Excerpt from Church Government: A Speech Delivered at Christchurch, New Zealand, 15th March, 1852 The Church of England being in such a state as I have described, has sent out numerous bodies of offspring to all parts of the world; I beg your pardon; she cannot send, because as I have explained to you, as a Church she cannot do anything; I should have said, numerous bodies of her offspring have gone out from her, bearing with them the principles and traditions of their spiritual mother, and they have to adapt these as best ...
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Excerpt from Church Government: A Speech Delivered at Christchurch, New Zealand, 15th March, 1852 The Church of England being in such a state as I have described, has sent out numerous bodies of offspring to all parts of the world; I beg your pardon; she cannot send, because as I have explained to you, as a Church she cannot do anything; I should have said, numerous bodies of her offspring have gone out from her, bearing with them the principles and traditions of their spiritual mother, and they have to adapt these as best they can, to a new set of'political and social circumstances. Amongst other things they have to see how they can get on without government in a state of things which urgently requires corporate action. The Colonial Church is cast on her own resources altogether she has, generally speaking, neither in uence, nor friends, nor consideration bequeathed to her or provided for her ready made; she must obtain them as she can, by personal efforts, if I may use the term. But personal efforts require, of course, a personal agency; in order to collect funds to build churches, to get and keep congregations, to exercise order and discipline amongst them, and to convert the heathen, a machinery is wanted; the old machinery, such as it is, is inapplicable or inadequate, and there is no one with authority to create new. The consequence is, that the Anglican communion almost in variably falls, at the commencement of a colony, below the level of other denominations. I do not recollect a single instance when, under such circumstances, she can be said to have held her own. Other sects come out accustomed toself-organization and self-government; each branch is com plete in itself, prepared at all points, ready for its work. Anglicans alone, when removed from the Sphere of their old associations, stand bewildered and apathetic, and unable to move or act; looking for help from government, or from the mother country from every quarter, in fact, but from them selves. Though generally richer than other denominations, they cannot or will not support their own ministers at least I know that in these colonies with which, alone, I am person ally acquainted, it is so. In British America the English people through the society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and the additional Bishoprics' Society; and in New Zealand the people of England through the Church Missionary Society and Parliamentary grants, support the clerical estab lishments of communities which are perfectly well able to do it for themselves, and would be perfectly willing too, if they were not enervated by long disus se of the habit oof acting for themselve in ecclesiastical affairs. At the same time it would be only fair to say that the Church of England in the colonies is far from being on a level with other sects, as re gards freedom of action. Deprived as she is of the advanta ges resulting (or supposed to result) from state connexion, it is believed (for such is the absurdity of the system, that no one seems to know exactly what its principles or practices are, ) but it is believed that she still remains fettered by the liabilities which were the incidents of her establishment in the mother country. I will illustrate what I mean by an example which occurred not long ago in this colony. A mem ber of the Anglican Church wished to marry a J ewess the cleryman refused to perform the marriage, and persevered in his refusal; but the bishop told me he had been informed by the judge, that if the parties applied for a mandamus to compel the clergyman to marry them, he (the judge, ) would have felt it is duty to grant it. I am not going to enlarge on the intolerable tyranny involved in the existence of such a state of things; I allude to it at present as showing the necessity, not only for a complete review of our ecclesiastical affairs, and for the establishment of new and radically different principles of church organization, but also, perhaps, for parliamentary assi.
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