VESTRY'S REPORT

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 13947, 30 April 1909, Page 3

VESTRY'S REPORT

Tlip »v}iort iiifsonicii l»y (lie vclrs - was as jollo.\s -Kill. ii I'"' .Vl"". Vl "" the dilti.s ol sorrel,, iv ..ml lie.is.m i wele llllderl.ik. n In llie'liheis ( til. , lostrv. ii siiM.ii: ol *" ; "> » > l ' :ir lv ""- li ilms'elfected. Owiny to the (liaise in i the ni.ilil-er < I L< < ]>ll'<S. til.' ''.'"l-s .Itlt- - ,n^ tlie \n-t tmniu'.al \.,ir, the c om- ' jjiiratMc position at tlie end oi .Ma nil, - V.Vh, anrl now, is seme«li;it niislcad- - niK- I" l>u'\ ions yeais accounts have ; heeii kept open alter .March HI in order - to j^ot in lu'lated accounts. This yoar i •»vcr'ything lias heen closed i/roinptly. ! This probably will cause a su'iillw • amount to bi> credited to some au-oiints and a correspondingly larger one at i next balance. Beginning the year w ith I a credit lialance of £:Y.) 2, 2d, tics ha*- • been increased to £(58 Is Od at M:. rcli 31, 190 ft. During the current yeai . there will he several items of expenditure which, must be faced, and it is <|iown conclusively year after year that i the ordinary income only iust coversirdinary expenditure, so that parishioners must be prepared either to raise the additional i'unrjis required for special objects by special efforts, or to allow the church property to get into a state of -disrepair or inefficiency. The vestry is strongly of opinion that works such as those referred to, and particulars of some of which will be given presently, should not be undertaken until the money is in hand with which to carry them out. Five of the most worm-eaten seats have been removed and replaced by imported chairs, tho cost being ahout equal. If approved of by the p'arisuioners, this may be continued as required. The vicarage has been connected with the sanitary system, half the cost of the work beinu donated. The alteration to the north door and to the old vestry (tho latter to provide a better exit on the south side in accordance with the requirements of the Fire Board of New Plymouth) is now in hand ; but a further £20 is required to pay for this work, only £40 having been raised I>,V the special offertory set apart for the purpose. In effecting some repairs to the floor it was found that flooring joist* were Imdly affected with the worm. This will necessitate a large expenditure in the future. In connection w ith this matter it is considered that the flooring should be replaced in the future by concrete, with or without tiles, or asphalt. This could ho dom< in sections, and not necessarily all at one time. A snfe has been placed in the vestry in which to keep registers, etc. The money with which this wus bought was bequeathed by tho late Colonel Stapp many years ago. The follow injr works require to be carried out during the current year : —The vicarage painted the window in the west end of thr church repaired and all outside woodwork painied, and gas meter re-housed and painted. Th© whole outside stone work needs to be gone over and repointed where necessary. This is most important, as there are many crevicos into which the ivy has grown a foot or two, and on tho top of the south wall •several stones are loosened ami out of position; also, the ironwork in the front fence needs to be re-painted. The ventilation question has been . gone into, hut nothing can be done at present, for want of funds. It xs thought that as the cost of getting ventilators fixed would be very considerable and the result doubtful, it would he better to instal the electric light for nso in summer, as tlie heat would be reduced by ao doing. A considerable amount of work has been carried out in the Runday School buildings, making classrooms. This has been done by the Snndav School at their own expense. The idea to be keot in \ievr with regard to these buildings is to build up a fund for the erection in the future of a brick or concrete school. Most of the older parts aro in a very bad state. and even 'the large hall has the worm in it. These buildings must be painted and, if possible, connected with the sttniintv system. For a few month* at the end oi the year the vicar had ns assistant the Her. A. H. Col vile, whose ministrations were very highly valued by all. From January 1 the Rev. H. 0., T. Hanby was appointed assistant curate, the stipends of both being defrayed by the vicar. The Govett Memorial Fund now stands at '£1340 14s lid. The proposal to form Te Hemu into p separate parish has not been lostsipht of. Mr. Spencer has, owing to his long illness, been quite unable to work as he otherwise would have done, and both he and the Fitzrov parishioners are to be congratulated on the fact that affairs' there have gone on as well as they have under the hard and trying circumstances. Mr. R. Neville Renand was appointed as organist on April 18, and' gives general satisfaction. His heart is most thoroughly in his work." "St. Mary's Church Choir. — Mr. Bannister reports as follows:— Tlie choir consists of tbirty-nino voices, divided asunder: Ladie3 -seventeen, men fourteen, boys eight. Tho average attend'ovce, howevor, is about thirty-or.e, and th* number of attendances was 10:58 at practices and 3330 at services. Throe organ recitals were given, one by Mr. Potts, formerly organist, and two b\ Mr. Rcnaud, his successor. Tlie total receipts were £18 2s 3d. and the net profit £C> 13s 3d. The Rf>v. A. Fowler, vicar of St. Aidan's, Romuera. gave « lecture on Canterbury Cathedral and it* environs in May last, which added £3 4s 6d to the organ fund. Tho credit balance of this fund is £6 13s Od, but there' are liabilities to the extent of £3 17s. Tlie sum of £10 was paid for completion of the organ, being the balance of amount the choir undertook to raise, ibut there is still a sum of £13 required ■ to pay off the total amount of tho eon{tract." A proposal w.as made to the choir • , by tbe organist that it should raise the sum pi £40 to provide a swell-box for : ; tlie choir organ at a cost of about £25 and improve the manipulation of tho keyboard. A garden party was held in February last at "Aotea" by permission of Messrs. Sole Bros., and resulted in a net profit of ,£lO, Fourteen <-nipiioo<. for Indies- woio imported iron 1 , Kiijilaiwl I at a total cost of £0 12s. , "Sunday School.— Mr. S. \V. Shaw, superintendent, reports: — Duriii'c the past year there has boon a gratifying increase in the attendance of scholars, I the'total number on the roll now being ' 310. Tn order to cope with the increased numbers and to facilitate teaching, it was decided early this year to divide the older portions of the school , buildings into classrooms. Plans were ' submitted by Mr. S. Lush, who has i since carried out the work in a faithful and satisfactory manner. This year, i in place of the annual picnic, the ehil1 dren were treated to free admission to West's Pictures, and appeared to thoroughly enjoy the innovations Tho bulb show, which was hold in Septe'iiber last, was very successful, and wo ) have once more to acknowlod"e oui I deep sense of gratitude to Miss Dovenj ish and other teachers and friends for I their valued assistance in »rin" ; ii'r about so successful a result. S<"hooi Prizes.— This year, for tho first tini", the books for' the senior clhssos wore procured from Ensland in special liind- ! ing, the added value heing fully apprei oiatod by the scholars. During tho \oar we have lost the services of Miss Olive i Baker, who for many years, has acted ns organist and l>oon one of our most deI votod teachers. Another gap in tho I ranks will shortly take place, liti?.' Austin, , another valued teacher, being about to return to England. Tn eon•j elusion. I have to thank all if-.chers ' ! and other friends for their assistance ,o ' | cheerfully given in carrying on the work of the school. f "Western District.— Tho R-v. W. C Butler reports: — Taken as a whole, thi« 1 district •shows signs of having ;'iadi; coti ' .sidorable progress during tlio .\e-ir " though financially tho nosit'on ion -nn > about the Fame, as the closing of the ' upper mill at Koru and the change o' ownership of ma/iy of the firms in th< 1 neighbourhood of Omati lias caused r • falling-off in the attendance it Uk- ser ' vices at both Koru and Hurford Road • In the case of the Utter place, church- • people have gone away and boon <-ue- - opcded by non-attendints at servjeo - The Omfitn cougrcßations rue lairtv steady as regards numbers, and tl-ore iei c a tondoncv t;j improve slowly, nhil" th< standard of church life appears to have improved very considerably, and mon ' enthusiasm is being shown. \t Motu 1 roa servics are now Ikmit; held regular - ly every fortnight. Tiling in . aro now going on quietly. Nuinhcis nn "" generally about tho same, and ire ' gradually rm'ng up. although wo sh'iu'f 1 1 lie justified in looking for -\ more r-pid p ineroa'o. Unfortunately ib" uoi 1 <;• 1 the fs;ivdn\ School her" is being seriv ously hindered through want of a ci jstn ant teachers, it havin» boon found iin- . possible lat"lv to got anyone t ; <-om< n forward to help tho one willing to.-xlvr who has upwards of thirty pupil, of different ivies." Tho balance-shoot showed that the receipts were t'loOC 10s .Id, and tho oxs penditnre C 1438 9s .'Jd, leaving a credit v balance of Cfiß Is. Tho general offero torios for the yoar amounted to r l~A\~> (1 I'2s 4d. tbe special ofto'tr.i le, «Jl<)2 (>s o r >d. and Die district ch'ireh » filed ion" t t £H>l Is od. Donations ani(. tinted to d £«0. v It was announced that tho trustees || of the ohuioh had dor-lined to do anything in tlie mattei of \entilation of

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