AUCKLAND BISHOPRIC.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12147, 18 December 1902, Page 6

AUCKLAND BISHOPRIC.

ENDOWMENT TO BE INCREASED. ' ■';;;'; £5000 REQUIRED. The committee set . up by Mr. 'Win. J. , Speight at the request of the Anglican Synod to devise means for the augmentation of the J Auckland bishopric - endowment, and several other church members in sympathy with the movement, met at the' diocesan office, Shortland-street, yesterday afternoon. Mr. Wm, J. Speight presided., In opening the proceedings the Chairman said it would not be necessary to enlarge upon the necessity for adding to the stipend of the new Bishop, but he thought.it advisable to point out how little interest they, as laymen, • had taken in the matter during all the time they had been in the diocese. It had only lately been forced on their minds that they had not been doing their duty for very many years past. The position was, practically, that whilst they looked upon the Bishop as a necessary officer of the Church of the diocese, a necessity to both clergy and laity, and to the Church's organisation, they never seemed to have realised the necessity for increasing the Bishop's stipend. It might interest them to knowthat the stipend,of the Bishop of this diocese had btjeu altogether dependent upon the effort put forth by Bishop G. A. Selwyn, by which "he collected a sum of over £5000 in England, supplemented in 1870 by the amount collected in this diocese, which had not reached more than £2500, thus giving a total for investment of about £7500, out of which, for 33 years, the stipend of the Bishop had been paid. The churches had not been called upon to contribute a shilling towards it since 1870. As they knew, the interest on this invested' money had been steadily decreasing for years past, and there was not now available a sum anything like what there was at first. The highest total the interest had ever reached was about £900 since the endowment was made, and now it amounted to only a little over £700. Of course, out of the bishopric endowment certain expenses had to be paid for up-keep of building, etc./ so that all was not available for the Bishop. It was now felt that the circumstances were completely altered. This was the most important diocese in the colony, and one which should bo worked by a Bishop who ought to be free of all monetary cares. No one could think it right or proper that the Bishop should be hampered in that respect. This being so, the present steps were taken, and he felt that no time could be so opportune as this interregnum. The scheme in hand for the augmentation of the Bishop's stipend depended on the heartiness and willingness of those who were going to operate it. The hearty concurrence of laymen was necessary in the first place with the movement. During the last few weeks he had turned up the list of original contributors to the first endowment in 1870, and it was very 'interesting to note how very few of them were left. So it reduced itself to this, that the existing generation had done, nothing towards the sustenance of the Bishop for the past 30 years. Yet we considered we had a claim upon the Bishop as a leader of thought and morals, and that he had a right to do us credit in all matters he took in hand, and in the social welfare of the 90,000 Anglicans of the diocese. He (Mr. Speight) had every- faith that the laity of the diocese would . do their duty. He had thought it wise at first, to bring home to the laity a sense of their duty, and therefore he had asked no clergymen to take part on the committee, but if they thought it advisable to alter this they should do so. His idea was that they, ought to set up -a small committee, which would control the movement from Auckland, and a larger one to assist by collecting contributions. For the purpose of. the - small committee he had secured the services of Messrs. A. S. Russell, A. G. Horton, H. Biett. Alfred Kidd, M.H.R, (Mayor of Auckland), S. Hesketh, J. Batger. and S. Luk.% and had asked them to act as an Executive Committee. As to the larger committee, be had sent out over 120 : circulars, and in response several had expressd themselves as quite willing to act, others consenting to ass.'st in other ways. He was gratified to say that not a single refusal had been received to' act for them in some way.or another, so they started under fair auspices. Coming... to tin, scheme drawn up by the Executive Committee, it-was embodied in two circulars • prepared for that • meeting's approval or amendment— one ,to the Church people of the diocese, and the second to the country clergy—-which he then proceeded to read as follows:

: To the Church people of the Diocese of Auckland :—The Diocesan .\vnod at- its recent session selected .tbe Rev. M. E. Neligau,. vicar of St. Stephen's, Paddingtor., London, as the new Bishop of this diocese. Be may be expected here in a few months to take up his work. - The income of the bishopric has, ever since the formation of the diccese, been derived from the interest earned by endowments, these endowments having been mainly, procured by the first Bishop Selvyn from his friends in England; -a sum of about £2500, collected in the colony in 1870, teing all that has been contributed locally to .Yards :.he endowment fund by our people. The earning power of the endowment has varied considerably during the last 33 years, ;■ the highest . amount earned during any one year Icing about £900; but the great fall injnterest during recent years has. brought the present income down to,little over £700. There is no probability of rates of interest returning to their former level. This amount, it is felt, is altogether inadequate for the proper support of the Bishop of such a large and important diocese, the duties and responsibilities of the position being so great and varied. We owe it both to ourselves and to ; the Bishop that an energetic, and, it is hoped, final effort should be made hefoi'e his arrival, to place the endowment upon a stronger basis. Since 1870 the people of the diocese have not been asked to contribute anything towards the stipend of a Bishop; during this long period we have enjoyed his services without cost to ourselves. Under these circumstances the Synod has decided that a direct appeal should now be made for the augmentation of the endowment fund by a sum of about £5G00,,wb.w > h, if obtained, will, by its earning power, place the matter; of. the - Bishop's stipend upon a much more satisfactory footing, relieve him of financial care, and thus secure him full freedom to devote himself to those duties of his high office which will call so urgently for his attention upon his arrivsi in Auckland. For the collection of this amount a large committee, composed of representative laymen of the diocese, has been formed, all of whom ; v.ill act as collectors of subscriptions from' the people. In addition to this the vicar of each parish or district, associating with himself the representatives jn Synod for his parish, will act as a local centre for the same purpose. All subscriptions, by whomsoever,collected, will be forwarded to an Executive Committee at Auckland, whose treasurer will issue receipts direct to each individual subscriber. Many persons wishful to assist the movement, while not able to donate large single sums, have desired an opportunity of spreading their contributions over a few years. Accordingly it has been arranged that contributions of two kinds will be accepted, i.e., in one amount, or an amount per year for any number of years not exceeding five. Herewith please find him form for filling up by you, stating such sum as you feel disposed to contribute, and in the way you may prefer. The form when filled may be handed, with your contribution, to any niembei of the committee, to the vicar of your parish, or may be posted direct to me at the address at foot hereof. The committee, acting for the Diocesan Synod, strongly appeals to the people of the diocese for generous and cheerful aid towards this necessary and pressing object, feeling sure that the consciousness of having performed a duty in this matter will afford a distinct satisfaction to each subscriber.— (Signed for Executive Committee), WILLIAM J. SPEIGHT, chairman. Address at .Box 247, G.P.O. ,'.To the Clergy of Country Parishes :—Rev. and Dear Sir,— the enclosed circular you will note that the movement for the augmentation of the bishopric endowment fund has, in obedience to the direction of the Synod, been started. In the name of the committee now formed for the purpose of controlling the matter, I have to ask you to be good enough to fall in with the arrangement by which you and the Synodsmen of your parish will act as the local centre round which may be gathered, if you so desire, suitable people in your district willing to help in the work of collecting. If, when replying, you will let me know what plan 1 yon think it best for you to adopt in order to reach the end desired in the way of a good and general subscription being obtained from your people, and also suggest what supply of circulars you desire, the committee will be glad to meet your wishes in all ways possible. In the city we. while acting in harmony with the clergy, have cast the duty of collecting upon a committee composed altogether of laymen,' in the outdistricts it is impossible to do without the aid of the local vicar for collection purposes, as ho best knows which of his people are most suitable for undertaking the work. Feeling sure that you will do all in your power to aid us in a movement which we know'has your hearty concurrence, I have to ask yori to favour me with an early reply after you have had time for a consultation with your Synodsmen.—(Signed), WW. J. SPEIGHT, chairman of committee. ' ■ -

A brief discussion ensued upon the scheme for augmenting the endowment, one gentleman suggesting that in order to-ensure the payment of a stipend of £1000 per year to the new Bishop it would be advisable to collect £7000 instead of £5000. The interest on the latter, if the money were invested in New Zealand Consols, would only bring in 4- per cent., or about £200 per year. The Chairman pointed out that the Synod were only tied to a payment of £800 per year, though unofficially the new Bishop had been informed that efforts would be made to increase it to £1000. The earning powei of the money they were going to try and raise, of course, depended upon how it was invested.

Mr. Graves Aickiu thought the fund would find more support if they asked for, say, 500 subscribers of £1 pel year each. That would provide the requisite sum to make the stipend £1000.

■; Mr. J. Batger said the committee ; wore aiming at obviating annual collections. The Bishop ; was, the •; contended, ;■■ entitled : to ; feel that ;; the fund ; from which ;■ his " income was derived was one which did; not require feeding year by year. i#. Whether the sums ;: proposed to be raised by contributions were paid yearly; or in 'a lump sum they .would still go towards the capital.:. The only alternative scheme was to ? levy contributions on the parishes,' but • ? that meant destroying the foundations which Church work was built. The parishes were sufficiently -put to -it now to maintain ; their clergy, increase their work, - sustain their buildings,' and; help the country districts. He thought the only way was to attack the problem before them and make the fund safe at once. * ; .'- - : After some further discussion of details, the circulars as read by the chairman were unanimously approved of and adopted on the motion of Mr. CM. Calder, seconded by Mr. H. Gilfillan, jun. » * ' All present not previously on. the General Committee were added thereto. > „ The Chairman then suggested that the members of the General Committee should divide, themselves; into representatives •of parishes to facilitate. the work of collection and avoid any covering of the ground more than once. It was decided, however, that the committee should write to the vestry of each town parish, asking them to organise committees of their own to carry out the collecting work within their parishes. In closing the. meeting, the Chairman stated that promises of very considerable amounts had already been received. He also intimated that the circulars which hf.d : been adopted would be sent out to-day.