A LIVELY CONTROVERSY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 840, 11 June 1910, Page 14

A LIVELY CONTROVERSY.

VESTMENTS IN ANGLICAN CHURCH. A DEADLOCK IN SYDNEY. As stated in the cablegram published in The Dominion oil Monday, the difficulty which has arisen in connection with the appointment of a successor to the Rev. W. I. Carr-Smith at St. James's Anglican Church, Sydney, has aroused intense excitement in -the parish. The controversy has hocn going on for some months. The underlying difficulty (says the "Sydney' Morning Herald") is' really the question of the legality or illegality of the use of vestments. It i.s possible that the difficulty will ultimately lead to an appeal to the Privy Council. Sometime ago it was announced' that Dean Kite, of Ifobart, had been selected by the joint board of nominators to fill the place left by the Rev. AV. CarrSmith. At a subsequent meeting of the nominators of the parish, however, it was announced that Dean Kite had withdrawn his name. The withdrawal was owing to tho Archbishop if Sydney proposing to him certain conditions with regard to the conduct of services and ceremonial at the church, which lie was not pfepnred.to consider.

Tlie parish is a High Church one, and the. parochial nominators have in every case selected such High Churchmen as they, believe are likely to continue' the ceremonial previously adopted in St. James's. But the name selected by tho parish has also to obtain the vote of at least one of four representatives of the Synod of Sydney, which has a generally evangelistic tendency. lii the case of the present vacancy the difficulty had up till then been that the synod representatives, unanimously refused the selection. In the case of Dean Kite, however, who was passed by the synod nominators, the deadlock has been reached through tho position' taken up by the Archbishop of Sydney. ■

•Shortly after 1 having selected Dean Kite, the parochial nominators received a letter from him stating that the Archbishop of Sydney had written to him making his acceptance of'the nomination conditional on Dean Kite's promising that if he were accepted t'or St. .Tames's Church lie should discontinue tho use of vestments in.that church until and unless the Archbishop of Sydnoy should hold it allowable. Dean Kite informed the nominators tiiat he had written an answer ,to the Archbishop questioning, with very great deference, his right to make those conditions, or to put those quc-stions, or, indeed, now that lie had been duly selectedj to require anything of him beyond the fact that he was an ordained member of the Church of England, duly qualified, and of good character, an'd content to accept the usual conditions oil coming under his jurisdiction. ' Dean Kite, although having questioned tho power of the Archbishop of Sydney to ask the above conditions of him, did not wish to press the matter, although it was likely that tl;e parochial nominators, if tho further pursuance of the matter lind lain with them, might have been prepared to obtain the decision of a final court on the matter. "Tho po?itiou wd take-, snul otic ot tho authorities, at St. James's, "is practically expressed t>v the, statement made by tho Bishop of London at his Diocesan Conference in 1903. What Dr. Winnington Ingram said was this:— "Everyone by this time knows the legal situation with' regard to vestments. 1 Apparently sanctioned by the Court ot Appeal in 1857, indisputably sanctioned by the Court of Arches in 1870, condemned twice by : th« Courts of Appeal in 1871 and 1877 respectively at a time when less evidence 011 the subject was forthcoming than is forthcoming to-day .• . . they would probably have been sanctioned .in tho light of the reasoning of Archbishop Ueuson's Court if vestments had been in question in that suit. Even* sensiblo evangelical hopes devoutly that tho question will never bo raised 'in' Court again, for tho simple reason that, if revived again, as a leadino' evangelical said in -public the other day,''it is only too likely they will bo declared compulsory.'" ."Those interested in this matter m Sydney," said ono of tho nominators of St: James's, "would gladly welcome an 'opportunity of bringing the t matter, at whatever cost,'before the Privy Council again." "Local' Option," in the courso of a letter to the Sydney ".Morning Herald," states'"Many churchmen will bo more inclined to' believe in the Archbishop s desire to obev the l'rivy Council's judgments when-'they find him celebrating tho Eucharist at St. Andrew's Cathedral vested in a cope, which tho Privy Council has declared the legal vestment for cathedral churches. It we are; to have the . Privy Council decisions enforced, upon us, in common fairness and decency let them be enforced evenly, all round. And let those who seek to enforce tho decisions first obey them themselves."