The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1888. A Parish Squabble.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 3052, 13 November 1888, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1888. A Parish Squabble.

The parish squabble in S. Matthew's Church last evening, which is reported in another column, is ono of those little temposts in a teapot by which the laity.iu.therChurch $ England aro wont'occasidnally.tocleartlie air. Such scenes' afe' : of' frequent occurrence in the various dioceses of this colony, and are the natural outcome of the peculiar method of government observed in the Episcopalian Church. Only the other day we read in the Duuedin Star a report of an Anglican Synod, in which an effort was being made lo arrange vestry troubles of the character which are now being experienced in' Mastei'tou. Tho Bev A. B. Pitchett- at?, that gathering stated that during the-year, at Koslyn seven vestrymen and two churchwardens had resigned their offices simul. taneously, and the incumbent seemed to have found himself very embarrassed in taking steps to fill the vacancies, Koslyn was a duly constituted parish, and no person could interfere in its domestic affairs, but tho incumbent not seeing his way to fill tho vacancies seemed to have asked advice from the Bishop's Commissary. When one vestryman resigned the rest- might' elect a

successor to him,; but in. this case there w ; ero only three members of the vestry left, who did not form a quorum, and it was impossible for them to proceed in that manner, The Bishop's Commissary apparently did not see his way, and communicated with the Standing Committee to advise him. The Chancellor of the Diocese (Mr Haggitt), gave a view of tho statuto surprising in the last degree to' all • the members of the Standing Committee By it, vestry-men-resigning weronot released from office till their successors were appointed, so these soven vestrymen were still in office, and could not bo released. But this was not the most startling thing, Theopinioiiwenton to say that it was not competent for the incumbent to call the parishoners together, and that matters must remain in a state of suspended animation till the next annual parochial meeting, There was consequently an absolute deadlock, The difficulty was solved by the vestrymen retracting their resignations; but it seemed a distinct possibility that for the whole of this year the parish might have been at a deadlock-nodisburse. ments possible, and no action by the incumbent in connection with the Yestry legal. Mastertou is now in very much the same condition that Roslyn " occupied. A deadlock exists, and it can only be terminated by tho late vestry retracting thoir resignation op new vestry being appointed, or the Parish being dissolved. The incumbent is placed in a position of some embarrassment because he is tho main sufferer by the deadlock. He is very naturally reluctant to see. his stipend re-

duced not from the pounds shillings, and pence point of view—because a small salary, paid regularly is of more value than a larger one which is only partly paid at irregular intervals—but because a reduction lowers his status, and tho status of the Parish in the diocese, On the other hand the Parishioners are determined to make a fresh start with a clean sheet. With them the question of stipend is secondary to that of debt. Tlicy insist that the debt shall he liquidated first, and the stipend provided for afterwards. Now, under the Church constitution, the voice of the laity is a weak one. Tlie Clergy can practically, both in vestry, parish meeting, and Synod, smother ijt, and again ,the Bishop can do the spijiby' j|o C|ergy, but tho laity hare one power, power of giving or withholding 'isiw for tho support of tJijo UJiurcli. If usually follows, therefore, that wilW there is a church squabble, and the laity have been duly snubbed,'sat upon, admonißhed^udroprianiledbythesunerior

oidoit m the clnucli, it is found expedient to give way to then rushes. The deadlock usually terminates by tho supeuoi oideis in the Clnucli quietly meeting the uev,s of the nifouoi oulcis; then money Hows freely once more into the church coffers,- and all goes smoothly again.