THE VACANCY AT St. PAUL'S, NAPIER.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3733, 3 July 1883, Page 4

THE VACANCY AT St. PAUL'S, NAPIER.

A meeting of the congregation of St. Paul's Presbyterian Church was held last evening to consider the question of asking tho Presbytery to moderate in a call to the Rev. D. * Sidey. The attendance both of members and adherents was very limited. Mr Sidey, tho of the church, occupied the chair. Prayer was offered by the Rev. W. Shirritl's, of AVaipukurau, who asked "that the congregation might bo guided by the Spirit of God in the important crisis which had brought them together to-night," and prayed that all might havo "that wisdom and guidance which God alone could give."

Mr J. AY. Craig road the minutes of two meetings of the joint managers and .session of the congregation held on the 10th of April and 25th of May, when the question of obtaining a successor to Mr Sidey had been considered. At the first meeting' Mr Sidey's resignation was received, _ accompanied with a desire that ho might be allowed to remain as pastor emeritus, receiving a salary of £50 a year in lieu of tho manse. This was agreed to by the joint managers and session, and Mr Sidey was requested to make inquiries as to a suitable man to fill his place. The second meeting was held at the Manse on the 25th of May, when Mr Sidey reported the result of his enquiries, and laid before the managers a mass of correspondence on the subject. After setting aside those candidates who wero considered to bo either not suitable or available, the question resolved itself into the selection of one or other of the three following gentlemen :—Mr Patten, of Invcrcargill; Mr Killen, of Tauranga ; Mr Ross, of "Anderson's Bay, Otago. All the circumstances of the case being thoroughly discussed, it had been resolved by the meeting, on the motion of Mr Anderson, seconded by Mr Montgomery, that Mr Rosa should be appointed, aud it was agreed to moderate in a call to him, a commission being appointed for the purpose. They were now prepared to proceed with the business of the meeting.

Mr Walker asked who were entitled to vote, also what was constituted a communicant ? The Chairman said a communicant was one who took his or her seat at the communion table of the congregation, and whose name appeared on tliucomnnuiicani;'s roll. An adherent was ono who regularly attended the church and assisted in its support financially. Either an adherent or communicant was at liberty to vote.

Mr Sidey then read the following from a manuscript which ho held in his hand: — I have asked Mr Craig to read our minutes, as tho best way of introducing tho business of the evening. A little further explanation is needed from me to this meeting, to put you fairly in possession of tho facts. Ah stated in tho first of those minutes, I intimated to a joint meeting of session and managers, the officers of the church associated with mc for the management of its affairs, that I wished to be relieved of the responsibility of the charge of St. Paul's so soon as a suitable successor could bo secured, as I felt unable to discharge the duties of the sphere with satisfaction to myself or probably to the congregation. No doubt, had circumstances been different with mc, I might have been compelled to work on, even if that work wore inefficiently done. Many clergymen, and men of business, too, are constrained to act in this way from sheer necessity. Though not by any means a wealthy man, I have that, in the providence of God, which, when supplemented by what I may he able to obtain otherwise as it may open to me, will prove sufficient to meet the needs of myself and family. Heuco_ 1 proposed tho arrangements named in the minutes, as, in my judgment, of a liberal kind towards the congregation. _ I prosumo I need say nothing more of myself. In making- this intimation of my wish to resign, so soon as a suitable successor could bo obtained, I mado two statements to tho meeting of session and managers — (1.) That it would bo exceedingly desirable 1o obtain a man in tho colony, if that were possible. Ho would have the advantage of colonial experience, which would bo a very great gain to a successful pastorate. Life" here, and life in the Old Country, as bearing on the Christian ministry, is considerably different; and a man has a great deal to unlearn, as well as to learn, on coming to this country. Besides, it is daily becoming a more difficult thing to get suitable men iv Scotland who are willing to come to this country. Commissions sent home to choose a minister wero recently returned, on the ground that tho parties asked to provide them could not find the kind of man wanted ; and others had been found so difficult to execute that the persons entrusted had been compelled to send men who were not up to the mark they wished for the places they wero to till. All this happened in connection with charges very much more influential than Napier is ever likely to be. Besides, there was the very long delay involved in this course. It could not isMie in from 8 to I' 2 months, aud I felt reluctant to be left with tho burden of this church and the surrounding districts for so long a time if it could be avoided. I urn trying to do the work of the place as far as I am able, but tho wetness of the season, and tho amount of work and shepherding needed, has mado some aspects of the duty harder than it needed to bo. If all the members and adherents of tho church had been as careful to show their presenco on the Sabbaths, unci to do their duty otherwise, as they might have been, tho labor and anxiety connected with a long interregnum of the pastorate had been less full of solicit ude to me. But one cannot get outside the facts. For such reasons I felt anxious that a minister should be secured in the colonies if possible. Another suggestion I made to that meeting was that tho man chosen should be iv the prime of life. I did not think that a man up in years would be successful in the ministry here. There is that instinctive sympathy running between men, that an aged man never carries with him tho young. If a man has been for a period of time among them, and if they have grown up around him, he may hold their sympathies through their parents, and through the respect they entertain towards himself ; but to a stranger, if separated from them much iv years, it would infallibly follow that they would bo separated from him in sympathy. Such has been tho result of my observations through the whole of my life. Then a man up in years would never be able to carry on the work of this church and superintend the surrounding districts. There is a large amount of stern, hard work in it, involving, oftentimes, a good deal of riding-, wliich only a vigorous man could accomplish. Hence I stated to them that I thought the man that should be looked for should be in the prime of life. In the view of these statements, and after very careful deliberation, tho joint meeting_ of session and managers came to tho decision, wliich you have heard read, of asking mo to correspond with pastors—naming Dr Stuart, of Dunedin, and others—to see if there was any possibility of finding such a person as we needed in the colony. I sent one letter to a friend in New South Wales, who replied that unless the stipend was £500 ov £GOO a year, with the prospect of an increase on that, it was of no use to look for what we wanted in Australia. I also entered into correspondence with Mr Paterson, of Wellington, and Mr Gillies, of Timaru, and other local clergymen, and found a very general tondency of opinion towards Mr Chisholm, of Tokamairiro, and Mr Ross, of Anderson's Bay, aa thoroughly suitablo men for the position. Dr Stuart corresponded with them both, but found them unwilling to become candidates. The first did not wish to change his sphere at all, and the second took very much tho same ground. Other names wero suggested to me, some by ministers and somo by friends, both in the North and in the South. Some of them I did not think suited for our wants on the ground of their age, or from want of information about them, or other tilings. At last, us I felt time was Hying, with all this delay in correspondence, aud as matters seemed to mo to bo narrowing to two men, Mr Ross, of Anderson's Bay, andMrPiittcn, of Invcrcargill, I wrote them both, and asked them if they would bo prepared to look at a call if Napier Church were to give ifc to them. The first replied that, on the ground of our milder climate, he would, if ifc were addressed to him unanimously, although he felt quite sure that the temporal circumstances of his present (.'barge were better than we offered, and that his comfort and success in the sphere where he was labouring were such as made him reluctant to contemplate leaving it. Tho second replied, also, that ho would, on tho ground that Mrs Patten had been urged by her medical adviser to find a dryer climate than luvercargill. Another name,

Mr Sutherland, of North Taieri, suggested, replied through Mr Gillies, that he would not entertain it. Such were the issues of tho enquiries, after a long and anxious correspondence, by letters and telegrams. Tho whole of the letter replies were received tho week before I called the joint meeting, on Monday last. Neither of these two men would preach, but on the ground of climate they were prepared to look favorably at a, call if addressed to them, although in temporal circumstances they were better where they were. These results I laid before the of session and managers, last week, which formed the ground of the second minute. It would have been an immense relief of responsibility to the session and managers if these men would have come and preached. It would have left you all the of exercising your own judgment in so important a matter as the choice of a minister. But they would not; and, knowing the facts as I do, Ido not wonder. I myself have done the same on more occasions than one since I came to Napier. It is often a most uncomfortable thing for a man of high and sensitive temperament to appear as a candidate in a Church ; and with the very best men it is often unsuccessful. They fall beneath it, or the persons they have preached before have such exaggerated notions, that they cannot be met. Hence disappointment often conies to both parties. And the minister, who is disappointed, goes away back to his old sphere, with a perceptible loss of prestige and spiritual power among his people—regretting bitterly that ho hacl consented to embark on such a course as he had done—hence, high-minded men, who have real concern for their spiritual work in the Church, refuse to appear as candidates in other Churches while they aro minister over a Church. "They aro cowards," say some, " and are not worthy of being looked at." AA r ell, perhaps they arc. But, in this case, they have a good many bedfellows. There is not a working-man here, nor a merchant either, who would ultroneously offend their present employers, or their best customer, in going after something which was quite uncertain of attainment and imperilling what they possessed. They would count tlie cost before they proceeded,_ and act with circumspect wisdom and uprightness to those with whom they were connected, oven while they might wish to better it. Bosides, as a fact, it is well known to anyone who has had any experience in such a matter as tho choice of a minister, that churches and committees are compelled to proceed on personal knowledge rather than on simple preaching if they are to be successful in their object. Those Churches which_ do so invariably do the best that is possible for thorn to'do. Those who will insist on the simple preaching of one or two discourses often make overwhelming blunders —blunders ruinous for every interest fur a long future. These things were all in tho minds of your session and managers when they came to tho decisions contained in the last minute. There is another question lying somewhat behind those sentiments to which" it is bettor, perhaps, that I turn. Some of you may be saying why did I not resign to the Presbytery straight off the reel at tho first; and" throw the Church open to hear candidates according to our usual rule f AVell, my friends, I know no such rule in our Church, and I know a great deal of quite Ihc opposite character in its practice. You will give me credit when 1 state to yon that I know pretty welt our code of rules in this country ; and that I know of none which requires such a course to bo followed. The practice has often been in the very opposite direction. It is tho rule at Home, then, you may bo saying. Yes! But Homo and this counlry canuot bo administered iv precisely tho same rules in such a case as this. There preachers and ministers are about as thick as blackberries on a bush, and it is only in rare times that a failure would be experienced in securing a supply for the Sabbath Suppose that I had taken this course, which I might have done, and what had been the consequence 'i Why, as a Church, you would have been without a head, except receiving the very partial attention that a member of the Presbytery could give you, and half, or three-fourths, of your Sabbaths you would have been without ministerial 'supply. AYe havo only ono unattached man that I know of in New Zealand, and you would very soon havo exhausted any 'supply that ministers in other charges could have given you. Half your time you would have had no one, ami what would have been tho results ? In all probability you had been broken up into factions, and partizansliip would have run so keenly that you must havo fallen into a slough of despond on one side or another. It would in all probability havo ended in collapse of the Church. Besides, how were you to meet the expense involved ? To havo brought one of these men from Dunedin for two Sabbaths would have cost you for passage and hotels and the supply of this pulpit about £30 ; and one from luvercargill £40 ; from Auckland £20, and so on. The burden would havo been such that it would very speedily have overwhelmed you. Looking at these considerations, which circumstances have constrained mo to produce in this detail, I trust you will give the session and managers ,-ome respect for acting with a wise consideration in the steps havo taken. Mine were taken with the fullest deliberation, and are such as I think your interests require mo to adhere to. I shall continue to bold this charge till another is ready to enter it. There is not one of us so far as I know who wishes for anything but the best interests of this Church ancl of all tho Churches in the district. AYe clo not wish to exert any dominion over you, taking from you your liberty, nor to interfere in any respect with your privileges. AYe have simply looked at our special circumstances, with the light of an ordinary intelligence, ancl brought up this report, which you arc at liberty to adopt or not. I am sure you will allbelieve mo when ladd, id'myself personally, that there is not one thing on this earth I long for more than to see someone succeeding mo in this church who will take up the work of Christ aud carry it on with earnest and wise zeal, and to vastly higher results than 1 have been able to reach. Your prosperity is mine. Your joy will bo mine, and your'sorrow, if it comes, will be mine. You will pardon me for going into all this detail.

Mr Colledge moved a resolution, (1) approving the action of the managers and kirk session ; ('_) appointing Mr Anderson and Mr M'Vay to wait on the Presbytery asking the Presbytery to moderate in a call; '(a) giving Mr Sidey a. retiring salary of £o0 per annum in lieu of tbe manse ; and (1) fixing the salary of Mr Sidoy's successor at £300 a year and manse. In moving the resolution Mr Colledge said it was very evident ' that the joint managers and session had taken a great deal of trouble in gathering such information as they could to lay before tlic congregation, and it only now remained for them to approve of what had been done, aud give the managers authority to proceed further. With respect to Mr Ross's suitability he (Mr Colledge) had taken the trouble to write to a friend in Dunedin who had a long connection with tbe church there, and in reply he had received a telegram stating that Mr Ross was one of tho best ministers in tho Presbyterian Church of Otago and Southland ; as a preacher he was greatly above the average and as a pastor second only to Dr. Stuart, of Dunedin. Mr Davis said bo bad come prepared to ask that, before moderating in a call, they should hear the candidates first, but after what he had just heard he would second Mr Colledgc's motion. Mr Walker agreed with a portion of. the resolution only. Ho was not, however, favorable to the hasty manner in which it was proposed to settle the matter. There were some candidates, apparently, regarding whom only partial information had been obtained, ancl further enquiries should be made about those gentlemen in the meantime. Ho was not one who believed in making a minister bid for votes, but ho thought Mr Ross might be asked to conic up on a visit to Napier, so that the members might become personally acquainted with him, and ascertain if he was suited for the place. The expense would not be so very great, and ho (Mr Walker) was quite willing to pay his share of it. lie moved this as an amendment. Mr Hanna seconded the motion pro forma. Mr McVay said that Mr Walker's motion, after all, although put in a very plausible shape, simply meant that Mr Ross should coino on trial, and this Mr Ross had distinctly refused to do. Mr McVay failed to sco that any undue haste was being employed in filling tho vacancy. In fact he had been asked on several occasion what the session had been doing in the matter since Mr Sidey resigned. If anything there was delay in arriving at a practical solution of the position, and what had been done was done after mature deliberation. He was sorry to sco any "splitting of straws"

over the question, and thought it very undesirable that the amendment should be insisted upon. Mr AVilkie agreed with Mr McA r ay that no undue haste had been employed. Mr Sidey had resigned his charge on the 16th of April, and the congregation never had the least official intimation of tho fact until Sunday last, when they were invited to attend the present meeting. The congregation had a rig-lit to know, and a meeting should have been called long since and the whole'circumstances laidbef ore them. Surely they were as well fitted—most of them at any rate—to make a selection as the managers" were. If Mr Ross did not agree to come up on a visit prior to his appointment, doubtless some other minister would. Mr T. Sidey asked the meeting to consider the position in which the congregation would be placed if Mr Ross refused, as in all probability he would, to agree to the terms proposed by Mr AValker. They would bo left practically without a head. Mr Craig explained that the motion did not in any way bind the congregation to select Mr Ross. All it did was to ask the Presbytery to "moderate in a call," and the Presbytery would fix a clay for tho congregation to meet and decide what action should be taken in the way of providing a successor to Mr Sidey. Mr AValker said that he had tabled his amendment under a different impression, and after Mr Craig's explanation he would withdraw tho amendment and bring it forward at a more suitable time. The motion was then unanimously carried, and the meeting was closed with prayer.