GENERAL SYNOD OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4121, 5 June 1874, Page 3

GENERAL SYNOD OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH.

Thursday, June 4. The Primate took the chair at the usual hour. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. THE TEMPERANCE QUESTION. The debate upon the following motion of the Dean of Christchurch was resumed :—■" That this Synod deeply deplores the wide prevalence of intemperance among the professing members of the Church in all classes of society, and is of opinion that the evil is so great as to call for special efforts and the adoption of special agencies for its abatement, and for the promotion of temperance ; but, inasmuch as circumstances and opportunities vary .more or less in the several Dioceses, the form which such special agencies should assume is a question best left for the consideration of Diocesan Synods ; and the Synod earnestly requests the several Diocesan Synods to give their earliest and most serious attention to this important matter." The Bishop of Nelson suggested that the Dean shoidd leave out the words "among the professing members of the Church." People were only too ready to catch at any blemish in the characters of the Church, and it was needless that they should do so themselves. Archdeacon Stock hoped all the words after the word • " intemperance" would be struck out, because he denied the fact that intemperance was prevalent amongst all classes. The Dean expressed his willingness to omit the words. The Bishop of Wellington «aid he did not desire to say anything about the matter, as he intended to vote against it. They all knew well enough that many vices prevailed in society, and he did not know why they should single out intemperance in this way. The motion was carried with the omission of the words, " among the professing members of the Church in all classes of society." CHURCH DAY SCHOOLS. Archdeacon Harper moved, That this Synod desires to express its sense of the paramount importance of a system of education for the young', which includes religious instruction, and having this in view records its approbation of the efforts which have been made, with some success, to maintain and establish Church Day Schools in some of the Dioceses of this Province ; and further, that this Synod expresses its hope that the Bishops and Synods of the various Dioceses will do all that may be expedient and possible to secure to the parochial clergy and others acting under them the privilege of imparting religious instruction in the Government Day Schools. After a short discussion, the motion was put and carried. VOTE OP THANKS TO SIR WM. MARTIN. The Bishop of WAiAru moved, That this Synod begs to express its high sense of the valuable services of Sir William Martin in the interests of the Church throughout the whole term of his residence in New Zealand, and that the Primate be requested to forward the resolution to Sir Win, Martin. The Bishop of "Wellington, who seconded the motion, said that this was peculiarly one of those cases where silence was true eloquence, and he should not therefore detain the Synod by making a speech upon the motion. Motion carried by acclamation. promotion op religious knowledge. On tho motion of the Bishop of Dunedin, it was ordered that tho report and resolutions of Committee for Promoting Religious Knowledge, be printed with the Proceedings of the Synod. CANDIDATES FOR HOLY ORDERS. The Bishop of Dunedin moved, That the suggestions contained" in tho report of the Select Committee on tho Supply of Candidates for Holy Orders, and tho increase of tho Clergy for the service of the Church in New Zealand, be printed in the Report of Proceedings of this Synod. .Motion agreed to. EPISCOPAL SUPERINTENDENCE OF THE FIJI GROUP. The Dean of Christchurch moved, That the Primate be requested to communicate with the Metropolitan Bishop of Sydney for tho purpose of ascertaining the views of tho Board of Missions of the Church in Australasia with reference to the provision which should bo

made for the episcopal superintendence of the Fiji group. Motion agreed to. insurance of church properties. The Rev. B. W. Harvey moved, That it is a perfectly safe and legitimate transaction for the Church to undertake the risk of fire insurance in connection with its own properties. That with the capital now accumulated in the hand of the trustees of the Eire Insurance Branch of the Pension Fund, it is highly desirable to continue and extend as widely as possible the system of mutual insurance in regard to the properties of the Church, provided that for the present, no single risk be taken to an amount exceeding £SOO. And that the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Wellington bo appointed agents of the General Synod, for the management of the fire insurance business and be authorised to take over the accumulated capital for the purpose of carrying on the same. The mover pointed out that the report v of the proceedings of the General Synod of 1871 distinctly stated that the fire insurance branch had proved profitable, and might be safely continued. That being so he might be expected to apologise for placing some portion of the motion upon the paper, but the experience of every branch of commerce showed that it was a prudent course where any company or society had a large amount of property scattered about, to secure that property against loss. Even their own experience showed that they might continue to insxire their parsonages, churches, and schools, for although they started without any capital, there was remaining in hand at the present time capital of £1253. There were, he believed, 250 parsonages, churches, and schools in the Colony, and if these were insured at 1 per cent., the profits per year in a few years' time, would amount to £IOOO. The probabilities of loss were few, for he found, after collecting all available information upon the matter, that out of all the church property in the Colony, there had been only four fires up to the present time. The. fire insurance branch formed a most important part of the Pension scheme, and he hoped the Synod would give its sanction to the motion, so that this branch of their scheme should not be allowed to die' out. The rev. gentleman sketched out a rough but feasible plan of operations which he felt convinced would prove great source of profit to the Pension Fund. Mr. Sewell suggested that as the proposal was one which required a great deal of careful inquiry, it would be better to leave it in the hands of the Primate, who should make such inquiries as would enable the Synod at its next meeting to deal with the subject. It seemed to him to be an undertaking which would involve risks which should not properly be undertaken by the Synod without due consideration. Archdeacon Stock and the Bishop of Waiapo supported the motion. The Bishop of Auckland said he could not understand how the Synod could be asked to say that the fire insurance branch was a perfectly safe and legitimate transaction, when they had the opinion of every individual of the Standing Committee of Auckland, who had considerable experience in the matter, that it was not a safe investment. Besides, he did not know that the Standing Committee of Wellington had any right to claim that the capital in hand, amounting to £I6OO, should be handed over to them. He should propose as an amendment upon the motion, That the accumulated capital be equally divided amongst the Dioceses from which it accrued. The Rev. Mr. Thorpe ' thought it would be better to invest the capital in hand, and apply the interest to the augmentation of the Pension Fund, Archdeacon Harper then moved that the accumulated capital of the Fire Insurance Branch of the general Pension Fund be invested until it shall be proved that a general Pension Fund be practicable. A long discussion ensued, at the conclusion of which the Bishop of Auckland withdrew his motion in favor of Archdeacon Harper's amendment. Mr. Pearce said the amendment simply amounted to nothing. The question they were called upon to decide was whether or not the insurance of Church property was a safe., investment. It must be apparent to every member of the Synod that it was a safe investment, and not only that but it was one from which the Pension Fund would largely benefit. Jlf-A division being called for upon Archdeacon Harper's amendment, the numbers were : Ayes. Noes. Bishops ... 3 Bishops ... 3 Clergy ... 6 Clergy ... 11 Laity ... 0 Laity ... 11 The amendment was therefore lost. Archdeacon Williams moved that the first part of the original motion as far as the word "properties" be expunged. The amendment was negatived, and the second portion of the motion, as far as the figures £SOO, put and agreed to. Upon the last clause, appointing the Wellington Standing Committee agents of the General Synod for the fire insurance branch, a division was called for, which resulted as follows : Ayes. Noes. Bishops ... 2 Bishops ... 3 Clergy ... 10 Clergy ... 7 Laity ... 11 Laity ... 7 The motion for the retention of the clause was consequently lost. The motion was then put as a whole, and carried on the following division:— Ayes. Noes. Bishops ... 4 Bishops ... 2 Clergy ... 12 Clergy ... 6 Laity ... 11 Laity ... G theological studies. On the motion of the Bishop of Nelson, a Bill for the appointment of a Board of Theological Studies, was read a third time and passed. The following gentlemen were appointed members of the Board:—The Dean of Christchurch, Archdeacon Maunsell, the Rev. 11. L. Stanford, Messrs. Acland, C. Hunter Brown, and E. Pearce. statute no. 7. On the motion of the Bishop of Auckland, a Bill to amend Statute No. < was read a third time and passed. constitution. Mr Sewell moved the third reading of a Bill to make certain necessary alterations in the formal organisation of the Church. Mr. E. C. Quick moved, as an amendment, That whereas the subject matter of the Bill now under discussion is of the most vital importance, and affects the fundamental provisions of the Constitution, it should not be dealt with more hastily than any change which would aifect only the non-fundamental provisions of the Constitution—This Synod, therefore, resolves that the further consideration thereof shall be deferred until the next General Synod to enable the members of the Church throughout this Ecclesiastical Province to understand the issues raised, and to procure such further legal advice as may be thought fit ; and that the Bill be printed amongst the proceedings of this Synod as a notice of motion for such next General Synod ; and, further, that the President be requested to communicate this resolution to the Bishops of this Province, with a view to its being brought vmder the notice of the several Diocesan Synods. The amendment was ruled out of order. After several other amendments had been moved and ruled out of order, the original motion was carried on the following division : Ayes. Noes. Bishops ... 0 Bishops ... 0 Clergy ... 13 Clergy ... 5 Laity ... 10 Laity ... 8 Tho Bill was passed. diocesan courts dill. On the motion of tho Dean of Christchurch this Bill was passed. ecclesiastical offences bill. On the motion of tho Dean of Christcnuncii this Bill was passed. NEW IKOTIONARY BILIi. Mr. Sewell moved tho tliird reading of this Bill. Mr. E. C. Quick moved, as an amendment, that the Bill be recommitted for the purpose of 1 altering the preamble.

The amendment was lost on the following division : Ates. Noes. Bishops .., 0 Bishops ... 0 Clergy ... 3 • Clergy ... 14 Laity ... 7 Laity ... 11 The Bill was passed. STATUTE NO. 7. On the motion of the Dean of Christehurch a Bill to amend Statute No. 7 was read a second time, and the Synod went into committee upon it. The Bill was reported with.amendments, and the report was adopted. STATUTE NO. 11. Mr. Acland moved the second reading of a Bill to amend Statute No. 11, which was agreed to, and the Synod went into committee on the Bill. Clause 1 was thrown out on the voices, and the other clauses having been passed with some alterations, .the Bill was reported, read.-a third time, and passed. BUSINESS. On the motion of the Bishop of Auckland it was resolved, that the Synod meet at eleven o'clock this morning, if a quorum lie not present, the Synod to adjourn until the usual hour, 3 p.m. DUTIES OF SIELANESIAN BISHOP. Mr. McKellab moved, That the Bishop of Auckland perform any nece.sary Episcopal duties in connection with the Diocese of Melanesia, until a successor to Bishop Patteson be appointed. The motion was agreed to. Statute No. 1. Mr. McKellah moved the second reading of a Bill to add an additional clause on the appointments of trustees to this Statute. The motion was agreed to, and the Synod went into committee on the Bill, which was reported, read a third time and passed. st. john's college. The Dean of Christchurch moved the second reading of a Bill to make provision for the government of St. John's College, Auckland. The motion was agreed to, and the Synod considered the clauses in committee, the third of which provided that the Governors of the College should be the Bishop of Auckland ex officio, and six other members, one each to be appointed by the Bishops of Christehurch, Auckland, Wellington, Nelson, Waiapu, Dunedin, and Melanesia, or in case of a vacancy in any bishopric, by the Primate, and those to hold office for one triennial session of the Synod. The Bill was reported, read a third time, and passed. THEOLOGICAL STUDIES. The following were appointed a board of theological studies : The six Bishops, ex officio members, and three clergy, viz., The Dean of Christehurch, Archdeacon Maunsell, and Kev. K. L. Stanford, and three laymen, Hon. W. Acland, 0. Hunter Brown, Esq., and E. Pearce, Esq. The above board are not the examiners, but are entrusted with arrangements for encouraging theological studies and arranging examinations. The Synod adjourned.it midnightuntil eleven o'clock this (Friday) morning.