XIV.
Timaru, South Canterbury,
My dear St. John,
Things have moved on apace since my last letter. If I am nor boring you, I will give a brief account of an important meeting of General Synod in Nelson. Five Bishops were present, with twenty Clerical and twenty-four Lay representatives. After the Primate's address, in accordance with the ancient custom of the Councils of the Church, a copy of the Authorised Version of the Holy Scriptures, together with a copy of the same in Maori, the work of Archdeacon Maunsell, were laid on the table. The conservative tendency of our Synodical system, in which the concurrence of all three orders, Bishops, Clergy, and Laity is required to pass any measure, was shown by the fact that, out of eleven Bills proposed, six only were finally agreed to. There was much debate, but in a legislative assembly such as our Synod is, that means no waste of time.
Pardon me if I allude chiefly to one very important measure, of which I was in charge. It arose out of the now recognized fact that the Church in a Colony, having an independent legislature, cannot remain an integral part of the Church in England, as by law established, but must legislate for itself. Further,
