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several of the British men-of-war, who brought their own fire appliances. Rear Admiral Grenfell was one of the officers who accompanied them, The conflagra- tion in the after-hold was then attacked with vigour, streams of water being poured on the burning cargo. It was not however, till the great weight of water was causing the Bygdo to settle down by the stern that the fire was finally overcome. The bluejackets, in whose praise too much cannot be said for the energy and unselfishness of their labours, left for their respective ships about five o'clock, but the firemen stood by till time later.
some
[January 27, 1902.
The CHAIRMAN-I am afraid that cannot be done without the approval of the Church Body, Mr. CUNNINGHAM -I may take it, sir, that at the present moment there is really no Church Body in existence, and I take it also that every Seatholder and Subscriber has the right to see
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND they had submitted the matter to the Seat- holders and Subscribers for their approval, especially as the alaries of the new chaplains are to be paid solely from the contributions of the Seatholders and Subscribers and the colles- | tions. The Church Body, however, base their actions on clause 8 of the St. John's Cathedral i those minutes. Ordinance of 1899), which gives them power to appoint the chaplains without consulting the Seatholders and Bubscribers.
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Another matter which has also created feel- ing has been the request of the Bishop of Victoria for the Church Body's interpretation of clause 9 of the Ordinance, which says:-
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All matters connected with the religious The cause of the outbreak has not yet, services of the church or the rites and ritual been ascertained, and while it possibly may thereof shall be under the immediate direction have been due to the explosion of the naphtha and management of the Chaplain for the timo lamp in the engine-room, the almost simultane-being, subject, nevertheless to the control of ous appearance of smoke from the after-hold the said Bishop for the time being." supports the theory that the cause which led to the fire in the hold was responsible also for the explosion in the engine-room. It is probable that the Bygdo may have to discharge her remaining cargo and go into dock for repairs.
The Bygdo is owned by a firm in Christiania, and the local agents are Messrs. Sander, Weiler & Co.
The Norwegian steamer Bygdo still remains at her moorings. It has not yet been ascertained what the amount of the damage is; and this will probably not be ascertained until the ressel is docked.
THE CATHEDRAL CHAPLAINCY.
In connection with the dis nssion concerning the Cathedral Chaplaincy, as it is a public matter, we are able to publish the following particulars of what has actually transpired.
In October last the Rer. R. F. Cobbold, the senior chaplain, who was then in England, sent a telegram personally to Bishop Hoare announcing his intention to ask leave to resign from his position as chaplain on his return to the Colony. His object in cabling was to give the Churub Body ample time to select a successor, and he was prepared to remain until the new chaplain took over charge.
On receipt of the telegram the Bishop called a meeting of the Church Body, and what was done is explained thus in the last issue of Church Notes
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The opinion expressed by the Church Doly gives the Bishop greater powers than it was generally believed he possessed in Cathedral matters, which some, considering the politics of the Bishop, resent, regarding his sphere more as being the missionary field of South China. Referring to this point the last number of, Church Notes remarks:-
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The CHAIRMAN said that personally he had no objection to the minutes being read, but hə was afraid it involved a serious precedent.
The Hon. W. MEIGH GOODMAN, K.C., being appealed to for his opinion, said he did not think there was any right on the part of a general meeting to require the minutes of the Church Body to be read. As a matter of courtesy, however, he was quite agreeable to their being read, so long as it was not taken as a precedent.
Hou. R. MURRAY RUMSEY-As a personal matter I wish to say have no o'jection to the minutes of the meeting being read, but as a matter of principle I shall vote against it (Hear, hear.)
In reply to Mr. G. C. C. MASTER, who asked the definition of a "registered subscriber," the CHAIRMAN (who proposed to limit the voting to registered subscribers) said a re- gistered subscriber was a subscriber who was registered.
Mr. MASTER-Am I a registered subscriber? The CHAIRMAN-If you are registered in the book.
"As the Church Body 'has no official organ through which to notify its acts' we should be glad to publish here from time to time any matter of general interest and importance. It might be well if they would hand ns for the! Mr. Master, however, was not so registered, his information of Church people a conclusion at as the TREASOSER explained, but as which they have lately arrived defining the subscription had been paid the omission was relationship between the Bishop of the Diocese an oversight. and the Chaplain of the Cathedral.
"We think it would also be well if our people would make themselves acquainted with the| local conditions of the Anglican Churcb. It is a disestablished and disendowed Church, and The accounts will be it is self-supporting. published before the annual meeting. The St. John's Cathedral Ordinances 1892 and 1899; ought to be more generally known, and every voter at the annual meeting should have a copy; of the Regulations,' made by the Church Body and annually to be approved by the Seatholders and Subscribers. There are
a number of copies of the latter in the vestry, and we shall be glad if people will ask for them."- Daily Press, 18th January.
MEETING OF SEATHOLDERS AND
SUBSCRIBERS.
The minute of the last annual meeting hay- ing been read and approved, the accounts for the year, on the motion of the TREASURER, Mr. H. A. W. Slade, seconded by Mr. A. CUNNINGHAM, were passed.
"The Senior Chaplaincy. A circular has been issued by the Church Body to the seatholders and subscribers, bearing the date 23rd December, The annual meeting of Subscribers and setting forth what has been done by them since Seatho'ders of S. John's Cathedral was held the 3rd of October when a telegram was sent at St. Paul's College on the 23rd inst. at to the Bishop by the Senior Chaplain announc-five o'clock, when that much-discussed question, ing his intention of asking permission to resign the appointment of the Senior Chaplain, was on his return. The Church Body in their considered. The meeting was a large one- circular say that they at once met, and larger than has been the case for a number of offered the provisional appointment to the Rev. years-and was presided over by His Lordship F. T. Johnson; that he accepted it and that it the Bishop of the Diocese. has since been confirmed. On the return of the Senior Chapla n his resignation was received and accepted, to take effect on the date proposed by him-31st March. Thereupon an agreement was made between the Church Body and Mr. Johnson by which the latter is due to take up the work as Senior Chaplain by 1st August. In the meantime Mr. Johnson has gone to Ireland and has been asked, in concert with others, to make the appointment of an Assistant Chaplain. It is very unfortunate that there must be a period of four months from April to August when there will be no regular Chaplain, but the Church Body tell us that they have secured the Rev. G. A. Bunbury, of the C.M S., to conduct the services in the Cathedral."
In this connection Mr. J. H. Cox, who was in formed by Mr. Slade, in reply to a question, that the three years' agreement of the Rev. F. T. Johnson included the payment of his passage out and home, expressed the opinion that the proceeding was an expensive one for such a short agreement, which could with advantage le extended to four or five years.
Commenting on the fact that the expenditure this year was nearly $3,000 over that of last year, the CHAIRMAN said that unless sub scriptions in the future came in differently from the way they had been doing, some other means would have to be adopted for raising money.
Before proceeding with the ordinary business of the meeting, lis LORDSHIP invited discus- sion on any matter not before them.
Mr. A. CUNNINGHAM then moved "that under Regulation No. 16, Clause 3, all voting at this meeting be by ballot," and this having received the support of three Seatholders or Subscribers, it was duly declared carried.
Whilst this was taking place no notification was made to the Seatholders and Subscribers who were thus kept ignorant of the actual state of affairs and consequently had no voice in the matter. The points, therefore, which have aroused considerable feeling, pro- ducing the correspondence in the Press, are (1) that the Church Body made no attempt to consult the Seatholders and Subscribers and thus to learn and meet their wishes; (2) that the Church Body settled the appointment entirely among themselves; (3) that the Church Body in addition authorised the new chaplain with others unknown to engage an additional chaplain with- out consulting the Seatholders and Subscribers. It is claimed that the Church Body would haveing." - shown” better judgment and consideration if
Mr. A. CUNNINGHAM next moved "that the minutes of the meetings of the Church Body held subsequent to the receipt by the Bishop of Victoria of the telegram from the Senior Chap- lain in October last he now read at this meet
Mr. LEIGH seconded.
Mr. MASTER--Then I am entitled to vote? The CHAIRMAN -Oh, yes.
The SECRETARY, Mr. H. H. J. Gompertz, then read the minutes (the CHAIRMAN interrupting at the commencement to say that it was only by accident that the minute-book was there), after which,
Mr.CUNNINGHAM said he regretted that it was his painful duty, in response to a request of a number of Seatholders and Subscribers, to move the following resolution :--" That this meeting deplores the action of the Church Body in appointing a Senior Chaplain without consult- w shes of the Seatholders and ing the
It was, he believed, the first Subscribers." occasion on which such a resolution had been proposed in connection with a Church Body in this Colony, and they all devoutly trusted it would be the last. It should be unnecessary for him to state that those responsible for the resolution regretted exceedingly that such a course should have been rendered imperative. It was not his duty to defend their action for it needed no apology, but that regret was intensified when the action which they took was produced by the absolute and continual disregard of their feelings and interests by those elected to serve them and who promised to do so. They met there a few adherents of that that night, 28 Church which they had always been taught to beliere upheld the sanctity of individual right, loved equity and demanded of its officers a just, a vigilant and a considerate stewardship. But who, after hearing the minutes of the Church Body read, and looking at the matter calmly and impersonally, could accept the statement that the governing council of this Church had ob- served those principles and had done their duty in the way they should have done? Now, at the risk of being accused of "stirring up strife in the Church”— he took it there were two kinds of strife, one in a good cause and another in a bad- he begged to submit the exact position in which the Seatholders and Subscribers stood in relation to the Church Body and to the Cathedral. As they were informed in Church Notes, the Cathe- dral had been disestablished and disendowed. The Cathedral was maintained and the salaries of all its officers were paid from money which they subscribed. Those officers consisted of the two chaplains, the organist, and the verger. Should they withdraw their subscriptions and pew-rents the church could not continne. To protect their interests and to administer the money which they devoted to church purposes the Church Body were elected annually and pledged themselves to the fulfilment of those duties they undertook. They were responsible to the sub- scribers and in all equity to no one else. Under the clause of an Ordinance (No, 8 of 1899) which by their actions the Church Body would lead them to believe was so iniquitous that it
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