ST. MATTHEW'S PARISH.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4701, 21 April 1894, Page 2

ST. MATTHEW'S PARISH.

Meeting of Parishioners,

Resignation of Vestry

A number the of the Parishioners of St. met yesterday evening to discuss the position aqd immediate prospects of the Parish,

which is placed in an awkward position owing to the resignation of the

Kuv. W. E. Paige, and the inability of the congregation to provide fundß

for his successor.

Mr Bremner took the chair and explained that the Rev. W. E. Paige resigns charge of the Parish at the end

of the month, and in order to discharge the liabilities of the Parish to hitu on

i account of stipend, it had been found necessary, iu addition to contributions

specially made for the purpose, to pledge the whole of the subscriptions [to the general church fund, and the pew rents up to the 30th June next,

The offertories wer<: barely sufHcien to cover ordinary expenses, and conse juently there will bfi absolutely n 'units accruing until the Ist; of Jul) o uieet the stipend of a locum knew The Veatry had advised the Bishop'i )ommissiry' (the Yen. Arcbdeacoi i'ancourt) to this effect, and, therefore o one had yet begn appointed to fil he Kev, Mr Paige's place when b saves. But, besides pledging th evenue as stated to the 30th June here will have accrued at that date i urther debt ot about £6O, btinj Qterest on the Patßonage loan, whici ias been in arrears for some years,anc tioreover it would be impossible !,o as! Ny clergyman to occupy the Pai'songe until something like £35 has beer xpended in repaiis, whifcii have rgently been required for a long time, 'he real question before the parishraers was, whether in the face of bo igb an assessment as that imposed £250), which bad never yet been ai;ed by. legitimate means in any ear, and. in view of the fact that here still remains a considerable ebt to be discharged, it would not e advisable to do without the secices of a resident clergyman until hese liabilities were discharged,

Mr Bremner then read the result twns pusaed at a meeting of the veatr heldon March 17th, " Thatiu via* of the faot ol tbo ordinary revenue o St Matthew's Parish having durlnj the past eight years, averaged onl £193 per annum, Waving an annua deficiency lor tlwt period of £67, tlii yestry protests against the &Bst>BSment of £250 fixed by the Diocesai Synod, end with all the respeot to th latter body declines to be responsibl for any larger toward the general churoh fund lban at ill rate of £193, or Buy £2OO par annun The vestry desire further to request that in any arrangement made -fo fulfilling'the duties of .inoumben during the leave of absencegranted ti the Kev." Mr Paige, the locum tenen be advisedol the above determinatioi and that if he accepts the position i will be on the distinct under«taoditi| that the vestry will not incur furthe responsibility than the above stated. 1 This resolution'was forwarded to th Kev. W, E. Paige and Arehdeaooi Fancourt, The latter was advißed tha with a view to meeting the arrears o stipend due to Mr Paige as far a possible, the vestry have beei obliged to anticipate the oburc] revenue to June 80th prox, and wil therefore have no fund to meet th stipend for a locum ttncns during' th months of May and June, . The letter from Archdeacon fan oourt to the vestry in answer to th above, was as follows, " I lißvelaii the resolutions before the Standin, Committee of tho Diocese. 1 wa much grieved end surprised by th contents of the resolutions, the ful oouaequencea of which can scarce! havo been weighed, I think, b thoße who paused them. I um t opinion that they should have beei submitted to a meeting of parishioner before being forwarded to me. As i is they can scarcely be regarded as th expression of the mind of the pariel which I trust will havo an opportun ity af disoussing them, I have t remind the vestry that when M Paige was appointed incumbent, i was on the undertaking of the paris' to provide £250 for stipend to he in creased to f3OO by the Paroohic District. The Synod has full powe te fix the assessment at £250 pe annum and is only adhering to the ori ginalengagoment, £250 is the lowee amount of which any Parish i assessed, and any Parish declining t provide such an amount would not b allowed to retain the status of a Parißi but would be riduced to the statUß o a parochial distriot. The aeooiv resolution effectually prevent an; clergyman being placed in ohaige c the Parish before July, and it canno fail to suffer by being so long withou a clergyman. 1 wish to state furtbe what the Vestry appeared to haT< overlooked that (he offertories are no the exclusive property ol tho Vestr; or of the Parish, Tho Synod has ex pressly ordered tlmt any deficienc; in the assessment is a first charg upon them. So long as thero is i clergyman to officiate, they at leas are. available for payment of stipenc The immediate consequences of thee l resolutions are the resignation of M Paige and (he loes of the services ofi locum tenrn. lam unable to call th Board of Nominators together unleß the Oh uroh wardens can satisfy mo tha there are patient means available fo tho stipend of an incumbent, I d not consider £2OO sufficient. I muQ] regret what has happened, and that should be called upon to write this. After further explanations an details of the financial position, M F. G, Moore said the objeot of th meeting was to give the vestry sup poit. The revenue was anticipated though he regretted the nectssit; which compelled, he considered tki only way out ol the difficulty was ti support tbo vestry. He wouli move, therefore, as follows ''That this meeting endorses thi action of the vestry in advising tha the parish is unable to provide anj contributions to the general churct fund for the months of May and Jum of the current year, and in represent ing that the assessment of the parisl should not—for some time at al events-exceed £2OO per annum, That considering the financial posl lion of the parish, the parishioneri present at this meeting are of opinior that it would be inadvisable to appoml i resident clergyman in Mr Paige'c place, until the existing liability ot icoount of interest on the pareonagf loan is discharged, and further iinti]

the necessary amount required to put the parsonage into a reasonable state of repairs bus bean raised and ex. pendrd. That this meeting suggests the vestry should endeavour to secure the assistance of such lay members of the congregation as may be willing to ftot in carrying on the Sunday tervicee of the church, until such time aB the pariili! is .clear. at .debt, and that; whenever - the services of an officiating Minister are required these should be specialty arranged for from time to time, st the necessity occurs, , -I J

Mr Meredith, in seconding the <_> motion, said tlio matter had been 1 placed so dearly before the meeting by Mr Bremnet and Mrllooro that there seemed no alternative but to accept the " : propositions. After some disoussioD, Mr W. G, Beard who spoke iksirongterms ofthe apathy displayed, llifcjkLjk would move as an fctnenduiennMMie meeting guarantee! £250 to an incumbent on condition that his name is submitted to the approval of . • parishioners before any decision is arrived at...

Mr E. Brown had much'pleasure ia Beoonding the amendment. Dr. Beard moved hb a further amendment that Archdeacon Fanconrt be requested to supply a focimi tmns for May and June, and that the parishioners undertake to pay him at the rate of £250 per annum. The church had beei in existence for V twenty years, and it would be a disgraceful thing if it were shut, even for two months. Mrs Moore seconded this further amendment, which wtiW The oiiginal was the® V put and Mr Beard ad not want a snatch vote, and as some of the ladies : had not voted, perhaps the Chairman [ would fully "explain the result o! vpting for the amendment. ' 'Mr Meredith thought the meeting 1 had been carried away by the speech '. ofMr Beard.

Mr W, H. Beetham agreed with he motions moved by Mr Moore with he exception of closing the ohuroh, which he thought would have yery ivil effects. In losing Mr Paige they vera losing one who had the respect )f the community, Tho church A lauat be piojiurly supported and some >f tho outlying places ought' to be shamed at the amounts' they forwarded, If thoy put their -heads together there would not be any diffi» sulty in getting the parish out of Snanoial embarrassment; The amendment wps' : put a second time and again carried by eleven to six, many ladies not voting, Mr Bremner said the motion .just " carried amounted to a vote ot no"-*' confidence in the vestry, ~ 'inign in a body. .1 f the present meifig f oelecta ■ 'esb veatiy, Mr Brown asked if they wero con- ' enedjor that purpose; was it not eceasary to give notice ? Mr W. G. Beard Baid be did not 'ish to question 1 the authority of the hairman, but wished to ask whether is Chairman ruled that this meeting 'as to forthwith fleet a vestry. Mr Bremneruftersomeconsideration, iid he believed he wnß in error, Tho resent meeting could not elect a :esh vestry, but lie was authorised ) say that tho vestry would resign, Mr Robinson suggested they lould strike while the iron was hot, nd now the amendment was carried i would ho advisable to send a subjripiion list round. Mr Bremner said arrears dee to Ir Paige had been paid with the xception of i 9 lis lis and £l3 for nprovementß. There would.be no ifßculty in paying off Mr E. Brown asked that the resigation ol the vestry and of the lergyroan's churchwarden should be rouglit under the notice of the _ Qcumbont, or adeadlook > Mr Bremner Mr Jackson thoughtcommo\ Jlonesty lemanded the payment of all arrears o Mr Paige. Mr Bobinson endorsed the suggestion. After a hearty vote of thanks, which nas carried with acclamation, to the adies of the congregation who had forked to collect subscriptions to pay iff the arrears, the meeting adjourned