KAIAPOI.

Press, Volume XXXI, Issue 4286, 25 April 1879, Page 3

KAIAPOI.

The annual parish meeting of registered church membere was held in the church Sunday schoolroom on Wednesday evening. There wee a large attendance. The Bey. D. O Hampton, curate in charge, occupied the chair. A eoUecfe having been said,

Ihe rev. ChairmaD, in opening the prqJ eeedi' gs, staged he had no report to offer, -■ *Td th»ywere aU s pfobabry >jtt<h,;thfi> common events daring the short; JJ :re he had been amongst them. -Though assembled chiefly to pass tbe last year'saccount* »t.d elect officers, it wonld be necessary ta also consider the question of proriding - lor the future carrying on of the parochial Work. . -Th>» he trusted wonld be done with calm deliberation, and that the»r actions, would be characterised with brotherly love, j The real good and welfare of the parish ought to be to them a matter of deep concern, and he hoped that God would guide all their actions i- this direction aright. There was one topic which it was understood would be disco*«ed, viz., that of letting the seats, upon wi,icb N he desired to say a word. The offertories and church revenue 'since his advent to tbe parish had been satasfactoxy—• the average bad bein £3 per Sunday—but in order tb pay all expenses, he was told that £6 a week would be necessary, and thus it wm that the proposition arose to have the seat

rents -gain adopted. If there was no other way of raising tho rcvenu?, this might become compulsory, but at present he did not think that when the member- of the church were daly informed of the position of affairs, that they would be at all behind in raising the revenue, without resorting to the objectionable teat rents. He refeired to the unpleasantness caused to strangers on entering churches iv which the seats were rented, and the attitude which those routing thero, in some instances, assumed towards intruders. There could not be the same objection taken to the systom of allotting sittings, which should remain allotted till the summonsing bell had ceased ringing, and then become free. If persons obtained from the vestry allotted seats, the vestry might alei, perhaps, fairly expsct that the persons to whom they were allotted would contribute regularly towards the expenses. He thought it well f 3 give expression to his views now, in order that at a subsequent stige of the proceedings j he need not interrupt the various speakers. The present meeting was called by proper notice, signed by himself and the church, warden, who would read the accounts. The minutes of last annual meeting were read and confirmed. Mr J. O. Porter read the statement of accounts, showing the tot-»l receipts to have been £252 Os 7id, the expenditure £227 10j 7d, leaving a balance on hand of £24 10s o_d, with sundry outstanding; liabilities. The Mnount received in the offertories wai £119. Ihe amount paid in stipends to Eevs. Oldham, Jackson, and Wright was £77. He noticed that the sexton had applied for an hcrease of pay, and there were ari-ean of lalary due to the organist. The statement iras signed by Mr Wbitefoord and himself as murohwardene, and Mr Beharrell as auditor. In reply ti Mr Bulch. Mr Porter said there wss a quarter's stipend, £52 103, due, and the labilities were in all about £76 10s, a no rorse position than that in which other washes found themselves. An item of £22 Ci for insurance was greatly caused by the act that this had been paid twice witb ; n the 'ear, owing to the new regulations refeiring a insurance made by the Synod in its comiact with one of the companies. The chairman observed that the balance heet was much better than he had expected o find it, and the deficit, he was of opinion, night be raised without much trouble. On the motion of Mr Balch, seconded by Cr Pearce, the statement of accounts was inanimously adopted. The chairman nominated Mr Caleb Whiteoord a. minister's churchwarden.

Mr Porter nominated Mr Edward Revell as people's churchwarden, observing that Mr Revell was well known to all, h'"s name having appeared on the annals of the church for many years. Mr B. Woodford seconded this nomination, which was agreed to without dissent. Mr Revell hoped the wardens would be well suppoicsd in their office. If this was done, he intended to try to remove any feelings of ill-will and make things work as pleasantly as possible. He moved—"That Messrs Neeve, Mathews, Feldwick, Hicks, Brundle, and Dr. Dudley be elected vestrymen." In forming this list he had chosen some from both sides, in order that by this means a mutual peace might be restored. Mr Whitefoord seconded the nominations, but did not pledge himself not t3 support others if thought to be more suitable. It wonld, he said, be requisite for the vestry to ' rike in hand the repairs of the parsonage, costing about £50. In reference to this matter he remarked that it was the duty of the incumbent to keep the building in order, and he trusted this would be better observed in the future than it hcd been in the past. Having occas'on to inspect the parsonage after Mr Carlyon left, he found it in a very dilapidated stat3, so much so that it, was not fit to live in. The parishioners would now have to put it in order, and he felt sure no one would shirk the work before them. CApplause _ Dr. Dudley wished to reti-e from the vestry in favor of younger men, and as he found it inconvenient to attend the meetings, he proposed his son, Mr 0. E. Dudley, take bis place. . . | Mr Behawell seconded this nomination. ; Messrs. Hicks and E. Feldwiok withdrew ■ their names. Mr Powell nominated Mr Beharrell, who declined, owing to distance from the town. Dr Dudley propose!, Mr Porter seconded, Mr Wilson, who stated he had for at least eight times positively declined to act. Mr Brundle proposed, Mr W. Pinching seconded, Mr J. F. Nettleton's nomination, and he also declined to aot. Mr Porter hoped Dr. Dudley would consent to act. . Dr. Dudley—Why do you retire? [Laughter.] Mr Porter replied that he had done his share, and more than any other on the vestry. Mr C. E. Dudley—Will Mr Porter aot if Dr. Dudley does ? Mr Porter—No, I will not. Mr Dudley proposed, and Mr PoiLer seconded, the nomination of Mr E. Balch. Mr R. W. Smith wished to know if any other persons but communicants were eligible. . The Obairn__n ruled that the parish officers must be in full communion. Mr Revell submitted that it was sufficient qualification if a person declared himself to be a communicant. Mr C. C. Howard pointed out that tbe person must be one "being a communicant," not a communicant in the past orifuture.

,Mr Berell proposed the names of Messrs Woodford and W.D. Humphries, and complained that aa an understanding that two of the members of the Guild of the Holy Rood would serve he was left in a somewhat painful position by their declining. _ „ The Chairman was also surprised. _ His wish was to see the parties meet and unite in the middle. Without outward peace he was afraid inward peace would never ensue. Mr Smith painted out that only one mem* ber of the guild had been named. Mr Feldwickwss not a member. The guild people had had no show in the proceedings, and there were certain things which they could not yet approve of. They were not fairly represented.

The Chairman asked what would he con* sidered a fair representation. Mr Smith—Well, only one member of the Guild on the vestry is not a fair representation. If it was fairly represented the Guild would support the church, bnt not other* wise.

The Chairman again asked what wonld be deemed a fair representation. Mr Smith replied the Guild ought to be allowed to return half of the members of the vestry. Mr Whitefoord deprecated the idea of two parties. They were there as members of the Church of England only, and those who were anxious for peace ought to go in to obtain it. [Applause.] He was prepared to give way in any way to biing this about, and £f there was an earnest desire on the part of persons present to work for the good of the parish, these were the men to be elected. [Applause.] He had avoided allusions to tne past, and had advised the chairman that the best plan was to adopt a new course. He challenged those who nude a boast that they wished to see the parish prosper to come forward, and, linking the past, let them work for the future. For his part he was prepared to help whoever might be nominated in securing this end. Mr E. BL Jenkins hoped the matter would i be finally settled before the meeting broke np, as it appeared parish affairs were in a more critical state than ever. Mr Howard stated tiiere were members of the Guild who would always give the church government a cordial support, but he could not answer for aIL , The Chairman asked if one person named was a communicant, and receiving a negative reply I declaredWmdisqual-fi-d._Wi-hreference to another nominated, who said ne had once 'been a communicant, be -night be elected

| tai tbfl <|aes6on t *iraß ? re'erred t<£ the'iJtshopl """ *■ "*" -~WrW6wifo v dr, wbd'waa proposed, said'he hoped the ph»»rroeu,and the ve_try would join in re-tot'i-? tbe proper services of the Church of „_v-g)a-a. Foe bis partite was opposed to any innovations. -• ii V -"Y'Y ;. ■■ V 'J. The vestrymen finally elected were Dr. Dudley, Mosrs H. Neeve, O. E. Dudley, A, Brondle, B. H. Mathews, and B. Woodford without any dissent. Mr J. Beharrell was re-elected auditor. The Chairman brought under notice the necessity of enlarging the Sunday school iv view of amalgamating the two existing Sunday schools iv the parish. He then said the next matter for that meeting was that of seat rents. Mr Porter advocated a system of allotting the seats at a price to he fixed according to the assessable value of the property held by the persons applying for them, and moved— " That the vestry be requested to allot seats to persons who will contribute at the rate of — per aonum, not less than 20s for each seit."

(Mr Brundle seconded. Mr Bevell moved an amendment—" That Ithe vestry be authorised to let or allot seats at discretion, if they find that the contributions are not sufficient to pay the expenses at the end of three months." Th's he considered wou'd be fair to those who opposed the seat letting, as they could in the three months show if the rent; could be foregono. Mr Jenkins seconded. Ho was of opinion that the offertory ought to be doubled, and if regolar attendants only gave sixpence each time the revenue would be raised. Mr Portsr r-»erted that twopence per head would meet the case. Mr Powell agreed with the amendment, and recommended that the vestrymen ought to show persons to their seat.. Mr Wh'.lcft ord had found by experience that corld not be done, and at present they found that the usual sittings of o'd parishioners were taken uo before the bell oegan to /ng by boys and girls who refused to give way. Mr Howard thought after the conc'usion come to by the Bishops of the English Church tbe system of pew rents adopted 250 years ago ought to be done away with. It was imnossible in a parish where there was a deal oi mission work to be performed to maintain such a system. If the vestry chose to follow so impolitic a course, he should feel disposed to join Archdeacon Dudley in h ; s opposition to the system. Mr Beharrell moved—" The vestry be allowed to allot seats as applied for." Everyone liked to have his proper seat. Mr Dudley seconded the amendment. Mr Howard pointed out that as in a large family circle it would be' bad manners for a brother and sister to take another's seat, so in church if persons he i a usual seat those knowing such was the oase ought to give way. Mr Venables thought they ought to close two of the public-houses in order that the offertories might be increased, and the question now under discussion would melt in the

The amendment proposed by Mr Revell was carried. A vote of thanks wai passed to the retiring church officers and the chairman, and tbe meeting terminatea.