THE REV. MR CONNOR'S CASE.

Bruce Herald, Volume XI, Issue 1084, 4 February 1879, Page 5

THE REV. MR CONNOR'S CASE.

(Continued.) And now I come to a most extraordiiimy transaction, which shows the ir-i-'gulai- w^y in which the matter was de-it with from first to la&t. A s st**:ed in pa.<a_.r;tpli 7 ut" iny pe iti*>n, the Presbytery had itjj.ec-d 10 hold meetings in Wainv.ia and < liiitnn, on the sth February, wen the ohjecfc, as I uuders'ood it-, of m-.ti tin,' use to get liie VYjoruaa t'bu I . cu r« ■moved >o «. liu ton, ruukiog it the ce-trul :i d principal congn-'jjatio-:', r.n i <*ught 10 Le. W t- the view of op^osiiig this, o;* ti.e dividing of the district, 1 acu u- t -- >■ i«■ which, the office-bearers iu "V* ttirno.-i united with the aforesaid male- -_-.e.i ! .s. aud refused t-j meet with the Prebbytary at Vv'ui.uuH, but agreed to meet vhwii . ; ;t Olinton, where t.hey muster*-. tb-:L ?or; r i.v ami presented he pet tion of the o'Jd.e bearers, which requested the Presby-ery to ask rue to lehigu my charge. Tina petition was presented by the Synod elder, Mr Taylor, and I noed nob say both the nature of the petition and th© speech with which he supported it greatlysurprised me. Ail the office bearers professed the greatest friendship ; yet for the sake of something or other — what, it did not appear — it was agreed I should be sacrificed, and doubtless they thought I would at once allow myself to be offered up a whole bumt-oflering to propitiate the offended dieties. In this they will hnd thej are for once mistaken — that when principles are at stake I can suffer, but surrender, never 1 The Presbytery at this meeting lost sight entirely of the chief purpose for which they came, and received the petition of the office-bearers, which I hold they ought not to have received, as its professed eod and aim was to obtain my removal. It: is true there is a reference in that petition to the division of the district, bub this is so shadowy that I cannot but look upon its insertion aa a merely colourable pretext to vail the real object that the parties had in view when presenting it. I confess that I was not at the time so much alive to the gross irregularits of this proceeding aa I ought to" have been, but I now say that the Presbytery ought not to hare receive.! the document

even^on this ground— it was a breach of trust reposed in some of the parties whose names are appended to it, and a direct manifestation of insubordination to the recommendation of the Presbytery by those, who khould have been an example to pthera. The Presbytery ouuht, I humbly submit, to have kept closely to the purpose for which they came to Wairuna and Clinton. In any circumstances the reception of the memorial waa objectionable, but it was much more so from its character. If you will take the trouble : to examine it you will see that it is of the most extraordinary kind. lam unwilling to speak harshly of the parties whose names are adhibited to the document; but this I will say, that the very construction of th« document, its contusion, vagueness and indistinctness, suffice to show how un. fitted they are to give any solid opinion on the matter. I honestly say. Brethren, that after due consideration and tolerable acquaintance with all the facts of the case, I am totally unable to frame any answer whatever to. the charges therein made, and I will go turther and say that no answer is possible. Instead, therefore, of receiving such a document, my accusers — for an accusation is undoubtedly made — ought to have been instructed to put the matter into tangible shape, and I hold it was grievous, injustice to me to receive such a document, and allow an accusation to hang, over my head, which might either mean something weighty or nothing at all, according as it was viewed There was no occasion to frame any libel against me, although at first I demanded this ; but surely common sense, not to speak of common decency, might have suggested the necessity of not receiving against me anything that was not sufficiently definite to" enable me to defend myself it" called on so to do. I particularly call the attention of my Brethren to this document : its vague intangible premises, ami the cool and sweeping assurance of i«s conclusion, and I ask bow many of you would re ish the putting into your bi«nd of snch a document. I think self respect ami au honest feeling of indignation would lead you to treat it as I have done — nor j would the i-ecommendation of ihe Clutbd Presbytery have altered your mind regard* iug it. In striking contrast to the readiness with which this document was reoeived wag the treatment of a document presented on my behalf by my friends. I have said that I was taken by surprise in the matter of the memorial — not t»o others in the district. It was known that there was to be some opposition when the J'reßbyiery came, and raj friends thought it very desirable to ei press tht-ir sympathy with me in the trial I had unnecessarily been subjected to, and with a view to this a document was written out and largely signed, with which I had, however, nothing to do. But when thi3 document, as some set-off to the petition of the officebearers, was tendered at the meeting by my worthy deacon Mr George Brown, of Waiwera, it was refused on the ground that the Presbytery did not come there for the purpose of hearing accusations against me. Surely the one irregularity was not gi'eater than the other, and most people would regard the irregularity of letting in testimony to exonerate as far less blaraeable than the irregulai ity which only seeks condemnation. The most charitable -view i can take of the subject is that the Presbytery did not know, or were for the time oblivious of, the the rules of the church sufficiently, and therefore committed the mistake. HeDce my distrust of them throughout. I would not have noticed this, but that the Presbytery have never once referred to this document, nor considered it an element in the case at all. I now come to the March meeting of Presbytery that followed the visit to Wairuna and Clinton. At this meeting, on the basis of this indefinite memorial, and what I suppose the Presbytery had meantime gathered from heresay, 1 was without more ado asked by the Presbytery to resign, and that, too, after the members thereof had expressed themselves favourably regarding me. Yuu will please to remember that iv January I was absolved from all blame, and now iv March £ am -well spoken of, but it is at this stage thought desirable, iv order to please certain parties who affirm that my sacrifice w'll do good, it is thought desirable, I say, that I should resign. In reply, I would be unworthy of my manhood, I would be false to the spirit of Presbyterian polity, and I would do an injnry to any of my brethren coming af ' er me ■who might be similarly placed, were I not indignantly to answer, No, I shall not resign my charge. {To be continited.J