of whoi were in positive want. The income frn this fund should be distributed amongsfhe various districts by way of subsidy, I parishes proper, well-settled parochial dtricts and sparselypopulated districts. Ipas a very desirable matter that there shad be a fund from which loans without injrest could be made. The burden of provide necessary church accommodation fell vy heavily on the parishes ior some year and the seven or eight per cent, interestsvas hard to bear. The pension fund waaieserving of great consideration. Regarag giving of support to church funds bjconerregations, Mr Wells thought that if ta necessity of freegiving was properly >laced before the people they would volutarily contribute to \ an amount which woulcbe a great improvement on the present staj of thines, and the Church would, as a conbquence, be blessed with greater prosperiiyind usefulness, Mr Seaman disappjived of the system of holding basars and theatrical performances, which hi held were sinful and dishonourable. Is was opposed to pew rents. , Mr John Abbott dained th*t next to spiritual power nothng was of greater importance to the Chud than a sound and healthy state of tinarcd Mr W. J. Speight gwe it as his opinion that considering theanount of callous indifference of the Chmh people of many parishes, he could sar truly that minister a were very often simpypearls before swine. (Laughter.) He spol^ strongly in favour of free seats in chuihes as '.opposed to rented pews. Was here a 'church, he asked, that had ever jkffered by seat rents being abolished, andiich and poor being admitted to worship their Creator free ? (Cries of "Yes," and 'No, no.") It had been said that the poor dijnot go to church, but on looking at the inferable financial condition, of many churelp it seemed to him as if the poor, and nodbut the poor, always attended church. |ut if the poor really were debarred frow attending worship, whose fault was it ? jvVas it not the fault of the Church itself ad the objectionable means which were jdopted to aseist its funds ? Qod's chujih, he maintained, should be absolutel free to every human being who had i, soul within him. He knew qf parishujers of churches who said that they wouldiever enter a building where pew rents -wre charged. Then ib was no wonder thai the finances of the Church continued td suffer when they resorted to such illegitimate devices for the augmenting of their pvenues, and allowed themselves tq be dneged down co the }evel of nothing more ncrjless than second-rate theatrical companis. Some of those entertainments whichwere constantly being got up in aid of chrches were absolutely immoral. Jt wouldbe better to shut up the churches altogetheiif they could not find some legitimate ajd righteous method of supporting them, 'hen another grave fault he remarked in conection with all churches was their narrow cngregationalism, caring nothing for the intrests of religion beyond their own parbicule little parish. Mr Wansboroup strongly condemned all such objectioable practices of impecunious churpbs as the holding of bazaars, enterfcainients, raffles, etc., and said he had a dcible objection to them on the ground that a person who consoled himself by taking, say, a shilling ticket fo a concert or entertainment in aid of a church, did not really dp so for thegood of the sacred cause but merely to gratis h,is own love for amusement apd to plejse himself. They, as Christians, had no Scriptural warrant for the raising, of funds forchurehos in this manner. He thought that stme influence should be brought to bear or the Diocesan Synod to, induce them to prictically forbid churches augmenting their f »nds by au,ch illegitimate practices as were i»w everywhere in vogue, When a church depended to suoh worldly scheme& for its vilal support she lowered herself in tho eyes qf the world, and this through the efforts of the very people who were working in her cause. If the Church > was to be supported at all, she should be

I supported in a straightforward and manly ! manner by direct and voluntary contributions. Mr J. H. Upton, speaking on church finance, eaid he rather objected to the establishment of He considered that there were many expenses in connection with churches which could be cut down considerably to relieve the strain on the parishioners. There were the necessary expenses, such as the clergyman's stipend, rent, light, cleaning, etc., but some demands on the church funds could be done away with, such as the or ganist, for instance. The congregation should subject themselves to a voluntary rate for the maintenance of the church, and pay what they were able. The offertory occupied a position in the church service which he considered it should not do. It would be more advisable to devote the public offertory to general purposes outside the Church, such as mission funds, etc. The cause of the languishing condition of many a church might be found to lie in,a want of cordial relations and friendly accord between the parson and the congregation. The clergyman, perhaps, had a very independent and earnest conception of his duty, but he often forgot that his parishoners had quite as independent views of their position in the Church.. He thought the parishioners should be allowed to have a voice in the suggestion to the pastor of any advisable changes in the work of the Church. It was no wonder sometimoa that churchmen grew listless and indifferent and lost interest in the welfare of the Church. They were as often as nob completely out of touch with the clergyman of the place. Mr Woodward said that he had not as yet heard any suggestions as to improvement in church finance matters worth listening to. (Laughter.) He characterised the voluntary system of contribution as a most miserablo one Mr F. H. Templar thought it would only tend to make matters worse for laymen to J interfere with a clergyman's duties, and j invade his sphere by making suggestions as to church work and the conducting of the service. He was in favour of the abolition ot pew rents and the establishment of the free-seat system. He condemned bazaars, raffles and like affairs in aid of churches, and thought that no other means of augmenting funds should be allowed save the paying of contributions straight out from the pocket. He would ask all laymen present to do all that lay in their power to sever from any church connection such objectionable methods of " raising the wind." If these were eliminated he believed that the churches would get on much better in every way. Mr Burtt said that there should be some means whereby the individual responsibility of each member of the congregation could be sheeted home to him. If all parishioners would contribute to the extent of their abilities there need be no difficulty in keeping up the church funds. Mr Evans believed that about the whole of the troubles in connection with churches arose out of a lack of friendly accord between the parson and the people. Seat rents, he maintained, could not be dispensed with. Pew rents had been done away with in some churches, but after awhile the very people who had been instrumental in their abolition were now crying out thac they wanted them back again, in lieu of the free-seat system. (Cries of "No.no !") Mr F. G. Ewington said that he had known of some hai'd - working deserving clergymen literally starved out of their parishes and their work, and he would welcome any suggestions which would tend to rectify this 3tate of things. He condemned bazaars and raffles, and spoke in favour of the system of voluntary contributions to church funds. Mr Wells briefly replied to some of the criticisms on his paper. As the hour was now rather late, it was agreed to postpone the reading of the remaining paper, one on ♦• The Church and Education," by Mr Percy Holt, until the annual church meeting, to be held on October 10th. A vote of thanks was accorded to Bishop Cowie for presiding at the meetings of the Conference. The "Te Deum" was then sung, Mr Vincent E, Rice playing the organ accompaniment. The gathering closed with the Benediction, pronounced by Bishop Cowie.