Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874.] FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1895. THE NEW BISHOP.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 5147, 4 October 1895, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [Established 1874.] FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1895. THE NEW BISHOP.

Tut; new Bishop of Wellington is a man of large ideas, as evidenced by his proposal to give Wellington a Cathedral at a cost of twenty-live thousand pounds, but he is ovidontlyi shrewd in questions of finance and in this lie possesses a decided advantage over the average cleric. The sum required to be raised for a Cathedral is simply enormous, but looking at the accumulated wealth enjoyed by Churchmen its realisation is by no means a visionary project. The Cathedral if built will be built by the rich for the benelit of rich and poor, mainly the poor, and no one in the community can well cavil at this. But the slirewdness of the Bishop is manifested by the remarks made by him on tho occasion of the opening of the Synod respecting tho General Church fund. On this point lie said " ho was driven to tbeconcliision that. it was their duty-one which must lake precedence even of the duty of providing workers for new districts —to establish and maintain a working balance from the Church Fund large enough to .enable them to pay their clergy ovcry quarter-day, even , though the assessments pf their parishes might be in nrroar. How should JJiey procure this balance P One method which, puld probably be suggested was to raise the amount wbei'fl the increased burden could be borne, for which the parish or I uarotiliia) district ws assessed," Now i) 10 Fund fpr a number 3 of years has bt?H regarded by many country churchmen as ft fillil"'; "lid perhaps of all shams tho religious sham is the one most open lo objection. Its main purport was to secure Hie punctual payment of stipends. This it never lias done, and till it does do this, the fund ja to all practical intents and purposes a sham. We are glad to notice that the Bishop has put his finger on the weak spot in this matter, and desires ■ to remedy it. He does not, how- ■, over, appear to have hit np6n the ' right idea for increasing the fund. If the Church authorities .employed a capable business man lo trav.el the ? length and breadth pf the Diocese, I canvassing and colWimf snbscrinj tions to the Genera) Church FjuuL, f from Church members, jtliey would increase their receipts fiw this , sourcoby fifty per cent, during HIP ; jirst year. Of course much would i: ; dfineu)j upon the solection of tho jjjgMfflftn fy.'the work, but if thoy -kltgli'pi jiiim, ,ljhe .financial dilfih- *' % | u;cli'i'ii,u,d puld be oulty oi •• , ufl 'jygj!,, o diocesan solved. If tin, collector, parish • troublesome and unsatisfactor, * would be altogether superfluous anu unnecessary. !