CHURCH OF THE PROVINCE OF ZEALAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13483, 6 July 1907, Page 1 (Supplement)

CHURCH OF THE PROVINCE OF ZEALAND.

No. 111.

BY THE KEV. CANON HASELDEX.

The general synods and the diocesan synods have played such an important part in the I building up of the Church of the Province of New Zealand that a few words specially about them are necessary. Their influence has also extended beyond the shores of New Zealand, and the Church in other lands have copied njany of their provisions and have taken example from them. The first synod was held at Waimate, in 1844. The second was held at S. John's College, Tamaki, in 1847. No words about the synods can possibly be so good as the words of the founder himself. In his address to the fitst general synod, held in Wellington in 1859, Bishop Selwyn said, '•In the year 1844, the .' first 'synod of the diocese t>'f New Zealand was held at the Waimate; but, in the uncertainty which prevailed on the subject of Church government in the colonies, many high authori-, ties in England censured our proceedings as illegal. Being well aware that this opinion was unfounded, 1 was not deterred from convening a second synod, at S. John's College, Auckland, hi the year 1847, at which I read a correspondence between the Archbishop of Canterbury and Mr. Gladstone, then Secretary of State for the Colonies, containing a proposal for a Church constitution, in which the three orders of bishops, clergy, and laity should be associated on the'basis of voluntary compact. The diocesan synods of 1844 and 1847 were exclusively clerical; but, from the time of the meeting of the synod of 1847, efforts began to be made, and have never since been intermitted, with a view to the admission of lay representatives. ... In order to remove from our proceedings even the suspicion of illegality, attempts were made to procure from the English Legislature a recognition of the. right of the colonial bishops to convene synods for the management of their own diocesan affairs. Three Bills for this purpose were brought forward in successive sessions of the British Parliament; but, one after the other, they all fell to the ground. In the meantime, a change of opinion took place among the legal authorities in England, that, as the colonial Churches must have laws for their own government, and as neither the Church nor the State at Home can make laws for them, they must be left free to legislate for themselves." Here, in Bishop Selwyn's own clear, brief words, we have the history of how synods came into being in New Zealand. The general synod sits every three years and on special occasions. It consists of the six Bishops of New Zealand and the missionary Bishop of Melanesia, and three clerical representatives and four lay representatives from each diocese of New Zealand and the missionary diocese of Melanesia. It makes the canon law for the province. This is reprinted every three years, and called, "The Constitution and Canons of the Church of the Province of New Zealand." It is published together with the proceedings of the general synod; and can be obtained at the Church office of any dioi cese. Title A, Canon 1., makes provision for the appointment of bishops. The bishop of a diocese "in New Zealand is elected by the diocesan synod of the.said diocese. The Primate is elected by the general synod, and if after a third ballot no'bishop has a majority of votes in each of the three orders, the senior of the Bench of Bishops' becomes Primate. .Canon 11., provides for the. appointment of pastors to ■■•, parishes.This """is; dons Ibv ■:«.-; hoard-:.«£ nominators," parti of -which arc selected by the diocesan synod and part by the vestry of the parish. 'Title B deals with the composition of the general synod, the diocesan synods, local boards, dioceses, parishes, chapters. Maori Mission Board. Title. C dcwls with matters of legislation, and Title D with matters of discipline. Title E provides for educational matters, and Canon 11. of Title E relates to the management of S. Johns College. The three canons of Title P all relate to trustees and their duties. The diocesan synods make their own regulations affecting* the diocese, and no regulation or resolution may be contrary to any provision of the general synod. The diocese of Auckland possesses the most complete book of Church law; It is called A Digest of Ecclesiastical Law of the Church o f the Province of New Zealand, Diocese of Auckland." It. can be obtained at the diocesan office, Auckland. The commissioners who drew up the' digest in its present form, and to whom Auckland churchmen are much indebted, were Archdeacon Willis, Canon Nelson, and Judge SethSmith. , , ,- , j The foundation of the standing orders, j canons, regulations, etc., were laid down by ] the early synods, and they are models of good procedure end sound law. The proceedings of the early synods were published in the" form of minutes, and anyone who wishes to be acquainted with correct terms and forms in the conduct of public meetings cannot do better than study them. They never make the mistake of putting "carried" after a motion which has been "agreed to" without division, nor of calling a motion "agreed to" when it has been carried after a division. The proper form of dealing with reports of committees is always carefully observed. They never insult the intelligence of members of the synod bv asking them to "receive" a. report before it has' been read; but reports are presented, then on motion read; then received on motion, and then dealt with by motion on notice, if they so require it. Bishop Selwyn was not only a master of rules and the good sense of correct procedure, but he had with.him as his helpers some men who were also masters in such matters. It is no wonder that the Church law of New Zealand, in both small and great matters. should be much consulted by every diocese that requires to. be formed or re-formed, throughout the Anglican Communion In many matters the dear old Mother Church in England is sadly behind the young daughter in New Zealand; hut, every now and then something is adopted in England which has been in.force for years out here. Main- clergymen and laymen, just out from the Old Land, find it difficult to realise this fact immediately they arrive here; but the intelligent and 'well-informed ones are not slow in doing so. They then give unreserved admiration for those great and good men who devoted so much of their time and ability to the Church of New Zealand. , , , Bishop Selwvn was a very masterful man, but at the same time most submissive to authority, and carefully observed law" and order. At the very first meeting of the eencral synod he gave an example of this, which will always be before churchmen "enerallv. He was the Bishop of New Zealand" Surely at the synod he would take the chair and preside at once as chairman? Nothing of the kind. 'The minutes read as follows:—" The Bishop of New Zealand read resolutions of conference empowering him to convene the first general synod at Wellington, and declared the svnod duly constituted. Whereupon it was. moved by the Bishop oi Chvistchurch, and seconded" by Mr. Swainson, ' That the Bishop of New Zealand be requested to take the chair as president of the fiTfct general svnod'" The Bishop had then been 15 years in New Zealand, but he assumed no rights or powers. Of course, the synod made the rule that the Primate, or senior Bishop, should be the president of the general svnod. Bishop Selwyn did not take it upon "himself, but was properly called to it. It was the same in other things. He could not help being a master, because he was one: but he never assumed any rights J because of his position, or,lorded it over | any other worker or any humble member of "the Church. Once—it does not matter where or when —Bishop Selwyn arrived at a settler's home in the bush, and getting a young son of the settler to go with him as a guide, he started off for a further journey, promising that

in three days he would return and* hold service in the settler's house, ™ ch ,™§. rather a large establishment for those days. That night the Bishop and his young guide camped out, and in the early fawn, the boy awoke shivering with the cold. Am. a while he fell asleep, and when he woke again, he was warm and comfortable,, lor the Bishop had taken his own covering oQ I and tucked the lad up in it. WhenJthey got back to the settler's home there was a, gathering of all the people around. A partition had been taken down between two rooms, so as to make a large enough room, and in it the service was held, and tue Bishop preached. Ordinary young schoolboys are not supposed to listen to, or remember much about, sermons, but to one at least that sermon lingers in the memorv as the sermon ot a .lifetime. That night the settler's house was crowded with people who had to stay until the next day, and when about midnight a son of the house came home, ana there was no bed for him, it was the Bishop, who heard him come in, and made him share" his bed. He was so great. so really good all the time, but so natural,; that somehow while all admired and loved him, they were perfectly at ease with him. He never ceased for one minute to bo the Bishop, a devoted servant of God, a man of great ability, an English gentleman, and your friend, of whom you were not at all afraid. Ho could hold" his own with any bishops and judges, and he could camp out with a young English boy or a Maori, and command the love and respect of them all:

. But, we turn from him and look once more at his work. The Church to-day has wise laws, which provide in a very simple manner for the formation of parishes, or the. alteration of the boundaries of parishes. The principle of this was laid down by Bishop Selwyn at the general synod of 1859. He said "The fourth duty of the. diocesan svnod will be to define parishes.; But the general synod ought to lay down; the principle upon whioh parishes are to be first defined, and afterwards, if necessary, divided from time to time. The parish should resemble the sheept'old, in having boundaries well marked and known for the time beiug, but easy to be removed. We must strictly guard against the introduction of a system in whioh, from a jealous respect for the rights ot property, 50 or even a hundred thousand souls 'have been left under the nominal charge of one clergy. man. It will be easy now for the general synod to lav down a rule, that whenever the members of the Church in any parish shall be found to exceed a certain number, it shall be the duty of the diocesan synod to alter the boundaries; and to divide the endowment fund of the old parish in due proportions between the two or more parishes which shall be formed out of it." Bishop Selwyn's relatives, and his other rich friends in England, gave the Bishop verv large sums of money to use as he judged best for the good of the Church here. At the general synod of 185? he handed over to the synod these moneys, which had been turned 'into properties, saying : "Take these properties, and use them as you please, within the limits of the trusts, and may God guide you to a right i use of His bounty. ' . ' It must be remembered that the constitution of the Church had been put forth;.two; years before the meeting of the first general svnod. We have been observing the jubilee of that event, and people have heard so much about it that it is not necessary to say more than that, the constitution was put forth on June 13, 1857, by the conference, held in S. .Stephen's, Chapel, Judge's Bitv, Parnell. But I have found that" people' want to sec what the constitution looks like, although they would not care to lead it all through. Therefore,.! give the opening words and the names of those who signed it. "Constitution for associating together, as a branch of the United Church of England and Ireland, the Members of the said Church in the colony of New Zealand, agreed to at a General: Conference of Bishops, Clergy, and Laity; assembled at Auckland, ou the thirteenth they! of ■?. '■Jiin'feVv in * the- -year - of ; "' our- Lord,,, 1857. ' " In the Name of God—Amen. Whereas

it is desirable that the members of the United Church of England and Ireland, in the colony of , New- Zealand, should be associated together as a branch of the said United Church, and that a representative body should. be constituted for the government of the same, and, whereas, until due provision shall be made in that behalf by competent authority, it is desirable that members of the United Church of England and Ireland should, so far as they lawfully may. associate themselves together by voluntary compact, as a branch of the said United Church, for the ordering of the affairs, the management of the property, the promotion of the discipline of the members thereof, and tor the inculcation. and maintenance of sound doctrine and true religion throughout the colony to the glory of Almighty God, and the edification and.increase of'the Church of Christ." Then come six fundamental provisions. They bind the Church here to the present version of the Bible, and to the Prayer-book, as long as the Church in England'keeps to them. The existence of the general synod is also pror vided for, and every act of the general synod must be assented to by the three orders. Then follow 26 provisions that are not fundamental. The whole was attested and signed : — ■

Clergy. baity. G. A. New Zealand E. W. Stafford H. J. C. Christc.hurch Frederick WW taker Henry Williams Henry John Tailored William Williams William Swainson

R. B. Paul A. N. Brown Octavius Had field 0. .1. Abraham O. A. Kissling James Wilson

.T. Nf. Hanltain V.. K. Prendergast Thomas Hirst

From this constitution it is declared, with confidence, all branches of the ■ Anglican communion have learned much. During the fifty years since the putting forth of the constitution, there have not been wanting occasions when it has been tested, but it has stood the test, and will. seemingly, continue to ' stand unshaken. Possibly'as time goes on men Mill be less and less inclined to touch it. The minutes of the general synod of 1859 are particularly full and interesting. But two incidents only will be mentioned. On March 29, the Rev. Samuel Williams reported to the .synod that, the Maori congregations of Waiapu and Waikanae had collected, and sent through him, the sum of £6. as a mark of their good feeling towards {he- members of the synod, and in hope that it might be of use towards defraying the expenses of the present meeting, one of the chiefs at the same time remarking: "That although the tattooed faces could not take part- in the deliberations of the synod, they felt a pleasure in expressing their hearty good wishes for its success."' On Sunday, April 3, the Rev. William Williams,.who had been a missionary in New Zealand for 23 years, was consecrated in S. Paul's Church. Wellington, by Bishops Selwvn, Harper, Hobhouse. and Abraham, and appointed to the see of Waiapu. ' The consecration of this good man of ripe experience by the four younger men was felt to be most appropriate, and that Sunday was indeed a happy one for those immediately concerned and for the Church in New Zealand.

(To be continued.',