THE STORY OF ITS BUILDING.

To-morrow brings the full fruition of tho hopes of half a century. The purpose that inspired the founders of Canterbury included, as wo all know, the erection, of a cathedral church as the centre of spiritual activity in what was intended to be an entirely Anglican community. With such confidence did they undertake the task of establishing *uch a community, with its complete ecclesiastical and educational organisation, that the Bishop Designate of the new See was a pa«*nger by the fifth ship. V«ry early, however, in the history of the infant settlement tho aims of its founders had to be modified. Denominational delusiveness wan found to be impracticable. "I am nob sure," wrote Bishop Julius, some four years ago, "that, as things are, it was even desirable. It is ours, , he added, "to exhibit, not the political and social, but the spiritual supremacy of the. Church." In any case this is no occasion for dwelling on tho lack of success that befel some of the aims of the founders of Canterbury, for tomorrow will see the triumph of a noble purpose, long delayed, but never abandoned—the consecration of the fully completed Cathedral. The history of the building of the Cathedral is closely connected with the prog Tew of the province. It has had ite full share of the sunshine of prosperity and tho shadow of depression—its periods of glowing activity, its times of lethargy and stagnation. The initiation of the project hung in hand for years after the foundation of the settlement. The site of a Cathedral had been set apart by the Canterbury Association and its estimated . cost provided for in apportioning tho amount of money expected to accrue from tho sales of huid in the Canterbury block, one third of the moneys thus received being set apart from the outset for the establishment and endowment of churches and rchooJs. But tho results of the land ealee fell' far short of the anticipations of the Awociaticn, and the necessities of the set tiers in other ways made heavy demand* upon the Ecclesiastical Fund. . The difficulties in tho way of the realisatior of their hopes were increased by the fact that" at the very outlet of the establishment of the Canterbury .settlement tho Association had"to pay £10,000 to the Secretary of State for tho Colonies ■ before the Britbh Government of that day would consent to the establishment of the new Bishopric. It fell to tho late Mr B J. S. Herman, in the course of his duties, to pay over this sum on behalf of the Association, and half a century later, on the occasion of the province's jubilee, when Mr Harman laid the foundation stone of the new portion of the Cathedral, ho alhided to tho fact that in making that payment he had taken tho first, etcp towards the erection of the edifice. ARRIVAL OF BISHOP HARPER. In those far-off days, when tho little community was struggling against a sea of difficulties, the Cathedral, if ever thought v of at all, must have eeemed, indeed, a dim vision of the future. The Bishop Designate found matters so. very different from what he expected that he returned in > a lev weelffl to England, and but for the help and counsel of Bishop Selwyn, matters might have gone very hardly with the Church in Canterbury. For tfhe first few yeare erf the settlement w«re marked Jjy a certain amount of religious apathy. The • Anglicans still formed three-fourtha of the connmmity, bat tlhey had only five small churches and none of these was considered good enough to bo consecraUd. But with the decision "arrived at in November, 1855, to ask for the appointment of a Bishop, .matters improved. Bishop Selwyn strongly -recommended the Rev. H J. C. Harper, vicar of Stratfield Mortimer in Berkshire, and tho reply being favourable, the Bishop-elect was consecrated •at Lambeth Palace in August, 1856, arrived in Lyttelton on December 24th of the same year, and was installed next day Bishop of Cliristchurch. It may be noted that he wae accompanied on tho voyage by two of "the settlers who were roturning to Canterbury after a visit to England, and who were to become two of the most valuable of his laity. These were the late Mr Harman and Mr J. M. Heywood, to both of whom the Churchl in Canterbury owes a great debt for their long and'faithful service in her cause. With hia arrival began a-period of religious nctivity. The first consecration of a church in Canterbury took place at Avonside early in 1857, and that of bt. Peter's, Riccarton, followed a year later. . The Bishop, as the Rev. H. T. Purchas tfcowa in Mβ admirable -biography, was not at thut time nn eager advocate for the erection of a Cathedral. "His practical turn of mind W him to throw his energies into the development of parochial work and the building of -parish chiirclies." Until these were provided he was in no harry ior tlie commencement of the Cathedral. * ' ■ A CATHEDRAL PROPOSED. In 1858, however, the proposal to a Cathedral was definitely mooted at a- meeting of Church members, Rt which it w<l.l decided to enlarge St. -Michael's, to build a district church, and to go forward with the erection of a Cathedral as soon as £2000 had been raised. There projects were carried out in the order in, which they are hero set down, St. .Michael's strengthened and enlarged, being consecrated in 1859, «nd the foundation jstone- of St. Luke's laid on October 18th of tlie same year. Tho Diocesan Synod, which lvi-d met in September the same year, had taken tiio first active step towards promoting the erection of the Cathedral, by appointing a commission charged with -this specific duty. The members of tiie comJxu.<*si<m T as appointed on September 27Ui, were as follows:—The Bishop, Archdeacon Mathias, Revs. W. W. Willock. James Wilson, and Croasdaile Bowen, Messrs. J. E. FitzGerald. R. J. S, Harman, W.. J. W. Hamilton, John Hall, H. B. Gresson, A. C. Barker, Grosvehor Miles, and T. Rowley. The Provincial Council had in the previous year voted £10,000 for tlie building of churches in Canterbury, and of the sum allotted to tho Anglican Church Bishop Harper had set aside £1000 as a nest-egg of a Cathedral Building Pond. Mr FitzGerald, who was at this time in England, acting as Immigration Agea* for the province, submitted a. prapoco? for the erection of tiie buildmg whiefc at any rate had the merit of novelty. He wrote to tho Provincial Government to Hie effect tliat if £1500 cottkl be raised towards the bufldmg of the Cathedral in Cnirterbury he could get £3000 subscribed in England. A* this tone it was greatly the fasJiion to rfjip remdv-made hoowa out to the colonies. Air FiteGerald proposed to have a Cathedral boilfc hi England and ebipped out here in ports, to be erected on a site to be selected, promisine to send out a "beaatiful braiding." fhe suggestion was not, however, adopted. The Cathedral Com VSf ° n T®* n its wcrk in «"»**• early in 1001, and at its instance plans fur a Catbe-

A BETROSPECT OF FORTY YEARS.

dral were prepared by Mr (subsequently Sir) Georn* Gilbert Scott, R.A., a leading English architect. A FORWARD MOVEMENT. The supporters of tho Coihedral appear to liave become impatient at tho tardy progress made by tine Commission, whose enquiries and operations were necessarily retarded by the tedious communication of tJhose ■ days, and in November, 1862, strong expressions of opinion as to tho necessity of pushing on with tho.work came from meetings of the parishioners of St. Michael's, held on November 26th and December Ist., 1862. Tlie first (if these meetings was hvl-d to consider tlu> best moans of providing church accommodation for the increasing population, iind the promoters appear to have gone -with very clear ideas tliot the b**.-t available was to enlarge St. Michael's again. Tho Cathedral party was, however, strong and determined, and the conclusion of that particular gathering cam« with the can-ring of a resolution to the olfect. that "the time had arrived for building the Cuthedral, and that steps should b<s taken at once to raise subscriptions in the diocwo and the parish for that purpose. The Bishop mentioned that he had come prepared to state his intention of appealing lor funds for tho Cathedral. At an swfjoirrned meeting hold n few days later, Mr FitzGerald .said that ho had found from an inspection of Sir Gilbert Scott's plans for tho Cathedral, that a portion of the building might, be finished first, providlrur accommodation for 800 or 1000 persons. lhis, he added, might be available in two and a half yeans—another instance of too-sanguino hopes. It. was nearly twenty years from the date of that enthusiastic movement before the first portion of the t/atnedral w-ua epened for divine service It was, Uit'n decided to temporarily enlarge St. Michael's and St. Luke's, and to canvass for funds for the purpose of procuring two additional clergymen. Reaii Jivjng interest in the erection of the Cathedral may bo said to date from that time. i lμ . fi «**! Weeks ' an 20th, ibbA, tlie Cathedral Commission, even th»n changed in personnel, issued their first appeal for subscriptions. The appeal, which is far too long to quote here, -was couched in language most appropriate, to the object m view, and.it may bo read.to-d.iv with pleasure. Tlie Commission were evidently afraid of raising the hopes of sanguine churchmen, for they mentioned that several years must necessarily elapse before the structure would be completed, though for the erection of a portion sufficient to accommodate a largo number of worshippers a comparatively slwrt time would probably suffice. It*had boen decided to adhere to the site set apart in Cathedral Square. Tlie cost' of building the nave with temporary cast front and chancel fittings, was estimated, -at about £20,000. of which there was then less than £1800 in hand, including the £1000 reserved by the Bishop and £700 wluch had been collected by Mr FitzGerald in England. But a splendid spirit prevailed at that time; difficulties th.\t would have checked the enthusiasm of a fair larger and wealthier community were bravely ignored. In ten days from the first issue of that appeal mibscriptbn3 amounting to close upon £9000 had been proraified, payable at certain, periods over a term of five years, and within a year or two,''thanks partly to friends in England, the total had risen to some £16,000. Let it bb remembered that the settlement was then just .twelve, years old, and that the population was scanty and scattered and it will be admitted that the liboralify o£ later years cannot be compared with that of tho early days. Little wondor that the Cathedral Commission were co encouraged that they enlarged their scheme. , The original plans went oat by Sir Gilbert Scott provided for a building with stone walls only, the clerestory and pillars being of wood. Tho columns were to consist pf entire trees, fifty feet "in height. A number of the subscribers, however, objected to tlwa mixture of wood and stone, and no difficulty in raising tie money presenting iteelf to the Commission, they obtained from Sir Gilbert Scott fresh plane for a, building to be entirely of stone. These plaiw were, in their main features, eventually carried out in the nave. LAYING THE FOUNDATION STONE. In September, 1864, Mr Robert Speechley, an English architect, came out to Chrietehurch by arrangement with the Commission, as the local resident representative of Sir Gilbert Scott, a, contract for the foundations of the whole building was let in November, and on Anniversary Day of the same year the ißfehop. laid the foundation stone. Unfortunately the early colonies eeem to have'been* favoured with no better weather on that particular holiday than ie often tie case nowadays, and that Anniversary Day must surely rank as one of the wettest on record. The unceasing rain had, howevar, no effect in checking the-enthusiasm of the community. , After a service in the mother church of St. Michael's at 9.30, a procession marched to Cathedral Squaiv. Tlie procession included a number of the clergy, some 400 volunteers, the members of the Synod, subscribers to the Cathedral, meiribers of the General and Provincial Legislatures, Magistrates, Cathedral Oommiflpion, CliristchuTch, Lyttelton, and Kaiapoi Councils, Fire Brigade, and so on. In the square the volunteers formed a cordon and a, short service was .held, the Psalms and hymiw being ming by the Musical Society and choirs. The Bishop*3 address was brief. Before, lie laid the stone he offered the following rhort prayer:—"Through our Lord Jesus Christ. «-o lay this Stone in the nanw of tin . Father, arid of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, in faith that this place, hereafter ta become the howo of God, may be <.'onetcrerted to prayer and the prai.se of Hi* holy name." Tlie '"Hallelujah Chorus" was tlien sung, and the Bishop performed the ceremony, the proceedings terminating very shortly af terwairdß. Subsequently a luncheon, at which the Bishop presided, whs held, when, among the toasts that were honoured, was ono ; of "Success to the Cbibedral." Tho usual coins and papers were.placed in the etonc, also a parchment bearing ji*«riptions In English and Latin. A portion of the latter is worth transcribing. It' stated how " and when the etone wae laid, '."in the presence of clergy and " people remembering with a. grateful heart "tho many and great benefits which God. "meet good and great, the Author of all "good things,-has bestowed upon the sons " of Britain dwolling'in this xww country, "and the good wjcoese with which He has " hitlierto favoured the hopes and. plane of " thoso who have earnestly t»triven to. found " another England .not unwwrthy of th>> "mother. ,, . , STOPPAGE OF WORK. .The were completed three months later, bub already a sad change had come ere* tho position of affairs. A period of great financial depression set :n on' the: province, and Mr Purchas' state? thatwithm a year -after the laying of .the foundation etono the Oomm:«ion were in difficulties. Less than £5000 of tho promised subscriptions had , been paid, and in spate of thri Bishop's -earnest appeals, money came in so slowly that all woik had to be rtopped. This condition la.<sed for several ywtre. At a meeting of tlie subscribers to the Cathedral Fond, liekl in May, 1867, it was Mated that the payment of subscript ions had almost entirely ceased. Nevertheless hope wast not by any means abandoned. The Cathedral Commission were authorised to expend £1000 for the preparation of materials to 1*» used in. the building. ■ A report from Mr Speeehley,

the resident architect, estimated the cost of erecting the eastern- and western, ends of the Cathedral, with some temporary interior fittings, at £6800 for the erection of the eastern, end, and £4850 for the western portion. It wae not suggested, apparently, that - eudi an extensive work should bo pot in hand just then. On-the contrary, there was so much despondency that the Rev. W. Wil lock mentioned that a prominent bwincro man hnd suggested they should sell the sito for the purpose of erecting Government offices, the Government at that time making enquiries as to a site. The Rev. J. Wilson also stated that the City Council were anxious to obtain the wte for city offices, etc. It was firrther suggested that a site for tl» Cathedral should be obtained in «Cranmer Square with tlie money obtained for the Cathedral Square fite, and the tmilding erected there. Ultimately the consideration of the question us to what it was desirable to do under the circumMan.es was rcfenvd to the Cathedral Commission to report. It may be added that when Sir George Grey visits Canterbury in 1867 the fjrass had" to be mown away from tlie foundation*, so that they mijiht be viwbte, vluls for greater «o«j in distinguishing uwm they were carefully wliitewashed! SUGGESTED SAI.E OF SITE. Two years later, matters still beinc very di-preswd, and the erection of the Cathedral apparently pa4i»ncd indefinitely, Mr Ji»hua Strange Williams (now Mr Jurtice Williams) moved at tho Diocewn hyii««» Uiat it was desirable that the CSitlnxlral »ite should be mid, that Uic pro«.Js should be applied to lh* erection of the Cathodnrt t.nthc pwtsnt nto of b.. Alichad'.-, that tlw Cathedral Cumnussun bi «rtho;«d and required to negotiate for the side with any person or coip«ratio-i desirous of purchasing the «t«. -Mr \\ Hliinn called attention to tho position of STcitadr.l Building Fund -h,ch ™ that £7000 hnd been contributed by.lo&ii subscribers, £1000 of which had beenjjvcg site anu i»>» ,fl proposal Assess On Vcrv little «cc.m« <o have th7w?y of arousing intm* » «J dral during the next year oct.« a. Ihe y of 1871 h.d the the site-before At the same byno<i xo wiK, nrade to the fund, «t Ming the »te ag«m <»m> be to «»■ Sd one. Complications bad. arisen reELK transferof the (pottiona of tlie Xtednl site quired for tlie roadway, which had paralysed tlie action of tho Commwdon, «.d they tod been that it would bo inexpedient to proceed with the canvas for subscriptions until these difficulties had been set at rest. 1 no soun of £2190 had been subscribed to tlie BuildinK Fund in addition to the additional part by the Church Property Trustees. The Eev« C. Bowen moved—VThat inasmuch as the prospect of erecting the Cathedral on the existing site m Cathedral square appears remote, and the need ol a church for diocesan purposes is urgent, the Synod considers it desirable that a church of less expensive a character than that designed .by" Sir Gilbert Scott should be erected with as little delay as possible, to wrve as the Cathedral church, for the diocese. That such church should be erected on the church reserve in Cranmer squaTe." Uitimatclv the Synod passed a resolution impressing upon the churchmen of the diocese the.necessity for a church t<s be used exclusively for diocesan purposes, and inviting their" liberal contributions and active co-operation to enable the original design to'be-proceeded'with. MH TJROLLOPE'S VIEW. The danger was thus again temporarily averted. Enthuwasnl for the cnuso of the Cathedral was, however, at its lowest ebb during the-winter of that year (1872). As it-happened, Mr Anthony ■Trollope, the English/ novelist, visited Chrietchurch jut* then, and in tlhe book in which he described his experiences in t-he? colonies he ■made ejome stinghig remarks about the apparently abortive scheme of a Catibedral.. "hi a few years," he says, "the verx idea of Canterbury being specially the province of one denomination will be Jost to tho memory of the colonists themselves^-unless'• indeed it be perpetuated by the huge ro-" cord of W»ir failure "wliicli the town of Christeliureh contains. In the centre of it tliero is » large waste space in which £7000 have been buried iv laying tihe foundations of a Cathedral, but there is not a single stone or a single brick above the level of the ground. t The idea of building the Cathedral is now abandoned. . It wae a sad sight to mc to, look down upon the vain foundations. . . . There is tUie empty space", with all the foundations of a great ohurdh laid steadfast beneath the surface, but it seemed to 'be the general opinion of the -neople that a set of public offices should bo erected there instead of a Cathedral. I,could not.but be melancholy as I l«inied that the lionest liigh-toned idea of tJio honest highrioned founders of tho colony would probably not be carried out;' but pmrliaps on tlhat spot in tho middle of the dtv a sot of public offices /will be better than a Cathedral. Public offices all the community will use. A Cathedral will satisfy something less than one half of it and will greatly dissatisfy the other half." THE SITE QUESTION , AGAIN. Events were soon to prove the rashness of .^ r Tro "°P e ' e sarcastic generalisations, which, indoed, arc understood to have done something, by hurting tlie pride, of. the colonists, to stimulate their determination that' the Cathedral should be built. Thejre was to be one more discussion of the proposal to sell the site, and after that a wave of renewed interest was to set in and to continue until after the first portion of the building was completed. The Provincial Council in 1872 resolved, on the motion of the , Hon. John Hall/ that, the Government bo requested to enter info negot Lit ions with the Cathedral Commission with a view of ascertaining whether the site of the CatJiedral could be obtained as a site, for public offices in Christchurch intended to be ejected by } he General Government, and if so on what terms. It waa stated by one of the speakers that the majority of the ilergy favoured another site for the Cathedral, but that the laymen were so strongly against the Cathedral Square site being given up that there was no hope of the resolution* producing any practical result. A public meeting of citizens held on November 25th resolved that the Provincial Government ohouifl renew negotiations for the site known as the Cathedral rite for public offices, provided it could,be o&tained on reasonable terms. Subsequently a deputation from the public meeting waited on tho Provincial Government and were informed that a »mn of £10,000 would be placed on tlie Estimates for the purchase of the Cathedral she. Settlement.of the question came with the meeting of the Diocesan Synod in February, 1873. Archdeacon Wilson moved the acceptance of tho offer of the Provincial Government to the site of the Cathedral for public office* for £10,000 in cash. The proceeds, it was mentioned, should be held in trust for the purchase elsewhere of land for a Cathedral and also for the building of a Cathedral thereon. After a lengthy discussion the motion was lost by the votes of tho clergy. Ayes—Clergy 3, laity It. N'o<«— Clergy 12, laity 5. It will* be feen that contrary to the opinion expreKsed by the member of the Provincial Council quoted above, it was the votes of the clergy and not of the lay members of the synod which prevented the sale of the Cathedral Square rite; The question was now settled. for ever, and with renewed confidence.

born of the improving times, the work of building was coon comtnenced. ,'. . THE REVIVAL OP INTEREST. : At/the • meeting jof .ra>\August, 1873, itwas resolved that.:the Church Property* Trustees be recommended to raise My sale or .mortgage bf portions of the "General Trust Estate -.the sum .of £5000 to be applied towards the erection of the Cathedral. Mr B. W. Mmintfort* was appointed architect to carry .-out' Sir. Gilbert Scott's design," and Mr James Taifs tender for.the erection of the first portion of the outer walls, to a height ranging fr?m between,' 10ft and '20ft for £5514, was accepted! The question of using wooden: pillars came up in tho, autumn of 1874 when the architect recommended that the - nave pillars should. be constructed of kauri in two lengths, with black pine braces, and that in consequence of the difficulty of getting suitable wood; the other pillars should be of stone. Eventually it was decided, on account of this difficulty, that stone should be adopted as the material for the whole interior. Mr Tait's second contract for £4920, to i carry up (he aisle walls to a. height, of-1 24ft* as far east as the transept, and the | w-esfc wail to the same height, was accepted in Augu-st. An offer made the next month I by jv body called the Cathedral, Guild, constituted to asxi."t in the erection and ornamentation of the building,. to erect, the western doorway according to the plana' of Sir Gilbert Scott, was -thankfully , accepted. The subscriptions received since 1871 had amounted to £5542, and £4938 was promised. In. October, 1874, the Synod recommended the Church Property Trustees'to raire on tlio Dean and Chapter estate by sale or loan a further juim of £5000, for the erection o{ the Cathedral. THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY DAY. The work was guing on apace. The action of tho Synod in raiding money for tlie prosecution of the building had Jnspirod the public, and a good response had been made to a fre«h canvass. The sight of the slowly rising walls gave- pro-, miso of tho completion of the great task the church had undertaken, and there was a .general'desire to aid in its speedy conclusion. Further stimulus was supplied by the thanksgiving service held -within tho unfinished walls on Anniversary Day, 1875, tho twenty-fifth anniversary of thefoundation of tho provinca The interbr of tho nave and chancel had 'been cleared, and n large platform -erected in this ■ chancel, on which seats were provided for tho clergy, the choir, and a number of iLstrumentaliste, assisted i>y two harmoniums. The nave was crowded, people tlironging all the doom and even climbing on to the walls to take part in the commemoration service. Prior to tho commencement of tho service-the Bishop, whohad by this time become Primate, wae presented by Mr Justice Grcsson, on unhalf of tho Cathedral Guild, with a pastoral staff and by Dean Jacobs, on behalf of the clergy and laity of the d'toce**, with a crazier. The choir and clergy walked ; in procession round the exto.ri.wr of tho Cathedral, and entered by the west door. Special prayers and hymns \woro used on tho occasion, and the Primate, -in' his address, appealed to the people to assist by their contribution , * 'in furthering the good' work of the erection of the" Cathedral. Special services were aJs© held earlier in tho day in celebration of the first quarter of a century of the history of Canterbury. The total collections for tho day amounted to £109. ' f SLOW PROGRESS. / Estimates for the erection in stone .of the remaining parts of tho building wero submitted by Mr B. W. Mountfort in the same month, the total cost being esti- , mated at £45,834. The Cathedral Oommiision only saw its way to the expenditure of some £9300, of which £4886 had already been incurred. ' The -work, how-, ever, went on steadily, aided by liberal, private gifts. Three of 'the- columns wnro promised in 1875, and from that onwards other private persons and families' came forward -with similar offei*.' For the next few yeans progress) was,slow. Tho Cathedral Commission in 1876 urged that a special effort should bo' made to-obtain funds for the completion of the. edifice, also for a towor and. spire, while the desirability of procuring a peal of, bells and a clock for the tower-was - also rr- ' ferred to. Work was continaouply carried out in 1677 by day labour, consist - ing of a foreman and two. men. These were amply -sufficient to keep up with the supply of fctone, which came to hand very slowly. Five columns had been given by "private benefactors to this date, and in October there still remained £2090 unexpended money in hand. . During the next year, three more columns were given, and two others promised. It was suggested that the proposed* memorial to Bishop 'Sehvyn should take the form of tho .tower for the Cathedral, but; that was to; bo supplied through another channel. The Synod at ita annual meeting passed a "resolution urging greater liberality on' the. part of churchmen as the funds at ibo disposal of the Commission were almost exhausted. It was mentioned that £28,400 had already been spent; and .is was noted twenty years later, the price of labour and materials had.inareased-since the work M r as begun. .: On Anniversary Day of this year another commemoration service was held within the Cathedral" walls. • Previous' to the service an' address was ; presented to the Primate, Bishop Harper, who had recently Tctarned from, a visit to England. A dais had been erected at the east end of the Cathedral, and the service wms held, the musicarpwtioua being rendered by the united choirs of St.Michael's, St. John's, St. Mary's, and St. Lukes, assisted,,as on the previous occasion in 1875, by two harmoniums. Tho Bishop delivered an., eloquent oildres?. There wns a liberal offertory in aid of the cast of the rose window. The year 1879 was marked by severe commercial depression, which militated against the payment ' of promised subscriptions. Funds came .in very slowly. For the eight months ending they amounted altogether to rather more than £1200, but only about a third of this arum had been raked locally, £500 coming in donations from England, while the Primate had collected tome £200 during his visit to England. The Rhodips nnd Barker' columns had been promised, 'but the Synod's last grant of £6000 wns all but expended. Matters looked brighter towards the end of tho year, for the Church Property Trustees wero authorised to raise a further tmm of £40GO, on the security -of the General Trust Estate, and of £4000, on the ticcurity of the Dean and Chapter Estate, for the building of the edifice. , ANOTHER REVIVAL. In 1880, in order to make "temporary next year, in order to make temporary provision fftr the liabilities incurred , by the Commission for the completion of 1 he nave, organ, and necessary fittings, the Church Property Trustees were instructed. to rai?o an additional £4000, and it wa« resolved that no further expenditure be incurred upon the building, except at the cost of private benefactors, while this debt should remain unliquidated. The Commission accepted a contract from the, firm of Stacks and Stenhbuse for the masonry and carpentry to complete the , nave, the amount being £9533, and during the year their hearts iad been glad-' dened by the munificent offer from .Mr. R. H. Rhodes that he would bear the cost of the tower, which cost £5150, and a peal of belta, costing £1200. Mr G. Miles added two more bells, and the children of Mr G. Rhodes pave the epire, costing £2120. These splendid benefactions represented a larger sum than had ever been given by private persons. THE CONSECRATION' OF THE NAVE. And so the work went on until after a total expenditure of some £45,00j of which nearly £26,000 came from voluntary contributions, the nave of the .Cathedral, with a temporary wooden sanctuary, was .consecrated on November Ist, 1881. As became an occasion on which-t fie hopes of a generation were in fomo measure realised, the day was gloriously fine. The building was thronged with a. congregation estimated to number some 1200 oc 1300. At eleven o'clock the Dean and Chapter, the Chancellor, of the • Diocese, the Hon. H. B. Gre«son, the choir and orchestra, moved in .■procession .down to the /wrest

door, trheretliey'iiaet tbePriniate, aAtendod by the Bishops iof Dunodin, AVaia-pu, Neteonj and Wellington. The Dean and petition for tmv corfeecratrorr,. whioli wae wad : by the. Rfcgastrai of* Ujo Diocese, the Rev. -F. Knowlee. TiM procession then advanced up" the nave, and at the chancel steps the Dean, presented the. deed of dedication. The Primate read eeveral euitabieprayera and. the Chancellor then read the sentence of oonsecration, which the Primate declared/duly completed." Full choral service 'was then proceeded with, ejjecial prayers being read. The Primate preached from the text, PeoJnr Ixxxiv. 2, "My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth, for the oourtfl of the* Lord; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God." ■ The offertory amounted to £206. Special services were continued throughcrat the octave on the lines of those which .begin with the consecration service Ho-morrow. • j And then for seventeen years the CatheLdral remained in Hs unfinished state. i The venerable and revered Primate rer signed in 1890, after forty-three years' of , faithful sen-ice to the Church, but he lived for nearly four years longer, beloved by all who knew him and respected by the pntirc community. He died on December 28th, 1893, and was buried on January Ist. A beautiful cenotaph in the Cathedral perpetrates his memory.