CHURCH CONGRESS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10126, 8 May 1896, Page 6

CHURCH CONGRESS.

THIRD DAY.

AFTERNOON SITTING.

The sittings of the Church Congress, held under the auspices of the Auckland Diocesan Synod, were resumed at 3.30 p.m. yesterday, in the Lecture Hall of the Young Men's Christian Association Roomß. In the absence of the Hon. B. Mitchelson, the Most Rev. the

'rimate of New Zealand presided, and the

proceedings were opened by all present joining in the Lord's Prayer. There was a fairly good attendance, considering the threatening state of the weather.

THE CHURCH IN RELATION TO NATIONAL LIFE. yilE CHURCH AND POLITICS.

The opening of this phase of the question whs allotted to Mr. H. 6. -Smith, M.A. At the outset he stated that he took the

Church to meau the organisation, or group of organisations which exists in a country or State for the maintenance and propagation of the Christian faith. Politics he understood as including every question affecting tho moral or material welfare of the community as a whole, or of any class within it which is capable of being dealt with by the Legislature. The relations, therefore, of the Church to politics resolves itself into the question of to what extent and in what way ought tho Church to make its influence feft on the nation. it was difficult, perhaps impossible, to give a wholly satisfactory answer to the question. Many efforts had been made to answer it, and to establish a standard of perfection. Some had failed altogether, others had been followed witli some degree of success. At the one extreme ho placed the ambitious and magnificent, but ill-fated scheme of Hildebrand and some of his successors in tho Papal chair, to make the Church the Supremo ruler of Christendom, and to place all temporal authority in a. position of feudal subordination to the Bishop of Rome. It failed, because it -"as impossible, if for no other reason, because no man could safely be trusted with such farreaching powers. This was the.vision of Theocracy, and in direct opposition to it was the Erastiau theory to place the Church under complete subordination to tho State, and reducing it to a branch of the civil service. Between these extremes

there were many shades of opinion. In the early days of Christianity the Church, he said, came into conflict with the State, not upon questions of politics, but upon the question of religious observance. He followed the early history of the Church and their conflicts and persecutions, and the conflicts in England the civil and ecclesiastical authorities had with varying success. Without mentioning particular instances, he said that three lessons might be learned from the history of the struggle :— (1) That a Church possessing large political powers is a danger both to itself and to the State in which it

exists ; (2) wherever the Church has interfered with political questions to advance its own claims, the result has been disastrous; and (3) wherever tho Church has intervened to protect the weak against the strong, its intervention has been productive of good. Terrible, mistakes had been made in the name of religion, but the present century had been a great awakening, and in the changed and changing tones of public opinion he saw the hope for much progress in future. He referred to the establishment of the principle of religions liberty that the State had no right for the enforcement of any creed and that its duty was to give its protection to freedom of action and enjoyment of property by each religious body, and deal with oach on the bases of strict impartiality. On tho other hand, a religious body which allowed itself to be swayed by political considerations rather than by religious conditions, neglects its first duty, but when as too often happened, appeal was made to the lower instincts and passions of mankind to ensure an immediate political success, when the inherent selfishness of human nature is made a ladder by which an ambitious politician hoped to climb into a position of power, or was used to maintain him in that power when it had been acquired, then it was time for the Church to make her voice heard by her ministers in the pulpit, by her lay members in the exercise of their electoral power, or in whatever lawful way their influence might bo made effective. Tho old proclamation, " Righteousness exalteth a nation" is as true now as it was in the past, and here it seemed to him was the point at which the field of labour of the Church came into con-

tact with and overlapped the realms of politics. They did not want their clergy to be great political philosophers or economist, .experts in finance or jurisprudence, but underlying all political questions were the broad principles of morality which arc laid down in that record of God's dealing with man, which has been eutrusted to ine Church, as the text-book of its teaching. As the possession of political power was extending with the growth of democracy, now daugers were besetting the State, and as public opinion gained greater influence, the gt eater became the necessity that public opinion should be sound. An unrighteous deed by however great a political majority it may be approved, and however great may seem to be the advantage to be gained from it, must inevitably end in ruin. A wrongful act will ultimately recoil on the wrongdoer. Punishment, though it follows the guilty with a haltiug step, will assuredly overtake him in the cud, and this is true of nations as well as individuals. Without, he said, neglecting the other branches of her teaching, the Church has here a great work before it, and it is here, and here alone, that the Church can make her influence felt in the region of politics. I)r. J. Giles followed on the same subject. He commenced by referring to the relation which the Church bore, or ought to bear, to politics. This could only be determined after some sort of definition as to the words politics and Church, and these he proceeded to deliuo. The Church, he defined, as that orcrnn in the body politic whose function was to cultivate, to stimulate, and to strengthen the conscience. This much, at least, every Church must recognise as its proper business, whatever else it may do, it must at all events know how to impress the mind of the community with a sense of the religious solemnity of obligation to make men feel the responsibility of life and the sacredness of duty, to touch with unerring hand the inner spring which suggests all high morality and prompts all noble conduct. Such a view of the Church's functions seemed to suggest that it ought not to directly concern itself with politics, that is with legislation, except in the comparatively raro wises iu which the proposed course is so manifestly demanded by, or on the other hand opposed to, the plain dictates of molality, as to admit of no reasonable doubt. Such exceptions, he thought, were most likely to be found in the donain of foreign politics, which were for the most part the sphere not of legislation but of national action, and national action is so much the expression and index of the national conscience that it may well bo allowed and even expected that on fitting occasions the Church should declare its mind in such matters with no uncertain sound; but, however suitable such considerations may be in the old country, where the Church still has recognition by the State, they in New Zealand had nothing to do with it, as they had no foreign politics, lie pointed out the difficulties which must meet all attempts on the Church's part to deal directly with political affairs iu the concrete. _ Of the cases in which the Church's own interests were concerned, it was unnecessary to say much, except that it is uufortuiute when she has to do battle for her national position for State recognition. Mo blame could attach to auy institution for lighting in self-defence, but it was not desirable that the nurse aud guide of the national conscience should bo exposed to the temptation of even momentarily forgetting her high function of allying herself with interests that are essentially alien or opposed to her own, aud, above all, by throwing herself into a party contest, oblivious of the venom aud corruption by which the partisan spirit is continually infected and depraved. This view of the subject concerned the old country rather than her colonies. The evil of party politics had, however,-to be faced here as much as in England, and it lay at the threshold by whatever door the Church may attempt to enter the political arena. Past history showedithat the Church had too often shown herself ready to support whatever party seamed most likely to promote her power and influence, and had too seldom set herself to stem the current of party strife, to iwsuago its bitterness, or icbuke its malice, yet it ought to be a matter of less concernment to the I Church which party should prevail, than that J insincerity and oaut. hatred and malice, evil I speakiug, lying ami slandering, should be I denounced and suppressed. The first work ; of the Church in relation to politics, seemed ; to be to bring ahout,"i{ possible, a state of j things in which citizens would feel no pleasure in a party victory for its own sake, would give their opponents uradit for as much public spirit as they churned for themselves, and would as soon think' of reviling others on account of a difference of opinion, as two ; persons lost in a forest would think of re--filing each other for having different notions how to find the best way out. After a reference to the range of politics, he said 'if It was decided to be outside tho office and functions of the Church, then it seemed to him that she must rofraiu from the attempt to solve the concrete political problems, because they are : problems of science, and as such beyond her, sphere, but, iu virtue of her office m monitor

of the conscience, she may insist on the moral duty of refraining from leeislation where no light of science, shows the way, and she may be urgent in pointing out that, although an end may seem desirable in itself, it does not follow that it is good to aim at it by legislation, Her constant lesson should b? that no real good can come to man except that which he accepts by the free choice of his reason, his conscience, and his will, and that the good thatis forced on any oue turned rapidly to evil. For the rest, the Church can only foster a higher political ' life, by enforcing the old lessons of honesty, truthfulness, and charity, (Applause).

THE OHOEOH AND COMMERCE.

This phase of the subject was dealt with by Mr. Abraham Boardman in a paper which was prepared with great care and ability, and which was listened to with great attention, the speaker being frequently applauded. He used the word commerce as embraoing maunfacturing, wholesale, and retail trade, and took a rapid glance at some of the accepted methods of carrying it on. The old-fashioned doctrine of live and let live seemed to be no longer an article of trading faith for commerce now seemed to be a; fierce war amongst those engaged in it. Every art aud strategem, keen business ability, wide and accurate knowledge, and great expenditure of money are brought to bear to secure success in this commercial struggle. He referred to the large amounts epeut 1 on advertising, and said how each article go advertised can be superior to every othor, would appear to be a trade secret, but perhaps there was economy of truth somewhere, ai:l also inaccurate statements. Adulteration of food, drink, and olothing was now a highly developed science. Of course continuance of the demand caused coutinuauce of the supply, and this again was caused by the great multitude who worshipped with uufaltoriug devotion the great-false idol of" low price'.' ignorautly believed to be synonymous with cheapness. The export trade of Groat Britain to some heathen countries was largely made up of adulterated goods, and missionaries who are sent to convert those heathen from the error of their ways to the religion of the nation whose ideas of honest trade were practically shown by those importations of adulterated goods. Surely such commerce must prove an enormous hindrance to missionaries in such lands. Their insular pride as » nation was greatly humiliated by the fact that heads of uncivilised tribes in the interior of Africa have had to implore the rulers of the United Kingdom to assist them in prohibiting British traders introducing spirits into the country, and so save their people from being thrust to a lower state of degradation than they are in their present uncivilised state. Mr. Boardman then reerred to the strong and just demand for a living wage, and to the sweatiug which existed, and said that ill-paid workers making low-priosd articles had their welfare sacrificed for the multitude on the altar of cheapness. Commerce was based upon and could only be carried on upon a system of confidence and credit, confidence that thedebtor is carrying on his business in an honest, legitimate manner, and that he will have both the will and the power to pay his indebtedness in due course. But that prudent safe theory was put to one side to a targe extent by both financial instit'.iikms ana wholesale houses who went in for reckless trading themselves and induced it in others. The man of straw was bolstered up to compete with the man who had his own capital, mid who carried on prudent busiuess, paying what he owed. Reckless trading, reckless borrowing at very high rates of interest on the security of goods really belonging to some one else, bankruptcy, dislocation of trade, losses all round, followed the system of over credit, and it may be much doubted if in the long run those who managed to obtain excossive credits were benefited by them. Referring to the Church as a trader, Mr. Boardman said a really honest person, though he may be a perfect Gallio as to religious organisations, would abstain from embarrassing himself by plunging into debt that he saw no oarly chance of getting rid of. Re would live within hie means, and be satisfied to owe no man anything ; but men belonging to religious organisations, professing to live on a higher plane, do plunge heavily into debt, which kept their organisations in an embarrassed state for yeirs, and not infrequently refraining from paying their ministers a living wage. They saw the trading which religious denominations indulged iu to raise money by means of bazaars and other systems of gambling. It would be better to follow the Apostolic practice of meeting in an upper room rather than keep splitting up into small pauperised religious communities. He did not see how the Church in any corporate society could remove the evils connected with trade and commerce on the whole. It must work on individuals through its official teachers who, in laying dowu really correct principles should study much more the life and state arouud them. It was evident that the consciences of the conformist or non-conformist was really touched by the sublime and very practical teachings of that grand sermon—the Sermon on the Mount— the great principle that we should do to others what wo would wish them to do to us.

THK CHORCH AND SOCIAL LIFB.

The Rev. F. G. Evans addressed the Congress on this subject ; mid, after some general remarks on the subject as a whole, he summed up the practical social duty of the Church under three headings :—(1) To comfort, ('2) to protect, and (3) to rescue. In regard to the first— comfort all that mourned—was one of the characteristics of Christ, whioli had beon handed down to His disciples in every age; mid, after referring to the duties entailed, he said it was a scandal that in this city there was no night refuge provided for wanderers tramping about in search of work. Under the second head, he said the duty was to stand between the oppressor and the oppressed, to protect from poverty by ascertaining what tends to in crease poverty, to see that employers paid a living wage, and the permanent destruction of the sweating system, to find labour as far as possible for the unemployed, to mediate between employers and employed, and assist in healing divisions and making the Church the link which bound thorn all. To protect j young girls in the oity by providing homes for them when temporarily unemployed, to protect from overwork, to see that women are only employed iu occupations suitable to their sex, with regular relaxation and enjoyment, to see that there is no child labour, To protect the toiler from those who would rob him of one of the brightest, gifts of the Beueficeuc Creator— l)ay of Rest, to protect from dangerous employments as far as possible, to protect from over crowding in cities, to teach the people the simple laws of sanitation aud health, and to make it impossible for grasping landlords to let unsanitary houses to poor people, to protect from vice, to influence the parents of the young girls crowding the streets, aud which were recruited from their day and Sunday schools, to provide a girls' club, prevent gambling, and to protect from intemperance by treating the drinking habit as they would any other evil similar in its debasing and crime-creating tendencies, by encouraging the police to carry out in its strictest integrity the splendid Act which mainly to the honour of the present Government be it said they had in this colony, by seeing that unadulterated liquors are sold, that increasing efforts were made to educate the people in temperance principles until the time came when from tho realisation of the righteousness of those principles prohibition will be the law of the land. In regard to the work of rescue he eulogised the rescue home already in existence, but urged that in every parish there should be a sisterhood and a temporary home. This and much more was included iu the social work of the Church, and to carry it out would require a revolution of aim and feeling on the part of many fellow Christians, but if they have the love of Christ iu their hearts they will surely be willing to do their share of the work.

The Rev. Mr. Nelson replied to Mr. Boardman's paper, pare of which he agreed with, although he disagreed with other portions of it. That was chiefly the complaiut that clergymen were losing time serving tables, but he pointed out that it was sometimes necessary, as the proper layman was not available. flu also replied to the reference to Church debts, and asked how the cathedrals of England could be erected, if they had to bo paidjfoc at once? Thai only referred to Ohu.oh buildings, but in his other remarks, concerning Church debts and bazaars, he fully agreed, in reply to Mr. Evans' paper, he agreed with most of it, but he did not think in this country, or indeed in many countries, were they ripe for prohibition. It may come, may toe a good thing 1 , but they would bo doing a bod thing especially to the native race if they foroed it on unduly. Mr. George Aldridge endorsed the plaiu, sensible paper read by Mr. Boardmao, and added a remark or two. He remarked on the tendency of the poorer class to purchase that which was cheap, but they did so without the knowledge that it could not bs produced for the price. The sinners were to be found in the ahurches, men who foisted on the public that which was inferior, or which was produced by sweating. He gave instances of sweating whioh had com* under his own observation, mid which had been revealed through theTailoressesUnion'siuvestigations. They . had in the churches other sinners, merchants, traders, and others, who knew of the liquid damnation which was running through the laud, and who not only did nothing to stop it, but encouraged it. They mourned that in this colony two millions annually was wasted on liquor, and he believed two millions more were wasted by reason of the liquor traffic, and he would hail the day whan no matter whether it was brought about by moral suasion or legislation when every man could, say " Thank God prohibition has come,"

EVENING- SITTING. The evening sitting was held in the Y. M.CA. lecture room at eight o'clock, and it was presided over by the Most Rev. Dr. Cowie, Bishop of Auckland and Primate of New Zealand." There was a large attendance, the hall being crowded, and there were a number in the gallery. The proceedings were opened with the singing of the hymn," The Church's One Foundation," after which the most rev. the chairman engaged in prayer.

NEGLECT OF PUBLIC WORSHIP AND ITS CAUSES. The first paper on this subject was read by Mr. J. VV. Tibbs, M.A., its object being to ascertain how fur neglect of public worship was due to IS?SEIOK PEKAOHINO. He commenced by pointing out that the tendency of modern public workup was sensuous and intellectual rather than devotional. Out of what originally was a worthy desire to offer to God of our best, they had fallen into the danger of appropriating His service to their own use, and of making it serve the purpose of pleasing two sides of their nature. On the one hand the elaborate musical service of the day, and its frequent accessory of ornate and carefully studied ritual intended originally as helps to devotion, and so satisfying to the outward senses of Bight and sound, and on the other hand the prominence given to .the sermon aud the gradual secularisation of it, affords such gratification to the intellect that it seemed to hip that church-going would, if it had not already done so, in the case of most of them, end in the worship of their emotions instead of the worship of Almighty God. They had been so long used to listen to a sermon morning and evening once a week that it would be news to his hearers to learn that the Church of England provides for one sermon only during the week, that is on iiuuday at the service of the Holy Communion, evidently recognising that it was not to be expected that every vicar or curate of a pariah should have a brain so fertile as to be able to produce 1W sermons during the year, to say nothing of week-day services. Canon Liddon was credited with an opinion based on his own experience that no man should preach more thau one sermon in the year, and that a Urge portion of the year should be spent in study. It was evidently the intentiou of the Church that the greater portion of the time of the clergy should be spent in study, in the daily service, in the visitation of the sick, in the spiritual training of the young, in comforting the poor, in cherishing the aged; but they had changed all that. Along with their increased parochial organisations, clubs, and societies, too often coupled with the initiation of the me'vus of raisiug his own stipend, they had loaded the parson with the increasing" worry of two sermons instead of one. They were worse taskmasters thau Pharaoh's, for they sent him out, as it were, to gather his own straw (and too often he had to be content with the stubble), but they had doubled the tale of his sermons. He often wondered that the clergy did not take advantage of the provision for substituting homilies for sermoas. it might shock modern ears to be treated to one of the homilies of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries; for instance, against rebellion or excess of apparel ; but he saw no objection to a parson taking into the pulpit a volume of sermons, and openly reading from it a discourse by some divine of recognised authority in the Church. One leading feature of sermons should be, that they should form year by year the regular course of instruction of those who came forward at the appointed time to renew their baptismal promises. The modern sermon, coupled with the neglect of the direc tions as that given in the rubric had. he thought, done much to banish childrei from the Church altogether, and to relegati them to the Sunday-school. It sermons wer< more on a level with the capacity of children, the men and women of the working classes : who have not the opportunity., for reading and study which others had, would not slim the church, as they 'ow did, but would them selves bring their children to receive iustruc tion in the proper place, namely, the parjsi church, at the hands of the parish priest. Tht service of the church should be made mort popular— is, it should be brought dowt to the level of the masses. The result o: sound and simple Church teaching amongsl the workers of the East End of London and the large manufacturing cities of Eugland, coupled with the highest and fullest service, had proved that it is the sermon that should be levelled down, not the service. Referring to sermons, whicn he classed as harangues, on subjects which the daily press had vexed the whole community with during the week preceding, he said he had often cosie away rrom such a sermon with a feeling that in these days of books and maganiues, he could well dispense with the sermon altogether, for not only did they get sounder teaching on many delbateable questions in the imulio press from men who were better qualified to deal with them, boti> from their superior education and their wider knowledge of the world, than from the average clergyman, but the right of discussion and reply was not withheld, as in the case of pulpit utterances. He was sure that many men ot high intelligence and deep earnestness stay away from church altogether rather than submit to dogmatic teaching at the hands of the preacher on questions altogether beyond the scope of his office. The aim of his remarks had been to show that if It is preaching that kept people away from the Churoh, it is not the inferiority of the sermons so much as the want of simplicity, because the subject matter of so many sermons Was above the heads and beyond the needs of average Christians, because the clergy have abaudoned teaching for preaching. People had been gradually educated up to the notion that the main purpose of churchgoing is not to offer God a sacrifice of prayer and thanksgiving, out to hear the parson views on whatever subject ho may choose to address them. This unsatisfying spirit of curiosity fails to do what can be done only by the spirit of devotion. OUR PRESENT MODES OF WORSHIP.

This was the phase of the question which fell to the Rov. \V. E. Lush. These, lib presumed, were tlw modes which ar« modern, because some of the present modes of worship were identical with those always in use, They should first inquire for what purpose the Creator made mankind, and out of harmony with these they might conclude that the modern method was the cause of their failure. God created man for Himself, to serve, honour, and worship Him. Worship is a part of human life, and human life should bo one perpetual worship of God The present-day tendency is self-centred, and giving the name present modes of worship to the religious exercises ba«ed on this is really calling things by misleading names. Mankind soon sickened of sell-centred substitutes for divinely-ordained realities, and is driven away from religion because his nature is deprived of the object for which it was created. This modern tendency may be seen in popular services which always burnt themselves out. It may be seen in services like the Benediction among the Romanists, lor in revivals, emotional missions among Protestants. It if worked into the backbone

of their religion by Plymouth Brethren or the ritual of the Salvation Army. Where, he asked, was worship in all this? God did not create man for this. Men with any of the nobility of human nature left in them get sickened ami disgusted with all this sort of relirion, and being ignorant of the. more excellent way they are repelled altogether. The constant question was, why Jo not men go to church as much as women?—and the answer was this: Women have the passive, acceptive, emotional side of human nature were developed in them, aud are therefore more easily ensnared by a type of religion which comes down to them, whereas, when they rose to the action of true worship, their oharacter becomes ennobled indeed. This he contrasted with men. The present modes of so-called worship are not in harmony with ! the Book of Common Prayor, and are there-1 fore at discord with the Bible also. The; clergy of the Church exist to carry out j the system of the Church. They are not i ordained to retail modern notions of j the Church system. The Prayer-book in- i tended the Holy Communion to be the ! chief service of the day, because the Bible had that principle to start, with,' although that was not the only means of receiving grace; and it was the highest act of worship. Properly used, it gave f to the exercise of the most noble, manly, active worshipping facilities in a man's com- i position; but at present it was treated in most Churches as if it had only one aspect, and that the one which is most easily twisted into accordance with the present-day modes of worship. The Prayer-book also intended to carry out the Scriptural idea of constant daily worship, and gave the most distinct orders for daily psalmody and prayer. They, especially men, want something to do actively to give, to offer, to exercise all their worshippine; faculties. A.nd the liturgical objective offering side of religion was neglected now - a - days in Favour of receptive subjective absorbent forms of religion which must work its own death, repelling people from coutrct with it, and thus producing one of the causes—he did not say the most burning cause—why public worship is neglected.Mr. A. Edwards followed, and the leading feature of his paper was a complaint that the rubric was not followed, that alterations were made in. the services, and that the sermon was given undue prominence. The papor was chiefly confined to these lines, and he said that from the breaches of the rubric it was no wonder people did not attend church. It was, he held, the duty ( of the clergy to have faith in the Church, to show it by adopting her methods; otherwise the laity would break away from the Church, and would doubt the sincerity of the clergy themselves.

SHORTCOMINGS OF GtBaOY AKD LAM?. The Rev. P. Walsh dealt with the question of how far neglect of public worship was due to the shortcomings of the clergy and laity. The trouble, he said, was not confined to their own branch of the Church, it was widespread, and appeared to affect more or less all Christian bodies. Under exceptions, circumstances large congregations may still be found in church or chape), but as a general thing the old fervour had departed, or it is only fotind'in some remote spot where the modern spirit had not penetrated, changing the old customs and bauishwg the old ideas. He was asked to define how tar this state of things was to be laid to the charge of the clergy and of the laity, but the question was easier asked than answerod " In regard to the clergy, it did not proceed either from want of will or want of method, and probably there never was >* time whan the clergy of the Anglican Church worked with greater energy or with more perfect organisation. _ Amongst the laity it was to a great extant just the same. Yet, in spite of their united labours the trouble increases. All were familiar with the excuses for not attending church, and it was reasonable to suppose that uuder those excuses there must be some excuse sufficiently strong to account for the fact, and the real reason— the fundamental cause— th« trouble was what, for want of another name, he must call the spirit of the age, the spirit of modern civilisation. Amongst tnsso features he dealt with the breaiiug up of home life, the disturbance of social strata and decay of class distinction, the spread of education, or rather the art of reading, and much was also made of the advance of science in these latter days. After dealing at length with these phases of the subject, the Rev. Mr. Walsh asked how shall we suggest a remedy ? For the clergy it was not so much a question of superior talent, academic training, correctness of _ ritual, organising power, or preaching ability. These, however important, were not sufficient to compel men to coma to church. While loyally obedient to the sanction of authority and approved c*stom the clergyman must find his way to the hearts of the people, mixing intimately with his flock, interesting himself in their pursuits, sympathising with their infirmities, and raising their aspirations. He would then be a shepherd whose voice they knew, and whose feet they would follow. This, and this alone, is the true secret of success. Without this cultureand energy, improved methods and attractive services, though they may create a temporary boom, will fail in sustained result. And as regards the part of the laity he would briefly say that it was the duty of every Christian man, whatever his estate, to set his face against that secular and materialising spirit to which he had pointed, to take his stand by the right and never be appalled by a majority whether in matters of religion, of politics, or of society, and recognising the solidarity of the human race to be mindful of his influence on his brethren, bis children, and his dependents. Doing this he would find that the Church of his fathers, whether it assembled in the city temple or the bush shanty, will be the home of his highest hopes and his truest joys, as well as the most abundant field for his energies and talents. In the absence of Mr, E. 0. Haigh, set down for a paper on this subject, the Ven. Archdeacon Willis read a paper. He passed no judgment on those who were unable to attend church services, but he had found out their shortcomings by listening to the reasons given by those who were non-church goers. One said that lie was as good as the churchgoer ; another said that if he attended he would be acting the part of a hypocrite ; another that he did not agree with the teaching of the Church ; another that he cnuld read good books at home and worship at home; another that lie ; did not attend himself, but his family did and he encourage! them to do so; another • that he required the Sunday for rest; another that he was suffering from . Sunday sickness; another that he did not ' feel any interest in the Church or worship : and another said he did not go to Church because he did not like the parson. The Archdeacon replied to the various objections, ! aud said that people ought to reeoguise that [ they went to Church to worship God, to set ' forth His most Holy Word, and to ask those ' tilings which are requisite and necessary as . well for the body a3 the soul.

DISCUSSION.

The Rev. Mr. Edwards commented on Mr. Tibbs's paper, aud said that in the matter of preajhing they had to make a distinction between preaching to an old-established congregation, and what was necessary for instructing their own people in the faith, and to limit a preacher to 12 sermons in the year would be wrong; but instruction rather than preaching was necessary. He thought no clergyman who took the trouble would be worthless if he Rave simple teaching to build his hewers up in the faith. Something disparaging had been said, he believed, about prayer meetings, but in England these were found to be most useful, and he instanced the success of the meetings conducted at Portsmouth by that distinguished man, the Kev. Mr. Outline;. He believed that something more elastic than the matins and evensong would be better and more suitable in a missionary country like New Zealand. The Rev. Mr. Beatty replied to some of the remarks of Mr. A. Edwards, Ho coincided with his remarks as to the Communion service, but he objected to its being compared disparagingly with the morning and eveuing service, or being given prominence at the expense of those services, and ho pointed out what would be missed if Mr. Edwards' suggestion was carried out. To relegate the morning and evening services to the background would be a most serious and fatal mistake. There were two things required to bring men to church and to keep them there, and that was a sense of reverence for God, and good-fellowship with men.

Mr, Ewiugtou made some remarks on Mr. Tibbs' paper. He had no fault to find with the paper, but he differed from one remark made in it. He did not remember the exact words, but he understood the meaning to be that fault was found witli preachers who dealt with the events of daily life and not the gospel; but he pointed out ihit the Auckland press was continually pointing out that the reason why people did not go to Church was because the events of daily life were not dealt with. He instanced Bishop Butler and other leading preachers in England who coustautly referred to subjects of daily life. He recollected being in the Queen's redoubt when the troops were assembled before marching to Rangiriri. Bishop Selwyn preached to 'hem from the text. " There is but a step between me and death." Next day some 40 of those who listened to his words were dead. Christ when preaching on earth dealt essentially with lessons of daily life, so that preachers had good justification for preaching from the events of the day. Only recently he had heard a sermon in a city church ou the Brunnertou disaster.

Mr. Tibbs, by permission of the chairman, read two lines from his paper to show that Mr. Ewiugtou was entirety mistaken as to the nature of his remarks.

- The Rav, 1 1 . Larkins and Mr. Boardman also spoke in reference to the papers.

The Rev. Mr. Evans said two things had been overlooked by all the speakers. In all their preaching, uo matter how they studied, it would ho of n» avail except the Holy Spirit gave his influence, and if the laity prayed for their clergymen the results would be better for he would feel far stronger, far more able to go through his work in the various services.

Messrs. Arthur Harper and F. H. Templar also addressed the Congress.

The Most Rev. the Primate said there were one or two points on which he desired to make a few remarks. They were all indebted to the committee for the manner in which they had carried out the details of the Congress, and to those gentlemen who had read papers for the pains which had been taken by jfhera to make them instinctive. He was j sorry that no arrangement hud been made ! for obtaining a full report of the j Bishop of Wellington's addresß on Wednesday night, but he was about to write to him i asking him if possible to write out his address. In regard to Mr. Edwards's remarks about the rubric, they were pledged to doctrine but not to the rubrics, for although an individual clergyman may not alter the rubiics the Synod can alter or adapt them. He should bo glad on the occasion of great festivals to see the whole Communion Service conducted by itself, and in one church he observed it last buster, and the result was most encouraging, the number of communicants attending being very large. Reference was made to improving the ordering of the service. He could remember fifty years" back attending church with his parents in London, and he wondered now as he looked back at the incredible patience with which the people then bore the interpretation of the rubrics. As to preaching, they should remember that young preachers' were not expected to preach mauj; sermons to their seniors, who hud led Christian lives 'and read I more than themselves. It would be a great mistake to shut up the clergy for the whole forenoon for study. He would tell them of a case which made a great impression on him. One Wednesday night at Brighton he heard the Rev. James Vaughan breach a simple practical sermon. On coming out of the chut h he met another friend, a clergyman, and asked him how long it took Mr. Vaughan to prepar* that sermon. The reply was " Why his whole lifetime of course." His Lordship then called on Mr. John Mott, M. A., General Secretary of the World's Federated Student'sSooiety, who was present at the meeting, and who spoke for ten minutes, pointing out the prominence which university students took in England, Canada, and the United States of America, and he dealt with the great influence winch they exercised for the forces of eril or good.

"»""—■—— ■ I 1 ! ii—— mam iimiiu The "Te "Deal" was then sung by all present, and theftiost Rev. the Chairman pronounced the fenediction, and brought the Congress to ft lose.