ANGLICAN GENERAL SYNOD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12480, 26 January 1904, Page 6

ANGLICAN GENERAL SYNOD.

HISTORICAL SKETCH.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS IN AUCKLAND

As the sixteenth regular session of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of the Province oi New Zealand will be opened in Auckland during the present week, a few particulars as to the history of the Synod, which is the supreme governing body oi the Anglican Church of this colony, and some reminiscences of the two previous sessions which have been held in Auckland, will be of interest. The Synod has now been in existence for nearly half-a-century, and its history should be most instructive to those churchmen in England who are now endeavouring to set up a national Church Council in which laymen shall be given similar powers to those which have been so long enjoyed and so wisely and cautiously used by their fellow churchmen in New Zealand and in other parts , of the British Empire. THE CHURCH CONSTITUTION. i When it became cleat in the early days of the New Zealand Church that there could be no transference to the colony of the relations which existed between Chinch and State in England, the necessity for some system of sell-government, in which the ! three orders— clergy, and laity— | should each have their place, was at once ] evident, and Bishop G. A. Selwyn and his co-workers set to work with characI tei-istic energy and ability to grapple with the problem. As early as 1850 a letter was addressed to Bishop Selwyn, signed by ] a number ef clergy ana laymen, expressing I the " conviction that a peculiar necessity ; exists for the speedy establishment of some I system ef. Church' government, which, by I assigning to each order in the Church its I appropriate duties, might call forth the I energies of all, and thus enable the whole body of the Church most efficiently to perform its functions." The signature of Sir George Grey stands at the head of this historic document, and among the other signatures are those of Sii William Martin (the Chief Justice) and the Hon. William Swainson (the Attorney-General). This document was followed by a pastoral letter from Bishop Selwyn, dated " St. John's College, April 19, 1852," to which was appended a schedule of "general principles proposed as the basis of a constitution." Meetings were then held in various parts of the colony to consider the basis of the constitution, and the Bishop, thus furnished with a definite statement of the views of the clergy and laity, proceeded to England in 1854, but on arrival he found that the alternative courses foi obtaining the desired powers of self-govern-ment—an Act of Parliament or a Royal Charter—were both impracticable. He also found, however, that the best legal authorities were more and more agreed that no legal impediment existed barring colonial bishops from holding synods of clergy and laity of their own accord within their own dioceses. While in England Bishop Selwyn drew up the outline of the Church constitution under the advice of two eminent judges, Sir John Coleridge and Sir John Patteson. lie returned to New Zealand in 1855, and the work of framing and enacting the constitution proceeded. On May 14, 1857, a conference of great historic in--1 terest and importance met at St. Stephen's j Chapel, Parnell. It consisted of Bishops j Selwyn and Harper, Archdeacons Brown, ; Hadfield, Abraham, and Paul, the Revs i Henry and William Williams, G. A. Kissj hug, and James Wilson, Mr. Swainson, ; Mr. Tancred, Dr. Prendergast, Sit Edward ! Stafford, Sii Frederick Whitaker, Colonel : Haultain, and Mr. Hirst. This conference, j on June 13, 1857, put forth the constitution, and in accordance with a resolution of j the conference Bishop Selwyn convened the • first General Synod to meet at Wellington j on March 8, 1859. j FIRST GENERAL SYNOD, | At the opening of the Synod three ; bishops were present—Bishop's Selwyn, I Harper, and Hobhouse; a fourth, Bishop i Abraham, arrived from England before the I Synod was over, and these four consecrated I a fifth, Bishop Williams, of Waiapu. The I clergy present included such well-known ; names as Archdeacons Brown and Kisslinc the Revs. R. Burrows, R. Taylor, S Wil- ! lions, and J. F. Lloyd, and among the I laity were Colonel Haultain, Sir John Hall, I and Mr. Swainson. Bishop Selwyn de- , livered a most impressive, instructive, and . practical opening address, in the course of i !""«■ be mentioned that as far back as 1847 correspondence had taken place between him and the Archbishop of Canterbury and Mr. Gladstone containing proposals for a constitution in which bishops, clergy, and laity should be associated on I .no basis of a voluntary compact. The ■ great Lisnop went on to say: '"Who would ever have thought that four bishops would I have met together here, and that one of our most solemn acts would lit the consecration of a fifth ; or that the present body of clergy would represent 60 of their order? It is but five-and-torty years since the first missionary landed in New Zealand, ant but 20 since the colony was formed 41 this wonderful ch&ge has been accom Pished within the lifetime of many who 0 God e a P nd Se ,h- SU ? :y this is thc fi «l'r I ot uod, and this is the grounS of our as , surance, that He is with ° us i„ our present Uork; and that H will E ally accomplish what He hoT so j wonderfully begun." Such is the histoi v > briefly told of the Church Constitution S the origin of the General Synod. It was a momentous experiment, and in those early would were doubtful as to whether it would prove a success or not, but after a trial of nearly half-a-century it can tm be said, m the word, of Dean Jacobs: '"The vague doubts and indefinite suspicions the the ciadie of the Synod, are not onlv never ; heard of now but are looked back upon with a smile of almost incredulous wonder "Of course, the constitution is not perfect and SiicnJsr 3 have of kte years arisen which its framers did not foresee. In his address to his last Diocesan Synod, tie Bishop of Wellington pointed out in a very able and lucid man.iei the need for certain alterations m the fundamental provisions of the constitution, and the opinions of the ablest English ecclesiastical lawyers have been obtained on this important matter. lie matter may be brought before the coming Generall Synod, but in any case the difficulty will have to be faced and resolutely grappled with in the near future

FAREWELL TO BISHOP SELWYN,

i • 1 he second General Synod met at Nelson Ida- 802, and the third at Oiristchurcfe in l 1960. The fourth (which was the first to j meet in Auckland) assembled in the Cathei dral Library, Parnoll, on October 5, 1853 j and sat for 11 days. Amongst those pre- : sent were Bishop PattesoH and Bishop Sitter j (who took his seat for the first time as second bishop of .Nelson) ; also the Bishop of Nev, Zealand s second son, Mr. J. R. sjehvyn. (afterwards Bishop of Melanesia), who then assisted Ins father as his private secretary the burning question considered bv the Synodwas the formation of the Diocese of Bunedm, and the appointment of Bishop | Jenner. The debate oh this subject was prolonged and exceedingly animated, there bersg much barely suppressed excitement on both sides The president himself is said to have manifested signs of " vehement indignation," whereas Bishop Patteson made an earnest appeal foi a peaceful solution, the conclusion ultimately arrived a* was regarded by some as " lam<- and impotent," but it that is so, the cause, says Bean Jacobs, in his history, "must be attributed to the extreme unwillingness of the members of the Synod to come to an open breach with their president, whom they unfeignedly admired and revered, whose splendid hospitality they had enjoyed, and from whom they were on the eve of parting." Apart from the above controversy, some important work was done by this Synod, including a statute for the appointment of a Primate, and one "to provide for the appointment of successors to the missionary bishop among the islands of Melanesia." Later on Bishop Harper, of Ohristchurch, was elected to be Primate " upon the resignation or death of the Bishop of New Zealand." The General Synod of 1868 is also noteworthy as being the last New Zealand Synod over which Bishop Sehvyn presided, and on the last day of the session Bishop Harper read a touching 'arc-well address, Dr. Selwyn having been appointed Bishop of Lichfield. "How can we ever xorget you?" the address said.

"Every spot in New Zealand is identified with you. Whether your be few or many, we, as long as we live, will ever hold you deep in our inmost hearts." The two native addresses were rendered into English by Archdeacon Clarke. Bishop Salwvn gave a closing address, declared that his connection with the Synod as its president had come to an end, and pronounced the Benediction. BISHOP COWIE. At the next General Synod, which was held at Dunedin in 1871, Bishop Cowie took his seat Tor the first time as Bishop of Auckland, the title Bishop of New Zealand having expired on the resignation of Bishop Selwyn. A MEMORABLE GATHERING. The General Synod did not meet again in Auckland till 1886, when Bishop Harper, as Primate, presided. Of the other bishops who then assembled in this city three have been removed by death, viz. : Bishops A. B. Suter (of Nelson), John Richardson Sehvyu (of Melanesia), and William Garden Cowie (of Auckland). Bishop Hadfield, of Wellington, has retired from active work, and Bishop Stuart, of Waiapu, has returned to his missionary labours in Persia. Thus the Acting-Primate, Bishop Nevill, of Dunedin, will be the only personal connecting link among the bishops between the Synod of 1886 and that of 1904. At the 1886 meeting one was absent .rho had taken a conspicuous part in every Synod, from that, of Nelson in 1862 to that of Napier in lotto, both included Archdeacon Mauusell, who had been released from dutj and was in feeble health. Among the lay members w,s one who had taken part in the conference of 1857, and had signed the original consti—Colonel Haultain ; - and prominent among the new member's was Mr. H. G. SethSmith. The place of meeting, the Cathedral Library, unaltered since 1868, led Bishop Harper (then 82 years of age) to make touching reference to memories of Bishop Selwyn, Sir William Martin, Mr. Swaiuson, and Bishop Patteson. This meeting was akso. made noteworthy by the presence of Bishop Barry (then Bishop of Sydney), who delivered an admirable address, in which he advocated the need of unity, and referred to the danger of too independent action of the various dioceses. Another distinguished visitor was Sir Alexander Stuart, at one time Premier of New South Wales, who gave an address on religious teaching in schools, a question' which occupied a prominent place in the Synod's discussions, though the principal debates of the session reference to the removal of St. John's College. This Synod sat for 13 days. Since 1886 the triennial sessions have been held in the other dioceses in succession, and now, after the lapse of 18 years, the General Synod once again meets in Auckland. THE 1904 SESSION. The members of the General Synod, which meets on Thursday, will be entertained on Saturday, at an "At Home," at St. John's College given by Mrs. Anson. Friday being a holiday it will be for the members to decide whether or not the house will sit on that day. It is probable, in view of Saturday's garden party, that after the opening on Thursday the Synod may adjourn until the following Monday, but nothing definite has been decided upon. The business before the Synod will include many questions of general interest. Archdeacon Calder proposes to bring forward a motion—agreed to at the Diocesan Synodfor the rotation of trustees, retiring trustees to be eligible for re-election. The Rev. W. Beatty is set down for a motion on the question of trusteeship generally. Another important matter that will be gone into is the question of whether it is possible to allow any of the fundamental articles of the constitution to bo subject to alteration. Three years ago the late Primate was instructed to obtain legal advice on this question.