ANGLICAN SYNOD.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 252, 22 October 1907, Page 6

ANGLICAN SYNOD.

The Smod resumed at 2.30 o'c!ock yesterday afternoon, when there was a large attendance of members. On tie motion of Archdeacon "Walsh, j the Key. Canon Eecles, of Woodville, j was invited to take a seat in the Synod. ST. HART'S HOME. The Key. Canon MaeMurray submitted tie Teport of i-he St. Mary's Home, Otahuhu, which referred to the good work done auring the Dast year. The committee, also mentioned tie faithfui services of the superintendent. Miss Hudson, by Nurse F. A. Clarke, Miss Weavers, housekeeper, Mr. and Mrs. Holloway, Dr. Bewes, and the iVicar of Ot-ohuhu. The statistics shewed 47 srirls dealt with in tie Home during the Tear, of whom 31 were Church of Ensland, S Roman Catholics, 2 Baptists, 1 Presbyterian, and 5 Wesleyan. The highest number in the Home for one week was 32, and SI left during the year, of whom 16 went -o service, 6 were married, eight went to their homes, and one ■was lost sight of. The money paid by sirls during the year was £100 17/11. There were 39 infants on the books. The statement of expenditure showed: Debit balance on general account, June 30, 1906, £25 1/S; house account, salaries, etc, £SIS 10/1; insurance, £9 10/; jsntios account, £2 5/; interest, bank charge, postage, £4 4/6; "Church Gazette. ,, travelling expenses, £6 10/; balance due harmonium account, £ 12 S/; ditto new chapel account, £12 3/; balance, June 30, 1907, £27 17/11; total 10./-2. The receipts were as follows: Balance in hand, June, 30, 1906—Harmonium account £12 S/ new chapel account, £11 3/: subscriptions, etc., as per list, £116 14/; Government grant, !£250: General Trust Board, £350; Messrs. A. dark's deposit account, £75; payments by inmates, £100 17/11; Mrs. ScnnerriDe's interest, £40; sale of produce, £10 6/S; for new chapel, £1; New Zealand Church Missionary Association, (£52; total, £101910/2. The report also stated that a sum of •£IOO -was received anonymously through Canon MacMcrray towards redncing the deficit of £19S of the preceding year, and -was used to replace £ 100 withdrawn from earataL Tie report -was received. PARISH BOUNDARIES. The Rev. Canon Haselden submitted £he report of the Committee set up to define parish, boundaries, which was read and received: PAS-ANGLICAN CONGRESS. Rev. Cazion Haselden also submitted £he report of the organising secretary jot the Pan-Anglican Conference, showing toial xeoeipts up to £-175 18/ for the six months.- Tie report - was received, and on the tnotioD oi the Rev. Canon Haselden, it was resolved; "That ihe Synod i≤ glad to know that this diocese has already .contributed £175 18/ towards ihe thaiiV cfTe-rjng to be , laid on the altar at St. Paul's Cathedral, to hz devoted to women's work in the mission field, and commends fhp. frha-nV offering to the general support oi all Church people. GENERAL TRUST, BOt&RD. On the motion of Mr. J. Batger, the Synod treni into committee to consider the report of the General Trust Board, Mr. Upton being chairman. (The- report has already been published.) The Bishop referred to the need for provision for the payment of the passages of men coming to work in the diocese, and asked whether it was a fair charge npon the Diocesan Trust Fund. He said hitherto the fares of men coming had -either been paid by himself or personal friends. The chairman said that matter could not be raised at the presesit stage, but snight be brought before the Synod later on. PENSION FUND. TJre report of the Pensions Fund was submitted, showing 112 clergy and 60 parishes associated. Tie capital of the fund was £33.355 16/6. Bey. GS3am asked whether the Board could grant pensions at 65, seeing how strong the fund was. Mr. Speight said the fund was strong, ferfc to take five years off would absorb the accumulated capital. The fund was strong, certainly, bni not too strong. He did not believe in reducing the age, but rather of increasing the amount of the pension. The Widows Fnnd was weak, and, -when there -was a surplus to spare, it- should be transferred to that fund. ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE. Theieport of the trustees (already published) was next read. Rev. W. Beatty, when the clause relating to amended regulations for Pnrewa Cemetery was read, said a lady who had a relative buried at Purewa had drawn his attention to that cireolar. The regulations first issued were approved by a previous Synod, whereas the present regulations were issued -without the approval of Synod. One condition was that trustees would undertake to keep any grave in order, a-nH that no other person should be allowed to do any work on the graves unless authorised to do so by the trustees. That seemed to forbid relatives attending graves. The chairman said the trustees merely put in that regulation to retain control of the cemetery. That regulation simply preserved to the trustees the right to turn anyone out of the cemetery. If a person was attending to a grave, then, of course, he would not be turned out. The chairman said everj- body of trustees must have their acts approved by the Synod. Personally he considered the following clause -was also necessary: "Any servant of the trnsteesat Pnrewa is liable to instant dismissal on proof of having received any sum of money for the care oi graves other Than the payments above authorised by the trustees." Mr. Speight said it seemed, to him an 3t±empt to establish a monopoly in the care of the grav-es. The circular certainly conveyed that impression. The further consideration of this matter was deferred for the production oi the circular, and -the committee reported progress, when the Synod resumed, x ORiLAIION OF PARISHES. Mr. Dawson moved: "(1) Whereas in the Synod held in the year 1905 the president ruled that in the formation of a parish procedure must he by way of resolution; and whereas in the Synod held in the year 1906 the president ruled that in the alteration of the Standing Orders proc-ednre must be by way of resolution; sjxa whereas the rulings aforesaid appear to be in contravention of the statutes of the Synod; a Select Committee is hereby appointed for the following purposes: (a) To - determine whether any irregularities hare arisen from the said rulings; (b) in the event of the committee determining thai irregularities have so arisen, to devise remedies for the same. (2) The Select Committee to consist of the following persons: The Rev. Canon TTaspldsn, the Bee. Canon Nelson, Mr. C. M. Ca*l*r t Mv.*a.jr : Tublte, t&e. mover."

Mr. Dawson pointed out .that the forma- j tion. of a parish came under regulation j 116. also . that people in parochial dis- ! tricts had not the power to appoint nor- • inators to fill a vacancy, as they had when a parish was formed. He contended that the Canon law could not be overruled. He contended that all regulations binding upon church members must be by statute, but anything upon which opinions were expressed might be by resolution; but that was not binding upon anybody.* Rev. Canon Mac Murray said when Archdeacon Willis brought in a bill years ago to form the parish of Cambridge it was ruled out, and then the parish was formed by resolution in 1592. The question was raised again when the Ellerslie-cum-Epsom parish was formed. Personally, he thought n parish should be formed by bilL If the present regulations were not clear, they should be altered by means of a bill, which could be brought in by Mr. Dawson, if he wished to do so. : Mr. Wells hoped the committee would go thoroughly into the whole matter. The regulations tied up properly. They wanted a little more liberty in dealing, with these matters. . Mr. Dawson's motion was then adopted. ALLEGED ENCROACHMENT. The Hon. E. Mitchelson moved: "(1) That the prayer of the petition of the 1 churchwardens of St. Matthew's parish,' that a committee of Synod be set up ! to inquire into and report regarding an j encroachment said to have been made j upon the site of the parish church, be | granted. (2) Such committee to consist of JRev. Dr. O'Callaghan, Key. P. T. Williams, Messrs. A. B. Roberton, T. Wells, and the mover." He said the matter was a serious one, involving title for land. It was a question as to whether the adjoining owner had or had not encroached on St. Matthew's Church site. Dr. Hooper claimed to have acquired the land in question, and having been in possession of it for 40 years. The matter was one which required to be settled as soon as possible. It was a question of right by law and occupation. The motion was agreed to. NATIONAL MISSIONS. Archdeacon Cole moved: "That this Synod approves of the suggestions recommended by the committee appointed, in accordance with resolution of General Synod (Proceedings General Synod, 1907, p. 43), for the furtherance of the National Mission, and respectfully requests the right reverend the president to appoint a. committee, or committees, in this diocese, to co-operate with the Executive Committee in the provision of a guarantee. gnH in all other matters necessary to help forward the mission." The motion "vras agreed to. "STANDING COMMITTEE. The following nominations were received for the Standing Committee: — Clergy (5 seats): Revs. Archdeacon Calder, Canon Mac Murray, W. E. Lusk, W. Beatty; T. Evershed, W. E. Gillam, and H. Reed. Laity (7 seats): Messrs. G. Hunt, C. J. Tunks, S. Abbott, W. H. Armstrong, & Hesketh, E. Yates, W. J. Speight, J. Dawson, H. Gilfillan, H. B. Oakden. REPEAL AND ENACTMENT OF. REGULATIONS. The Synod, on the motion of Canon Nelson, went into committee to consider a bill for the repeal of certain regulations and for enactment of others, tine chair being taken by Mr. Upton. The bill included four clauses, in which it vraa proposed to repeal certain regulations of the old digest, and enact others of the revised digest, the remaining regulations of the old, together with the one 3 proposed to be enacted, to ba, incorporated in. the Revised Digest. The draft of the Revised Digest consisted of upwards of thirty pages. The Rev. Beatty thought the Synod had undertaken an junpossible task- in considering the repeal of the -present regulations. To go thoroughly into the proposed changes-would keep them sitting for fully two months. What he considered would be preferable would be to renew authority to the Standing Committee to improve the digest. It was simply a matter of digest and compilation, not a matter of legislation- He moved: 'That Tinder the authority give by the Synod of 1906, the Standing Committee shall take such steps as may seem necessary for the revising and reprinting of the digest." Canon Nelson, in reply, expressed the hope that the committee would, having gone thus far with the bill, persevere with it. The digest, when prepared by the Standing' Committee, would have to be approved by the Synod, and he hoped that the present occasion would see that approval. Mr. W. J. Speight stated his inability to "digest" the bill, after having spent three nights in studying it. He was also •of opinion that the Synod was utterly incapable, in point of time, to dispose oi such a matter. The chairman ruled that the motion ■was out of order, his reason being that it should have been moved when the second reading was considered. Mr. Speight moved that the chairman leave the chair and report progress, and ask leave to sit again. It -was suggested by Canon Mac-Murray that in the event of tie motion being carried, the digesters be asked to consider some proposal to overcome the difficulty. The motion was carried, the division being:—Clergy: Ayes, 21; noes, 20. Laity: Ayes, 21; noes, 20. SUNDAY-SCHOOL BOARD. The Synod again resolved itself into committee to consider the report of the Sunday-school Board, Mr. Upton taking the chair. The report set forth- that 321 scholars were examined at the Bishop's Prize Examination, and 32 prizes and 24 certificates were given, out at the annual distribution at the Choral Hall. For the repetition examination. 254 candidates were entered, 17 prizes and 26 certificates being awarded. The Beard had endeavoured to use every opportunity for the benefit of Sunday schools in the diocese, bnt the coldness and apa-thy met wiLh appeared to indicate that the whole system of Sunday schools needed a fresh current of energy being infused into it. The Board' was of opinion that those in authority in parishes and districts were not doing for the children all that could be done. The Synod itself i«ad not for many years manifested any interest in what was being done to teach the children the principles of the Faith. Many children of Church parents did not attend Sunday school, and only a | verj- small proportion were taught at I honft. It was quite certain that a large! number of children of Christian parents | were growing up without knowing what tie nominal religion of their parents -was. ■ The Beard was stai full of hope for the future, in spite of tremendous difficulties. It was of opinion that the time had come when a definite system could, be organised for helping the teachers in improving their methods of teaching, and '.would ask the Synod to appoint an ex-

I pert .in- method to lecture throughout j ; the diocese. < The Eev. W.. E- Lush moved: *That iit is desirable that a master of method be appointed for lecturing to the Sunday school teachers of the diocese, and that the arrangement of financing for such master of method be referred' to the Standing Committee." The motion was carried, and the Synod resumed. • - • '- : DIOCESAN TRUST REVENUE. Canon Mac Murray moved: "That a committee be appointed to consider as to what uses the revenue of the diocesan trust should be applied by the General Trust Bv>ard, the committee to consist of Archdeacons Willis and Calder, the Rev. Beatty, Messrs. Armstrong, Upton, G. Hunt, and the mover." There were some £300 available, said Canon MacMurray, and the law required' that the diocesan synod should direct the General Trust Board as to thu expenditure of the money. He thought it would be ! a wise and proper course s≤ dealing with the whole matter. The motion was carried. VENERABLE SAMUEL WILLIAMS. On the motion of the Rev. Canon MacMurray, the Synod placed on record its profound sense of the loss which the Church of God had incurred through the death of the Venerable Samuel Williams, I Archdeacon of Hawke's Bay. His un-' i wearied service? lovingly rendered j through a long lifetime to the Maori j people; his generous benefactions to 'God's work and God's poor in all parts of tbis Dominion; and his munificent gifti \x> missionary enterprise in all parts of the world, were but the outward expressions of a life lived in the faith of Christ; and the whole Church was the richer for the nohis example of his unselfish life.