ST. MARY'S CHURCH.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 22 August 1907, Page 2

ST. MARY'S CHURCH.

i'iLL K-NiAUUEAiEXi' WUHHJiiALy. 'ilk'le a t'ilii' ilUcinlaut-J Ol at the llieeiing held ill S:. ihiil l.isi uiglit Lo consider Uie (jutalioii of enlarging the present ciiuivil | intiiding*. iit'V. J. Drucklehur&t yiv sided. | -Ur 0. K liaker, on behalf of the' vtstry, stilted what had been dum:' since the Joi'mer parishioners' meeting,' which luid authorised the vesLrv to ':a:

tenders for the work on the plans sub. miUcd I»y Air Alountford. A sub-com-miitce bad In'on formed, and the plans! ;uid .spceilications carefully considered,' all unnecessary ornamentation being! dispensed with to save expense. Xheyj were handicapped considerably by .'ha! tact that lliey had to enlarge a lopsided church, with low walls, and 110 plans eonld be prepared to make, from f tin's a building, of really ocelcsiastiaall appearance. The architect's estimate lor trie proposed extension was ,£31)00, u> £3300, exclusive of the cost ofligut-! in?, seating, moving tile organ, pu'loit, architect's fees, etc. He thought tint, fully ,£4500 would be needed. There; was at present in hand .£140!) 12s 2d,| leaving nearly £3IOO to he raised. The vestry's sub-committee, after full oon-j sideration, had recommended that ten'l ders be called for the work according to I Mr -Mountford's plans, provided that} £2OOO were assured. The vestry, how- 1 , ever, had not. adopted that view, and he did notfavor it himself. Jfr \V. If.. Skinner submitted a state-1 ment of the position of ihe flovett: Memorial Fund. There was CS2O 17s 2d in hand, and £135 additional i>;, d been promised. . A lengthy Jelter from Archdeacon Lole uiged the importance of further- , ing mission work rather than costly enj iargemems with attendant debt.

in answer to Air Shaw, .Mr CJov.'tt! said tlie increase of the architect's esti-l mate by £IOOO was made because ilie committee looked forward to the turns j when St. -Mary's would be ihe cathedral' church of the Xaranaki diocese, necessitating a much larger ehoir. The architect in giving eil'ect to their recommendation hail considerably raised the roof of the church.

ill' Bedford considered it would be a'i mistake to saddle tlie parish with sneli 1 a great incubus of debt as proposed. j, -Mr f.'ovett regretted the eouarliyj tone of the meeting. The recomnieiuU ! lion of till! sub-committee was sound and business-like. Taking into coji-j -idemtion the material on hand he did not think the work would actuallv c ist j more than £IOOO. The proposal' \\.,s to borrow £2OOO. At if, per cent, llie interest would be £!)0 a'vear. The in- 1 seating (150 seats') would earnj fully £OO a year, and surely offertories' would be increased by There was! the interest provided for. lie urged tint the subscribers to the f.'oveit' Memorial fund had a right to see their, money expended during their lifetime j. 1 Mas the congregation chary of sub-! stanlially recognising 5.3 years of the hest work ever done by a man for a' eliureh, or were they going to keep postponing until the name memorial heeanie a were mockery? Any comrv. gation, he thought, should be prepared, to underlalce this enlargement when one family had promised oue-fourt.li of; the cost. fie moved tint tenders he! called and tile work proceeded with,' provided tliiit £2OOO were assured. Mr \V. I). Webster Seconded. The congregation should not he afraid of tlie project. Mr Cook said lie would take second place to lio one in his appreciation of the work of the late Archdeacon Govott or desire for a memorial. He was one of the "cowards" mentioned hv Mr' fiovett, for he thought the cluireii debt <iuite heavy enough. He favored <t| memorial by the erection of a north! ; transept. In answer to Mr Govctt's I | figures, lie ivould mention that if this! I were made a cathedral church there I would he- no seat rents..

-Mr W. H. Skinner favored that idei, for the funds warranted it. Wiiv, he asked, should St. Mary's go on jiiling up its debts when there were such i rgent ajipeals from the country districts? He opposed llie motion.

-Mr K K. Wilsou considered an addiction plus a mortgage was not a memor- ; ,:1 '- '' hey owed a duty to the living as I well as (o He dead. They hud to°continue (0 depend largely 011 St. Mary's. Churchmen should set their faces against, debt in any form 011 elmrch projperty. He moved as an amendment jlliat the memorial take the form of a (transept on the northern side. 1 Mr Baker seconded. There wis jio't a regular unsatisfied demand for seating. Scat rents were falling off. in 1003 there were 402 scats rented: I'SS ln lltot, 410 in 190i>, 390 in 1900, and 373 in 1907. In his opinion the enlargement, with its additional free scats, I would all'ect the revenue, for there would he less need for rented seats. Mr flovelt's idea of 150 extra rented sittings would not lie realised. -Messrs S. ]V. Shaw, N, Hooker, and ]!. Enroth also spolte. 'The amendment was withdrawn, Mr Govett asking for the motion to he put for a direct affirmative or negative. The motion was put and lost. Mr Shaw then moved that it he an instruction to the vestry to obtain amended plans for tile enlargement more in keeping with present requirements and with the funds available, and Saving due regard to the future completion o£ the church.

Mr •Samlford seconded, and the mo. lion was tarried, after some discussion as to whether the meeting had power' to deal with any subject but Mr Mount- j lort's plans. * j