PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

On Tuesday evening, tne Hth instant, a meeting wa« held in the Presbyterian Church, Waterloo Quadrant, bythe Ministers and Elders of this body, for the purpose, as had been preriously intimated, of forming themselves into a Presbytery A considerable number of, people were, present to witness the proceedings. Divine set-

vice wat conducted on the occasion by the Rev. David Bruce, who preached an appropriate sermon from Ephesians 4. 3., giving an exposition of the Presbyterian form of Church government, and shewing its scriptural character, and its efficiency for attaining the great ends at which the Church of Christ ought to aim. At the conclusion of the service he asked the Ministers and Elders present, if it were their desire that he should now proceed to form the superior and fundamental court of their Church, nnd on learning that such was their unanimous wish, he accordingly constituted the Presbytery with prayer. Mr. Bruce then stated that the first step to be tnken was that of choosing one of the Ministers present to occupy the Moderator's chair. It would, he said, have afforded the greatest possible pleasure to himself, and he was quite sure, to all the brethren, to have been in circumstances to propose as the first to enjoy that honour, one whose piety and advanced years, and con» sequent experience in the work of the ministry justly entitled him to the reverence of all. He meant the Rev. Mr. McLeod. of Wangarei. He was quite sure that they would aU have been heartily disposed to testify their eßteem for that reverend father by asking him to take the Moderator's chair on this important occasion. But circumstances, which he , need not mention, had prevented him from being there that night. He would, therefore, beg leave to propose the Rev. John Macky, of Otahuhu, as being the oldest and most experienced Minister present, to be the first Moderator of the Presbytery. The proposal was seconded by Mr. W. Gome, and was unanimously agreed to. Mr. Macky accordingly took the chair, and, thanking the Prestiytery for the honour they had conferred on him, proceeded to deliver a very able and suitable address, pointing out the good results that might be cxi petted to flow from the more complete ecclesiastical superintendence which they could now exercise over 'their severaljcongregations, and also- the spirit and manrnerm 1 which they ought to discharge the important and I solemp'dutiesthat devolved on them all as office bearers in the Church of Christ. At the close of his address the Moderator said that the next step they would require to take was to appoint a Clerk to the Presbytery. It was moved by the Rev. T. Norrie, and seconded by the Rev. R. McKinney, and unanimously agreed to, that the Rev. Mr. Bruce should be appointed to that office. Mr. Bruce said that the circumstance of his being the only Minister residing in the town constrained him to undertake the office in question ; and that, so long as he held the office, he -would endeavour, faithfully, to discharge the duties belonging to it. The roll of the Presbytery was then made up ; and consisted of 'four Ministers and two ruling Elders, commissioners from Church Sessions, viz. — The Rev. John Macky, Rev David Bruce, Rev. Thomas Norrie, and Rev. Robert McKinney, ministers ; Mr. Wm. Goni-, and Mr. James Wallace, elders. Thereafter the Presbytery resolved to invite all those -who held office in the Church, or who had held office in any of the Pres - byterian Churches, and were now members of the Church, to sit along with them during this meeting of the Presbytery, to advise with them on all the important matters that should come before them. Several gentlemen accordingly took their seats along with the members of the Presbytery. A committee was then appointed, according to the practice of the Churches at home, to prepare addresses to her Majesty the Queen and his Excellency the Governor. It was entru»ted to the same committee to prepare addresses to the Free Church of Scotland and the Presbyterian Church of Ireland. The draft of an interim act anent the Constitution of the Church, the object of which was to embrace in one communion all the Presbyterians in the Province, without interfering with the conscientious scruples of any who might be called to office, on points of minor .importance, was read by Mr. Bruce, and laid on the table to be considered at a future sederunt. -The Presbytery then adjourned to meet on the following day at 10 o'clock.

On Wednesday, the 15th October, the Presbytery convened .at 10 o'clock. The Key. J. Macky, Mod - rator, having engaged in devotional exercises, took up the business in the order intimated the previous evening. The drafts of addresses to her Majesty the Queen and his Excellency the Governor were produced by the Moderator, read and approved, and ordered to be transmitted. The drafts of addresses to the Free Church of Scotland, and the Presbyterian Church of Ireland, were also produced, read, approved, and ordered to be sent to the Colonial committees of those Churches respectively. The dratt of the interim act, anent the Constitution that had been read and laid on the table, during la i t sederunt, was then taken up, read, and considered clause by clause, and, with some emendations, unanimously passed. It was thereafter declared to be " The basis of the Presbytery," which should be the ground work of all after proceedings, and to which all office bearers in the church should, at the time of their ad mission, be obliged to subscribe. The Presb ,-tery adjourned at 2 o'clock to meet in committee, at half past 4 p.m., for the purpose of considering the secular affairs of the church, and to meet in the evening, in open court, at 7 o'clock.

Evening Sederunt. The Presbytery, according to adjournment, met in the evening at 7 o'clock. The devotional exercises were conducted by the Rev. Mr. Macky, Moderator. | The Clerk then intimated th*t it would be highly becoming that the Presbytery should, at its fiist meeting, express its sense of the vast importance that the Church of Christ ought to attach to the work of missions. A. resolution was accoidinglv moved and supported by the Rev. Mr. McKinney, in a lew very appropriate observations, and passed unanimously, declaring that the Presbytery regarded the work of missions as the chief design of the Church of Christ ; that they would embark on that work so soon as specific channels for their influence and means were determined on, and that, meanwhile, a missionary spirit ought by all desirable means to be promoted amongst the people. The Rev. Mr. Nome brought forward and ably supported a motion on the subject of Sabbath Schools and the religious training of the young, pointing out the necessity for Ministers devoting their attention to this important department of their labour ; thanking the sabbath school teachers for tneir valuable services, and calling on all the office bearers and members of the church to countenance and aid them in their efforts. The motion was seconded and unanimously agreed to. The report on the secular affairs of the Church ira* then called for, and was produced and read by the Clerk. It recommended (1) That the subject of church pioperty should be entrusted to a committee, with power to call in assistance and advice, and to report to a future meeting of Presbytery. (2) That the management of its secular affairs should be left to each congregation, and only indicated the general principles by which, in the present circumstances of the Church, these affairs should be conducted. (3) That, in all cases, it should be carefully seen to both .by the congregations and by the Presbytery that the ministry is adequately supported ; that the Home Mission Fund should be adopted and rigorously prosecuted, as the means by which a supplement might be made to the stipend, in the case of congregations that could not raise an amount sufficient for that purpose. Further, that the thanks of the Presbytery be given to the committee on this fund, in connection with the congregation of Auckland, -and that ft general committee, to consist at present of all the members of Presbytery, be appointed to bring the importance and claims of this fund before the mind of the whole church. It was moved, seconded, and unanimously agreed to, that the report be adopted, and its recommendations be passed into an interim act. -' This-concluded the business of the court, and it 1 was intimated by the Clerk that the next meeting of Presbytery would take place on the 18th of November. The Moderator then briefly addressed the Presbytery, congratulating the members on the perfect harmony with which they had considered and settled matters of great moment, and pointed to this as an earnest of the blessing that might be expected to rest on their future administration of the affairs of Christ's Church, and, after devotional exercises were engaged in, terminated the meeting of the court by pronouncing the benediction.