THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH IN THE COLONIES.

Lyttelton Times, Volume II, Issue 68, 24 April 1852, Page 3

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH IN THE COLONIES.

|_We extract the following from the Wellington Spectator!] u;i The following is the reply of the Archbishop -"' of Canterbury to the minutes agreed to by the bishops of the Province of Australasia, at their ..ijicetiug, in October, 1850. It will be seen that -fefp-yGrace asserts positively that no synodical action of the colonial church can take place without interfering with the Queen's supremacy :—(Extract.) " Lambeth, 4th July, 1851. With respect to the matter of great doubt and difficulty, the inconvenience is apparent of the uncertain jurisdiction of the bishops, and the consequent imperfection of discipline in your remote provinces. For the present, the Queen's supremacy must be assumed as unquestionable ; and no doubt it prevents the issuing of any synodical mandate, or evening the assembling of any synod which should claim authority. Whenever the subject of ecclesiastical jurisdiction in the colonies has been mooted here, the absence of any specific scheme or pro- • posal on the part of the colonial bishops has

been urged as a reason for postponing the consideration ; and it certainly would not be competent for the authorities here to propose such enactments as might remedy the evils under which you labour, without a suggestion from you of the means of their removal. It appears to me that such a scheme as might be drawn up on the spot, with especial view to the inconveniences which you experience in the practical enforcement of discipline, should be prepared and sent to this country. The subject would then be considered by the Colonial Secretary and the ecclesiastical officers of the Crown ; and such legislation might follow as would place you in a better condition for the right administration of church discipline.—l remain, &c, &c, (signed) J. B. Canxaub."— Sydney Herald.