PRESBYTERIAN SYNOD.

Otago Witness, Issue 1834, 14 January 1887, Page 18

PRESBYTERIAN SYNOD.

The Presbyterian Synod of Otago and Southland assembled in the First Church onTuesdaj evening. Tho retiring Moderator (Rev. DrSalmond) preached the opening sermon, taking for his text Galatians 6-16. He drew an analogy between the Israelitish Church and the Christian Church in various particulars. On concluding, Dr Salmond referred to the moderatorship, and said as there might be a doubt as to his position, he thought it better to allow the previous moderator (Rev. Mr Ross) to constitute the Mr Ro->s accordingly performed this office, and then proposed the Rev. James M'Cosb Smith. M A., 8.D., as moderator for the ensuing year. This proposition was unanimously carried

The Moderator then delivered the following address : —

The difficu'ty in the selection of a subject for my address shapes itselt thus to my mind: J his opportunity is one in a lifetime. In ti>e selection ot a subject tor a sermon you have in view the lact that your opportunities are many. The subject you d nos take up to-day you may take up to-morrow ; but the to morrow tor a synod address may nevei oome again. It U nearly 16 years sin c I join-d the Church uf < )tago and -oubhlaud. This opportunity has been nearly 16 years in coming, and it is nut like yto come again, if at all, ii less ihm 0 years, and it is m >rt> than like y that the end of my life shall nave come before these years shall have passed away. A consideration of that, kind has moved me tota<<e »6 subject f r this addies3

THE iMIXKTRV OF THE WORD : ITS POWER AND PURPOSE.

The mlnlst'-y of the Word, its power and Purpose, is the gre<tt business of gospel ministers. The Apostles said to ■ he •'arly Christians : •' It is not fib that wshou'd forsake ihe Word of God and serve tables. Look ye out, therefore, brethren, from among you seven 'iienof good rep rt, fuil of the spirit and ol wi d im, whom w- may aopoint over this business But we will continue steailfa3t.lv in prayer and in the ministry of tho Word." Wo do not olaira to be the sucees ors of the Apostles, yet we may rightly conclude that our great business is to continue steadfastly in prayei and in the ministry ot the Word. If we turn aside to serve tables and to give the strength and power o our life in' istly to the secular business of the church, we are likely to miss our aim and frustrate the g'eat design of the Lord of the church. We may laj aB.M" the pmer which God has pub into our hands aid take up another infinitely le-s able to minister to the w«ll-bein4 of men and women. The manner, tin aisilul'y. and the skilfulness with which we give ourselves to p r ayer and to the ministry of the Word have m >re to <io th m some people think wit h the prosperity, the contentment, and the happiness of the people in this n w land. Our work -in its spiritual aspect done, and well done, shoul 1 be to all a matter of tho deepest importance, b^-cause very much depends on the fact whether or not the Gospel is iv the=e islands the power of God unto saivatlon. The people right there must be rjgh everywhere else, or may easily put themselves right in all otlier departments of life— as right at least a-> it is possible for them to be ; aud the people wrong there cannot by any possibility be other than wron^ everywhere else. The Gospel, we claim, is not merely in a high degree, bub is in form and substance the only true civ Using power in the world We own that there are other civilising agents, such aa science, eduction commerce, art, aud philosophy. These and o< hers ate uivilising age' ts iv no small, in no insignificant, degree ; yet the Gospel is a civilising agent different not merely in degree but also in kind from any other that can be named. The Gospel — in other words, the ministry of the Word — is the ono civilising agent iv the wo Id— an agen' with power to 'penetrate, to purify and to exalt all other civilising agents and qualify them for promoting the true well-being of mankind. These other a«e its. without the qualifying power of the Word of God. are more likely to minister to the destruction rather tt v 'au the upbuilding of the world of mankind. The Gospel, in fact, alone can lift the life of human kind to a higher platform of exis tence; and the Gospel, in bo far as that 1 fe h»s been lifted up, has done >he work. An author not likely to be prejudiced in its favour says (Bmilo de Laveleve, Con Temp., It. Aug. 1885): — "The spirit o' the G 'Spel has penetr >ted our civilisation even to our tvpatra, aud places our stage far ab>ve that of ant f que times, where primitive ferocity and barbarity h-ld their sway." Parrar tays :— " Gree. c learnt from Rome her cold-blooded cruelty ; Rome learnt from Greece h-r voluptuous corruption." These too were the splendid ontcome of these spl-n-did ages in which the Gospel had never been heard. We claim to hold in our hearts and hands the power that has, in so far as New Zealand in the character of its people is great, made New Zealand great, and ths power which alone can preserve the greatness already attained and promote to still higher greatness. As it is, New Zealand is better as a home than any other country in tne world, and one element— an important element indeed— that has to do with the state of the country, the tone of the life of the inhabitants, their loyalty to truth aud to righteousness ; the peace, and in a measure the plenty tha r . ab mnd here more than hardly anywhere else ; one element that has to do with these ii the Gospel " We feel sure," says Joseph Cook, "that it would be better than well for • he world if all the precepts of this volume— the Bible— were absorbed and transmuted into the actions of men." Our duty is so to live, so to teach, 60 to pny and preach, that the Bible, properly understood and applied, should be absorbed and transmuted into the actions of all men in thoseparts. We have to do with the power that heals tho nations ; and there is no other power, yet known at lensfc, that can at all touch the disease that keeps hold of the hearts of. men. We may glv» ourselves to serve tables, and even have New Zealand a paradise such as Goldsmith described Italy to be : Whatever fruits in different climes are found That proudly rise or humbly court the ground ; Whatever bloom* in torrid traces appear, Whose bright succssion decks the varied year ; Whateve sweets salute the northern sky. With vernd lives, that blossom but to die— These here dispor ing own the kindred soil. Nor ask luxuriance from the platUer's toil, Whil« s<\vbor>i gales their gelid wings expand To winnow fragrance round the smiling land ; But small the bliss that sense bestows, And sensual bliss is all th- nation knows, In florid beauty groves and fields appear, Man snemi the only growth that dwindles here. What though we had a paradise excel'ing that to be found in anyiothe. quarter of ihe globe, if man should dwindle and grow less and less and revel in cold-blooded cruelty or in voluptuous corruption, b3ot fruit of time in an vent Home and ancient Greece! Our work is to so use the ministry o' the Word as to make man great, to destroy the shooting seeds of Ue^raSatJon and tow other eeed iv ths breast— the

seed of a glorious immortality. We have, ind-ed, in hand a glorious work one calculated to route the latent energies aud to 'sustain with unwearied di igence the powers of mind and body which we possess ; and if we are to satisfy. burhelves. far more go our Lord and Master, we must 6efc forth, by Erayer and fai'h, Chriat in all his length and rvadth, the power and wisdom, of G- d unto salvation a id the Holy Ghost, the demonstrator and unfailing agent in the application of tho spoken W rd. And in doing these things there is no truth with whi h we are more familiar th-tn the one that we do and shall have

OPPOSITION. We are not taken by surprise, we cannot be astonished, when we encounter opposition in its manifold shapes. Wn are t aught in the Word ot God that w e shall have determi ned and obstinate opposition . 1 here ha ye ever beeu opposition and hindrance, aud there is now and ever will be Wa don't even expect to see any other ■ ondltion of things; but recognising the fact as we do— oppo itlon in its many shapes, organised and unorganised— we are confluent we oughD to prevail ivi v a h'gh degree, and even to win men from the ranks of the enemy over to Christ. We were so won our selves, and what has been done o><ce may be done again. There is, for instance, the mass of indifference iound in th>- towns— and the same sort of indifference is found even in lonely huts on lonely mountainsides. There are many who seriously misunderstand tbe import an<i purt- ose of the message of salvation ; many are led astray by the literature of this and of other lands. There are the philosophic, wnb organise and (/ride themselves on success and dieam of universal dominion. We are not taken by surprise by these things, and we are not afraid of the result, we have been warned that there would exist a vast army antagonistic—an army bold and defiant. We are well aware that these things must be, and wo have made our calculations accordingly. We think of the past and draw lessons from the history of the combat The church, Dr Shedd tells us, was in the earliest age of Christi.inity compelled to meet that " species of infidelity, common to every age, which, rejecting revelation altogether, contends that the principles of natural reason and natural religion are adequate to meet the religious wants of mankind " ; and that revelation such as we claim to have iv the Bible is contrary to reason. The church then met these objections, ansvvered them, and he don her way.overcoming The opposition then assumed organisation of tiie highest form, and was conducted by men — " the noblest spirits in the heathen world." •' It was their purpose, by combining what was most elevated and best in exoteric and esoteric religion, in the philosophy and theosophy of aucient and modern times, of the east and of the weßt— to exhibit a universal religion, in which faith and knowledge, philosophy aud theology, theory and practice, sh be perfectly reconciled and combiued, and in which all religious wants shoulo be met with so much fulness that in comparison Christianity itself should appear but onesided, poor and detective." The church of Christ was face to face with an organisation ot that kind many centuries since. Many are labouring at the same ideal still— men, let ua at once own, grand in intellectual abilities aud sincere iv their endeavours— men who cannot see and cannot be made to believe that we have in Christianity something which i-xactly and fully meets ilia religious wan s >>f mankind, and something which can never be sui erst-ded and can never fall into decay. That 'otty philosophic form of scepticism has existed in all ages, opposing Christianity by Knowledge, wisilom, aud tho use ot intellectual abilities of the highest sharacter iho propo tionu of the nwemenC are in our age perhaps larger thun they have been in any age, and the effort more scholarly and persistent, yet we are not afraid nor even alarmed. In th>B agfj all movements may bp said to be worldmovements, engaging the best men in all nati ns and mutually bustaining one anoth. r. " There was a time when the nations were land-locked bodieß of water ; a wave raised in any one of them did not naturally flow in* o another." That age has passed .iway, and "any great wave raised auvwhere i i commerce, pol tiCB, science, education, or religion, breaks sooner or later on all the shore* of theadv.inced nations. Humanity is a unit now in Biich to mas it never wa before. . . . Thereafter the earth will be healed or poisoned very much as a whole." The poison of error is one, and maintained .v one across the whole earth, yet we are not afraid. The truth i* one as well, and maintained also very much as one over the same wide field. We have in our hands indeed a power that can overcome and debtroy opposition and even win the foremost from the ranks of scientific or vulgar scepticism. •' The -erious heart of humanity has never found intelligent peace in any human or u ed, but fiuds it swiftly in hristi-mity when th« Gospel is presetited in clear, devout, scholarly, aggressive, and und' luted torm." That is an assertion wnicli caunot be challenged, aud one that silently and powerfully wins its way in favour ot Christianity. What we are concerned about is no T so much to answer and retaliate «s t-i set tortn cleany and prayerfully what the ministry of the Word requires us to do. What we are r. ally" concerned about is, indeed, the preaching of the glorious Gos|jel -not by any means to so dilute the truth as to render it palatable to weaken it down to a form oi philosophy, rather simply, truly, and earnest ly to preach Cur 6t in all His works as the Saviourof siunors. We do not expect to chase scepticism in am f./rm off the tace of the earth. We expec , however, to silence much of its oriticism and to put to sh^memany ot its sta emonts, based as th«y are upon misunderstanding and misconceptions. Wedo not, indeed, 'earscholarlv opposition i o much aa opposition which has its roots in 6in. vice, and ignorance, and a determination not to ullow anything to d stui b itd life in its loved and cherished sensualities. The head may declaim againaG Christ and His mission, but this form of detraction is nothing unless the head is enlisted in the service of a vitiated heart. The scepticism which originates in the hpad, and that alone, is nothing. It is tho scepticism of the heart— scepticism which springs from a love of Bin and a determination to love sin— that Is the kind we mo tdread. But while ou>-<lread is great, we are by no mfans without hope. We are, ou the contrary, confident that tho Gospel ought to silence all scepticism, whatever form it may take, and win its way to the hearts of alland bring men and women of all nations to the foot ot the eroas, there to begin life anew -a life which shall know no end and no decay. And what is even still more to the point, we know that if we are not succeeding we are somehow i o blame. If we are not puceer diug in tne ministry of the Word, in regenerating the life of humanity around us, we are decidedly to blame. We may at once lookwithiu.intoourownlives.iuto the methods I we v c in proclaiming the truth, into the spirit svith which we labour aud the diligence we employ. We dare not excuse ourselves by pointing to opposition in any form, to iusensateneßs, to indifferenre, to scholarly philosophy or to scientific doubt. We can have no excuse, because the weapons we have had put into our hands are adapted and intended to win their way in these very circumstances. YVe have instruments divinely fashioned and shaped to rout the whole army of evil. " For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh (for the weapons of our warale are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds). «. asting down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ " (2 Cor., 10-4). Are not our weapons, then, designed by Him who cannot err, and adapted to succeed against every form of antagonism? We cannot blame the strongholds "in which sinners entrench themselves." We cannot in reason say that the "learning, the eloquence, and philosophical subtleties " in which the world of sin prides itself are beyond our power. We have instruments in our hands ; if we fail with these we may conclude that we are misusing them, blunting their edges or destroying their power by want of skill in thti warfare of the Kingdom. Were not these weapons meaut and intended by our Lord to enable us to cast down aU imagination and every high thing that exalteth it6elf against the knowledge of God — to cast down e\e>-ything which is made unwarrantably hinh against tbe knowledge of God —to cast down " pharleaio 6elf-righteousne6B, philosophii cal speculations, rhetorical sophistries "—things much prized and on which so much dependence >s placed by those who range themselves as opponents of the Gospel? Further, these weapons of ou-s are meant not merely to destroy, but to destroy wii h a view to builiing up again- to e3rov the kingdom of evil within, and to establish in its stt-ad the Kingdom of Christ, to bring every thought aud every intent of the mind and will into captivity to obedience to Christ. We must not, then, blame our veapons in failure, partial or complete ; we must not look around and blame the circumstances of evil ; we ought to look within and blame ourselves. We may be introducing into oar warfare too much of the fleshy mod£ of war; we may be using bitterness ; wemaybe provoking strife; we may be using the instruments unskilfully and unwisely ; we may be wanting in pra_\ er, iv earnestness and love, such ac the love of Christ ; we msy not t»

filled with the faith that eaves ; we' may be failing in many ways. Failure ise. idtmce that we need to look within, invites to self-examination, and that we need more and more to have ou'aelves put right with' God. We are quite sure th Be who have seen most \ ears in the ministry of the Word, and ha»-e been more than usually successful, will betb/i first to own tbat tho Gospel receives its worst wo-md- In the house of its friend}. The wounds made by tho-ewithout arecomp ratively trivial. The nouuds from within a- e very deadly. The war without may rag« and torm as it pleases, so long asfwre is harnion and living energy within. A powerful enemy without, one able tocomwanda hea i gin the wide world of culture a<id intel igenca. one whose reputation for wisdom and skill is unchal enged this one, powerful as his position may appear to be, will do far leas harm ttian the meanest member, nominally and no more, within the Kingdom of Chriat. This nominal member, dry and barren, the hard and sterile soil ef his untilled hear i is the cause of tar more harm than the giant Infidel that to*ers and .rages in the pride of his btieng'h. Failure, then, requires us all to see that our own house is in order; that our livei are as Christian as they should be ; that we as a compact body— ministers, office-bearers, and members are altogether as we should be drilled and skilled in the work and life of the Kingdom. What cons itules success? Wliat should satisfy us? Here again the answer is very clear We would not be satisfied with an ecclesiastical establishment, however perfect as such. It is well to have a church organisation covering the whole of the field in view. * We cannot expect success without a preached Gospel, and we can hardly have the Gospel regularly preached unless we have an ecclesiastical organisation. We must have church bui dings ; we must have manses ; we must have financial arrangements ; but all these are in order io something .else. We value the means, but solely. because we cannot othmvise reach the end. An'organi-ation perfect as human affairs go would not satisfy us. We have an organisation of which we are justly proud ; and. we nave a people in the main faithful and loyal to the interests of the organisation. But we want more, and we want all these merely to gain iris something more. 1f we are succeeding as we ought, that will show itself in the renovated life of the people. Dr Cuyler says : " A spiritual awakening that produces permanent fruit must be an ethical reioi niatioii." f-very form of spiritual awakening we expect to produce permanent fruit— reformation in the morals of the people. We do not call that a spiritual awakening which does not leave permanent moral fruit behind. We call the thing excitement, enthuiasm, a vanishing quantity, leaving men and women in worse ttato than where it found them. " We want," says ayother, " a revival of honesty ; wo want a revival of cleanness aud purity; of d bt-paying, o 1 ptayer meetings, and of family worship. And we labour ou in the Goßpel because we are firml pei suaded thai by no otlier raeaus can these vir'uesbe reached. We know no other means ; hißtory does not tell us of any other means ; philosophy has not shown itself to have the power; and while science can accomp iah many and varied results, it doe not even profess to renovate the moral life of a nati n Ancient religions have all been tried and found wanting. All these h ive grown effete and nstless. and they werenever much el-e. Weclingtothe Gosp-1 of Chr/st because iualone is the power of God unto salvation. " The morals of a people," says another, " always ke-p pace with their religion." The religion of a people del ermines what the people are and shall be. Heathenis a can only produce hea" henism in life and principle. Christianity alone can pro 'UceUhrißtia .ity in thelife— the highest ideal even yet furn'shed to the world. If we would see sin in its myriad shapes driven from the hearts ol thepeople, we say : Preach the Gospel of Christ. If we would see the people simple, true, high-mind' d, and God-fearing, we say: Preach the Gospel. If we woulil see commercial honesty commensurate with the life of the nation— if we would see gambling and all its accessories abandoned and despised — if we would see men *nd women everywhere and in every rest ect as Chr st: Preach Christ's Gospel, the power of Goil aud the wisdom of God unto salvation. Says a recent historian—' In the foremost rank of the powers destined t>> chawgo the face of the world stand i 'hristian missions. We may even go furthei and say that Christi-m missions at homeaul ab Orid not only stand in the foremost rank of powers destined to change for the better the face of the world, but that this power stands alone in the foremust rank. There is, in fact, no other power coordinate with the power ot the Gospel. AH others stand on a lower level. Here Christianity has no competitor. Out of this grand fact sprang our loyalty to the Gospel of Christ. We love the Gospel because it ennobles man ; because it alone makes for peace with power that warrants the idea of ultimate success ; because in and by its power we live if we live at all ; because in aud by its power men beCv>me men in all 'he g audeur and dignity of true and regenerated rrtHuiiood; we love the Gospel because it alone cm elevate the masses.it al necan save a*. d humanise the savage, it alone can give charm and beauty to the character of the most cultured of men; we love the Gospel because it alone i*an open the flo idgates of a new life and make men brothers across the whole earth; we love the Goßpel because it glorifies God, whilo it saves men from death aud lifts them to eternal lite; and wo love the Gospel and we are proud of our work, and would gladly live and die in the service of the G spel, which we take to be the true i service and glory of mankind.

The synod then proceeded to the appointment of various committees, and fixed the hours of meeting at from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., aud from 6 to 10 p.m.

The Presbyterian Synod of Otago and {southland met in the hall of the First Church on Wednesday morning for the despatch of ordinary business, the Rev. James M'Cosh Smith (moderator) being in the chair.

TBE CHINESE MISSIONARY.

Dr Stuart moved " That Mr Don have a seat in the synod "

The Key. Mr Ryxet, in seconding the motion, said he thought it was a very anomalous thing indeed tbat Mr Don should be a member of the presbytery aud yet not have a seat in the synod. Iv all fairness, and considering the interests of the work in which Mr Don was eugaged in, the synod should not hesitate for a moment to admit him as a member. The motion was unanimously agreed to. APPLICATIONS FOE ADMISSION, ETC. MrJ. Ferguson moved— "That the applications from the Revs. R. M. Neave and Daniel Dutton for admission so the synod be referred to a committee consisting of the Revs. Dr Stuart, Todd, Cameron, Allan, Sfcobo, Gordon, Lothian, Bannennan, and the mover (ministers), Messrs D. Wright, Fitzgerald, Don, Paterson, and Rennie (elders) ; convener, the Rev. J. Ferguson." — Carried.

. An application from .Mr Thomas Alexander, of Woodlands, for a colleague and successor was referred to the same committee ; as also was the recommendation from the Presbytery of Southland that a seat in the presbytery be granted the Rev. 0. Connor, of Stewart Island.

AGED AND INFIRM MINISTERS' FUND.

On the motion of the Rev. Mr Ryxey, the Revs. Dr Stuart, Will, and Finlayeon, Messrs A. D. Johnston, Runciman, and Ramsay were associated with the present committee on the Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund. REPORT OF TOMMITTEE ON STATE OF RELIGION.

A committee appointed to report on the state of religion in the province submitted a report,' which stated inter alia that the Church had 84 church buildings, wj£h 20,802 sittings,, and 163 schools, and other places in which her ministers and lay members c nducted every week 264 services for the 63,829 professed Presbyterians within her bounds. Tbe church accommodation was reported as being insufficient in seven parishes ; some of these were moving to increase it. The committee were of opinion .the Church had not made sufficient provision in this respect for her people in and about the principal towns. Dunedin and suburbs had nine churches, with 5307 sittings, and a Presbyterian population of 16,199 ; Invercargill and suburbs, with a Presbyterian population of 3396, had two churches, with 1608 sittings and three halls ; Oamaru had two churches, with 1188 sittings and 1907 Pres-

byterians. The' churches of Invefcargill- and Oamaru had to provide for thd Presbyterians within a considerable radius outside of the towns proper, who were not included in the numbers just given. If the churches of these principal towns were cot full it showed that something more vital to the Church's welfare than buildings was wanting. The -total number of communicants on the Church's rolls was 10,916, showing an apparent increase of 609 asdompared with last year. This increase was onty apparent there wasreallyadecreabeof something less than 100. The congregations of Papanui, Rivertoii, Lauder, and Mount Ida, which this year report 685 communicants, were unreported last year. This decrease became a curious study in figures when it was noticed that 1096 were added during the year and only 600 disjoined. The committee could not persuadeitself that this was the outcome of " the higher education/ The process by which thislamentableresult was reached was as follows : A roll of 191, at the beginning of the year, had 22 added and 22 removed, but somehow it was found to have only 176 to report when the year closed; another of 229, with 18 added and 31 removed, had only 150. These were specimens of what was found in connection with the rolls of almost every congregation of the Church. North Dunedin, however, was a chief offender in this respect. Sixty-six names have mysteri-i ously disappeared from the communion roll of the congregation during the year. ' There were. a few cases of an opposite kind ; one in which 86 were added aud 24 removed, with the result that 90 communicants more were reported this' year than were reported last. • One of two things i must be true — probably both were true : either the rolls were very badly kept, or there was an alarming process of lapsing from- the membership of the Church going on. This must be a matter of the greatest concern to the synod and to the whole Church ; matter of surprise it could hardly be, when it was remembered that men and women become members, and from henceforth took no more interest in the operations of the Church than iliey would do with some organisation in the moon. Having equipped themselves duly for taking part in the work of bringing the grace of God to others by giving themselves to Chriat, they did not seem to recognise the necessity of making provision to maintain the efficiency of their equipment by entering at once upon some sphere of distinctively Chrtatian usefulness. The result was that, not taking hold on work at once upon uniting with the church, they become unsettled, lose interest, and dimmed for ever His life and light kindled in then;. Active personal service in the cause of Christ was an absolute necessity for the spiritual life mid health of the Christian. How could this state of thing; be remedied ? The committee thought two things were indispensable : — First: More of the dynamite of Acts i, 8, throughout the entire membership of the Church. This could be got only in answer to hone6t, earnest, united, and persevering prayer on the part of God's true people. Second : That the Church should more fully recognise her duty towards her converts, should see that she owed it to herself and to them to foster and to nourish their faith, aud to train their talents. The trouble was the Church was often more anxious to add converts than to train disciples — more concerned about large congregations than individual development. It was forgotten that the charaoter of the members had more to do with real success than mere[numbers. If the Church's converts were to be retained and become useful and strong. Christians, she must train them to be active workers for Christ; paths must be opened for them to develop their powers in ; they must be put in the way of opportunities for making their lives full of good works. The committee was profoundly impressed with the necessity of the synod at once setting itself to finding out and removing the causes which lead to so many lapsing from the communion of the Church, and to reclaiming those who had already fallen away. The year just closed had been one of - increased activity on the part of the Church's staff — lay and clerical. Her ageuts had increased .and her machinery had been added to, but the results were far from being what the synod could wish The Sabbath was "fairly" or " well" observed by our people; the Sabbath day services were "fairly or " well" attended in almost every parish ; the number of non-churchgoers is said to be' " not increasing'"' in 32, "decreasing" in 13, in some " decidedly,"— a few "can't say," — only three reported them " increasing." The committee has received information of slight spiritual quickenings in' several places, but there bad been no specially marked revival of religion in any part of the Church's bounds. The Dunedin Presbytery were arranging, to hold c6uferences on the state of religion as; directed by last synod. The. Presbyteries of Clutba and Oamaru were known to have held several 6ucb conferences, but had sent no re* port of them to the committee. In conclusion, the committee desired to impress upon the synod * and upon every member of the Church that,, there were some things which were essential to the prosperity of any church. It was indispensable that there be Scriptural belief, active effort for Christ, a feeling of individual responsibility, spiritual religion, unselfish benevolence, Christian union, and Gospel order. Neglected duties interfere greatly with the prosperity of churches ; neglect of prayer meetings ; neglect of family altars; neglect of closets for secret prayer; disregarded claims of liberality in giving ; unscriptural means for the support of religious institutions ;' destitution as to the Spirit of the Gospel ; absence of brotherly love ; want of a forgiving spirit; prevailing worldliness, &c._ These sins of omission and commission in a church "grieved the Spirit of God," and were signs of departing life. The committee submitted tbe following sugges- ■ tions for approval and adoption :— (1.) That the synod hold a diet of conference on the state'of religion; (2) that the 6ynod arrange to have the congregations of the Church visited in connection with the state of religion by one or two ' of the ministers who are best" fitted for the work; (3) that evangelistic meetings be held as widely as possible during the year; (4) that ministers be enjoined to preach on family worship and Sabbath observance ; (5) that all sessions be enjoined to U6e" printed forms of certificate of Church membership ; (6) that this committed be authorised 1 to publish a table of statistics of congregations.- - '' . ' The Rev. Mr Kirkland moved the following deliverance?— v Adopt the report, accord the thanks of the pynod to the committee, and especially to the convener; rejoice .to learn that the", Church continues to increase her membership ; tLat the ministers of the various congregations have been blessed with growing opportunities of prosecuting their work in the glorious Goßpel of Jesus Christ ; that the year has been one of growing activity on the part of the Church's staff, which has increased in numbers and experience in the. various departments of church work ; that the Sabbath services have been fairly well attended in almost every parish, and that the number of non-church-goers is decidedly on the. decrease ;. that come spiritual quickness has been experienced in

several congregations through the agency- of evangelistic 6erviceß' c and-' otherwise;"' that '.the Sabbath h fairly well observed by ourpeopUi'; but regret,' however,^ that presbyterieg have failed tocarryout tb.y instructions of^the synod with reference tb.cqnferebces'bn theiltirte of religion, and that the extent to whiob'Vital godliness appears amongstus is not commensurate with the agencies and/efforts which are at work within the bounds i.of ;'the Church ; aud recommend to the niinisterff and pri-hbytery the suggestions of the committee, 'which are appended to the report!' 1 He thoiight'the' thank* of the synod were due- to, the committee for their valuable and exhaustive report. Although there was a regretful tone running through! the report, he thought there was considerable cause for thankfulness. If members of the" synod read between the lines of the report they would see that substantial progress bad'be^n made during the year. , He felt deeply sati.»fied k with the results that appear itf; the table of statistics and the answers given to ~ the queries se,nt out by the committee. -The' Fresbyteriair Church, he thought, was spreading her roots 'into the ground. more than any other church in New Zealand. They had better opportunities than any other church qf doing so, and he was glad they took advantages of those 1 opportunities. He thought all the church agencies could not be carried on without doiug a^great deal of good for eternity. He believed there was a wave of spiritual depression passing over the Church at the present time; but it was the duty" of ministers still to labour on in' the faith and hope that a brighter and better state of things was in store.

The Rev. Mr Gordon suggested' that 'a few changes should ,be made in the language of the report. He thought the writer of* "Passing Notes" might possibly look upon the synod as Fenian brother^ if the word " dynamite " were retained in the report. He would like to see it taken out and some other word substituted; and that an alteration be made in "the words " the higher, education"; also two 'or three other words and the reference \io the moon. The report,'he thought, presented a serious state of matters, required ' immediate attention. He hoped that some measures might be adopted by which the evils' referred to in the reDort might be remedied.

The Rev. Mr Chisholm felt burdened in spirit at what he might call the ground tone of the report. The synod were very much indebted to the committee and the convener for the very great trouble taken by them in compiling the statistics, but it" had been borne iv upon him that the' report had., "been constructed .altogether npon false principles. "Ifc seemed to him that, the ground principle?, or bases, were contrary to Scripture, contrary to reason and the facts of human life, and there was such a gloomy air and perplexed tone about the whole thing. There seemed to be 'strange mediaeval ideas of Christianity pervading the report, and a kind of conventional piety was set up, which was not wholesome. Where, he asked, were the clear lines of distinction to be drawn between things sepular arid Christian ? ' The simple question was,' What was Christian work ? Was it answered that our people should hold meeting* and distribute tracts, and do work of that conventional typis? "He admitted that that was very necessary work in its place, but he contended that work in connection with politics, business, aud other kind of work might become a means of grace. He again repeated that he felt that the report had been constructed on wrong principles.

The Rev. Dr Stuart thought the repoit was unnecessarily iv the minor key. He was not a bit the wiser for the statistics in the report, and was quite sure the report did not bring befere the synod the state of the churches so far as practical religion was concerned. He was constantly impressing upon his congregation the necessity of practical Christianity. He thought is this new country there was an immense amount of neighbourly work— work of a nectß» sary kind— to be done. It was a comparatively ea«.y thing to get people tefgo to church or^distribute tracts, but to get a neighbour to go and sit by the bedside of another who was ill, or one woman to go and clean up apother's house, was a yery difficult thing .to do: . His experience, however, was that in Dunedin' and in the sphere in which he moved as much Christian work of the kind he had referred to was done as is any place he knew of, and indeed more!— (Hear, hear.)' ' He was perpetually impressing upou his congregation that — Tnft trivial round, the common task Will furnish all we need to ask : Room to deny ourselves ; a road To bring us daily nearer God. The Rev. . D. - Borbie moved— V That the report be referred back to the committee for further consideration, and . that the committee be authorised to print the statistics with regard to the congregations for the" information of the Bvnori " ' ■

The Rev. Mr Inglis seconded tho motion. The Rev. Mr Will moved , that further con. sideration of the report be postponed till Friday forenoon.

The amendment .was ultimately carried by 36 votes to 18. [