Wanganui Chronicle AND PATEA-RANGITIKEI ADVERTISER. "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." WEDNESDAY, FEBBUABY 17, 1886.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXIX, Issue 11131, 17 February 1886, Page 2

Wanganui Chronicle AND PATEA-RANGITIKEI ADVERTISER. "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." WEDNESDAY, FEBBUABY 17, 1886.

The extreme unsatisfactoriness of that feature of church polity by which clergymen can be pensioned upon an unwilling people for life, has loug been manifest, and we c»re glad to jiotioe that the question is now being taken up j with some measure of earnestness in church courts. At present, under certain church organisations, a clergyman may settle down upon the shoulders of ' | his congregation like a veritable " old man of the sea," but do their best they cannot shake him off. He may be lazy, ignorant, inefficient, and neglectful, but the congregation are obliged to put up with him. He cannot even so rnuoh 88 be asked to retire from a post for which he may be utterly unsuited, because he ' holds the keys of the position as chair- i man of meeiiugs, and can — as was the case recently aL the Hutt — flatly refuse to put or to receive a motion adverse to himself, v*' c verily believe that a great deal of the irreligiousnesß of the day is due to the limpat-stieking proclivities of a not inconsiderable section of religious teachers. They hold on with a marvellous tenacity of grip when a placegcaits them, but they can break through the ties of place and people with comparative ease when an opportunity presents itself of bettering their position. Now, we do not say that ministers of the gospel should not ex* pect or accept promotion, An offer of an increased salary generally signifies a, wider field, greater responsibilities, and bettor opportunities fordoing good, and such a combination of good ihingg may be a very legKiraa' j object of even a elergymnn's ambition. What we find fault with is not the fact that clergymen, like oth^r people, sometimes sock to improve their position, and are rfibrded facilities for doing bo, but rather that, under certain church or* ganisations, tha latitude allowed is altogether one-sided. A clergyman, without let or hiudrance, may sever his ! connection with a congregation in order t to improve his own position ; but a con-

gregatiou cannot sever their connection with a clergyman, unless he wills it, however such a course might improve theirs. This is very clearly not as it should be. The law of liberty should operate equally on both sides, and certainly a minister of the Gospel should be the hist man in the world to eat the grudgiug bread provided by a dis^ affected charge, or to force himself upon a people by whom he is not wanted. Our thoughts have been turned into this channel by reading a report on " Ministerial tenure " presented at the present Bitting of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church at Auckland. The report, which goes to the root of the matter, and makes some very sensible suggestions, we give below. It was followed by a discussion, in which gome ministers evinced very evident alarm at the prospect of auy such change as that proposed ; while one or two were honest enough to frankly admit that some change in the direction indicated was really necessary, an opinion that was heartily endorsed by several laymen. The Rev; Mi- Ogg, of Wellington, tried to shelve the question, by moving that the committee be thanked and dis* charged, but his motion was rejected in favour of one to refer the report back to the committee, accompanied by the thanks of the assembly, and with a request that they bring up a further report next year. The fol" lowing is this year's report 9 as extracted from the Auckland papers: — The Ilex. W. Gillies read the report of the Committee on Ministerial Tenure of Office. It stated that it had been impossible during the year to hold auy meetings for discussion of the subject but an attempt was made to obtain theviewsof members by correspondence, which was, however, only partially successful. Only one member advocated the adoption of what was virtually the Wesleyan plan of a three«y ears' pastorate . The others ■vffco expressed their opinions were all of one mind as to the necessity of something being done, but were by no means clear as to what was best to be proposed. Extracts from this correspondence were given, The Rev. Mr Doull wrote that he did not think that a limit of any definite period to one's ministry in a cont gregation would b 6 practicable or generally acceptable. After citing the portions of a report by the Free Church Committee on the same question, the report went on to give the opinions of the Rev. Geo. Barclay. He thought there were great evils involved in tho present mode of bringing about the pastoral relation between minister and people, and great evils were involved in a fixed pastorate. Discontent after a time on the part of both minister and people ; inability of the former to shift unless by processes of humiliation ; reverend carpetsbagging candidating, and suspicion that there was something wrong, from which a sensitive man shrank with horror. He considered that the best remedy would be an itinerant ministry. This would secure (1), the circulation of talent over all the church ; (2), development of all a man's talents and resources ; (3; the restriction and suppression of dissension in case of misunderstanding ; and (4), the obviating of the friction of all presby terian action in such matters. The report then proceeded to 1 give the convener's own contribution to to the subject. He considered the present arrangement, whereby a congregation was bound to its minister until he brought himßelf under ecclesiastical tenure, to be a very one-sided arrangement. The congregation was bound to the will of the minister, but not the minister to the will of the congregation. It was undeniable that serious evils had arisen out of it, to the detriment of the Ohurch and the interests of religion. Cases occurred where the ends of the ministry were not being served,as xnanL fcsted in the decline of the congregation or the existence of serious and general dissatisfaction. However it had arisen, or whatever might be the cause, it was evident that.to allow the minister to continue in such a case until he was starved out and the congregation Jost to the Church, was to cause a scandal aud an injury to religion which ought not to | be permitted. The question might be | divided into two branches : (1) Whether the evils complained of could be remedied by a change in tho system of call, and" (2) Was there any cure possible for the evils arising under the present system? Aa to the first question, a resort to the Wesleyan itinerant system would involve the sacrifice of the cherished Presbyterian principle of free selection by the congregation, while the Anglican system would also directly violate it. It was quite possible to so modify the form of call as to make it merely an invitation to accept the pastorate for a term of years as in America, instead of for life as at present, It might of course be said that this system would lead to oases of hardship by the permitting of ministers with their wives and families being turned adrift at the close of a term of service. The hardship, however, would be no greater than in other spheres of labour, and in any case it was to be remembered that; the primary object was the spiritual interests of the people. As to the second branch of the question, viz. : What was to be the cure for the evils which had arisen under the present system, and which would most assuredly continue to arise if the system were adhered to of a oall cmt vitam aut culpwm — the first thing to be done would be the laying down of an order of procedure for ascertaining whether or not a minister was proving inneffieent, and the interests of a congregation being sacrificed, and the case to be one calling for Presbyterial interference, Presbyterial visitations should be made ims perafave, and for the purpose of ascer-» taiuiug the relations between ministers and people ; further questions would require to be framed bearing on this point. An opportunity should also be given for the congregation to appear before the issembly, and expresß its mind as well as the offiue bearers. The Moderator of Assembly might also visit • episcopally a certain number of congregations, and report to next Assembly. When the Assembly was satisfied that the ends of the ministry were not being fulfilled, an opportunity might be given the minister to resign ; but should he decline, the Presbytery should be instructed to exercise its power of dissol* ving the pastoral tie. The oommittoe, however felt that matters were not yet i ripe for any defiuite logislatioD, but , with a view to legislation, it was re- j commended that the matter should be now sent down co the Presbyteries and Kirk Sessions for consideration, and to report by the end of December next.

Mr Alexander Munro has gone^iu for an J unusually larjje and variei shipment of Indian condiments and other goods, supp'ied to hia order by the linn of Veacatachelluua and Co. As the urticks have been procured direct from the firm in question, and the tastes and pocket ef possible imafcomers have been duly consulted, Mr Munro should find his venture a proiitaVie one, 'Jhere can be no doubt (says the Horns ft'ews) that " woman's suil'mge " will " be fchecuufeif a great htiugglo during the next I'livliaruentavy year. To the go -d sense of women, in our des{ air, we almost look with hopefulness i'nr dtl ver'ince irom the jserplerily into which a ''100 uttei-lj " reforra movement h.s iavolve 1 U". A T cavly tbveo hundred new members have promised thei' 1 adherence to the cars) of wjman's