GENERAL SYNOD.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 24, 27 January 1877, Page 2

GENERAL SYNOD.

The: Synod resumed yesterday at 4 p.m., 32 members being present. The Primate having opened the proceedings with prayer, the notices of motion on the order paper .were taken seriatim. . . , • . Archdeacon Maunsell moved — ■ " That every speaker when moving a resolution sliall be.restricted to twenty minutes- every subsequent speaker upon that resolution shall be restricted to fifteen minutes, but the. Synod may in either case, by vote, grant an exception. His object was to avoid the waste of time caused by lengthy speeches, which often resulted in some of the most important matters being delayed till so late in the session that it was found impossible to keep together a quorum of members, and tnife the business necessarily was shelved. Many of the members came from a long distance. The clerical members wanted to get back to their parishes, and the lay members to their professions or business, and hence towards the end of the third week it was f ouud that a sufficient attendance could not be retained. Mr Carleton seconded the motion; feeling satisfied that any member at all practised either in public speaking or in arranging his ideas could pump his brain dry in twenty minutes if he chose. (Laughter.) It waa

very rarely that the arguments on any single . question could nolr-he inta that period if property and logically phi. f Those, members who had not yet acquired this art of condensation; and concentration o!f ;ideas wpuld do Mrell to learn it as quiokly as possible. The bnly case in which he coald conceive thatJr difficulty rjeatly 'mjgh^iHT felt wax that of the mover's reply when the different arguments of some twenty or thirty i'speairer3 had to he met, but eTen in this case it was "rarely that so many really cogent arguments were brought forward as to demand more than twenty minutes to answer them. • .' .: : Archdeacon Harper thought the Synod ought not, especially at this early stage, to P u t any limits on its power of speech. It only . met once in thr«ei years and then the matters to ba dealt with were of deep importance. It would be derogatory to the dignity of that venerable assemblage toguusauy:. sack, .resolution. They ought not to put so prominently forward xn the first place the mere personal convenience of the rifemberi'- Such a consideration should yield to a sense of the deep importance of theirCdefiber&tions as affecting the welfare of.tha 1 church. iEbr his own part he was most anxious to getjfcack to his parish as quickly a? possible* but ba regtfrd&d the matters they jvere called to deal with as of too great moment to;- lie. deliberated. hastily. Again it wonlel mak&an unpractised speaker exceedingly nervous; to know that at a certain minute an extingusher woald drop on him, thus his very anxiety to complete hia argument within the: time might prevent his doing full justice to; his -subject; Undoubtedly long speeches sometimes were tiresome; so were long sermons, but he felt sure that even thsse who complained most of the latter would hesitate to pass a regulation limiting , all sermons to, is.br 20 minutes. He ahonld oppose the motion feeling that: the. principle . was not a wise pne. Mr Hunter Brown also thought the. principle a, faulty one; ; The waste o£ time so 1 much Complained of did tfot arise' so much* frdrn oijcasionaHoDg. speeches on soine important subjects jvfiibh metnbers.themselves were quite filling!... to listen to; but was ; caused mainly..by soVnany pieinbers. constantly making a Short speeches/on every' subject brought before the ; Synod. L '. ■ ArcKdeacoh MaugseU, in reply, [instanced the late' Parliamentary sessions as a case in which iatich a'rule as that he'' proposed would have been found highly advantageous. The motion being put was lost on the voices. . ■_•,. Archdeacon Stock's motion, "That the minutes of proceedings of the- Synod, when in Committee, shall be duly read to the Synod on the. next day," was seconded by the Hon Mr Acland, and agreed to, the latter part, "and shall be duly signed by the Chairman of Committees," being struck out with 1 the consent of the mover. ;The Bishop of Auckland in moving, "That thVSynod do appoint to fill the vacant office _ of Bishop of the Isles of Melanesia the Rev ' . John Richardson Selwyn, the person recommended to the General Synod by the members of the mission now engaged iu carrying on the Mission work, to flit the said vacant office," impressed on the members of the Synod the deep importance and responsibility of the power they were now called on to exercise, the greatest office which ever came within their province to perform—the abpointmentof a bishop. His Lordship sketched the history of the Melanesian Diocese, and of its connection with the New Zealand church, which dated from the time when the Archbishop of Canterbury on consecrating Bishop Selwyn to the Diocese of New Zealand exhorted him not to confine his charge to these islands, but to extend his care also to the other islands and coasts of the Pacific After detailing the history of the diocese up to the time of Bishop Patteson's lamented death, he mentioned that Mr Codrington, the present head of the mission, had been asked by Bishop Patteson to consider whether he could accept the bishopric as his successor if requested to take it. Mr Codrington was . most fit in every way for the post, but he had declined it most positively. They all would have been very glad if Mr Dudley could have taken it, as he too was thoroughly fitted for the post, but unfortunately he had been compelled by failing health to retire from the active work of the mission. They were most fortunate, however, in being able to obtain such a man aa Mr Selwyn, who in- , herited his father's noble character. A more unselfish man there could not possibly be. No greater instance of self-sacrifice could be given than that voluntarily, made by him when he took holy orders. : . He had entered on an assured and brilliant career at the English bar, and had such prospects as seldom fall to a man's lot in that profession. Yet he voluntarily relinquished all to take holy orders as a deacon and help his father when it was found difficult to obtain men for that work. Mr Selwyn wa3 most eminently qualified in every way for the post, and they were indeed fortunate in being able to secure such a successor to the lamented Bishop Patteson. (Applause.) The Rev. Mr Jackson (of the Melanesian mission) had great pleasure in seconding the He wished to explain that when j- : he dissented from this proposal on a former occasion it was only because he feared Mr I Selwyn's health would not stand the inevitable hardships to which he must be exposed. At that time Mr Selwyn was sitting by his side and fully agreed with him in this opinion. This difficulty, however, being removed he had no hesitation in expressing his opinion that Mr Selwyn was more specially fitted for the post than any one he had ever met. It was impossible to be with him without admiring his brilliant talents; He had not been on the islands three days before he had won the love and esteem of everybody. Mr Codrington although qualified in most respects, was unfitted for" the work in one particular. He was a very bad sailor and suffered so severely at sea that he would have been quite unable to endure the constant voyages among the islands which were necessary. Happily in this respect Mr Selwyn was just the reverse. The Primate having read the letter from Mr Codrington repeating the recommendation of Mr Selwyn, reminded the members that i on such a solemn occasion, before proceeding ! with the. vote,, they shall act with due deliberation, and above all seek counsel of the ' Most .High. He therefore called on them ' to join in silent, prayer. An interval of silence followed for about five minutes, the ' effect being extremely solemn and impres'sive. The Priraate then put the question, when the Rev. John R. Selwyn was unanimously elected Bishop of Melanesia. The announcement was received with warm applause. On the motion of the Dean of Christchurch, seconded by Archdeacon Williams it was resolved :—" That a Select Committee be appointed to digest and arrange for the information of the Synod the recommendations which have been made by the several Diocesan Synods, at the invitation of the General Synod, with reference to Statute No. 5, for the appointment of Pastors to Parishes; and that they be requested to prepare the draft of an amended Statute, or to suggest such other course as may seem to them desirable with the view of preparing the way for legislation by the Synod on the subject m the present session; that the following members of the Synod be appointed to serve on the Committee: -The Bishops of Nelson and Dunedin, the Ven Archdeacon Williams, the Rev. J. Leighton! Mr B. f _B. Lusk, Mr Seymour, and the On the motion of the Bishop of Nelson, it was resolved:— « That a Select Committee

heappofeted^,congidflrtie^re^rts of the Board o? Theplpgica]l,S{iudies> an& the wording of Statute No. >7; jandalso $ ieport on the supply of candidates for fcolyfonlers, and the present -nieans ol providing for their training; such Committee to "consist; (by suspensionidf.Standing Qr&erM&M) of the Bishops of the Dioceßes.ofrJ|ejr Zealand, the Dean of CHristchurch, therVen. Archdeacons Williams, Maunsell, Stock and Harper, Rev. B. W. Harvey, and Mr Carleton, five to form a quorum." Mr Acton Adams then moved for leave to lay on the table of : tbis Synod a letter from the Rev! W. P; Tanrie^ add*reijsed to Mr Acton Adam's as Lay Represendative for Invercargill, on the position of the Church of England in New Zealand, explaining that as it was uncertain, whether Mr Tjannercould' come up to take his seat in the Synod he (Mr Tanner) .Wished to,fplsjcei Jtef^re tho\ Synod the views of "the churchmen in iha ' InvercargilL district.; , . . .„ „,. :. ■_ — .„. ■ ; LV - After a long discussion the request was " refused as irregular,, and forming a bad precedent. "js^ -^ - . r ,!..TJie Synod then fosb and resumed at 7.30. "'"Mr Acton Adams* asked the Most Rerthe President, To declare whether this is or is not a meeting of the Synod of the BraneKof the Church of England in New Zealan^L^cr cording to clause 6 of the' Constitution. K- ! "' The Primates replied in) the affirm ative."vJQ , The Djean'bf jChristchurch moved for leave to bring -inuJßill for deternrining^who aWt^ be deemed, communicantjs, e^pjipi^ing that doubts had arisen aS- Wlbe precise definition of this term, which' it was desirable "to set -at rest by statute. . . The Rev J. Leighton seconded the motion. ;.l . The Bishop of Weil^ng^on raised a point of order as to whethetttny discussion ceuld take place on leave to introduce a ; Bi|l which did not exisfc-untit-before the SynSte;;- _. J A lengthy debate followed,, but ultimately leave was granted, the, Rev^J&>,Lingard, however;:poiQ^ng put that the. grayer Book rubric supplied the' definition sought, describing a commnnicant as one who communicated thrice in theyear, once.being' > atii)aster. i Tha Rev. J. Leighton vnjpyed — "That it be ah -.instructionLiio the Printing CoiiP mitf/ee, with the permission of the respedtive Bishops, •:■- to.: append to the report of_ the ,; : Sy ; npd a list of jfche clergy of the vdrious Dioceses, the names of thgir cures, the amount of stipend, and the^aate^f appointment/'" -1 The motion was agreed to with the omission of the words " the amount of stipend." -] -Archdeacon Maunsell moved — " Tfiat a .Committee be appointed to examine the accounts and reports- of the several Trust Boards under the control of this Synod, and to consider generally the state in which- the properties are, and the way in which they are administered; auch Committee to consist of the Bishop of Auckland, Archdeacons 1 Williams and Stock, ; Messrs Hanmer, C. Hunter Brown and the mover." The names of the Primate (and, Mr Quick! having, been added, to. the Committee; the motion was agreed to. .r ■--;[) The Hon. Mr Acland moved "That a Commiftee be appointed,.to be galled 'The Commit-, tee on; Statutes, Standing Orders, arid Resolutions/ and that their duty be to consider any statutes, standing orders, and resolutions which may be specially referred to : them, : either in whole or in part, arid also to consider whether any other alterations or additions are required in any statutes, standing orders, or resolutions; such Committee tp. consist of Archdeacons Stock , and .WiltiamaV Rev Mr Beaumont, Messrs Hanmer, Quick, and the mover." Agreed to. . : -^ The Rev E. Williams' motion, "That after the tenth day of the sitting of the Synod no notice of motion be received," was ruled out of order. ' - . Archdeacon Harper moved — (1) " That whereas the Synod at its last session directed that a Bill entitled the « Alteration of Formularies Bill " should be made known to the several Diocesan Synods for the purpose of eliciting from them an expression of opinion thereupon, and requested the Primate to bring the matter before the next triennial meeting of the General Synod ainearly as possible as its first business; and whereas the Diocesan Synods have severally expressed opinions thereupon, and have requested that the same should be submitted to the General Synod: Resolved, that it ia-expedient that a Select Committee be appointed to digest and : arrange such opinions and suggestions for the information of the Synod, and to report' as to the best course to be taken as regards legislation on the subject in the present session. (2) That the Committee do consist of the Right Rev the ißishop of Anckfond, the Right Rev the Bishop of Wellington, theVery Rev the Dean of Christchurch, .Mr C. Hunter Brown, Mr Acton Adams, Mr C. Y. Pell, and the mover. .. ... A long debate ensued on 'this motion, bf which we are compelled to hold over our report until Monday. Ultimately the motion-; was negatived on a division.;. ■ ; .;. The Bishop of Auckland presented a memorial from that Diocese, praying.that theSynod would make no alterations under ttie 5 AlteratioiTof Formularies Bill, until assured by a competent legal opinion that it possessed the power to do. so. The memorial was received. • : Mr Rous Marten presented a petitien from the parishioners of St. Peter's Parish/ Wellington, for power to raise & 1 000 by mortgage of the parsonage, towards the sum required, for rebuilding that church. He.gave notice that he should move .on Thursday next that the prayer of the petitioners be acceded to. • . : The petition was received. : • : ■ -• ; ■ Several returns were laid on the table, and < a number of notices of motion given. The Synod adjourned at 1 1 p.m.