AUCKLAND DIOCESAN SYNOD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7774, 21 October 1886, Page 3

AUCKLAND DIOCESAN SYNOD.

The session of the Synod was resumed yesterday afternoon at four o'clock, at the Library, Bishop's-court. The Right Rev. Dr. Cowie (Bishop of the diocese) presided); and there were present the following members: -Clergy: Ven. Archdeaoon Clarke Ven. Archdeacon Dudley, Ven. Archdeaoon Maunsell, Ven. Archdeacon Willis, Revs. Baker Bates, Beatty, B g^, Burrows, Calder,. Cockayne-Frith J. * Davis, H. S. Davis, Farley. GouW Gulliver, Hasolden,O.R.Hewlett, Hill, HxteJ cock, Houchen, Katterns Long. M » r ? h * ' Mulgan, Phillips,Purchas, SmaHheld,Wim _• Laity: Calvert, Cameron, Clark, Way ton. Cochrane, Doonin, ® wl . n £ on f ® ' Hills Ireland. Jackson, Kisslinff, Lamas, ulwr'ence. Luke, Hor»o. §&£s£&&'a!" t^Peroy m.nn IJoton Wattß, White, Wilson. ' The minutes of the previous day's meeting were read by the clerical secretary, and confirmed. OFFERTORY BOOK. The President laid on the table a specimen copy of the offertory book, which had been printed. LEASING CATHEDRAL SITE. Mr. Theo. Kiss ling moved, "That the report of the committee on the leasing of the cathedral site be considered by the Synod. He explained the terms on which it was proposed to lease the sites for 40 years, that the houses should be value for a certain amount, and that the houses should be dwelling houses only, all trades and business being prohibited, He moved, " That the Synod go into committee to consider the report." This was agreed to, and Mr. Upton having taken the chair, read the report of the committee as to conditions of lease and covenant; in fsuct, the whole terms of the lease. The clauses were considered seriatim, and, after some discussion, the report was adopted, and the chairman reported progress. The Synod resumed, and the recommendation of the committee was adopted. CEMETERY SITES AND COMMITTEES' REPORT. The debate on the Rev. W. Tebb's motion was resumed. It was, "That the former committee be re-appointed to make the necessary arrangements and regulations for the conduct of funerals and the provision of clerical services, the said committee consisting of the incumbents of All Saints', Epiphany, St. Mary's, St. Matthew's, St. Paul's, St. Thomas', and the Holy Sepulchre, and forming, with the addition of the Diocesan General Trust Board under the presidency of the Bishop." To this he added the following ; —"ln the event of the St. John's College trustees not seeing their way to accede to the request of the Synod to open a cemetery inasmuch as there are tivo other sites available belonging to the Melanesian Mission trust at Point Chevalier, the other to a Church Trust Board at Epsom, besides land in private holdings, the provision of suah cemetery be remitted to the Board and committee jointly that they may report thereon to the Standing Committee, by whom the requisite steps may be taken to give speedy effect to the intention of the Synod in providing a public Church of England cemetery for Auokland and the neighbourhood." Mr. Pierce seconded the motion, and it was carried. Mr. Tebbs then moved, "That the report of the Cemetery Committee of the Synod be next considered and adopted (as far as approved) or otherwise." He read the report of the committee, and moved, " That the Synod go into committee to consider the report." This was agreed to. The report was then considered seriatim. One of the chief recommendations was the appointment of a chaplain somewhere in the neighbourhood of Waikomiti, who could take charge of funerals at that cemetery. It also contained provisions as to regulations for attendance of clergy. Mr. Tebbs moved the adoption of the report, and that its recommendations be carried out, subject to any regulations drawn up and prepared by the joint committee. Mr. Gould wanted to add a proviso that the chaplain should be no charge on the Home Mission fundMr. Pierce urged that Mr. Gould should not press his amendment. If the chaplain did not do Home Mission work, he would receive nothing from the Home Mission fund. The President said he saw no prospect of finding more than £50 a year for the chaplain. The proposed addition was rejected, and Mr. Tebbs' motion was agreed to. The Synod resumed, the Chairman of Committee having reported progress, and the report was adopted as amended. NEW ZEALAND MEDICAL ASSOCIATION AND CERTIFICATES OF DkATH. The President read letter from the Secretary of the Auckland branch of the New Zealand Medical Association forwarding the following resolution : " That «he hon. secretary be instructed to communicate with the various religions bodies requesting their support in enforcing the law relating to burials, as many irregularities are known to have occurred by burials taking place without any certificate of death having been given." On the motion of the Rev. Mr. Tebbs, seconded by Archdeacon Dudley, this was referred to the Joint Committee. The Rev, A. G. Purchas moved " That the trustees of nine acres of land belonging to the church at Epsom be requested to open the same as a Church of Knglaod Cemetery." He explained the position of the site, and said probably the whole nine acres might not be required. The Ven. Archdeacon Clark seconded the motion. On the suggestion of the Rev. Mr. Gould, Dr. Purchas substituted the words "a portion of" for "same." Mr. Pierce considered that the site was too valuable. It was in the centre of a large and growing population, which was increasing in that neighbourhood; and that district and Mount Albert supplied the water supply, and it would spoil the water at the Western Springs. The motion was discussed, and Mr. Rice suggested that it be withdrawn, as it had been better left in the hands of the committee, the Synod having already passed a resolution on the subject on the motion of Mr. Tebbs. Mr. Tebbs moved as an amendment, "That the trustees of nine acres of land belonging to the Church at Epsom, and of certain land belonging to the Melanesian trust at Point Chevalier, be requested to set apart and open the same, in whole or part, as a cemetery, if requested to do so by the standing committee, on the recommendation of the Cemetery Board just appointed." Mr. Calder seconded the amendment. Dr. Purchas considered the amendment was a mistake. He did not think it should be put in this hypothetical way, and so far as the value of the land was concerned, in no way could it be made more valuable than as a cemetery, unless it was a goldfield, Mr. Upton expressed a doubt of Dr. Purchas' statement as to the extreme profitableness of cemetery property, and instanced that at Symonds-street,which was a cemetery for 40 years, and yet the trustees had not funds to put up a wall to enclose it, or put it in decent order. He hoped the valuable land at Epsom would bet used for its proper purposes. Mr. Doonin pointed out that these two sites were only proposed in the event of the trustees of St. John's College not being able to grant the site asked for. The amendment was put, and lost. Mr. Pierce then moved as a further amendment, " That this Synod recommends the Melanesian trustees to set apart the land at Point Chevalier as a Church of England cemetery." k The President said he could not receive this as an amendment on Dr. Purchas's motion, as it introduced new matter, and he would ask Mr. Pierce to introduce it as a separate motion. He would therefore ask the Synod to vote on Dr. Purchas's motion. Dr. Purchas said he would accept this as an addition to his motion. Mr, Pierce said he would have to vote against the motion, as it would affect the water supply of the city, and would be strenuously opposed by the City Council. A further amendment was proposed by Mr. Upton, "That all the words after the word ' trustees ' be struck out, and the following words inserted : That the trustees of certain land at Point Chevalier be asked to open it as a site for a cemetery by the Standing Committee if recommended by the Cemetery Board now appointed." Dr. Purchas objected, on the ground that this matter had already been before the Synod, and rejected. . The President did not see how this amendment could be put; but, after Mr.

Upton had explained, he consented to put the amendment. Arch. Willis seconded the amendment. The President considered there was no objection to having more than one burial place. He considered that burial places should be within easy reach, for nothing could be more refining than affording people an opportunity of visiting and beautifying the graves of their friends. There was a very lengthy debate on the motion and amendment. The amendment was put and carried on the voices, and became the substantive motion. Mr. Pierce's amendment was incorporated with that of Mr. Upton, and in this form it was carried. SPECIAL PRAYERS. The Rev. Mr. Biggs moved, "That it be a recommendation from this Synod that a special service be held annually in every church in the diocese, on the first of the Ember days in September where possible, or, where not, on some day during the Ember week, for the express purpose of supplicating God's blessing upon the rising produce of the earth. And that the President be respectfully requested to cause a copy of this recommendation to be sent to every clergyman of the Diocese." The mover spoke in support of the resolution, and pointed out that this was a very anoieDt custom, and one which commended itself to all who believed in the efficacy of prayer. Mr. F. Larkins seconded the motion, and it was supported by Arch. Willis, Mr. S. Luke, the Rev. Archdeacon Dudley, ana the Rev. Mr. Borrows, but the latter asked whether there was to be any special prayer or service to be used. Mr. Biggs pointed out that the collect in the prayer-book was most suitable, but he did not mean to propose any form of service ; that he would leave to His Lordship. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Pierce drew attention to the fact that the General Synod gave its sanction to the harvest thanksgiving service drawn up and sanctioned by the Convocation of the Province of Canterbury, in the yeir 1862. The President approved of the motion generally, and hoped that none of them would look on this as a formal matter, or that their prayers were to have any mechanical effect on Almighty God, but it would be the means of enabling the clergy to remind the young men that they should endeavour to cultivate the land on which they settled. The motion was then put and carried. recommendations OF the synod. Mr. Shelling (in the absenoe of the Rev. William Calder) moved, "That it be an instruction to the Standing Committee to collate the recommendations of the Synod, print them, and forward them to the incumbents of parishes and parochial districts, and to the lay readers of those districts which have no resident clergymen, with a request to bring them before the vestries, and endeavour to secure that some action be taken." Mr. Ewington seconded the motion, and it was carried. THE BISHOP'S ADDRESS. The Rev. F. Gould moved, "That the Synod respectfully ask the President if he has any objection to have the words of his address respecting St. John's College (page 4) altered when the address is printed in the Church Gazette, so as to insert instead of the actual words of the resolution as printed in the proceedings of the General Synod, ISB6. p*ge 67—(1) that a resident warden should be appointed to St. John's College as soon as can be ; and (2) that occupation of the buildings at Tamaki be resumed as soon as they can be put into proper order." Mr. Goold said he had intended this as a question, not as a motion, and he should therefore withdraw it. The President said had the question been put to him he should have answered it in writing. He had said all he had to say on the subject in his address, but he had not quoted his or that resolution^ CHURCH GAZETTE. Rev. A. G. Pckchas moved, "That the thanks of the Syuod be given to the managers of the Church Gazette, Messrs. Cochrane and Upton." The motion was seconded by Mr. Maris Clark. Mr. Piebce asked for information as to what amount was due for subscription, and Mr. Cochrane replied that there was about £200 due, of which £55 was due by the members of the Synod. He was afraid that next year they would be unable to show any profit, as a whole page was now blank, owing to the withdrawal of business advertisements by reason of depressed times. Tne report showed that the receipts were £516 13s Id, and the expenditure £326 16s 6d. The President expressed his personal obligations to Mr. Cocnrane and Mr. Upton for their management of the Church Gazette. It saved him a great amount of labour, and it was always, owing to the excellent management, issued on the Ist of the month, unless that should be Sunday. The motion was put and earned with applause. PAROCHIAL RETURNS. The Rev. P. S. Smallfield asked the secretary of the Standing Committee why the resolution of the last session of the Diocesan Synod, to the effeot that a summary of the parochial returns should be published in the Church Gazette prior to this session of the Synod, has not been carried out. The President replied that all the returns had not been received. cathedral building trust. Archdeacon Willis moved :(1) "That the Diocesan Trusts Board be requested to appoint a Cathedral Building Trust, consisting of nine persons, to hold the Cathedra) Building Fund of this diocese; (2) that the Standing Committee be instructed to pay to the Cathedral Building Trust, when formed, the sums of money held by them for the purposes of building a cathedral church for this diocese." The Venerable Archdeacon Clarke seconded the motion. Mr. Killing said the motion was a formal one, but it might tend to create a conflict of authority to appoint a new board. There was no necessity for a new board, for the present board of management was quite competent to deal with the fund. Mr. Burrows agreed with Mr. Riesling's views, and after some discussion [ Archdeacon Willis withdrew the first part of his motion, and the latter half was put and carried. women's home. Archdeacon Dudley moved " That the memorial of the Lady Superintendent of the Women's Home be taken into consideration." The recommendation of the committee was that £50 or more should be contributed to the institution from profits of the Church Gazette. He pointed out that it was a Church of England institution, and entirely supported by voluntary contributions, and unless they gave it up as a church institution and placed it under the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board they could receive no 1 contributions or subsidy from the Government. He spoke at some length in explanation of the objects and work of this Home. The motion was seconded by Mr. Luke, and supported by Mr. Larkins and other members. His Lordship referred to the great help given by Mrs. Somerville, who devoted £1000 to the work. She was not a member of the Church of England, but so satisfied was she with the management under the present superintendent that she directed that the interest on that money, should be paid to this Home. He reminded them that the Home was open to all, no matter what Church they may belong to. The motion was put and carried. ST. mark's. The Rev. Isaac Richards moved, "That the report of the committee appointed to consider and report on the petition of the incumbent and vestry of the parish of St. Mark's, Remuera, be taken into consideration by the Synod." The Synod went into committee to con* sider the report which was the recommendation of the prayer of a memorial from the I vestry for alterations of the boundaries of the parish by cutting off a portion at Epsom and Mount Eden, and to include a portion of Remuera. Mr. Richards explolned the proposed alterations and the objects of them. The Rev. Mr. Smallfield seconded the motion, and other members having spoken to the subject, the motion was carried. The Synod resumed, and the report of the committee was adopted. SUNDAY-BCHOOL REPORT. Mr. Fredk. Lab kins moved, "That the Sunday School report be considered." The Synod went into committee to consider the report of the Inspector of Sundayschools, which ' was taken clause by clause. There was a long discussion on the subject, more especially in regard to the sum of £25 due to the inspector, and commenting on the default of certain parishes to contribute to the expense of the inspector's stipend. A

motion was proposed by Mr. Haaelden, "That the Standing Committee be asked to pay the amount out of the diocesan endowment loan fund, the amount to be refunded by the parishes as soon as possible." This was seconded by Mr. Ewington, and spoken to at length by several members. At this stage the debate was adjoum e( until next day. The Synod resumed. prorogation. The prorogation of the Synod was postponed until to-day. notices of motion. The following notices of motion were received — Rev. A. G. Purchas to move, "That in order to secure the due observance of the regulations of the Synod in reference to finance it is desirable that provision be made to the following effect— That in oase of failure to comply with the provisions of any statute or resolution of the Synod requiring oolleotions to be made in churohes or assess* ments to be paid for speoial purposes, the representatives of the parish or district so making default shall be debarred from voting in the Synod during the continuanoe of such default. That the Right Reverend the Bishop be respectfully requested to bring the above resolution before the General Synod at its next session and to move the Synod to make provision for giving effeot to the same." Mr. Frkdk. Larkins to move, "That a hospitising committee be appointed to provide entertainment for members during the next session. The committee to consist of the Rev. W. Tebbs and the mover." The Synod adjourned at a quarter past ten o'clock until four o'clock this afternoon.