ANGLICAN SYNOD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14355, 27 October 1908, Page 4

ANGLICAN SYNOD.

THIRD SESSION. ; « First Day—Monday. • The third session oi the fourteenth \ Synod of the diocese of Dunodin was com- ' monccd in St. Paul's Schoolroom jester. i day ttftornoon. His Lordship the Primate * (Bishop Neviir, presided. The following ! wcro also present:—The Very Rev. Dean ' Fitchctt, the Yon. Archdeacon Gould ' (Canon), the Ven. Archdeacon Ncild, the ( Von. ■ Archdeacon Riohards, Rev. Canon I King, Rev. Canon Woodthorpe, the Revs. H. H. Bedford, 0. C. Bliithwayt, G. W. ' Christian, W. Curzon-Siggere, 11. J. Davis, ' G. Fynce-Clinton, G. H. 11. Harding, \. G. B. King, A. D. Mitchell, J. Morland, ' Wm. ■Bonalilson, Duncan Rankin, 11. W. . L Snow, W. Swinburn, J. C. Small, Albert Wmgfiold, Win. WingfieW, IS. L. Woodhouse, 11. J. Edwards, Dr Hocken, Messrs ' P. Marshall, T. E. .lefcoate, A. Washer, ! W T. T&iboys, C. H. Statham, G. D. ' Fisher, 0. D. Arlidgc, J. A, Kirke', Honry , wander-, Spencer Brent, and William Burnett. ' SYMPATHY. ' Before going on with ordinary business tho Primate referred to the death or the late Mr Harry Shrimpton, who was a ' member of the Synod. After referring to the many good qualities of deceased, the Bishop remarked that ho was sure the Synod would join with him in hoping that the consolations of their religion would be ' felt by his relatives. THE PRIMATE'S ADDRESS. The first part of the Primate's address, delivered during tlte afternoon, was as follows:— It has been suggested to me as being desirable that I should recur to a former practice of delivering in the Synod Hall such portions of my address as might be of a inoro domestic character, reserving to the public service in the Cathedral any observations I might wish to make upon questions which concern the Church at large. Pursuing this plan, therefore, I propose to bring udder vour notice this afternoon the salient points of the history of our diocese during the past year and to direct your attention to our spiritual, condition and needs, and in the evening to so auudo to one of the great questions of the day as to do what in me lies to aid both clergy and laity to discover what ' our attitude in regard to itehonld be. For the presont, therefore, I solicit your attention to a brief review of diocesan affairs with such remarks upon them as seem to be called for by Iho circumstances. First, then, I thankfully record' that by far tho greater number'of the reports of vestries an<l church committees have disdwed improvement m tho financial aspects ■ of their work in the past as compared with the preceding year. I may, perhaps, hope that' tins is partly in response to the a,ppeal which I felt it my duty to make ; in my last year's address, to our lay people to remember that the price of the necessaries of life were rapidly increasing ■ while the stipends remained the same, so that the olorgy and their families were poorer amid surrounding affluence in what may be regarded as prosperous times. 1 wish to lay a renewed emphasis upon these roinaria of last year and to remind my people that while somo have it in their power ( to neutralise this ever-increasing cost of living by increasing their profits, no such opportunity occurs to the clergy, and I earnestly hope that our good, vestrymen will not bo too well satisfied with themselves if they find at the end of the year that they have been able to meet their organisations, "out will also ask themselves seriously whether they cannot render more genorous support to their clergy. It is, unhappily, the poorest districts -which find it tho least possible to increase tho stipends of the clergy, and this leads me to say that- our treasurer had again to make a special appeal on behalf of the General Church Fund in order to enablo the grants voted by the Standing Committee to be paid. This ..'leads mo to observe that I am strongly of opinion that the Synod made a serious mistake whoh some years ago it lowered the standard of stipend required to enable a district to ho constituted a parish. If tho ehuroli peoplo of a district are desirous of enjoying tho privileges of a parish they ought at all events to be prepared to find a stipend which in some measure represents a permanent cure rather thaji a temporary sphere of work. Before I record the clerical changes within.tho it is my sad duty to record the death of the Rev. Canon Dqdd, which has occurred so recently as ,to cast a gloom over this meeting of the Synod. Qanon Dodd was ordained by me-to .the diaconato in March, 1881, and to the priesthood one year afterwards. He con-' tinned his ministrations in this diocese with unwavering faithfulness from that timo till his death. A mafk of the utmost loyalty and integrity, of undaunted courage, and of a devotion to duty such as that, opo might say, no vicissitudes of climato could interfere with his discharge of it; n man, too, of tender sympathies and sensitive nature in spito of his outward firmness, a man whose sermons wore marked by ability and thought, a man who, had he been selected as his years increased upon him to some sphere which aiforded a possibility of rest and sympathy, would, I do not doubt, have advanced in effectiveness and acceptability, for tho situation does much to make or mar the man; but our brother worked on, though with that weariness of heart which comes from the absence of all:prospect of relief until the Head of tho Church Himself, making up for the short-sighted-ness of man, said, " Come up higher and receive the ficntoneo of reward." I must now report the resignation of the Ven. George Price Beaumont, M.A., of t-hp archdeaconry of Queenetown, consequent upon his permanent removal from the diocese. The arrhdeaoon was too well known as £or so many years vicar cf the parish of Holy Trinity, Lawrence, to render is unnecessary ' for mo tc eay more ■than that after his resignation of tho parish we. hor.ed to have had his continued presence as a. resident in Duncdin, and thsympathetic aid of Mrs Beaumont in oui orphanage work and other ways, but tilt archdeacon was advised that tho climate of Auckland might- prove more beneficial to his hralth. It is well known to yoit tha' I conferred t.ho archdeaconry of Qu°enstown upon the Rev. Isaac Richards, M.A., who succeeded Mr Beaumont as Vicar of Lawrence, awl he now occupies a seat in tho Synod for iho first time as archdeacon. The Rev. G. W. Davidson resigned the charge of the Balelutha district and loft the diocese with tho object of gaining Borne wider experience of church work in & northern diocese, and in his place I appointed Ihe Rev. Geo, Calvert Blathwa-yt, tho report of whose good work in I lie Wyndhiim and FoArose .-lisl.vtnt caused Ipm to bo well received in his new sphere. I may lwdrc a similar remark with reference lo the Rev. Duncan Rankin, whom I took from his work in the Wainica Plains to succeed Mr Blathyvayt at Wynclham. I may add that Ihe Rev. Mr Davidson, whose faithful and self-denying service ami affeciionato disposition has always called forth tho warm regard of those who know him, has expressed an earnest desire to return tp this diocese, hut I have ai present no suitable sphere of work to offer him. Tho Ven. Archdeacon Gould resigned tho very, .important charge of Oamaru in order to accept, at, my solicitation, the post of vicar cf the Cathedra! district. It affords medic greatest satisfaction to record his acceptance of that position, and to sav that, even the short lime which has elapsed sinco his appointment has sufficed to show that- all the ministerial agencies and institutions connected with the Cathedral have received the impulse of his energy and ' ability, seconded, as it is, bv the* gcod work ot the Rev. H. Parata. ' The Board of Nominators presented for my acceptance the Rev. J. G. 8, Bartlett for appointment jo tho parish of Oamaru, and he was duly instituted to the cure by me on Sunday, February 23. Mr Barllett tame to us from tho parish of St. Mark, Wellington, where he had worked very acceptably as assistant lo our old friend the laic Rev. Richard Coffey. Mr Bartlett will receive a welcome from us -all as a member of our Synod. Shortly before Archdeacon Gould left Oamaru he had accepted tho services of Iho Rev. Day id .lamieson as assistant, and especially for the rcligiots, aid of our p-ioplo in the district surrounding Oamaru, Froin a recent visit to the neighbourhood I am in a position to slate that his services are highly appreciated. Our work in Stewart Tsland has been siislaincd by the appointment thereto of the Rev, If, 1,. B. CVrlz, wlmni I ordained in December last. Mr and Mrs Goertz very bravely nndorlook tho charge of that isolated and purely misrioiwv sptafl ot work, the conduct of which involves journeys by sea to visit tho Maoris at tho Neck and at TJiiapiike: which island I have also placed under his ca.ro. No ministrations of ralifjion have liew carried on there since the retirement of Paslor Woblors, and rs I have confirmed in other places soimi of Iho Natives who belong to Puapnke, I am very desirous of acceding to Iho request that I should establish religions- services among them. This connol be done unions Mr Goertz in supplied with a strong and woll-apnoinled beat with an oil engine, in which lie could cross the rough sea which

intervenes between Half Moon Bay nnd lluapuko. Mr (Jocrtz'a training in seamanship qualifies him for the management of such a vessel, which, is also almost a necessity for his visitation of. the Neck, where the Maoris ai'o making efforts for the building of n. church. I gratefully inform you that an appeal which T made to the trustees of the will of Iho laic Archdeacon S. Williams towards the purchase of such a vessel was favoumllly received by them, and llio vovy Koneron's gift of £100 from the funds a' their disposal has brought the acrmisition of it within sight.—(Applause.) I have 6ome other moneys in hand for the purposo, but so far as I can learn about £50 more- will bo required lo enahlo us to secure juoh a boat as wo need. 1 fihoiild bo extremely thankful lo receive contributions towards this object. While upon the, subject of the Stewart Island Mission, it is well that I should inform the Synod that liho 50 acres of lanct purcharod some time ago as a. vicarage siteami for endowment purposes has now been very largely redeemed from the mortgago which restod upon it. This has been done by grants from the cemetery boards of Duhedin and Invereargill, There is a small but dilapidated house upon this land, but, it has been thought hotter to enlarge the cottage built upon the oluirch sections in Oban for Che use of Mr finger when acting as lay reader, rather than to incur the considerable expenditure which would have been required to transform the- house' reI for rod to into a suitable vicarage; a few i shillings a week rental is however, derived from it. The liev, ?. T. Jones, an alumnus of gehvyn College, has been allowed to retire from the good work ho wis doing in order lo further prosecute, his studies by taking advantage of the conditions our association with the University of Durham. The honourable position our college occupies in this respect is of great, value to Sehvyn students as enabling them to become candidates for the. B.A. degroe with i only ono year of residence at Durham. I hopo we shall see Mr Jones amongst m again in due time. Very little -progress !has been made of late with the Cathedral Building Fund, but I hope that the Synod will take somo steps to promote the work with more vigour. Clergy • who desire to 6eo this great enterprise making progress yet imagine that tihey are not the best .persons to promote it within their own districts, and yet many who could subscribe await a. personal application. -It is said that to get anything .great dono in this colony you must carry it through with a rush, but surely a buildingw'ln'ch should stand as a.perpetual rnonu- . Mont of the. zeal' of us oarly sottlere for the- glory of Red and ,fche honour of our Church is worthy of our most steady ant) self-sacrifioing efforts. Our architect is expeoted to arrive' about the end of the year. ; Many are looking forward with somo anxiety for news of arrangements with regard to the proposed mission from England. It, is known, I think, that the matter was committed to the care of the bishops of New Zealand now in England. Ihavo received a letter frcm the Bishop, of Nelson, the senior of thceo bishops, informing mo that negotiations had been entered upon ■with the Keys. Ch.non Body, Canon Robinson, and others, but as yof, nothing had been settled save that the Bishop of Stepney Vd signified his willingness to como out next year and to ( do what be could to prepare tiho wdy for thp largor mission tp follow. I should greatly welcome the advontof tho Bishop of Stepney, as a man of earnest- piety and great ability as a speaker, and whose presence among us would almost surely be productive of good. I have since heard that it probable that -tho Bishop'of Wellington will prolong his stay in England in order to make more complete arrangements' for the mission. Wo may now proceed to the formal business of the afternoon. The following, office-bearers were appointed to act during the session:—Clerical secretary,.,the Rev., J. p. Small; lay secretary, Mr D. Arlidge; chairman of committees, My Spencer Brent. It was resolved that the Synod meet daily, excepting Saturdays and Sundays, between 4 p,m, and 5.30 p.m., arid betweo'n 7.30 p.m. and 10 p.m." AHENDIX&'BILIS. Mr C. H. Statham. introduced a bill to amend statute 18, "Formation of a Diocesan Pension Fund," as follows: — "The following clauso shall be substituted for clause 13:—' Upon the retirement or death of a subscriber there shall .--be paid to him or to his legal representative a sum equal to tho-amount of -his subscriptions, less tho amount of any grant that ho may havo received ,fio/n,,:the ..fund.' Clause 13..is hereby repealed."., , ... Mr St'atham said,,, that the bill was introduced for thp,.- .purpose- of providing for aii omission 'in'the original bill. When tho fund increased the whole bill would have to bo amended, as at the present time it was only i.n a very crude form. The bill was read a'first time. Its, second reading would be an border of the day for this evening., t\ A bill to amend statute 17,'" to regulate the management of cemeteries," was introduced by Mr C. H. Statham,. and. read a first- time. The bill -'was as follows:— "Cla'jso 20 of the original statute,shaU not apply to liho' Southern Cemetery, Duneclin. Three thousand pounds of the receipts from tho_ Southern Cemetery Fund shall bo capitalised, and any balance remaining over that sum sliall be deemed to be income. The inconie : of tho Southern Cemetery from whatsoever source- may, after provision has been' made for the care and improvement of the .ground and the chargM of the trustees, he devoted to such •objects as tho Diocesan. Synod or the Stand-' ing Committee may direct. The Cemetery Amendment Statute, 1907, i» hereby repealed," Mr Statham said that the- bill was to provide for fijc disposal of the iiiconiL- ol the cemetery fund, and also to capitalise a portion of the fund. Ho proposed to evt thoroughly into the whole matter when the bill came' tip -for its second reading tiro following evening. " BTRAir,HT-OCT OIVJNfI," The Rev. A. 1). Mitchell moved-" That this Synod, is of opinion that the practice of straight-out- giving is the best way -of contributing to the work of tho Ohnro'h of. Got]." Ho said that by giving]' he did not moan the practice of collecting in the parish, collections in the cluvrch, or offertories. The principle of what ho advocated would bo approved of by evoryono. He believed that more could bn dono by a. direct request, to the congregation for funds. He ,liad, however, no complaints to make against gocd. honest wiles of work, although, in regard to the latter he learned with .regret that articles \yere sometimes disposed of for sums equivalent to five times their value. Ho remarked t-lijit those wore -persons who objected to, paying pew rents to church who would willingly contribute openly to a general fund. Tho Rev, Air Snow, who seconded the motion pro forma, said ,1m did not think it would be, wise to introduce any bard and fast, rule into the government, of church finance. Such a motion, if carried into effect, would tend lo do away with many movements in connection with a-aising funds for the church, which whilo maybe not altogether desirable, had, when viewed • from a, social standpoint, much to recommend. After some discussion, the motion was carried by a large majority. NOTICES OF MOTION. Archdeacon Gould—" That this Synod resolves that, the- last Sunday in April, tho 25th, bo observed as Bible Sunday, on which the essential work of Bible societies shall bo dwelt upon and that, by means of the envelope or otherwise persons be afforded an opportunity of contributing." Archdeacon Richards—" That this Synod ' desires to express its high,..ap])Teciatio'n of the work and devoted life of Sister Geiraldine." Rev. A. D. Mitchell-''That this Synod regrets the loss to the church of Thcs. Francis Dodd, canon of the Cathedral and late vicar of Mosgiel." Mr Washer—"That, tin's Synod is of tho opinion that, considering the increased cost of the necessaries of life,' steps be taken to bring under the notico of tho vestries throughout the diocese the advisability cf increasing the stipends of the clergy."