A CHAPLAIN'S REMUNERATION.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVI, Issue 281, 25 November 1915, Page 9

A CHAPLAIN'S REMUNERATION.

DISCUSSED AT THE ;ASSEMBLY. A good deal of time was occupied at the sitting of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand yesterday afternoon, with the question of the positions of chaplains who have gone to the front. In the course of the discussion statements were made as to the remuneration of chaplains, a captains pay, with mess allowance included, being about £3b'O per annum.- Some members of the Assembly expressed the opinion that that was good pay, and Lf the chaplain's church was. kept open for him. his stipend should go to pay for the locum tenens. Other speakers argued that a -chaplain had to. drawn on his pay from the Government to help the wounded soldiers, apart from whatever funds were sent to him for that purpose. Rev. M. jx. Eyburn moved that in the case of men who are sent to the front by the church to act as chaplains, the Presbyteries in which their charge is located make such arrangement as in their wisdom they deem fit. It was during a somewhat free and easy discussion upon this motion that the remarks on chaplains' remuneration were given utterance to. Rev. K. Somerville said: "1 don't think that any minister with a conscience would take his chaplain's pay from the Government and retain the stipend from his church." Rev. J. Patterson asked if the whole stipend of a chaplain was to be given up when he might have left a wife and family behind in the Dominion. Rev. McAra, of Kaikoura, pointed out that if a minister wanted a vacation to take a trip to the Old Country, he paid for the supply of his puJpit during his absence. Rev. Ryburn held that a chaplain on active service should only receive his military pay. but said his motion, left it open to the Presbyteries to make what arrangements they deemed fit. Rev. Conirie pointed out that many companies and business firms were paying a portion o( the salary to employees who had gone to the front, and argued that the church should treat the chaplains with at least equal generosity, more especially as some men had left wives and children behind them. Dr. Gibb said: "Let the man make his own arrangements with his congregation." Ultimately it was resolved, on his motion, that ministers going to the front shall make their own arrangements with sessions and congregations, intimate the same to the Presbytery, to be dealt with by each Presbytery in the usual way.