PRESBYTERIAN ASSEMBLY

Evening Star, Issue 12965, 9 November 1906, Page 6

PRESBYTERIAN ASSEMBLY

YESTERDAY'S BUSINESS. The following concludes our report of yesterday's doings of the Presbyterian General Assembly : —Petitions. — It. was resolved, on the motion of the Rev. A. Cameron —"Thar the petitions uncut the Assemblv's decision of last vear ill the cafe, of St. "Andrew's Church, Wellington, be referred to a committee consisting of l)r Kisbct, the Revs. J. .Tolly. R. M. Ryburri. J. A. Asher, T. M. Macdonald, Mr J" G. \V. Ait-ken, and the mover, with power to take evidence and report." —Financial.—

The. Rev. W. J. C'omrio thou road his treasurer's statement, which contained the following clauses among others:—"The income, of the funds for the year has been very satisfactory. The balances to the credit of the Foreign Mission, Canton Village Mhsion, Indian Mission, Native Teachers, and Maori Mission liavc aii increased since last year. The. Maori Girls' School and Daysprmg balances have decreased, but,, are. still in credit. A new fund has been opened for the. Canton Villages- Hospital." The, rest, of tho report dealt in detail with tho state of tile different, accounts. Mr .T. G. \V. Aitken moved the following in regard to the report:—''Adopt the statement, and flunk the treasurer for his diligence; jesolve that the funds contributed for building the residential college be. exempted from assw«ment; authorise the treasurer to write off Ihe arrears of Assembly expe.nse.s an requested in the report ; and continue taie trustees resident in Wellington as a committee of advice, and ■ ■mpower the treasurer, on the advice of that committee, and with the consent of the committees concerned, to adjust the accounts so as to combine certain funds devoted to a common object." The motion was carried after discussion. - -Notices of Motion. —

The Rev. I)r Grab gave notice to move that £6O a year lie added to the salary of the, treasurer.

I>r Nisbet gave notice of motion to the of>ect rh-it the amount standing to the credit of the Saobath Schools Committee's account, be placed at the disposal of the Assembly's Sabbath Schools Examination Committee.

Dr Nisbet also gave notice, to move that the tr<»asui'er be instructed to pay ;ui honorarium of £SO to the Moderator. —Other Business.—

It was resolved, on the Rex. W. Hewitson's motion, that tho Publications Commit tee's report, together with all the. overtures '.. here anent, be referred to a committee to repon I" a future meeting. The committee, consists of the members of the regular Publications Committee and a number of other nK-mbcrs of Assembly. At the, request of the Wanganui Presbytery, the Rev. J. Doull (re-signed) was granted the position of pajstor emeritus, with a seat in the Assembly. llye.nikc; Sitting. The Assembly resumed at about 8.45, after the Sabbath school demonstration in the Garrison Hall. —Theological College.—

The Rev. A. Cameron moved the adoption of the re[K>rt on the Theological College, Dunedin. In doing so he said that the college continued to prosper, and the number and quality of the students kept up. For this they had cause to be thankful. There was a large list of scholarships, and he was sure that the success of the college depended on the liberality .of the people in this respect. One oi* the recommendations that, tho Committee would make was that no student be allowed to engage in missionary work dnring his course at the hall without the permission of the Comrvttee. This was because the Committee were eager to get as many good students as they could and then do the best they could for them, and not allow them toinjnre their health by doing too much work. If every office-bearer gave only half-a - crown to the Office-bearers' Fund it would enable the Committee to greatly help the students. He mentioned certa-m notable cases of individual liberality. The Committee desired that, the students should not he compelled to overstrain themselves by trying to earn th*ir bread and cany on their studies at the same time. In this case he who gave quickly gave twice. He was sure also that the time had come for the appointment of another teacher and for making the teaching at the college ranch more practical.—(Hear, hear.) The Church ought to wake to tie necessities of the work of the college.. He was sure that they had the material here to make the best ministers. He had had the greatest pleasure in his work on the XhcoKaausil Committee for many

vears, and had always tried to do his best for the college. Seventy men were in active work in New Zealand and elsewhere who had been trained at the college, and every one of them had proved a good workmen —some of them exceptionally good. Ho moved to receive the report and thank all those- who had contributed to the scholarship funds, and that Assembly consider the various recommendations seriatim. - The Rev. Mr Collie seconded the motion, and bore testimony to the good work that had been done for the college by the convener of the Committee. (Mr Cameron). Mr Cameron he characterised as a man in whom enthusiasm had become chronic. He advocated the establishment of a Hebrew Scholarship and the giving of a liberal prize for the best treatise on some apologetic subject, so as to encourage students to further work. The report stated that the attendance at the college classes had been most encouraging, the total in attendantce being twenty-three, of whom three belonged to other denominations. Dr Dnnlop said it gave him great pleasure to be able to say that as regarded ability, devotion to duty, and character the students attending the hall gave high promise of usefulness in the work of the ministry. Dr Watt said that a good many of his students had acquitted themselves well and did excellent work. All of them, he believed, worked earnestly and conscientiously, and their conduct, had always been such as became aspirants to the Christian ministry. The report went on to deal with scholarships, etc.. stating that a strong scholarship fund was essential to the success of the college. The Committee made several recommendations as to new regulations, course of study, etc.

After considerable discussion, in course of which the receipt of certain new scholarship funds from Auckland and the West Coast was announced, the motion was carried, and members of Assembly signfied by applause their appreciation of the services rendered to the college by Mr Cameron.

The rest of the sitting was taken up by consideration of the Committee's recommendations, some of which were approved and some deferred.