The Temuka Leader. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1878.

Temuka Leader, Volume I, Issue 93, 6 November 1878, Page 2

The Temuka Leader. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1878.

The importance of studying the action of the settlers in the Geraldine County -.is to our urind so. great that we deem it .auvisablo to to the subject again in preference to writing on subjects which, although they mvist not be lost

Y\"(? arc pleased to sec so much interest taken in the present elections, not only in Temuka .Hiding-, but in all the other .Hidings. In Temuka Riding there are five candidates. One opposed to the adopting of the Act, two who opposed it till within a few days of the nominotion, cine new candidate, wiiu p'edgis himself to supj.;oit the Aet being brought into force, and one who has openly declared for it for years pa*t. It is nut for us to decry any of Ihe candidates We do not know from Avhat motive some of them have changed tiM'ir views at the last moment. We v.-ill not ascribe an impure motive to any. In Geraldine Riding there are two candidates —one for and one against adopting the Act. In Mount Peel Hiding we hear there are-two —one fur and one against. Levels Riding only the two o\l members are yet in the held, both of which, wo believe, arc favorable to giving the Act a trial. Mount Cook Hiding—we only hear of the former member, who is understood to be against it. Taking the whole together," we think there wiil be a majoritv of the members returned in favor of adopting the whole Act, with which prospect we are pleased, as Ave think it would not only be a pecuniary loss, hut very dangerous to longer resist the wishes of the majority of the ratepayers, vdewing, as we do, the possibility of Aveighty matters having to be dealt with. County Omncils work well in Australia where they have become a vital part of the constitution. In England, as well as in other old countries, counties have been in operation from time immemorial, and useful legislative courts they have been wherever they have been "in operation. In Xew Zealand counties have become a necessity as a form of Government absolutely nece'ssarv from the abolition of the Provincial Government. Without them centralism would soon become the curse of the colony. One thing connected with the present agitation wo like—that is, that the people seem in favor of trusting their interests to members chosen from the people, to handing such powers over to land sharks or money grubbers. In this respect the colony is undergoing a great change. So much jobbing took place by the upper classes, Avhen left in power, that the people decline longer to trust them. All over the colony a dead set is being made against this rule a'f property is" becoming more equally divided amongst the Avorking and industrious classes, who, hoav that they have a stake in the country, are seeing more to to the proper disbursement of public money every year, and as time rolls on this agitation Avill increase, the middle classes, as Ave may term thorn, Avill drive aside the would be aristocrats. We do not Avish to see mob law, but in a new country like this we like to see honour given to whom honour is due, and the reward of honest industry bestowed imon those avlio have been, and are, the staystrength of the country.

Last Sunday afternoon onr Presbyterian minister indulged in one of those periodica] abusive harangues so peculiar to the Presbyterian minister of this parish, which can only be accounted for, if at all, by being schooled wrongly in early rife. In this instance the Temtjka Leader seems to have been the object of his attack. On Wednesday, 21st ult., amongst other local matters, we took notice of the wretched, state of the Scotch Church, thinking it might be n means of stirring np our Presbyterian friends to take some steps to bring about a change. In the paragraph referred to we stated a few facts which will be • found republished below for the information of those who have not seen it before. What cause there is for offence we are at a loss to know. The facts stated our informant reiterates, and in addition he says there has been no meeting of the ses sion of that congregation for two or three years, and instead of the Sunday-school being only closed two weeks (as wrongly stated by Mr Barclay), it iias been closed for months. The reverend gentleman stated, in the course of his speech, that the paragraph stated the church was a perfect wreck ; that in his opinion meant the church blown clown and lying in ruins. This is another mis-statement ; the word perfect is not in the paragraph. We are sorry to listen to such perversion of the truth from the pulpit. We do not need our informant to repeat that the church is a wreck ; it has been in everybody's month for man)' months, aye, even for years past—broken windows, broken spouts, ridge-boards off, shingles off, and no paint has the walls seen for seven or eight years. We, in writing as we did, meant no offence to any one. We wrote as strongly about the untimely visit of Father Henneberry, our Catholic friends took no offence ; we also criticised the proceedings of our Church of England friends with regard to the charitable aid question, and we are not aware of any of their ministers denouncing us from the pulpit for it. We are glad to say no other Presbyterian minister, as far as we know, makes his pulpit the arena for abusing those who offend him, and wish it were not so often made use of here. It has driven many away from the church already, and if persisted in will likely drive away the that are left. So far as the Leader is concerned, we have no cause to complain. It is a good advertisement, and the facts as stated are facts still ; but we say if Mr Barclay was dissatisfied, our columns were open to him, and we would have allowed a wide latitude, even for abuse of ourselves, did

such give him any gratification, but wo repeat Ave arc sorry to see the place, sot part for the sacred worship of God made

an arena fur stirring up strife amongst Christian friends. Had wc published some of the numerous letters we haA r e been asked to insert about the state of the church and parish, Ave would have been .blamed, as wo now are, for not inserting them ; but however ready avc may be to expose abuse, Ave will not make the Leader a vehicle for conveying personal spleen. One other point our informant invites to take notice of, that the Geraldine, Temuka. and Point parish all in one extends rrom the Rangitata to Timaru, and from '{he sea to the snowy mountains, including the Mackenzie Country, Mount Peel, Four Peaks, and all the Presbyterian settlers in the Mackenzie Country and the five townships of the Point, Temuka, Winchester, Geraldine, and Scotsburn, and covers an area of thirty miles by say seventy, thickly settled, and that there are three or four churches and five or six school-rooms, hold Avorship in the Presbyterian form, and only one clergyman for the whole of this Avide range of country—one-fourth .as large as all Scotland. One informant isks who is to blame for this. He say>«inisters are ready and would be glad to come and take a share of the parish. He says the people are able and willing to pay for another minister, and he asks why lias not Temuka a minister for itself. This we give as we receive it, leaving those to give an ans Aver who can. Only one word more will Ave add, and it is this, Avith such afield as this to labor in—baptisms, marriages, and funerals to attend to—it is no Avonder Temuka does not receive much more than two afternoon services a month from the minister of:the parish. Hoav, then, can the Church prosper 1 The Presbyterians do not favor laypreaching. The folloAving is the paragraph above referred to: —"At a meeting of the Presbyterian Church Committee, held on Monday last, a resolution was passed ..that the Church be immediately repaired and painted. This is not before it is needed. ' The Presbyterian body may be considered the wealthiest body in the district, yet it is behind ail the other churches in improvements. Unlike our friends of the English Church, who trust somewhat to the honor and liberality of its adherents, Sandy likes to see where the money is coming from before he embarks upon any scheme. The present is, hoAvever, a departure from this rule, the improvements are to be gone on '-with, and the congregation Avill be asked to contribute each their share of the cost, -which, Ave have no doubt wdiatever, they Avill do most readily. Unlike the other churches, the Scotch Church does not seem to make progress. Their church is a Avreck, Avithout a resident minister, Avithout a Sabbath school, without a Bible class, or regular meeting of any kind to promulgate her doctrines, she is no credit to her supporters. We hope this is not to continue much longer. It'is not a good sign to see religion so neglected in our midst, and Ave hope to see our Presbyterian friends bestir themselves in the matter, and not only repair their Church, but take steps to build a new one, and that shortly, as the Presbyterians of Temuka may soon have a clergyman to themselves."