DIOCESAN SYNOD.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXIV, Issue 2896, 30 September 1869, Page 3

DIOCESAN SYNOD.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28

The members of the Synod attended Divine Service at St. Paul's Cathedral Church, and partook together of the Holy Communion. Offertory collected £1 10s.

The members of the Synod mot at the Diocesan Room at two o'clock.

Present — The President (The Venerable Archdeacon of Kapiti, Bishop's Commissary.) Clergy — Eev. H. W. St. Hill, Rev. A. Stock, Eev. J. E. Herring, Rev. T. Fancourt, Rev. W. H. Ewald, Rev. D. Desbois, Rev. Jas. M'William, Rev. A. Knell. Laity — Messrs Pearce, Baunatyne v Halcombe, Buchanan, It. Hunter, Kobbell, Ludlam, Braithwuite, Battersbee, Barraud, Barton, and Moore.

The President read the following address : —

Brethren oi? the OijEhgy and Laity —

The Bishop stated last year in his addi'ess to the Synod, that during his absence I, us his Commissary, would conduct the main business of the Diocese. lam happy to be able to say that up to the present time nothing of any importance has occurred falling for episcopal action. The Bishop of Christchurch last year administered the rite of confirmation in St. Paul's and St. Peter's parishes. I believe lam authorised in saving that the Bishop. of Waiapu is willing to come and discharge the game duty if it should be thought desirable by the parochial clergy. It has devolved on me to take the necessary stops for the triennial election of this the fifth Diocesan Synod of Wellington. Having for m-iny yoars felt a deep interest," and at one time taken an active part, in the development of Church action iv this Diocese, I am thankful to observe, both on the part of the clergy and laity, tin increasing appreciation of the advantages accruing from our synodical system. I trust that nothing will occur during the temporary absence of the Bishop to prevent the steady, progress of ohurch work throughout the Diocese. Acting as your President on this occasion, I feel that I shall do most wisely, and best consult your wishes, by bringing nothing before you in this first session of the newly elected Synod but those formal matters of business which, in accordance with the statutes of the General Synod and our own Diocesan Acts, require to be annually attended to. I do not however, by alluding to this rule which I have laid down for my own guidance, in the least wish to preclude any member of this Synod from exercising his own discretion as to any subject whatever which he may think it desirable to bring under your consideration.

As you are already aware, the General Synod met at Auckland in October last. Besides the Bishop, I was the only representative present from this Diocese. Perhaps it may be expected that I should now briefly bring under youv notice some of tho results of the Synod. In accordance with a resolution of the standing committee, authorising the* election of two lay representatives, the able and efficient services of Capt. Beckham and Mr Fenton were secured. I will first direct your attention to the statutes, some of which have been repealed, others amended, while some new ones have been enacted ; and then notice certain new resolutions.

Tho old statutes 6, 1, and 8 havß been repealed, while .those now so numbered are new. The neceseity for thqse now statutes arose fromji the Bishop of New Zealand's resignation of his See. Previous to that resignation he, the Primate of New Zealand, had resided at Auckland, and presided at the deliberations of the Standing Commission. But as it was improbable that his sui!ce?sov in the Primacy would' be his successor hi the See of Auckland, it was thought advisable to separate the functions previously possessed by theStjmding Commission' — to assign some of these to the Primate, and others to the Standing Commission. One immediate advantage to bo derived from this, was that tho Standing Commission could continue to reside at Auckland, and thus the services of those able legal gentldman/who have during so many years lent their valuable aid to the Church, might be retained. Another advantage was that it would enable the Synod to choose for Primate the Bishop whose election seemed most desirable on geueral grounds without any reference whatever to the proximity of Inn residence to that of the Standing Commission. A further result arising from the consideration of these questions was, that it appeared 'advisable to constitute in each diocese a board for the appointment of trustees, a power which had previously been vested in tho Standing Commission. To provide therefore for .these three specific objects statutes 6 ; 7, and 8 were enacted.

Statute 6 makes provision for tho election of a Frimute. Acting under this statute, the Bishop of Christ church was elected by .the Synod to enter, on his office as soon as the Bishop of New Zealand's resignation of his See should be registered in tbe Office of Faculties of tbo Archbishop of Cunterbury. I now have to acquaint the Synod that I have received official information of thut resignation. A copy of this communication I lay upon the table. Tho Bishop of Christ-, church is now, therefore, the Primate. The statute likewise vests certain powers in the office of Primate which may be described as chiefly ministerial. .

Statute 7 vests certain powers in the Standing Commission. It is authorised to interpret the .constitution deed, and all statutes and deeds. It is a court of appeal against proceedings in diocesan synods. It also has the. power to mate rules for. regulating the proceedings of diocesan courts. Statute Bis a very important one. By it's provisions, the standing committee in each' diocese becomes the board 'for the appointment of trustees, which now therefore possesses certain powers formerly vested in the Standing Commission! I need- scarcely say that this statute will be of great practical benefit in facilitating business connected with trust property in the Diocese. ' I will now point out some of the amendments that have been made in former statutes. It will be unnecessary to do more than briefly indicate these, as all the statutes now in force are contained in the printed " Proceedings of the Fourth Q-eneral Synod."

Statute 1, clause 3, provides that " a certified list" of the clergy entitled to vote at the election of clerical representatives should be annually revised. This will have now to be attended to.

Clause 11 contains a new provision empowering the Standing Committee to fill a vacancy where no representative had been returned. That the Standing Committee had this power did not appear clear before.

Clause 12 provides for a new election of representatives to the G-eneral Synod to take place iv 1870. . .

In clause 17 the word " primate" is substituted for " metropolitan."

In statute 2, clauses .1, 3, 4, and 5, " parochial district" has been added after the word " parish" to make it quite clear that suoh districts are entitled to send representatives to the General Synod. The words had already been used, somewhut vaguely, in clause 2.

Statute 3 i 9 substituted for the previous one, which is now repealed. In the printed " Proceedings of the General Synod" it is not " certified as pa3sed" ; but I presume this is an omission of the printers. This statute, as far as the end of clause 8, is substantially identical with the repealed statute. But the new olauses following, were added to make provision for what appeared to be a need of the native portion of the Church. Archdeacon Williams and I took considerable interest in this new enactment as likely to afford facilities for promoting church action among the native population in outlying districts. But X rogret to state that the unsettled state of the nutive mind and the disturbed state of many of those districts — evils which sdem to haVe grown worse since the time when the General Synod was ■ in session— prevent my making any proposition to the Synod for the purpose of obtaining authority to put this' portion of the statute in operation.. I can only hope thnt, if in the' good providence of God peace should by and by be restored, the anticipations of benefit to the 'natife portion of .the Church from some of the provisions 'of this Btatuto

may not altogether disappoint those who helped to frame them.

Statute 4is unaltered. Statute sis instituted for thi) former statute so numbered. The alterations, however, are unimportant. In clause 2 "annually" is omitted, and clause 3 provides as follows: — "The Diocesan -Nominators Bhall be appointed by each synod, and shall hold office until the end of tho synod immediately following the general election next after their appointment." It will, therefore, be necessary 'that the Diocesan Nominators should be elected during the present session. No new election will then be needed far three years, 1 unless vacancies should 'occur. It will be observed that the annual election by' the vestry of Parochial Nominators remains unaltered. : . •

• Clause 9 (which is substituted for clause 1 £ in the repealed statute) has omitted the words " either to the standing committee in the first instance or afterwards." The, reason for this correction is given in the Bishop's Address to the Synod in 1865, which }a as follows : — " The Bth clause is considerably changed. The appeal against the Bishop's rejection of a nominated clergyman lies to the Standing Committee of the Diocese, instead of to the Standing Commission j and then it was intended to refer it to the House of Bishops, two-thirds of whom might order institution to be given, instead . of the unanimous voice of the Bishops being required to overrule the judgment of the Diocesan. But by some miswording, or perhaps, misprint, the further reference to the House of Bishops is altogether superseded ; and if the reasons for which the Bishop rejected the nominated clergyman appear insufficient, 'either to the standing committee or to two-thirds of the Bishops/ institution shull be given. If the standing committee think the reasons valid, they can prevent the appeal going further; if they think them insufficient, institu: tion must be given ; so that the wording of tho clause puts the House of Bishops completely out of court." As I have already remarked, this mistake is now corrected by ( clause 9. Statutes 9, 10 and 11 remain unaltered.

Statute 12 provides for the formation into a separate diocese, to be called the Diocese of Dunedin, that portion of the Dioceao of Christchurch which included the civil provinces of Ofcago and Southland, after the Ist January, 1869 ; and further, that tho Bishop of Christchurch should continue to have charge of, and " be deemed and taken to be the bishop of, the said diocese" until a day to be fixed on that behalf by the Standing Commission. It would appear, therefore, that the Bishop of Chriatchurch is still Bishop, of the See of Dunedin. I cannot refer to this statute without expressing my regret that Dr. Jenuer should have been consecrated before he had any acquaintance with the existing ecclesiastical system in New Zealand.

Under the head of " Instructions to Trustees" there is clause 15, which -seems to render it necessary that the synod should, during its present session, recommend to the Diocesan Trusts Board tho, names of persona qualified to act as Diocesan Trustees. I am not aware that these " instructions" call for any further notice from

me now.

There are three of the resolutions which I will briefly notice. Tho 11th provided that a committee should be appointed to prepare an appendix to tho hymnal, and to " take into consideration the question of republishing the hymnal with accompanying tune*." A committee accord 1 ingly sat after the conclusion of the business of the synod, with, "I trust, satisfactory results. The 15th resolution contains the following clauses affecting this Diocese : — " That the Province of Hawke's Bay be considered part, of the Diocese of Waiapu ; provided the Church members notify their formal assent thereto through the clergy and lay officers : and that the Province of Taraiiaki be considered part of the Diocese of Wellington ; provided the Bishop of New Zealand and- the clergy and lay officers representing the church members, give their formal assent thereto. That the formal assent hereinbefore mentioned be notified to the primate,, and communicated by him to the bishops of the diocese affected thereby" In reference to this subject I lay on the table copies of two documents which I have received from the Primate notifying, first, that the church members of the Province of Hawke's Bay have assented to tho arrangement, and therefore that that province no longer forms part of this Dioceae ; and second, that the church members of the Province of Taranaki decline for the present to be separated from the Diocese of Auckland. ' . .

By the 16th resolution the G-eneral Bynod has accepted an alteration in the prayer-book "adopted by the United Church of England and Ireland with tho consent of the Crown and Convocation, to the effect that the oath of supremacy is not to be administered in the cpurse of divine service."

I now lay on the table copies of a letter which I have received from the Primate, and of an accompanying resolution passed by the Bishops of the province of South Africa informing me, as Commissary to the Bishop of Wellington of the Rev. W. K. Maerorie's consecration as " Bishop of the Church in communion Avith the Church of Eng« land, in the colony of Natal and the parts adjacent thereto." As this subject ia thus incidentally brought under the notice of the Synod I will venture to offer a few remarks in connection with it. It certainly appears to me that there bus been much misapprehension in reference' to the proceedings of the Chui'chin the case' of the deposition of Bishop. Colenso, and to the necessity thence arising for the appointment of another bishop. In order to arrive at a clear conception of this Bubject it is, not at all necessary . to enter into a consideration of the nature, of Dr Colenso's. opinions on theological subjects, or to form any opinion as to his soundness or unsoundness in the Christian faith. This indeed could only be ascertained by a careful examination of his writings. The only subject that concerns the various branches of the Anglican Church is the fact that he was charged with heresy before the' bishops of his own province and condemned by them. It is of course possible that the sentence may have been 'erroneous, but that is only a possibility to which the sentences of all human tribunals are liable. It does not ' appear that there is any appeal from this decision of the Bishops of the province. A bishop in the early church oould not appeal from a sentence of deposition by the Bishops of Ms province, whatever may have been tbe practice in subsequent ages. The Bishops of the proyince of South Africa have now therefore after the lapse of some time consecrated a successor to the deposed bishop to watch over and superintend the faithful of the flock. To those who are tolerably acquainted with Church history the whole proceedings appear to have been both absolutely necessary and substantially regular. But it would appear that there is both in England and elsewhere a strange misapprehension of th ecaße. whole question. There has been an unreasonable alarm on the part of those most auiious to uphold and maintain the purity and integrity of the faith, as well as a tendency on the part of others to censure as harsh proceedings imperatively demanded by the very nature and urgency of the. ] On the. one hand, the faqt that the deposed bishop did not submit to. tho sontence of the Church to which ho belonged, but still continued to hold the temporalities, was pronounced to be " a scandal to the Anglican communion" which thus seemed to be helpless ; on the other,' because the temporal courts did not enforce the sentence of the spiritual court; it' was' declared that the sentence of the latter was invalid, that the bishop had not been deposed, that a new bishop ought not to bo consecrated, that such a bishop would be a schiamatioal bishop. < I am not aware that I am in the lettst exaggerating what has been said and written on this question.' But, -surely the confusion. of thought, involved in these views is most extraordinary, and much to bP regretted. The powers and funotions of the.Qhuroh as suoh are wholly distinot from, those of, the State, nor ought they ever in any case to claßh or como into, conflict. The Church demands no more from the State than what, the State is bound to afford, that is, the same civil rights as all other members of 'the State: Unless' it can be Shown (which iB not possible) that the' existence of tho Church is pre-

judicial to the well being of the State, then clearly the Church, even viewed merely in her civil capa-' city as one among other bodies corporate, has a' right to make such bye-laws in reffrence both to the appointment and removal of her own officers as she niay deem essential to her own existence', and t\ie promotion of the objects for which she 1 exists. .But whether this position be granted or not, the .Church of Christ, holding a commission to wield spiritual authority/ Conveyed' in tlio words of her J Divine" '" Head : — "Whatsoever ye' shall bind on - earth 'shall be bound in' heaven: and whatsoever' 'ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed 'in heaven," which no temporal pbw.er can in any way effect; must discharge her solemn duty in preserving the ' sacred deposit of truth committed to her keeping without reference to either the censure or' approval of the powers of the world. It is quite possible for the state to protect an offender against the temporal consequences of a spiritual sentence ; but its doing so can only be regarded as an exercise of tyrnnny and an act of oppression. I will now' briefly illustrate what I mean by an instance very similar to that of Natal which occurred in the third century. Paul of Samosata; hishop of Antioch, was formally deposed for heresy by the sentence of a synod about the year 269, and another bishop, Domnus, was appointed in his stead.' Notwithstanding this formal sentence of deposition, Paul, who wad supported by Zenobia and a portion of his flock, refused to relinquish the temporalities of his office, continuing to hold possession of the cathedral and episcopal house, and refusing to surrender these to the canonical bishop Domnus, there being of course no power' in the church to dislodge him. But after the triumph of the Emperor Aurelian over Zenobia the question of right to the temporalities was re'-'. ferred to the Emperor. Now Aurelian was a hea- ' then, a devoted worshipper of the sun. More J ' over, he regarded the Christians ' ipth profound contempt. But he was a Roman ; and to administer impnrtial justice was a Roman principle. He wisely refrained from intermeddling in a question involving Christian doctrines and usages. He decided that the temporalities should belong to him whom the bishops of Rome and Italy (to whom as well as to other bishops letters had been sent by the synod) should decide to be in communion with the Catholic Church. Their decision was given in favor of Dommiß, who was therefore immediately put in possession by Aurelian of all his rights. This occurred in the' year 273. Thus Domnus was obliged to wait four years to obtain the temporalities. But we do not hear that Christians then regarded the church's sentence of deposition as mere brittum fulmen, or talked of its being " a scandal" to the church that she could not controlthe temporalities, because a successor to the deposed bishop was obliged to wait patiently' before he could get possession of these Nullktn tempus occurrit ecclesice. Nor, let itbe remarked) does it appear that it was expected that a heathen emperor to whom the case was referred would either evade it, or decline to pnforco the law in a matter of clear right. (This subject is mentioned in the church historiea of Neander, Burton, and Robertson. As an instance of the difficulty experienced by members of an established church in arriving at a clear appre- • hension of questions of this character, I will cite a few words from a' writer so well-informed and able as. Burton. He says, — " The inability of the church to enforce its '6wn decrees, when not supported by the civil power,' ia strikingly exemplified in" the sequel of the history of Paul." And agaiu : "It is a curious spectacle to see an heathen emperor appealed to by two parties of Christians who were dispuLiug the possession of a church." But how could a spiritual body, such as the church is, be expected to enforce her' own decrees, or rather certain results of her own decrees affecting temporalities,' on her members? The civil power alone' can deal with disputed rights to property, Such, an expectation could hardly have been entertained by any but a member of an established church. Nor was there anything at all strauge or curious in an application to the civil power — not, let it be observed, to decide a question of doctrine, but" — to be put into possession of legal rights. I fear that I shall only very imperfectly dischai'ge the duties of temporary President ; but I trust that as it is the first time that I have been called upon to do so it may likewise be the last,and that next time the synod meets we shall be presided over by the Bishop. The President laid upon, the tuble the papers referred to in his address. Moved by the Rev. A- Stock, ,and seconded by Mr Bannatyne — "That the thanks of the Synod be given to the President for his address, and that he be requested to allow, it to De printed."' Carried. . , . . Moved by the Eev. H. W. St. Hill, seconded by Rev. T. Fanoourt— " That the Rev. A., Stock be elected Clerical Secretary." Carried., , Moved by Mr Baeraud, and seconded by Mr' Batteksbee — '•• That Mr Halcombe be elected Lay Secretary." Carried. The President laid en the table the accounts of the different pnriahes. The. Rev. H., "W. St. Hill obtained leave to suspend standing orders to move for a committee to. revise them. . Committee elected the Archdeacon, Rev. A. Stock, Mr Ludlam, .Mr Barraud, and the mover. Mr Barbatjd read the balance sheet of the Diocesan fund and the following report of tho Btanding committee : — "The standing committee have during the past year been able, from the grant of the Society for propagating the" G-ospel, an d from the Diocesan fund, to continue the grants in aid to the clergy of the country districts. '',''' " The sum of one hundred pouuds w'aa given to the Diocese hy tho Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Of this sum seventy-five pounds hayo been granted, to the Church members of Greytown, who havo during the past year erected a Church in their district. . " A purchase of one fifty-acre country section and of one quarter acre town section in the Moroa district) and the purchase of five acres of land in the Rangitikei district for Church purposes have beon completed. • "Arthur -Stock, 11 Secretary to the Standing Committee. " Chablks D. Barrato, "Treasurer." Mr Baebaud gave notice that he would move that the report bo adopted and printed. The President reported that he would lay on the table a list of trustees and trust lands of the Diocese. ... ■ ■ Notices of motion" given by Mr Pearce, Mr Halcombe,' Rev. H. W. St. Hill, Rev. A. Stock and Mr Braithwaite. — Synod adjourned. Soldier's Dress. — The present uniform and olothing of our soldiers are, states an evening contemporary, at once to undergo some alterations which will do much to remove the hitherto just stigma on our nation as " the worst military tailors in tho world." The present tight tunio, which has been noticed as a sourco of disease, will gradually fall into disuse, being according to orders now to be published reserved for the Queen's parades and purely special occasions. A loose, blouse-like or " Norfolk" coat is to be issued to the troops, which will be worn on all duties fatigues and parades usually Comprised in the soldier's routine of duty. A band running .on the inside of the coat with draw it into the figure and add much to its appearance. An improvement is atao to' be made hi another article, the shirt. About 20 s'p'eoimena -are to be at onoe ißßued to eaph regiment for trial and report. >■ The materialwill be mixture of, cotton .and ,wool in equal. proportions and,' in addition, to. the advantages of cheapness, lightness, .and, . lessened roughness, the quality of not shrinking will, be highlyappreciated. . The present greaj; coat, which weighs as much as. 4ihs, • will be made much lighter, and it is also suggested thut a water-proof cape might be , advantageously added, to, be used with or independently of the co&t itself. These improvements'in the 1 sdl'dierswardrobei will 'do much to benefit him on' homo' service, arid will doubtless lead taftjj&JAjnMßttratioriß as to his - require? mejflflfl^BM^^^fevioe or abroad* •■ ■

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