THE ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3141, 20 July 1917, Page 7

THE ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL

Sir,—We have heard a great deal latolv iibout a Cathedral for Wellington, and as an old and interested settler I would, with .rtmr permission, lilio to ask a. few questions on the subject. To begin with: Ha.vo fie churoh people as a. body evor been asked whether they think it a really desirable thing to build a Cathedra] in Wellington at ■ all ? Whether, in fact, one is .wanted; or whether it oight not prove a . great detriment to parochial work, and.bo an everlasting drain rn ffio r-.--cnirces of the. diocese? Has Ke aiiestion-over. been .mil .in a fair jamL.

square manner to the Synod, and been properly discussed by that body. Is it not tho experience of all responsible church workers that when a special effort is made and tho cloquenco of interested olorgy used lo promote somo i:ew object, that the hucmbs of that objcct is always gained lo tlio detriment of tther, and possibly moro deserving, ones? This being bo, all aro moro or Jess interested in the question as to how the largo sum (estimated, I understand, at. anything between .£150,000 and .£250,000) required for tho Cathedral is to bo raised. Has this been fully discussed in all its liearings by Synod, or any other responsible church body? The clergy seem to think that if tho Bev, Mr. Askow is on tho spot in England when peace is declared, and that if ho uses his wellknown oloqueneo with proper effect, ho will get all he requires from tho wealthy in the Old Country.' It is thought, I understand, that there will pass over England a wave of sentiment, so strong that if it bo properly "tapped" any appeal made by us for some sort of recognition for what our soldiers have niffered in the Empire's cause will meet with a most generous response. Should it bo suggested that other parte of the King's Dominions may be making similar appeals, the idea seems to be, that like the commercial traveller with his wares. If first iu wo will probably get what we want before tho idea strikes tho less intelligent. Australian, South African, or Canadian churchmen, who will bo too late in working a similar method in obtaining somothing at the expense, of others. Has the Church of England, as a whole, even thought whether it is desirable or otherwise, that when tho suffering and distress of Belgium, Northern l?rajice, Serbia, Rumania, Montenegro, and l'oiand, to say nothing of England, will be piteously calling aloud to the Great God to help them, his people, and that every person possessing a heart to bleed and an imagination to picture will be straining every nerve to respond to this dreadful ory;. that we should bo empowering an ordained servant cf Christ to endeavour to divert a hundred thousand fioundi or more to our littlo corner of - the world, a corner which comparatively ,has suffered nothing, and which in many respects benefited considerably by this terrible curso of war. To divert, I repeat, this large sum of money, whicli might be spent iu the relief of thousands who are suffering untold misery, to enable us to erect a now building, which it Lis obvious we can do well without till times aro sufficiently prosperous for us to build (should wo really require it) for ourselves. Has not the whole thing been worked up by a small coterie of Wellington gentlemen, who have hastily committed the churchi to an ill-thought-out scheme, and have hustled it through a surprised Synod, without giving tho members theroof anything more than a kinematographic and hasty view of the whole question at Issue? Apologising for tho ■length c! this letter, which I trust will lead to further discussion.—X n,m, etc., HUMANITAS. Wellington, July 18, 1917. [The Cathedral schemo which was approved by Synod does not. involve the. raising of tho Cathedral Building lund in England. The idea is, we beliovo, that certain features of tho Military Chapel of a decorative, memorial, and historical nature may be obtained by way of gifts from sympathisers in the Motherland.]