XI.
Hokitika,
My dear St. John,
Since my last letter I have attended two meetings of General Synod, one in 1871, and one in this present year. I shall not dwell upon Synodical legislation in matters of ordinary Church work, much the same here as at Home, except for our Maori and Melanesian responsibility; but at every meeting of Synod we have had to deal with the vital question of our relationship with the Mother Church. When our Synodical system was first established, this question had not arisen. Now it seeks solution, not only in New Zealand, but elsewhere, as in South Africa; it concerns our Church discipline, and order, Church property, and our proper loyalty to the Church at Home. It comes to the front whenever the Colonial Church has to face the problem of ruling its own household. Having thought much of this subject, I have set the ball rolling at each Synod, and so far it has been well received, bringing out an amount of debating power and acquaintance with civil and ecclesiastical law which would do credit to any assembly. Synod is keenly alive to its great responsibility, as a Legislative body, not a mere conference or congress, or even such an assembly as Convocation at Home in its present form.
