CORRESPONDENCE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume II, Issue 86, 28 August 1852, Page 7

CORRESPONDENCE.

To the Editor of the Lyttelton Times. Sib,—l am instructed by the Committee appointed to communicate with the Bishop on the subject of the Church Constitution for New Zealand to request that you will publish the following resolution, adopted by them unanimously at a meeting held on the 14th instant: —Resolved "that taking into consideration the fact that a bill has been introduced into Parlia- . meat enabling the Bishops, Clergy, and laity of the Church in the colonies to assemble and frame laws for their own government, it would not be desirable for the people of this colony to take any practical step in the same direction, until it be known whether the bill above alluded to will pass, and until the Bishop of New Zealand be consulted on the best course to be adopted in reference to it." I am further instructed to relate, for the information of the public, what the Committee have done since they were appointed, and the reasons which now induce them to suspend further action for the present. In fulfilment of the duties assumed by them, the Committee addressed a letter to the Bishop, requesting his Lordship to advise them as to the steps which ought to be taken for the purpose of carrying * but the objects which they had in view. In reply to this communication the Bishop sent them a copy of the Pastoral letter which has been already published in your columns, and the direct object of which is to promote an application from the Churchmen of New Zealand to the Imperial Parliament for powers of selfgovernment. In the ordinary course of things, it would have been the duty of the Committee to submit the Bishop's, letter to the public of this settlement, with such resolutions bearing upon it as the letter seemed to require. But in the meantime intelligence reached the colony that Mr. Gladstone had brought a bill into Parliament, flamed in special reference to the same objects as those of the Bishop's letter, and that it had been,favourably received by the House of Commons and the Government; so that there

is little doubt of its having before this time become the law of the land. Now, it is obvious that this Bill, if passed, must form the basis of all proceedings which may henceforth be taken in the matter of Colonial Church Government, and whether it has passed or not, we may safely assume that Parliament will not entertain another measure, dealing with precisely the same subject matter, upon the application of the Churchmen of New Zealand. It is true, that, for some unexplained reason, New Zealand does not at present appear among the colonies to which the bill in the first instance applies ; it will therefore probably be necessary to petition the Queen to extend its operation by an order in Council, as the act empowers her to do. But at any rate, the introduction of such a bill, by a man of Mr. Gladstone's eminence, seems to alter so fundamentally the circumstances under which we were called upon to apply to Parliament, that we can hardly doubt but that the Bishop, had he known of it, would not have counselled such an application in the form proposed until the fate of the measure should be known. The Committee have therefore determined to suspend active proceedings in this matter for the present, until they shall have had an opportunity of consulting the Bishop on the altered circumstances of the case. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, John Robert Godley, Hon. Secretary.

To the Editor of the Lyttelton Times. Sir, —In deeds of Settlement constituting and binding the great Joint Stock Companies of England, it is uniformly the practice to append a declaratory clause wherein the words made use of in the Deeds are expressly defined and declared to bear such and such an interpretation and none other. Now, Sir, might it not be highly advisable in a young country like this, where there must needs be, like myself, many a plain unlettered man, that some such unmistakable system should be adopted, whether it may be, in setting forth the objects of a * Colonists' Society,' or in the more sacred announcements from the house of God. At the ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the New Church, Mr. Godley, in an eloquent and feeling speech, while inviting contributions to its erection, declared that he desired no niggardly offerings—naught from a grudging hand —he would have a " cheerful giver," and all others were requested to stand back—they had no part therein. Such sentiments were worthy of the cause, ot the man, and of his motives. I had not the pleasure of being present. I heard them not. But I did hear, upon another occasion, the Officiating Clergyman announce from within the precincts of the altar that the contributions to the offertory, after defraying the expenses of cleansing and lighting the Temporary Church, washing the priestly vestments, and such like, were to be applied to charitable purposes. Charity, Sir, is a broad, a bright, a glorious word, embracing within its ample folds the love of God, and the love of all mankind; but there is yet a limited sense in which it is perhaps more generally understood, that of administering to the wants and necessities of our suffering fellow creatures ; and whatever may have been the understanding of the peculiarly initiated of the congregation who listened to the Preacher's address, I believe that there were very many present who, in their simple natures, gave to it this more limited construction., and considered that when they placed their little offering into the blue bag, it was to be applied to the relief of suffering humanity. Has it been so ? A Gentleman—a settler from a neighbouring Colony, directed my attention to -a poor family he found labouring under much privation. The father an honest, sober, industrious man, but from bad health unable to provide for the wants of his family, a wife and five young children. Soon after seeing this family, I met a Rev. Gentleman, and another professional gentleman, connected, I believe, with the " Church Building Society," (I think so called), to whom I represented the case of this family. They expressed their ignorance of such a thing as destitution, or distress existing in the place—felt obliged by having their attention directed to it —and stated their readiness to afford relief from the Church contributions. I felt satisfied thatjoy, to which they had long been strangers, was about to gladden the hearts of this poor family. Before going to Church last sabbath, 1 called on the family, and on enquiring what

had been done for them was told that they had **received an order for—what think you ? A loaf of bread and two pounds of meat! A loaf of bread and two pounds of meat for a' family of seven souls in as many days !! Well may we exclaim — " O for the rarity Of Christian charity, Under the Snn." If the family were not deserving, all aid ought to have been withheld—if they were deserving such a wretched pittance was a mere mockery of misery and woe, and worthy only of common execration. But in all this, Sir, I may be doing the Rev. Gentleman great injustice. Many, like myself, not nurtured in the bosom of Mother Church, must have wondered to hear almost sahbath after sabbath certain days of the week declared as "fast days"—one sacred to the Purification of the Virgin, another dedicated to St. Barnabas, St. Bartholomew,'or some other of the eminently pious selected from the catalogue of the Lady who sitteth enthroned on the Seven Hills. Now these seven days may have come within the Church's fasting regulations, and the Rev. Gentleman may, in his priestly office, have been more solicitous for the souls than the physical sufferings of this poor family. Good—doubtless, very good ! But there are many simple souls— at least among Shagroons—who think that one may worship his Maker as thankfully and cheerfully with a satisfied stomach as under the cravings of hunger. The little blue bag is, doubtless, very pretty, with its crucifix and its ornaments, and, seeming the work of some fair hand, would insinuate itself into the heart, and invite contributions ; but I would suggest to all who wish their donations applied to charitable purposes to reserve them for their own application, rather than confide in the somewhat equivocal sympathies of the orthodox of Lyttelton. I am, Sir, An Oia> Shagboon. Angnst 24, 1852. Since writing the above I find another ration similar in quantity to the first, has been doled out.