NEW ZEALAND CHURCH

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 16 June 1932, Page 10

NEW ZEALAND CHURCH

ANGLICAN CONSTITUTION SIGNED 75 YEARS AGO CONFERENCE AT JUDGE'S BAY On Monday last the Anglican Church in New Zealand completed 75 years’ existence as an autonomous body. On 13th June, 1857, there was signed in the little wooden chapel of St. Stephen, Taurarua,, the constitution of "the Church of tlie Province of Now Zealand, commonly called the Church of England.” The chapel still stands in its little churchyard overlooking Judge’s Bay. where rest many men and women who did noble service io (he Church in earlier days (says the “N.Z. Herald”). The Anglican Church was planted in New Zealand in 1814 by the Rev. Samuel Marsdcn, Colonial Chaplain at Sydney, and was maintained for the next 25 years solely by the Church Missionary Society. In 1841 George Augustus Selwyn was consecrated ill England as Bishop of New Zealand, and arrived the following year with a band of clergy to assume* responsibility for ministering not only to the Maoris but also to the 6003 white inhabitants of tbs colony. He had been appointed with the full approval of the Church Missionary Society, which undertook to provide half his stipend, [n after years, however, friction occurred between the bishop and the London headquarters of the society, which insisted upon retaining a large measure of authority over its agents . A of dual control persisted until the New Zealand Church took over entire responsibility for the Maori missions.

THE CONFERENCE OF 1857 Both Sclwyri and Bishop Harper, who arrived in 1856 as the first Bishop of Christchurch, held Royal letters patent which purported to give them almost absolute power :n ecclesiastical matters within their dioceses, but under the laws of the colony there was no means of enforcing it. As early ns 1844 Selwyn had held synodical gatherings of missionaries at which rules for Church government were drawn up. It was clear to him and to the Governor, Sir George Grey, that a- constitution should be secured for the Church parallel with the civil constitution granted to the colony. Both were strongly inclined to a democratic form of government, with representation for the laity, such as had been adopted by the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States. A first draft was made' by Grey in 1850, and was submitted by Selwyn to the Australian bishops'. The Church Missionary Society at first ordered its agents to have nothing to do with the project, but in tho course of a, visit, to England in 1854 Selwyn persuaded the society to withdraw its opposition The conference called to frame and promulgate the constitution met in St. Stephen’s Chapel on 24th May 1857. It was a small but representative gathering, and included the two bishops, Archdeacons Henry and William Williams, Abraham and Brown, and the Revs. R. Maunsell and G. A. Kisslirig. Among the laity was a very able lawyer, Mr William Swainson, formerly Attor-ney-General. The Premier, Mr William Stafford, was also present. FRANCHISE FOR- THE LAITY The proceedings lasted a full month. Apart from a general lack of English precedents, the chief difficulty was found in the qualifications for' the franchise proposed to he granted to the laity. An able group of Auckland laymen stood out for tlie principle that the Church should be fully as comprehensive as the Established Church in England, and not in any sense a close corporation. Ultimately on this now unimportant point a satisfactory settlement was reached. The constitution, as promulgated on 13th June, 1857, was described as ‘‘a constitution for associating together as a branch of the United Church of England and Ireland the members of the said Church in the Colony of N.ew Zealand.” It bore 17 signatures, the first four being those of Selwyn, Harper arid Henry and William Williams.

In the following year the first Bishops of Wellington and Nelson (Abraham and Hobhouse) were consecrtated together in England, and in 1859 the first General Synod met at Wellington, where the veteran William Williams was consecrated first Bishop of Waiapu under Royal letters patent which Bislion Abraham had brought out with him. The first independent consecration was that of Patteson as Bishop of Melanesia, at Auckland in 1861. CHRISTCHURCH STANDS OUT The Christchurch diocese was not represented at the first General Synod. The constitution provided that the latter body should be the owner of all Church property, and Selwyn had transferred much of the lands held by him in trust as a “corporation sole.” Christchurch, however, wished to retain the legal ownership of its very considerable endowments, mid for some years even talked of seceding from tho new ecclesiastical province and claiming the status of an independent diocese. Bishop Harper, however, did not share those aspirations, and attended the second General Svnod by himself in 1852. His clergy and laity in due course abandoned the position they had taken up. The Diocese of Dunedin was formed later and the territorial organisation of she Church long remained unaltered until the creation of the Waikato diocese a few years ago. POWER TO REVISE, PRAYER. BOOK The only notable change in Church polity since the constitution was framed lias been the enfranchisement of women, which was effected some years ago. The document underwent some revision at the General Synod of 1865, but has not since been altered. However, tho Church found itself under tile necessity of obtaining a special Act of Parliament in 1928, giving power to over-ride sorno provisions in the so-called fundamental clauses, which are declared by the document itself to bo irrevocable by the General Synod or any Diocesan Synod. These provide) that there shall be no power to alter the Authorised Version of the Bible or the Prayer Book in use by “the United Church of England and Ireland,” but'any alterations made by that Church may he adopted. Owing to the fact that “The United Church of England and Ireland” had ceased to exist when the Irish Church was disestablished by Mr Gladstone, it was considered doubtful whether the New Zealand Church could accept any

revised Prayer Book that might be adopted by the Church of England. It was also clear that.no revision could be made locally. The Act of 1928 provided , that by a specified procedure the formularies and the Authorised Version might be* altered, notwithstanding anything to

to the contrary in the constitution. At the same time the identity of the Church and its title to its property were declared to be unaffected by the granting of the new powers. The latter have nob so far been acted upon in the directioii of revising the Prayer Book.