THE REV. MR. BREACH IN EXPLANATION AND DEFENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6569, 6 December 1882, Page 3

THE REV. MR. BREACH IN EXPLANATION AND DEFENCE.

THE J'.UKXIXG OF TIIK NEW PLY MOlTil I'KKSBYTKK! AX CHURCH. To T:rt: P.F.V. PIM-..SBYTKRY OF ACCKLASI),

| [iVr f.ivvur cr the New Zealand Ukp.ald. J When I saw accusations intimated by you against me in the newspapers I sent a telegrain to your Clerk for a list of them, but in vain, or I should have attended your last rnyi-t.'dthnugh yoi; declined to pay ni\ expenses th<? time; I obeyed your sumnious. Uuiierexuhnment, despairing of justice from you, I sent in my resignation to that meeting. No notice was taken of it, but in spite of it six fold contumacy bearing my name was published in the papers. As proof of that I did not resign, fearing the consequences of your inquiry, I now puMiclv reply to your findings. Your Rev. Clerk writes of me:— 1. "'Unit he acted contumaciously toward the Presbytery by his conduct toward Rev. - Carrick and Mr Bell, when sent as commissioners to inquire into the state of the congregation at Xew Plymouth." It was bad taste on your part in sending, and his in coming here as inquisitor," who had been privately encouraging the outside disturbance of our church. According to agreement and rule we were to have had 10 days' notice to notify from the pulpit about the meeting, but Mr. C. did not give us two. Arriving, they joined the opposition in a house to house visitation of our enemies during the day, and even npglecting to keep their appointment made with a person for me to meet them at their hotel, though I and three of my committee waited there three hours in vain. Without consulting us they advertised their meeting in the Town Hall the same evening, giving ine about an hour's notice to attend, or take the conse-

quences. 2. "That he acted contumaciously towards the Presbytery by his conduct towards the Rev. John McLeod, M.D., when sent by the Presbysery to preach the church of \ew Plymouth vacant." The Dr. aiso came first to the accusers of the brethren, and then to me. Many of his arguments were based on error. In the evening he attended a committee meeting at my house. One remark shows his opinion of the New Plymouth Presbyterians. He said to the co.runittee " Rather than I would be the minister of New Plymouth, 1 would drown myself." Startled, I broke the sileace by sayinp, "Rather than I would be the minister of your people at New Plymouth I would be shot." To have suffered death before the outbreak of strife, would have beeu preferable to me than what I have endured. In my distress I did sign the Drs. o< n[! paper— one course remained viz., to send the Rev. Dr. a telegram declaring the document to he null and void, the signature having been obtained by misrepresentations, and that was adopted. .'I. " That he acted in such a way as to give rise to grave scandal by effecting an insurance on the church of New Plymouth in his own name, and on his own account and by persisting in a demand upon the Insurance Company for the amount of insurance."

My arrears of stipend pledged to me in my call and the petition accompanying it which tha Presbytery holds amounting to over £000. When Mr. \V. Black once an elder, but long since a rentri/man in the Ari'/liciin Church, with others, repudiated my claim angrily led to our examination of tli2 books. Putting gas into the church one of my members found the door unlocked, the gas turned on and over 100 feet escaped. This contained a grave meaning to me. Interpreting it in my own way to one of my. office bearers and trustee, who said, "If you think that we had better go at once and insure the church for if it be burnt we shall never get another here, and as we did so lie proposed to the agent, who is a latci/er, that it should be in my name. All my people acknowledge my right to the amount as I paid the premium, and the money was more than due to me. Often I met their murmurings with "pay me what you owe me and I will leave," but they declined saying "you cannot make. us pay." Situated as I have been here a man ought to insure his house, church, life, and Jamil;/ to be safe. 3. There are two parties of Presbyterians here, and as opposite in nature as oil and water. All I have done since the fire lias been to fill in and send my application to the Victoria Company, and offer the whole amount of insurance to the scattered and practical party who have stood by the Church for over ten years, so that they may get the money when they are disposed to act, and build a church for themselves—not for me, as my pn-uchin;/ days are done. Surely, yr.u will feel after this that the Presbytery is not infallible. Had you told the talebearers, who are numerous, rftb/ious, rich, and lit/era/. to let us alone, and build a new church for themselves at New Plymouth, they would have done so, and prevented the sr<;lilttxphi mi/, and 7iti.*eri/, which has been caused by encouraging their coveting our building—a case exactly in keeping with the ona in I. Kings, xxi. 4. "That he acted contumaciously by sleeping in the church on more than one occasion so us to prevent the Presbytery getting possession of the building." This is a i/rox.s perversion of the truth. Only pari of one. night was I in the church, preparing a lecture, to relieve the watchman and listen for the coining of those who threatened violence to the building. The paid men in charge were not to steep but to vatch, with orders to ring the bell when they required help. Some of the members were afraid, though there were no bed nor blankets, that the looker-out might fall asleep on his post, and be burnt in the building. Purely your clerk does not mean to intimate that it was the Presbytery who were thus trying to get the church in the cowardly way it has been taken from us ! 5. "That he continues to act contumaciously by advertising himself as officiating minister of St. Andrew's congregation at New Plymouth, and by conducting service at the usual hours on Sabbath under that designation, although the pastoral tic which subsisted between liim and St. Andrew's congregation has been dissolved by the Presbytery." By your own laws the Presbytery has no power to cut the tic between pastor and people, but the General Assembly ouly, whose wisdom we were resolved to appeal to, waiting their grave decision. But your Mr. Somerville says the New Plymouth people petitioned the .'.ssemby, which caused the power of the highest Court to be delegated to the lower for severing purposes. I will copy the original draft of that composed and irritteii by now our enemy, M K. John McKknzik. He begins thus :— "To the Moderator and members of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, at Auckland, — The petition of the undersigned members and adherents of St. Andrew's Church, New Plymouth, humbly showeth— 1. "That the subsidy hitherto granted by the General Assembly to the minister's fund of the abovo-named church has been withdrawn. 2. "Thatfrom the annexed statement of accounts as showing the financial condition of the church it is evident that it will be impossible for the congregation to give the minister a stipend of more than £30 per annum." 3. "That unless the Assembly be pleased to grant the subsidy as heretofore the church must be closed." 4. " That the present unsatisfactory state of the church finance is principally due to the temporary depression in business caused by the native difficulty in the district, and that there is reasonable hope that within 12 months a more prosperous condition of the church will be attained." 5. "That the church is free from debt excepting the amount due to the minister for hit itipeml." 6. That there is only one Presbyterian Church in New Plymouth, wherefore your petitioners humbly pray that your reverend Assembly may be pleased to grant a subsidy toward the minister's fund. That the members of St. Andrew's Church, fervently desiring to enjoy the services of their own church instead of closing the church and dispersing the congregation first seek to bring tbeir case under the notice of your reverend Assembly, praying that you may grant the relief so urgently requested. " At a Congregational meeting held in St. Andrew's Church, July 10th, ISSO, it was unanimously resolved that the above petition be signed by those present, and forwarded immediately to the moderator of the General Assemby of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand." Comment on this is needless. 6. " That his conduct, viewed as a whole since the Presbytery began to deal with his case, has been grossly unbecoming a minister of the Gospel." How does this language agree with the Presbytery's statement, made in my presence, viz., that there was nothing against me in the midst of the quarrel ? Dr. McLeod

said so also to his congregation, from the Aew Plymouth pnlpit, adding that after tea years'settlement I was leaving "wit'i flying colours." Also, he assured me and my committee that if I would leave, a much better church would be open forme ! But now the hue and cry is " contumacy, six-fold contumacy." To get peace I must yield to oppression, because I am an Eng ishman. Though I have paid into the A'idowa' and Orphans' Fund out of mv £50 a-year stipend, as much as he who has £SOO ; and after toiling in privation for yonr Church twenty years, now in mv old ape- 1 must submit to be hunted into obscurity and a rremature grave, and then my widow and orp.i.ins be deprived of the blood-money. Nevertheless, in sure and certain hope of the resurrection unto eternal life, I remain " I'.iiuiifiil into death,'* ' M. Somes Bumcii.