ANGLICAN SYNOD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11253, 25 October 1898, Page 4

ANGLICAN SYNOD.

The second session of the synod \<V*g;:> the Diocese of: Dunedin was commenced at iSt;^:;;; Paul's Schoolroom, 'yeßterdayj:!afterno6n. ;:;'.;: Bishop Nevill presided,: ftnd.there : were:!j3o;;;i:i:: Dresent: Dean Fitchett,' ■ -'the,, r^eni.^.s:; j Archdeacon Robinson/'. v'the'.^"Revs.v .rO. S. Bowden, H.-:J; > W.-; ; ; 11. Browne, W. \Curzon-Sißßersu G.: W. ; ' Davidson, H. S. Leach, Canons T, F. Dodd.U : M. King, W. S. Lucas, and 11. Riohards (clergy), Dr Hoclcen,1 Messrs H..F: Hardy, 0. ■ ~ Haynes, J. Smith, Jun., W. G.i P. Q'Calla- , R han, A*. Hamilton, T. S. Graham, CO.: r .. Graham, G. S. Lintott, T. TyrelLT/ E: Jef-; coato, Murray Astony W. ,T. Talboys,. H. , Mauder, W. Ibbotson, 0. H. Statham, and H. , F. H. Murray (laity). ~',:,' ■■'''.^'Ti^K;-;'; v The following synod officials were .ap-;f pointed .-—Clerical '.secretary, -the' Rev. H. S. ■■' Leach; lay secretary, Mr T. S. Graham ; chair- '■■:.■. man of committees, Mr o;o. : Graham. ■■; \ : . ;: ,' It was decided that the synod should meet, . except on Saturday and Sunday,; at 4 p.mi,'■'■:■;'■ and adjourn at 5.30, resuming again at 7.30 v ,' ' Twenty notices of motion were given,_ after ~.,,..• which the synod adjourned'till the evening. ;/ \. SYNOD SERVICE.. ';.;Sr' - A service in connection with the synod was ; > held at St. Paul's Cathedral in the evening, ■■;-.■..■ when there was a moderate attendance. .Tbs... following members' of the clergy : were present : —Bishop Nevill, Dean Fitchett, the Yen. Archdeacon' Robinson, Canons Richard^ ; Lucas, and Dodd, the Revs. Mayne, Butter- ■ field, Leach, Mitchell, Browne. Davidson, Brooke and Small.: The first lesson of ,*he : . service was read by Canon ORichards, Canon Lucas read the Second lesson, Dean Fitchett acted as precentor, and the Rev. Mr Browne was Bishop's chaplain. During the offertory Mr Blenkinsopp /ang "Then shall tbe righteous shine." . THE BISHOP'S ADDKESS. Bishop Nevill delivered the following aov dress: — Deir Brethren o£ the Clevgy and of the Laity.—The removal by death of persons of distinction whose names have been connected , •with tho church of this province or diocese calls upon me to givo to my opening words .. tho character of obituary notices. Since I last ad-, \ dressed you Bishops Selwyn and Jenner, Archdeacon Fenton, and our lata chancellor have received the Master's call from earth.1; . Bishop Selwyn.-Of the first of. these, I need say but few words. The work and the personality of Bishop John Richardson -Selwyn \ ■ were too striking to be unknown, and too great to be exalted by any words of mine. To tiiose who huew him, as I did, while he was still ft i student of law, and wko'.remernber hie prompt- '■ ness to lay down the splendid prospects'or a , successful career in a profession'in which-nis grandfather had been a judge and his uncle a Lord Justice, so soon as he recognised :that . ; more labourers were needed in the harvest! fields of Christ, and how, through all the stages of his life as a clergyman, he had never looked back, never seemed to consider whether this or that position would add to his comforts or his dignity, but always bravely entered the door which was open, whether, to the hardships of a troubled cure in a black country or the inevitable loneliness—not to say dangers and suf- . ferings—of a life in'the Southern Seas. To those who have watched all this, I say, tiie loss of an example so stimulating and so consistent is a loss indeed, and I can only hope and' pray that the blessed memory of such an one as once a father in this church, inny rise up for many generations to rebuke our natural , selfishness and slowth. - ', "•.■-■■• Bishop Jennei and the Diocese of Dunedin. —Of Bishop Jennet it behoves me to speak historically rather than personally, though upon■•■• tho latter point I wish to say that m any cor- : respondent or intercourse which has taken place between us there has been nothing. '.on. his part unbecoming the position he occupied, , and as to his qualifications for the see of Dun- , cdin I speak without affectation when,l.say that in point of scholarship, and no doubt _in ■-.. . other respects, 'his claims thereto were v far higher than my own. I think aIBO that/.I ought to take this natural opportunity of say-, ing that I sympathised so truly with the unhappy; position in which he had been placed that when I was first approached by certain y private individuals to see -whether I would ac- .-.. CDirt the Bishopric of DuUedin.l at first said':. ~, that my feeling for Bishop Jenner . was such that I could not allow myself to be put in his. way. Tho reply to. this,was that he alone, of . all men was the one who never would bs Bishop of Dunedin. Hot satisfied with this answor, I sought the advice of one who was perhaps better than all others able to explain matters to me. ~I mean the late Sir Wm. Martin, tho close Iriend and associate of Bish&p Augustus Selwyn. ■ He. very kindly entered fully into the matter, and especially upon* a „-, point as to which I felt tho most need, for ■ , guidance—viz., whether my acceptance of the - See of Dunedin. could be in any wise justly re- .' garded as an act of intrusion upon the rights or claims of Bishop Jenner, who had received consecration at the hands of r the Arohbishop of Canterbury nearly five years before. When , . I received Sir William Martin's exposition, not only of the law of the case, but of,the : , whole oiroumotances surrounding it, and as-/.. .' pecially when he expressed the opinion that ":'.. I might not only accept the position without blame, but that my so doing would be^esteemed as an act of self-denial made, on' oehali of a portion of the church in grave danger, I, felt that I ought not to hesitate, and park-, cularly because I had left England but a short . time before with the knowledge that I might be asked to occupy a similar position in another; : part of New Zealand, and which I had signified. . my willingness 4o accept if it should be offered ~ mo. It thus appeared,to me that Divine guid< -■. anue was visible in this matter. I do not , desire to dwell at undue length upon this page of our past history,. 'but after so many years of silence, not altogether free from suffering, on account of the charges to which 1 was-ex- ■ posed, I may be pardoned if 1 add once for. all on this occasion a few words to show the con- . elusions at which 1 had arrived previous, to consecration. The crucial question was this:. Was the chair of this .diocese vacant, or was it filled at the time in question? In answer to : my inquiries 1 heard the story of Bishop G. A. Selwyn's .visit'to Dunedin with the object,-ot;----forming a new diocese by the Severance of Otago and Southland from the diocese: of .-. Cluistchurch, of which those districts then : , formed a part. I was informed also that this - proposal not finding' acceptance,, the Christ-, church diocese remained undivided, and still . in the charge of the bishop thereof. I heard too that Bishop Selwyn then hastened to pre-. vent, if possible, any untoward issue of an _ unguarded message he had sent by letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury to be; looking out . for a suitable person to be Bishop of Dunedin, as he was about to proceed south to form: a diocese there. It was a matter of general know- .'-, ledge that the archbishop had even gone beyond the suggestions of the first letter, and before the second could arrive had actually consecrated the Rev. H. L. Jenner to the episcopate. As, however, there was no evidence of the con-, . stitution of the diocese of Dunedin, the Queen's : letters then issued only said'"for service in our colony of New Zealand," although m the cas;-. of another prelate consecrated on the same. ■ day,—viz.. Bishop Suter—the diocese of .Nelson was specifically mentioned as the sphere of his labours. The statutes of the General Synod had also informed me that tho diocese of Dunedin was formed in 1808 in the last session over which Bishop Selwyn presided as Primate,'a year and a-half after the consecration of Bishop Jenner, and that one of the clauses -of the statute constituting the diocese expressly stipulated that the new diocese " should continue : to bo presided over by the Bishop of C'-hriat-church until his successor was lawfully appointed," and when I beheld the synod of that new diocese so presided over by the Bishop of Christchurch, then himself primate, and without contradiction from any, I could hs-ve no difficulty in coming to the conclusion that the seat was not filled by Bishop Jenner,' since it had never ceased to be occupied by the lawful bishop. In spite of this conclusion, after, my nomination I wrote, as I have said, to. Sir • William Martin for his opinion and advicel •:: It is known to many, especially of the clergyr that in official records published in England, the late Bishop Jenner is usually described as first Bishop of Dunedin and I myself as the second. The matter would appear to inanj to be too insignificant to be worthy of mention, but this is not really so, since, if Bishop Jenner were ever really Bishop of Dunedin,., inasmuch as he had not resigned at the time of my nomination by the synod, confirmation , by the other dioceses, and consecration by the Primate and other bishops, the whole Church . of New Zealand, as well as myself, would be involved in a charge of ecclesiastical wrong- , doing of a very heinous character. . - For obvious reasons I have not strongly insisted upon tho correction of this mistake, but I may add that I think it would be no more than an aot of courtesy to the church-of this provinco if in future publication of lists it , were stated in connection with the.name^f tho late bishop that he was consecrated,, as the Queen's letters state, " for the work of the church in New Zealand." . I think that I ought not to pass away from this 'subject without placing upon record, a .. communication which I received from the^tnen:. Archbishop of Canterbury (Archbishop Tait), in reply to my announcement that I was a New Zealand bishop at that time, 1872, residing within his Grace's province, and also my: answer to the same. The Archbishop brought : the question of my reception before a; meeting of archbishops and bishops at his house, and the following is a copy of the resolution then passed:—"'i'he Archbishop of Canterbury, having announced to the bishops assembled, that he had received from the Bishop of Christ

elvurch a notification, of the Eev. S. T. Nevill having boeu elected and consecrated to tho see of Dunedin, in the province of New -Zealand, and Bishop Jcniier having signified to the Archbishop of Canterbury- his resignation of tho see, it was resolved that the Archbishop of Canterbury be requested to inform the Bishop of Christchurch that the archbishops and bishops assembled are ready to acknowledgo the said S. T. Nev-ill as second Bishop of Dunedin, taking, however, for granted that his Grace will receive some more formal announcement of tho consecration." To this I sent a reply, dated February 5, 1872. After acknowledging the receipt of the resolution, and reciting it, I proceed: "Tho Bishop of Dunedin docs not presume to forecast what may be tho answer which the Primate of New Zealand mny think it right to send to the above communication, but for himself, while desiring to express tho most sincere respect for the persons and positions of their Lordships, ho must decline to accept the position assigned to him in tho above resolution. The Bishop of Dunedin conceives that to allow himself to be recognised by his Grace and their Lordships as second Bishop of Dunedin would be to compromise the dignity of the ecclesiastical province of Now Zealand in general, and to expose to grave charges all concerned in his own election, confirmation; and consecration in particular." You are aware that the General Synod at its next session formulated a reply to the resolution of the bishops, acknowledging mo as the first bishop of this diocese. I thankfully add that notwithstanding this official matter I enjoyed much personal friendship and regard from Archbishop Tait and his successors. : . Archdeacon Fenton. —So rapid are the , changes iv the . population of a colonial city that there are few indeed .now among us who will remember the late Archdeacon Fenton as the first incumbent of St. Paul's. Meeting him at Guildford during one of my visits to England, I cordially invited him to return to Ifow Zealand, and soon after his arrival I Joffered him the position of Archdeacon of Oamaru, but rather as a complimentary recognition of his having been the first clergyman of this dioco3o than as expecting that he would 1)6 able to make many visitations of his district. 'On his coming to reside in Dunedin tho archdeacon rendered valuable service on the Board of Missions, and in the work of the genera! church fund. The faithfulness with which ho adhered to'the principle of devoting tho tenth of his means to works of religion and charity made him a very conspicuous example, of generosity, and tho considerable support which he was thus1 able to give to all good works would seem to suggest to ourselves the question of how much more we could do if we each acted strictly upon this principle of ihe older dispensation. Chancellor Haggitt.— Of one so well known and.so universally respected as the late Chancellor of tho Diocese, I need only say that in losing him I-lost not only a highly-valued church" officer, but a j-trsonal friend.- In his official capacity ho never thought it too much trouble to give me his valuable time and clear judgment upon any matter upon which I consulted him. In his personal relations, eve., just and true, he was' a firm friend and a genial companion; kindly and hospitable he was, also exemplary in his attendance upon divine .worship. . Simple and sincere, he was a typo of tho churchmen,of tho older school, of whom we have not now. too many examples. His loss will long be felt, notivithstanding that his Honor JudgePennefath'er has kindly consented to supply his place. ' ■ : GENEBAL CHTJSCH MATTERS. .Under this head I propose first to touch apon the several subjects dealt with by the General Synod, which were either directly re-' ferred to the diocesan synods or which more .or less affect tlie church at large., . Election to General Synod.—The bill to amend title B, canon I, comes under the first description. The object of it is to alter the mode 6f election of clerical and lay members of the General Synod, and the proposal is to substitute for the direct representation by election the more indirect method of appointment by the Diocesan Synod. The only observation which I shall now make upon the question is that, while'the proposed method offers a less cumbrous mode of obtaining representatives, and one which under ordinary circumstances would probably suffice, yet Should a period of Btrong excitement occur it is possible that the members of the church might feel themselves somewhat deprived of their voice in the choice Df a representative".. You will, however, ■ judge for. yourselves whether the,principle involved .is of more importance than the practical advantage to \be gained. The bill will be found Dn page 48. of the General Synod report. Trial of.a Bishop.—A second bill which was introduced and discussed, but suspended for further consideration, had for its object the provision of proper machinery for the trial of a bishop in the event—l trust far distant—of such an one rendering himself amenable to discipline} The chief difficulty in this matter relates to the constitution of a court of appeal, since' the court of first instance has from the earliest times been the comprovincial bishops, and, although our numbers, .are small as yet, bo also, surely, is the likelihood, of the occurrence of anything! for the just settlement of which arrangements could not be made. Since, however, it. seems clear that there should be the possibility'of appeal from the deoision of .the court ol firrt.-instarice.-it-ia'at-this point tliat the difficulty arises. Some of • you may be awjire that those members' of the last Lambeth Conference who advocated the constitution of a\" Tribunal of Reference " had just such cases in mind. Their idea was that the.. Archbishop of Canterbury should always preside over such tribunal, and that the other members of the. court—for such it would become—should ba the Archbishop of York, the Bishops of London, Durham, and Winchester, with certain, elected members. I could fill a volume, with valid objections to such an arrangement in expounding the primitive church principles ..which it invades, but I think it sufficient, to state that the'weight of all evidence^ both of ancient and.modern church history, goes entirely against it, and that practical, considerations sufficiently condemn it. ThS enormous burthens already resting upon the shoulders of the individuals named would oblige them to lean largely upon officials who would be called' into existence, which, together With the cost of transporting accused, 'accusers, witnesses, etc., to" the other side of the globe, . would introduce a machinery altogether too cumbrous, and ■ expensive for application. Headers of church - history will know that the almost, overwhelming system of the Roman '■- Curia had its origin very largely, in this very question, and that the, otherwise unimportant Council of Sardica in Illyricu'm—i.e., just opposite; to Italy—is exalted with one of first importance by our Eoman Catholic brethren from the fact that in the innocence and inexperience of the church in the year 347 a.d., the fourth canon of that council recommended that in the event of a bishop thinking himself unjustly condemned by the bishops of his own province, those bishops. might call upon the Bishop of Borne to order a new trial before 3Vtch of-the neighbouring bishops (meaning of their own nieghbourhood) as he may choose .to name. Thia was a sufficiently natural arrangement for the time at which it was made, as the reference to Canterbury is not altogether unnatural to us now, but I do think, considering the immense superstructure of unfounded authority which. was built at first almost entirely -upon: the growth of appeals to Kome, we should.take warning from the past and act. Jipon the more primitive principle of turning, in difficulties which appear beyond our local powers, to the ecclesiastical i brethren lying nearest to us; and .as to the matter now under consideration, I should advocate a resort to the_ bishops, of Australia, or a panel of them, giving to the accused bishop and to his accuser , the right each to nominate one of the bishops of .'this province to sit with such of the brethren from Australia as might be selected by the Primate of that country, or appointed on some prearranged plan, to form a court. I will take the opportunity afforded by the introduction, of. this, reference to the Lambeth Conference, to, say a few words upon a kindred topic.1.11 mean the formation of a consultative body in England, whioh bliouH have no judicial functions, but exist solely for tho purpose of giving , advice. It "Seemed ungracious to oppose such a measure in the conference, and so many who had strongly ■ objected to the former -proposition allowed' this to pass, especially as it was declared that resort to this body would be purely voluntary. The Archbishop of Canterbury was authorised to create such a body, and the New Zealand bishops have recently had an intimation that it is intended that it should meet annually, whether there is business calling for such meetin<* or no. While .still in England I set forth publicly my grounds for fearing that the voluntary character of reference to this body is likely to.give place to a practical obligation should its services lie brought into general recognition, and for my own part I think it nmch bettor for "each bishop to bs left at liberty to write privately to any.:bishop or learned man bo may d?3ire to consult on any matter than that any formal organisation whatever should be consti-tuted-for the ; purposes named. The knowledge that such a body met annually and might be referred to would be likely to cause requests to be made by clergy or others to have their matters so referred, and if the bishop declined, or if he allowed the reference, but did not take' the adyice,'he would be in either case exposed to invidious remarks. Jn short, I am willing to confess1, that in each of tho three Lambeth Conferences which I have attended I have raised my voice for the maintenance in its integrity of the primitive principle that the church affairs of a province should be settled dn the province to which they relate, as is set forth in the 6th Canon of the Council of Nice, a.d. 325; in the 17th Canon of the Council of Carthage, a.d. 418; and in Canon 28th of the Codex of the Canons of tho African Church. In the latter canon tho-words are as follows: — '.' Non provocent ad tran3rnarina judicia, Bed ad Primates suarum Provinciarum, ant ad universale concilium." ■■ ASSISTANT BISHOPS. ■ . I do not think that I ought to pass from the work of tho General Synod without some allusion to a measure which I introduced "to define, the status of assistant bishopß in this ecclesiastical province." It is well known to you that this bill met with but small success. ■It will not be,-needful. for mo to say much, upon the Subject, but I may at least- -remark that so far as I know our- own province is the only one in which v there .is .rio provision for such a requirement. -An allusion was not .unnaturally made

in tho course o{ tho discussion to this diocese. I must say that I was struck with amazement at tho ignorance, real or affected, which was displayed with regard to it, both in as to its extent, population, and the demands which are made by the conditions of it upon tho strength of a bishop. In each of which respects I think it exceeds all others in New Zealand. 1 was not prepared for the adverse vote of the bishops, and although; of course, I was bound to treat their action with all respect, I do not think it a breach. of confidence to say that 1 took an opportunity of, speaking with them upo:i the matter, and I was informed that if 1 saw my way to reintroduce the question it would probably meet with a very, different fate. What may be the ground of this opinion I am, of course, quite unablo to say. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN STATE SCHOOLS. . I follow the example of the Bishop of Wellington in calling tho attention of the church to the, points set forth in the pastoral of the bishops upon this subject. ,In the course of a discussion in.the General Synod, raised by a motion of the Dean of Dunedin, it was said that if the bishops would only give some clear lead upon this subject tho people would gladly follow. We agreed,. therefore, to issue a pastoral letter to the members of.the church, and after careful consideration wo embodied in our letter the following proposals—viz.: 1. That the Government schools shall !jo opened every day with the Lord's Prayer. 2. That lessons shall bo given by the school teachers on one of the first three Gospels taken consecutively for two half hours during school hours in each week. 3. That there shall be a conscience clause both for teachers and for scholars. 4. That in any. school in which the teacher or teachers are unwilling to give such instruction, or where it is desired by the parents of the children being edvicated therein that such instruction shall bo given by the minister or accredited member of any recognised religious dei»omination, it shall be lawful for such ministers or persons to give such religious instruction, subject only to such regulations as may be laid down by the school committees." Tho Bishop of Wellington complains, with some force, that this " just and workable scheme should have been silently ignored by the mass of church people in tho colony," and it may be said that if they had really taken this subject to heart co as to grasp the profound importance of it they would have found some means of bringing their convictions to bear so us to move, the public mind upon it, but it is really,not easy for them to do so. The society in which We live is saturated with a \ soul-destroying and mind-destroying materialism. The press, in some respects so admirable, is in this so generally found wanting or worse. If alarmed by some more than usually serious symptom of the hidden disease, the disclosures of tho police, or the comments of a magistrate, a leading article has to bo written, the clergy, who are gagged, or the Sunday school teachers, who can't get the children, or the parents, who feel themselves powerless, receive their castigation by order, it may be, of a board of directors consisting largely of politicians who malce use of their position in Parliament io prevent this work being done, and to deprive the parents of their indefeasible right to have their children educated as they would desire. Yet, with all this there is< a considerable number of parents who go mourning all the" day long because their children are not being Christianly and virtuously brought upy and the pride they anight take in them for their strength and beauty is marred by sorrow or fear. People are not brave enough to make this a question at the hustings,, nor self-denying enough io sur/port religious schools. God grant we may not have a terrible awakening; men learning to live without wives, and women scorning the restraints of domestic life. The Bishop of Wellington concludes "If we feel it to be a shame to ua, a eourco of danger to our .colony, a terrible Wickedness for which- we shall have Io give an account at the day of judgment, that many of our children should be growing up into manhood without the knowledge of God, we must learn to feel strongly and to speak | strongly,, ive must form leagues and associations all over the country as men do when they mean to_obtain an object which they;have at heart.". In the meantime I would say that our young men must loam to deny themselves something for the sake of their religion.. Almost every parish wants an additional number of male Sunday school teachers, and the Industrial School requires an associated band of workers under the chaplain I have decided to license to the cure of it. ' • . THE WoEE OP THE DIOCESE. The See House.—l think I may say that the great work of the year has been the raising of tho sum required to meet the grant 3 for the purchase or erection of a Bee house. There was, indeed, some delay in getting- the matter brought before the diocese, but since systematic efforts have been put forth the response has been ready and liberal. I do. not, indeed, know tho exact position of the matter, and it may be that considerable further exertion will have to be made before the object is quite accomplished, but that it will be so I have little doubt. The importance of the movement is quite apparent, especially when viewed in relation to the'smallness of the capital of the bishopric endowment fund and the lowering of tho rates of interest. The explanations which have,been made by those most kind friends who came forward to secure this ad-dition-to our diocesan equipment have done very ,much to dissipate some very extraordinary misconceptions which had grown up, and I think' it is now seen that if this diocese, which has been brought into existence, moulded into form, and attained a certain degree of solidarity, is to go on in an uninterrupted development, the question of a house for the bishop must be set at rest. I can only offer my warmest thanks to those brave and noblehearted members of. our church who determined that what I had been able to accom-plish-while in England should not ba lost tothe diocese. . . • ; Selwyn College is fulfilling a not unimport,ant part in the preparation of young men for the work of the sacred ministry, and I'arn truly thankful to find that its influence is being felt throughout our whole provincial church ' and .in the. islands beyond. I gave it the name of Selwyn in the hope, and with the. prayer, that the true missionary spirit might ever characterise : its alumni; at the .same time I must confess that in making pecuniary and. other sacrifices for the establishment of this institution I did look first to tho help we might derive from it to our own diocese. I have shrunk from binding the students, but I have always believed. that these, to no small degree my sons in the faith, would respond to my call when I had need of their services, and believe that I should leave nothing undone for the supply of their legitimate requirements. Tho self-denying labours of: the warden havo again been crowned with success, so far as the gaining of another studentship is concerned. It should not be forgotten that the income of the warden was very seriously reduced by the fall in the rates of interest, before alluded to. Happily I had succeeded in adding thereto the interest of another £1000 while in England, or the consequences would have been most serious. Ido hope that persons who have not large family claims upon them. will remember this institution in their wills',,if they cannot afford to render considerable help during their lives. Such aid could be given by either (1) additions to the general endowment fund, or (2) by tho foundation of bursaries or other assistance to students. I ought,: perhaps, to add that the debt on the college is now within £100, as I paid the £150 or so which I raised by sermons when in England to the reduction' of it. _ I must appeal to young men of education and standing to consider that opportunity is itself a call. Your parents may be right when they say that " the church is nothing as a profession.'' I have nothing to say on that point, save that perhaps if the heads of the church, had thought much of the pecuniary question there would be but few bishops in New Zealand to-day. But the answer is simply, This is no profession; it is only a service, but it' is the service of Christ and of His household, and perhaps He will bring His wages when He comes. Church Building, Etc.—For some time past we have been engaged in paying off debts on existing churches, rather than in building new ones, but it* affords me great pleasure to speak of the small, but really handsome, brick church recently built and consecrated at Waitahuna, in the parish of Lawrence and Waitahuna. I havo already congratulated all connected with the erection of it, and I feel sure that it will prove a source of strength to the parish and of blessing to the inhabitants of that district in particular. I trust the yen. archdeacon who is the vicar will succeed ere long in finding a suitable curats to assist him, not only in the parish proper, but in the important township of Waipori, the spiritual interests of which I know afford him no little anxiety. I have a good hope that before long we shall be able to undertake the building of a new church at Riverton, but I would earnestly urge the local authorities to make a point of securing a more central site than that of the existing church, and I.do beseech all interested in that very beautiful little town to aid tlrem in doing, so. Any clergyman must work under great disadvantages under present circumstances, and in many ways an attractive church centrally situated would prove of great value to the place. My dear friends in Stewart Island are getting very anxious' about the erection, of the building they have struggled for so long. I do hope that funds will be raised up for them. It "is my intention (D.V.) to visit them soon after Christmas, and I hope to be able to lay the foundation on their church .hill, if it bo not laid before that time. Might I ask for all the offertories on St. Andrew's Day to be given to the building fund of this church ? St. Andrew's is the day appointed for intersession for missions, and this is our first mission in almost a.new land, and as no small f>roportion of the inhabitants hail from Scotand or the Orkney Islands, I should like to call the church St. Andrew's. We ought to do something worthy for the mother church of the island. Surely we shall have a tower and spire, to be the first thing seen on entering the lovely Half-moon Bay. The Eev. I). C Bates, recently licensed to the cure of Gladstone and the Bluff, has already, with a noble zeal, visited both Stewart Island and Buapuke. I both commend and thank him for his enterprise. I should bo ashamed of having never myself set foot on Kuapuke were it not for tho double reason that I always feaTed to be stranded there, and that while that devoted servant of Christ was living—the late Key. J. F. Wohlers—l never desired to even seem to interfere with his work. The report of his visit to Buapuke by Mr Bates is,

however, very full of interest. He was welcomed by the few remaining Natives, and one poor sick man said he knew that Mr Bates was coming, for he had seen him in a dream m a boat making for the island. . Dear brethren, our work is replete with interest; because it is full of reality and life. Wo have work of all kinds; work, therefore, which should attract men of different minds and differing abilities. We have settled cures indeed in our cities'; but, oh ! let us never forget that ours is yet essentially a missionary church. Tho missionary spirit is still what we need. TTiere is still work for a distinctly Maori mission to perform. We have lost Mr Blathwayt from tho diocese, with his untiring energy and uncomplaining zeal. I have hitherto sought in vain for a suitable man to fill his place, and I am still anxiously seeking. There are also parts of the diocese very inadequately supplied with the means of grace. Most of the clergy on the western side are. struggling with districts that loudly call for subdivision, and we ought to do something for the miners at Preservation Inlet. The Rev. Mr Butterfield has, with great courage, visited them once. All this means that we must have larger funds at tho disposal of tho Standing Committee. It ■means also that our lay people should give a rational and generous consideration to these matters. How often do I hear of clergy having to undertake long journeys, perhaps even involving a night away from home, in order to perform some ecclesiastical function on behalf of a church person, for which they receive nothing more than a verbal acknowledgment, if that, and it may be even that such person never even subscribes a penny towards the church funds of the district. I must ask many of our people to remember that self-denial on behalf of our religion is not exclusively the duty of the clergy. These words are needed, but I am by no means forgetful of the faithful work which has been done, and- is still being done, amongst us, of the magnificent offertories given in response to the call of the clergy at several leading churches, of the general improvement in our congregations, which are large and hearty, and consist in such considerable proportion of men that I am encouraged to believe that the spirit of indifferentism is giving place to the spirit of manly thought and serious attention to the profundities of life and godliness. Why should any float like vessels without a rudder over the ocean currents of the world till they are dashed against the rocks of irretrievable destruction? I thank God for the signs that are round about us, signs as observable by others as by ourselves. May we have grace steadfastly to persevere in humility and soberness, not thinking tho battle to be over if we have, girded our armour afresh. CONCLUSION. There are many other things I should like to have said of great public questions. I should like to have alluded to the remarkable proposal which comes from a noteworthy quarter that "nation should not lift up sword against nation nor learn war any more"—a proposal which, whatever be the motives which prompted its utterance, or the difficulties surrounding its attainment, the church will surely not ignore. To have lived to hear tho first call to universal peace from the ruler of one of the foremost empires of the world ia surely a stimulus to faith and hope and prayer. So great a revolution cannot be accomplished m a moment. But the first word has been spoken, it can never altogether be forgotten. The church throughout the world should see that it ia not the last. I have refrained from saying more on the subject of divorce, both because our diocese has already declared emphatically against it, and because I was led to believe that the bill for .increasing the facilities for the unhappy invasion of Christian principles would not become law. I hope that our fellow Christians will lift up their voices with us in demanding that this disintegrating measure now passed I may bo repealed. It should not be forgotten that it is not yet 50 years since divorce for any cause became possible by the law of England, nor that the allowance of it has proved baneful to society. : Of our more domestic matters I should havo liked to make more specific reference to the praiseworthy efforts of the Key. Curzon-Siggers and the parishioners of St. Matthew's to remove the incubus of debt from their church, and the success which has attended those efforts, affording so stimulating an example for others to go and do likewise. I should like to have said more as to the renewed interest in our Melanesiau mission, and the call which exists for the work of our church in other groups of islands. I should like to have said something about the cathedral, . and enlisted on its behalf the warm sympathies of • all our people so that it may as speedily as possible become, not the mere rival of surrounding parish churches, but by tho possession of an adequate body of earnestminded clergy the helper of all, the focus of our work in tho institutions of the city and suburbs, and the source of strength and blessing to.the whole diocese. These things might very well be! It is all a question of individual faithfulness; the individuals who astonish everyone with the liberality of their gifts say that they find it quito,; easy to give what they do because they set aside a tenth of their income as belonging to God. I say once more that if people would only so devote j one-twentieth part of their means so that the person in receipt of £500 a year should give £25 per annum to religious work, all would be y«ll, and tho world itself would be astounded at Christian progress. Ono word ere I close, as to tho future. Assuming that the question of tho bishop's residence is settled before the end of the year by the attainment of the object, tho next great work which I purpose to set before you as a diocesan work will be the addition of a largo sum to tho.capitaUof. the general church fund. I do not propose to'introduce this immediately, nor as tho special work of the next year, but in little more than 12 months those ol us who are spared will have entered upon the 20th century of the Christian era. A moment of great solemnity to those who do enter upon it, for it needs no prophet to sco that it must bo a century of great issues; a century, too, in which, as I believe, the strain between world -powers and the powers of the world to come will be intensified boyond anything that we havo seen as yet; a century, therefore, for which the church must prepare herself by fasting and prayer, and by a great act of selfdedication and renewal of vows; and I earnestly hope and desire that the clergy throughout the dioseso will, towai-ds the. closo of the year 189 D, begin to prepare their people for a solemn and holy convocation on the feast of the Circumcision in the year 1900, that it may be made a great day of spiritual circumcision and a sacrifice well pl-Msing to God. We rnav well use it for the material strengthening of our church for all which may lie before her. The general church fund should receive at least £5000 from the offerings on that day. I make the suggestion now because it takes a long time to got any scheme introduced to the notice of all our people-; but I hope the synod of next year will mako arrangements by which every village of our diocese can make its prayer and its offering on the morning of a' day so solomn that it will surely be sacredly observed.—Amen.