PRESBYTERIAN SYNOD. Fifth Day Friday.

Otago Witness, Issue 2436, 21 November 1900, Page 32

PRESBYTERIAN SYNOD. Fifth Day Friday.

sumption of business at First Church on Friday, 2nd inst., the Rev. J. U. Spence beterday morning, the Rev. J. U. Spence being in the chair. THE QUESTION OP UXIOK. The synod considered the draft of a bill it was proposed to introduce into, Parliament making certain provisions in reference to the Presbyterian 'Church of Otago . and Southland, and the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand respecbively, and defining the-rights in respect of the property of such churches should the same> become united. The clauses of the bill were discussed seriatim and adopted. The Rev. J. Gibb then moved—" That the synod, having now adopted the basis of union, and a bill beciiring 'to the Otago Synod its trust funds and properties, instructs'the Union Committee to forward the same to the Assembly of the 'Presbyterian "Church of. New Zealand, and in the event of that assembly's acceptance of the pro--posals, further instruct the committee in conjunction with the Union Committee of the Pre3bytei'ian Church of New Zealand, to secure the passing of the bill at the next session of parliament. In the -, event, however, of the' Presbyterian Church of New Zealand disagreeing with any of these pro posals, the synod instructs the committee to submit \o the next meeting of synod a statement of the points to which the assembly takes exception." Mr J. Adam seconded the motion, which was carried on the voices without dissent. The R.ev. J. Gibb expressed his profound thankfulness for the unanimity which now characterised the syn«d. He took it as a most hopeful augury that on this essential motion they were -all, so far as voting went, evidently of one mind. It was a matter for which one most devoutly and heartily thanked God. He would now move — " That a deputation, consisting of the moderator, the Revs. D. Borrie, P. B. Fraser, and the convener'of the Union Committe.e, be appointed to proceed to the meeting of the General Assembly of New Zealand at Wanganui, to submit the union proposals now adopted by this church and to offer all needed explanations of the reasons which, have led the synod to depart from the' original basis and to substitute that which- has now with per"feet unanimity been adopted by the Church of Otago." 4£he .Rev. J. Clarke seconded the motion, which was carried. TEMPERANCE RBPOET. The Rev. J. Kilpatrick submitted the report on temperance, which contained the following clauses : ■Shortly' after the last ordinary m*eeting of synod the triennial struggle — abolition versus continuance— of the liquor traffic took placej.. and 'we are pleased to note that there was- "a general advance In the -temperance vote. A's a province,-^ Otago leads the way, and as an elec r torate Ciutha is "easily first. , Your committee would congratulate Clutha and all temperance workers there, and express -the hope that -other electorates may soon follow their lead. It is gratifying to us to note that Clutha is the most essentially Presbyterian electorate in New Zealand. It should be recorded that various agencies and organisations contributed to the success of the temperance vote, chiefly among these the Council of the Churches, the New Zealand Alliance, and the ever-fresh and neverwavering Outlook. It should be gratifying to the synod that the ministers of our church, almost to a man, take an active part in temperance work, and cast their vote and influence in ■-favour of the abolition of the liquor traffic. Your committee regret that the liquor bill continues to rise; for, as it rises, men, women, aye, and even children, sink; many to depths from which they are never recovered. Your committee regret that from almost every part of Otago and Southland there comes the complaint that the liquor laws areJ'flagrantly, and even openly, broken. Is the arm of the law feeble, or is it bound ? Convictions were never so difficult to obtain; and what is strange beyond measure, when they are obtained the ' penalties imposed are so low as tjj breed contempt. Hence your committee are informed that Sunday trading is common, and closing hours are only nominal. Your committee look upon this condition of things with serious apprehension. - During the past year there have been constant rumours of changes 'in the Licensing Acts, and at the present 'moment a bill, called " The Licensing Acts Amendment' Bill, 1900," is in .circulation. The main provisions of this bill are: The abolition of local in favour of, provincial option, the giving to the magistrate discretion in the matter of endorsing of licenses when a licensee has been convicted of a "breach of the Licensing Act, the setting up* of a Royal Commission to inquire into the condition of ,the King Country with a view to, .should their report -be favourable, referring the question of license or no license to the Maoris ; restricting ; committees in granting a new license in place of one that has lapsed to a quarter-mile radius ;the dropping of the reduction^vote; giving the Colonial Secretary power to "grant licenses in- respect of premises in several places for the convenience of the tourist traffic." • Your committee are convinced that these changes were not sought (except the quartermile radius) by temperance workers, and that they are suggested in the interests of the liquor trade. No case as against the present electoral districts, and in favour of provincial districts, has been made out, and it is only reasonable and right that a fair trial should be given to the present system before a new and more complex system is introduced. Your committee would desire to express gratitude to God for the very marked increase in the vote for no license. When we remind you"" that ' 120,000 odd electors cast their votes for no license, there is little need to say more. Your committee recommend: The formation of a ministers' total abstinence society, of a temperance sermon in Novemlipr, the .continuing and opening of Bands of Hope or other societies for the instruction of. the young in temperance principles ; that n, strong protest be made against (a) 'the nonenforcement of the liquor laws, (b) ,the abolition of local oution in favour of provincial option, (c) the giving to the 'magistrates discretion in the matter of endorsing of licenses when a' licensee has been convicted of a ( breach -of the Licensing Act, (d) the giving to the Colonial Secretary power to grant licenses in respect of premises in special places for the convenience of the tourist traffic. The Rev. G. Lindsay moved the following "deliverance: — "Adopt the report, with tlu\ recommendations : express, gratitude to God for the decided advance made in temperan.ee principles as shown by the last looal option poll; declare our strong opposition to 'the introduction of licenses in the King Country, .. also to any alteration in the matter of 'the endorsement of licenses and the altering of the electoral districts : declare our firm eoir.icUon.

that the decision ' license or no license ' must rest entirely with the people ; and, therefore, protest against the powers it is proposed to give to the Colonial Secretary ; urge upon ministers, office-bearers, and people the need for diligence in instructing and influencing the whole community in the principles of temperance." In speaking in support of the •motion, the Rev. Mr Lindsay said the proposed legislation wa& retrograde, and should, as far as possible, be resisted. Mr Taylor seconded the motion, and 'testified to the success of prohibition in Clutha. He said that in his district (Wairuna) he did not know where to get alcoholic liquor even if he wanted it to save his life. The Rev. Mr Currie protested strongly against the way the liquor laws were administered in prohibition Clutha and elsewhere. He believed the statement of the last sneaker applied to the locality in which he resided, 'but in Balc'utha, and he believed also in Tapanui, the prohibition law was broken right and left. The Key. W. Scorgie was of opinion that the police were not permitted to do their ' duty in the matter of enforcing the liquor laws. This, lie thought, was the case pretty generally, and thai it was the case in Christchurch was well known to the ,men who were at the head of the prohibition movement there. Mr A. Murdoch said he had been instructed to ask whether any of the church endowments were occupied as the sites of publichouses ; and, if so, whether in the leases expiring steps would be taken to prevent the use of church property for such purposes. Mr A. C. Begg wan-astonished that anyone should ask such' a question. It- had been said over and over again that at one time there were publichouses on leasehold land belonging to the Church Board, but the only one that remained was upon a site in Rattray street, the lease of which would expire in 18 months, and the renewal would provide that there should be no publichouse on the land in future. The time would, therefore, soon arrive when there would be no land belonging to the Church Board on which licensed premises would exist. — (App'ause.) The Rev. Dr Bannerman observed that from the earliest issue of leases of church land., it, had been provided that the land must not be occupied by licensed houses, but the board had been advised that the clause gut in the leases was inoperative, and so publichouses had been built.. The deliverance was then adopted unanimously. CHURCH EXTENSION REPORT. The Rev. D. Borrie brought ud the church extension report, which contained the following clauses : — ' In laying another report before the church, the committee regret to state that the year ends with a debit balance of over £30, and to this has to be added 18s 5d — a sum due to South Invercargill. We are thus in the position of not being able to meet our liabilities for the current six months till the new collections are reported in March. Still, the work done has been considerable, as the report will show, and we are slowly filling in the gaps in our parochial sjstem, and giving more" efficient services in many places. We beg to lay before the church the following details of the work : — Last synod Lovell's Flat and Forest Hill were raised into. sustentation~fund charges, though thejatter has not yet been settled. The synod -also divided the Waikaka, parish into Waikaka Valley (comprising Waikaka Valley and Merino Downs), a sustentation fund charge; arid Waikaka (including Waikaka township, North" Chatton, G-reenvale, and Wendon Valley-, a church extension charge. During the year a requestcame up to the commission of synod to have Waikaka erected into a sustentation fund 'charge, and this, with the consent of the Sustontation Fund Committee, the commission did. A request came up to the commission of synod, through the Mataura Presbytery, to have the Kelso parish divided into a sustentation fund charge, comprising Crookston and Dunrobin ; and a church extension charge, comprising Kelso, Heriot, and Glenkenich. Mr Kyd, the minister, agreed to this, and to remain minister of Kelso under church extension regulations. This commission, with the consent of the committees concerned, agreed to this division as from the Ist of June last, and Kelso is now a church extension charge. There has thus been a considerable change in the field. There are at present six extension charges, but two of these have not been settled, and so did not come under the regulations during the year, and Pukerau is applying to be made a sn stentation fund charge. We have in all 16 mission stations, having missionaries working, and most of them receive grants from our funds. Your committee recommend that the synod enjoin all church extension charges and mission' stations to report yearly to the presbytery of the bounds, to .the Ghurch Extension Committee, and to the general treasurer that all funds raised by the church may bs reported in. the general statement. The sum of £370 2s 9d has been reported by 71 congregations. This i 3 an advance of J£76 19s Id over last year; but it is largely due to a special donation of £$3 through St. Andrew's congregation. The donations show an increase of over JBl4, but-this is mostly due to special gift for horse, saddle, etc., for Otago Central. There is thus an increase of available revenue of £91 8s 9d. While there has thus been an increase of £91 8s 9d in receipts, there has been a still greater increase in our liabilities, and instead of ending, as in 1599, with a credit balance of £15 2s sd, when all liabilities were paid, we end this year with a -debit balance of £34 2s (3d when wliat is due to South Invercargill is paid. We are thus in debt and without funds to meet the liabilities of the current six months. Yet we look forward hopefully that with our increasing work the council will put us in a position to fulfil all our engagements. The state of matters needs only to be widely known when our Christian oeople will come to our rescue and enable us to carry on. so very important a work. The committee recommend that the interest accruing from the Jubilee fund after the '30th September last be now used for church extension purposes. Thus the work of church extension — that is, of giving the Gospel more regularly to the outfields — has been vigorously carried on. Butthero are fields yet to be overtaken, and there aro many places in need of more help and of more frequent service. We would therefore agnin appeal to the whole church to come to our aid in the most important work, and especially, to put the committee in a position to pay ils liabilities and further extend the Kingdom of Christ. In conclusion, the committee" would again thank Miss M. R. M. for her handsome contribution to this fund, and also thank the other donors who have so kindly remembered our needs. ■>• ■ ■- - Last report called attention to the fact that we had incurred a liability of £200 to the Colonial Committee of the Free Church. This has been reduced to £150 by Mr Lowrie's settlement at Faivlie. A collection was ordered, but only 26 congregations responded, and only £54 12s 7d has bsan received from them, which, together with balance of £& 12s Sd. and a donation

per convener of £1, make a total in hand of £60 53 3d, or, less than half the amount diie. The committee would ask the synod to enjoin those congregations who havp not made this collec-' tion to do so immediately, that the sum due may be sent Home without delay. After some discussion, a deliverance adopting the report, thanking the committee and the convener, and requesting that the collections mentioned in the report should be made, wa>3 adopted without dissent. In the afternoon the synod sat in private, when Dr Nicholson, of Ravensbourne, was admitted as a minister of the church. THE MISSIONS REPORT. j The Rev. Dr Bannerman, convener of the Missions Committee, read the missions report, of which the following are the chief clauses : — • The several missionaries connected with the synod" continue to labour in their respective fields wit.h_their well-known diligence and self-denial. Mr Milne and his assistants, a son and daughter, have enjoyed excellent health, and been able to give themselves uninterruptedly to their respective duties. Messrs Michelsen and Smaill, however, were, both subjected for a time to serious and painful illness. The latter recovered sufficiently to enable him to attend the meeting of the Mission Synod, held at Port Resolution, Island of Tanna, in June last. Mr Micheisen suffered more severely, and was necessitated to take a short furlough to Sydney, and was therefore unable to attend the .synod. Having improved considerably by the change and rest, he visited Queensland to inquire into the condition of the natives who had gone from, his islands to work on the Queensland plantations, and to leani" what prospect there was of their returning to their homes., Few, comparatively, ever return. As a consequence, the population is steadily decreasing in the islands". • Considerable progress has been made during '• the year in the several fields occupied by our New Hebrides missionaries. New schools have been built and opened in new districts, and are j well attended in most cases by old and young, the number of native teachers has in conse-_ quence been increased, requiring larger aid for our native teachers' fund, a matter to which the committee would especially call the attention of Sabbath schools and Christian Endeavour Societies, by which the fund has hitherto been chiefly maintained. The natives themselves contribute to some extent to this fund, but not sufficient to meet requirements, save in the case of Mr Milne's natives, who, at their own cost, maintain in full the large staff of i ; teachers under him. Immediately previous to last communion on Nguna, 61, old and young, : received the rite of baptism. Of these, 31 were ! adults, and received the ordinance after a j lengthened period of instruction and probation j to test their profession. On tKe occasion the new missionary, Mr Frater, appointed to i Paama, was present, and the sight presented to him by those baptisms, and by the 230 that sat down thereafter at the Lord's Table, must ! have been an object lesson to him of the success attending the ministration of, Mr 'Milne, and presented to him such a* spectacle as could not fail to give him high encouragement on . entering on his .new field. The appointment of Mr Frater to Pas-ma will relieve Mr Smaill. The attention of the committee has been called to the heavy expenditure incurred by our Ne.w Hebrides missionaries in meeting the : frequent illnesses and accidents of the natives by supplying them with necessary medicines and curatives, notwithstanding that they occasionally receive small supplies of medicines in mission boxes. It would be but a right and gracious thing to make them an allowance for this necessary and urgent object. Considerable anxiety is being felt among our missionaries and British settlers in the group at the action of a Frenchman countenanced by the French man-of-war on the occasion ,of its visits to that island. It appears that the company purchased some small portions of the coast line of the island from a couple of natives; these, as is the custom in the group, were measured off by distinct boundary marks. But instead of confining their claim to the land thus marked ofi, they have taken possession of land extending three miles inland, andwhich included land belonging to a native who J was in Queensland at the date of their alleged purchase, and could not possibly have Eold to the company. On this very land the company j have allowed a Frenchman to settle who, with the assistance of the company's agent and ! armed labourers under him, has driven the natives from their land, destroyed their fencing, and burned down their houses, including their schoolhouse. Mr Fraser, the missionary from the Tasmanian Church, at work among them, has remonstrated with the agent and settlers, only to receive insolence and threats. The Mission Synod, as well as Mr Fraser, has brought these" aggressions before the authorities whose duty is it to have justice done to the natives placed under their protection, and has asked the churches interested in the mission to bring their influence to bear upon their respective Governments that a thorough inquiry be made into this violent aggression and act of robbery. On receipt of this request your -committee brought the matter to the notice of the Right Honourable the Premier of New Zealand, and had the satisfaction of learning that he had taken action to co-operate with, the other Australasian Governments to secure a satisfactory inquiry into the matter. To the Premier the special thanks of the synod are due for his hearty and prompt intervention. It is fervently hoped that the British Government may see it to be its duty to stay such aggressions on the part of the French, which can be perpetrated only where, through the influence of the Presbyterian Mission, it is possible for Europeans to purchase land and safe for them to settle thereon. The committee deeply regrets the dpath of Rev. Dr Cosh, who for many years had acted as agent in Sydney for this S3 m od and its missionaries. The committee recommends the synod to place on leeord the expression of its appreciation of the many services rendered by Dr Cosh, himself an early missionary in the New Hebrides. The committee would call the attention of the synod to the falling off of the contributions to the several mission operations of the church. Specially would the committee ask more consideration to be given to the fund known as the Dayspring fund, which originally was intended for the maintenance of the mission vessel known as the Daysuring. Chinese Mission. — In December to March, Mr Loie made the annual summer tour of the goldfields, and was away 81 days in all. He visited 56 places, with a population of 930 men, of whom he saw 813. He held 76 meetings, with 726 in attendance altogether — two meetings were held ,in one place on several occasions. He walked 626 miles of the 1832 travel- ! led, and' distributed 1300 tracts. Thirteen pupils were enrolled at the Sunday school, with an average of 8.5 in attendance. The teachers are Mesdames (Lo Keong, Gordon Macdonald, Misses Lait)g\and Watson, Messrs H. White, P. Dick. W. Dennison, G. Macneur, N. Black, and Weir, 1 ,\yho deserve the committee's thanks for another j ear's assistance. The English class on Wednesday evenings, from 8 to 9, has been held as usual, and also on Tuesdays part of the "year. A service is held every fortnight fon the Climes& inmates of the Old Men's Home. On April 8, after eight months' probation, John Wykeen Chan, Mark Yowloi Chan, and Joseph Yowoa Kaan were baptised. Our membership is now 11. Mr Loie was ordained an elder of the church on July 1, after due election by the congregation. Dr Bannerman conducting ' the service after a sermon ia Chinese by. Mr

Don. Two very successful social meetings of the Chinese and their friends were held durin" the year. Mr Don gave four lantern exhib? tions in the church to Chinese during the winter, each of which was closed with some New Testament scenes fully explained by Mr Loie, thus some who rarely attend the Lord's Day service had the Gospel preached to them. During the 12 months the church door collections amounted to £21 19s 9d, besides which special collections were made for South Afoican nurses' fund, £7 0s 6d; Indian famine relief, £3 12s sd; Wesleyan Mission Church, Victoria-,-Hongkong, £6 ss;— making in all £38 17s 8d for the year. Canton Village Mission.— Our student afc Canton, Mr William Chan, made good progress in his second year till the summer vacation in July, since which the college has been closed owing to the trouble in China. Mr George Macneur had three months' steady study of the Chinese language in the beginning | of the year, and made good progress. During the hall and university session he has taken the classes in .apologetics, exegesis, and junior mental science with marked success. Mr Don has addressed many of the congregations for the purpose of the C. V. Mission, and reports almost unanimous approval of the ministers and peoplfe. The young peoples' Bi^e classes and societies of Christian .Endeavour are taking a very warnJ interest in the new . mission, and have contributed during the year £95 18s lid to its funds. . Mission Bursary. — The mission bursary has been awarded this year to. Mr Mawson v M.A., student in divinity, who studies with a view to the mission field., 'Ecumenical Conference on Foreign Missions. — The committee were invited to serid a delegate to the above conference, held in New York in April last, but was not in "a position to make such appointment. The convener, however, forwarded a detailed account of the missionary operations of this church; a like report was transmitted by him in connection with the proposed publication, of. a geography^ of the Protestant missions under the auspices of the [ students' volunteer movement for foreign misj sions. <r P.W.M.U.— The Presbyterian Women's Mis- ! sionary Union continues throughout its several branches to render good service in many direc- | tions to the furtherance of the church's mission i work. A favourable answer was given by the r Free Church Association to the union's proposal ! for the appointment of Miss M'G-regor to_the j Zenana mission; conducted by the association I at Madras. In" the same city and connected ; with the Ladies' Association of the Church of ; Scotland, another missionary allied to thi3 j church is engaged in similar work, Miss Henderson. Very favourable reports have been received from time to time. ■ The committee commends our several mission agents to the grace of God and to the sympathy and prayers of the church. Dr Bannerman went over the chief points of the report, and referred to the satisfactoTy work done during the year. He then" moved the following deliverance: — "Adopt the report; express gratitude to God for the sustained and restored^ health of our. missionaries, and .for the success attending their work; . express satisfaction at the liberality of th» natives' contributions to i,he work 'of missions' among them : regret trouble caused by French, aggression ; thank the Premier for his readyassistance to have an inquiry into these aggressions-; trust that the Islands may be early made a part of the British Empire, as the natives have desired ; express satisfaction with the work among the Chinese within the bounds ; thank the ladies and gentlemen who have conducted the Chinese class in Walker street charge ; thank the P.W.M.U. for their valuable assistance rendered, to the parrying: on of the mission work ; - express satisfaction at the appointment of Miss MacGregor to Madras, and with tihe good reports of MissHenderson's work and 'success in the same city : regret the decrease in die funds, and trust that the claims that have pressed upon our. people for other purposes are not likely to be renewed, the funds may speedily be increased ; authori'ge~~the committee to get the> usual grants to the training seminary at Tangoa and the hospital at Ambrim, and to the Maori mission." The Rev. E. Miller seconded the adoption of the deliverance. Addresses on mission work were then given by the Rev. A. Don, the Rev. T. F. Loie, and Mr G. Macneur. - The Rev. James Gibb desired to add tiie following to the deliverance: — "That the synod expresses its warm, appreciation of the J services in the cause of missions by the Presbyterian Women's 'Missionary Union, and especially records its gratification at the interesting and enjoyable meeting in the Choral Hail last Wednesday evening." — The suggest-ioa was agreed to. A further suggestion that the "committee be authorised to take into consideration the appointment of a medical missionary- to the Canton Mission was also agreed to," and the deliverance was adopted. _ THE JUBILEE MEMORIAL FUND. ""The Rev; A. - Cameron, reported 'with reference to the Jubilee memorial fund. ' He. said this fund had been before the church for some considerable time. It must be quit© four years now since it was first brought before the synod. They had.beentoiling along in connection with the fund for the last two years under considerable - difficulty, because the jubilee was past before they had an opportunity of callingupon the members of the church to recognise 'the goodness of God to them during tha past 50 years. Yet notwithstanding that they had visited most congregations. The result of their efforts had been, he thought, disappointing. They started off with thoobject of raising £30,000. Many thought that was a great deal toe much to ask for, and that was perhaps the reason why they" did not get it : 'but he had not the slightest doubt that it was not too much to ask, and. that if they had had the opportunity of going before the church before the Jubileo actually came, in all probability they would! have raised the full amount. They had scfar raised a very sum of money.., and more than some expected they would raise. About a fortnisrht ago he issued a. circular in the name of the committee stating that the sum of £F650 had_ been reported. Well, he was in a position that; night to say that £9550 had" been promisedi to the fund. — (Applause.) Of that amount, close on £8000 had been paid into the hands of the treasurer. — (Applause.) He had^ no doubt that more than had been promised! would be received, -because he believed that ' that night they were going to -make the amount up to £10,000. The object of tha fund was not to build churches, but to send! ministers into the country districts and' to aid the men who were sent. He suggested' that £450. the balance required to make up £10.000, should be laid on the table of the synod. It would not be necessary for the j representative of the different .congregations i present to give, or guarantee, more than) 1 £5 per head to niajce up the required! amount. He moved the following deliverance : — Thank the committee and collectors for their diligence and agree — (1) to keep " the fund open for fresh gifts for anothe?

•year; (2) to appoint a collection on behalf .of this fund to be called ' the new century f thank offering,' to be taken on the 24 th of , March, 1901; (3) that the capital sum be , * placed ,in the hands of the committee for ' investment and remain untouched until the synod by interim act may otherwise determine"; (4) that the revenue be paid over to the Church Extension Committee to be administered by them-; (5) that the committee 'be instructed to make advances at a low rate of interest from capital on loan to congregations against the security of grants of eynodj the loan not to exceed three-fourths of grant remaining unpaid." Mr Dawson said that if the whole matter •was held over for another year he thought the amounts given would be doubled. Instead of asking for £5 or £10 that night, let the matter run on, and the amount would come up to £10,000 by -the time the synod met next year. — (Applause.) The Key. Me Cameron said that the committee intended to' keep the lists open for fresh gifts, and that was part of their recop- j mendation ; but what he wanted was for j . those present to send up money or promises. He had already received £8. The Rev. Mr Will seconded the motion. The Rev. A. Don also spoke to the question, and the deliverance, on being put, was ; agreed to. " j Donations and promises to the fund amounting to £135 3s were made in the synod after 'the adoption of the deliverance. j THE STJ3TEXTATION FUND, j The following report was -submitted by the , Sustentatiou Fund Committee, and read by Dr Dunlop : — Your committee have to report that the tolal 'contributions for the year amount to £12,968 16s lid, as against £12,727 14s 5d for the last year; being an increase of £241 2s 6d. The 1 equal dividend for xhe" half-year ending 31st March, 1900, was £97 2s, and for half-year ending 30th September, 1900, £100 12s lid ; giving | for the year a dividend of £197 14s lid, being, \ .as compared with last year's dividend, a de- ! crease of £2 3s Id. Twelve congregations report increases for the year — viz., Dunedin <First), £3 3s; Duuedin (Knox), £8 4s; Green j Island, 15s 6d; Portobello, £5 0s 6d; Toko- ' mairiro, £10 0s 6d; Teviot, ss; In^ercaigill , <FiTEt), £19 3s 7ds Invercargill (St. Paul's), £2 , 10s; Riverton" £15; Wallacetown, dEIS 0s 7d; Duntroon, ss; Papakaio, £7 10s. Twelve congregations report decreases — viz.- Anderson's Bay, £5 ; Port Chalmers, £2 10s ; StratK-Taieri, t £5 6s 8d; West Taieri, £14 5s 4d ; Waikouaiti, , £10; Popotunoa, £1; Mount Ida, £2 10s 9d; j fciapdale, £5 ISs 6d ; "v" v Queenstown, £20 ss ; j "Winton, £1 ; Columba (Oamaru), 10s ; Waiareka, s -£24 2s^6d. ' . j •At the request of the Presbytery of Mataura, j your committee agreed to recommend that J Wa-ikaka-be erected into a sanctioned , charge, j aawL-that its minimum contribution to the sus- \ tentation fund be £175. Your committee also i recommend that the minimum for the'eongre- j gation of Otautau be £165 for the coming year, | and thereafter that it be £170 ; as also that tn'e j minimum of Orepuki be £170 for the first year, > trad thereafter that it be £175. Your committee have also agreed to the following decisions of i the^ Synod's Commission — viz., first, that Dun- ' ,Tobin a-nd Crookston be made a sanctioned i charge, its minimum t contribution to be £175; ! ■"and, second, that the charge of Popotunoa b"e ; .divided — Waiwera, Ashley Downs; and Clyde- I vale to form one charge, and to be self-su3tain-.j ' ing ; Clinton, ' Wairuna G orge, and Pomahaka i <io,,be s a second sanctioned charge, and to cOn- | (tribute -a minimum' 6f".£165j > ;to-the-sustentation v . •iund. -The committee remind all aid-receiving J —•congregations that, it is an injunction of synod ! '■ -hat they forward their annual balance 1 , sheet j r > to- the- general treasurer of the .church. Your j ' committee would again call the attention of ! congregations to the urgent need of increased liberality in their contributions to the sustentation fund. Quite a considerable of new congregations have been ereGted into sanctioned charges ; and a3 the major part of these congregations neither are, nor can be expected to be, self-sustaining, they necessarily entail an additional burden on the fund. If therefore the congregations of ike church, do not contribute somewhat more liberally to the fund, one of two consequences must ineviiably follow, either the cnurch mu3t practically arrest the •very important work of church extension, or the i equal dividend must sink to a level which will seriously reduce the income of the ministers of the poorer charges. Your committee ventures to affirm that a comparatively slight effort on . the part of congregations would not only increase the equal dividend, but also enable the church, to carry on the good work of creating new charges, unhampered by the consideration that in so doing it was thereby serioiisly curtailing the income of those very who can least afford to have their salaries reduced. After reading the report, Dr Dunlop moved its adoption - with the various recommendations it contained. _ The Rev. Mr dimming seconded the motion; and after some discussion, it was > decided 'jio adjourn further consideration of the report ■ '■until Tuesday morning.