Henry William Harper

“ It seems to me that the rising genertion will miss much. The Historic imagination, in their case, will have next to nothing to feed on. Life will be intensely practical, in the healthiest conditions of climate, but prosaic. Literature there will be, of course, for all who make use of it, which, as far as books can go, will teach the history of the old country. But imagine the gradual effect of a life spent in a country where you never see relics of past history which take you back to the beginning of the Christian era ”

“ General Synod deals with legislation that governs the whole Church, whilst each Diocese, in its Synod which meets annually, legislates for itself, but always within the lines of General Synod enactment.
In the Diocesan Synods, every Licensed Clergyman is entitled to attend and vote, together with Lay representatives from each parish and district; the Bishop presides, and voting is by orders, the Bishop's vote being seldom exercised, as it is in his power to negative any proposed legislation. ”

“ Everything here also is strictly in accordance with Parliamentary usage; synods are not debating societies, or mere meetings for conference.
You are aware, of course, that at Home many high authorities dispute the right of the Laity to meet in Synod with an equal vote with the Clergy, on the ground that it was not the custom in the Primitive Church. So far as I understand the question, I feel convinced that the Church in New Zealand follows the precedent and practice which appears in the Acts of the Apostles and in the earliest records of Church History. ”

“ In New South Wales, in the early days of the gold fields, men used to camp by a waterhole which lay on a lonely track far from any habitation. The waterhole had a steep bank on one side, with a rough fence placed there to prevent accidents. On several occasions men had reported that in the moonlight they had seen the figure of a man sitting on the fence, and pointing with his right hand down to the water, but that when they went near somehow he had disappeared. ”

“ After reaching the western summit, the pass extends about eight miles to its eastern descent, through very broken country, strewn with boulders and rocks, the débris of an old glacier moraine, freely intersected by streams; on either side towering precipices rising some eight thousand feet, with crevices full of ice, topped by perpetual snow. ”

“ There is a good brass band in the township, but no one in the least accustomed to a harmonium, which, however, did not daunt them, as the leading cornet, with much more zeal than knowledge, became organist, vamping the chants and hymn tunes in marvellous fashion, but somehow managing to begin and end correctly. ”

“ Roadmen from the Otira Pass said that it would be difficult to get the coach across it. I was anxious to be at Hokitika for Sunday, and the driver wanted to get his mails through, so, as the other passengers declined to venture, he and I started on horseback, my horse leading, then the pack-horses, and the driver bringing up the rear. I was well-clad, with a Scotch plaid over head and ears and descending to the saddle, but soon the heavy flakes turned me into a sort of snow man. We travelled slowly, darkness came on, and it was a matter of trusting one's horse to find the way. ”

“ There is one result of great importance that emerges in our experience. The Laity have the responsibility of Church Finance. With the exception of very small endowments here and there, all Church work, including the maintenance of the Ministry, is supported by the offerings of the Laity. Give the Laity this responsibility, and the result follows that they realize their duty and privilege as Churchmen. There is also another important result which our experience proves. The Laity are essentially conservative ”

“ The Bishop came with Royal Letters Patent, constituting him Bishop of New Zealand; his income partly contributed by the Church Missionary Society and partly by the British Government. So far there was a semblance of Church Establishment for a short time, so long as New Zealand was a Crown Colony but this state of things was soon superseded by the granting of a Constitutional Government to the Colony, with its own Houses of Legislature. ”

“ I spend many a day on foot in and amongst these diggings, visiting all I can reach; some of the men being, in mining phraseology, "Hatters," i.e. men who live and work by themselves, often old sailors and much travelled men, content with the solitude of well-kept huts, a few books, hard work, their dog as companion, perhaps some poultry, and a weekly visit on Saturdays to the townships to sell their gold and see friends. ”

“ Certainly the horses are mostly bred in the hills, and would almost lie down rather than go over a precipice, but there is always the chance of broken tackle, brakes failing, wheels collapsing; whilst it is scarcely too much to say that, good as the road is, generally, underfoot, there is scarcely ten miles of it, once you are inside the mountain ranges, which is not dangerous. ”

“ It was quite late; men went up the pass road with lanterns in search of the driver, and at last brought him back. He had had trouble with the horses in the darkness. Next day we completed the journey with a coach to Hokitika, without further incident. The drivers have a hard and perilous time of it in winter, with snow, and with floods in summer. They are well paid, and must needs be skilful and bold whips, for no others could safely negotiate such a dangerous journey. ”

“ Many of these men attend church, and seem to delight in the change the Sunday brings to their lonely week-day toil. The church was quite full, great satisfaction being felt at the completion of the building, a mere wooden shell, entirely by means of their own contributions. ”

“ At present nearly all here are Colonists, transplanted, but their affections deeply rooted in the old Home life they have left. In a few years their children will be Colonials, loyal, no doubt, to the idea of their old Mother Country, and to some extent interested in what they hear or read about it. ”

“ This was laid before a Convention of Church people, and by them ratified; its basis of authority being that of mutual compact, by which Church people, and especially all office bearers, agree to obey the Constitution and abide by the decisions of its Courts. The Bishop and his advisers saw, what is, as yet, being slowly recognized by many, that the Church in New Zealand has no legal status in the Ecclesiastical Courts at Home, and. must needs look to its own household, and maintain its due order. ”

“ The opening service at Waimea was a considerable occasion. It is the last settlement in the heart of the forest, its neighbourhood consisting of deep wooded ravines and high terraces, where you find parties of men at work in the most secluded places. ”

“ Few Colonies, if any, have had such an excellent start; and this is true of every class of settler and of the men and women who have ventured to the ends of the earth to build up their homes in the southernmost Islands of the sea.
Synod lasted in Christchurch nearly three weeks; it is represented during its recess by the Standing Committee of six Clergy and six Laity, who form the Executive of the Diocese, meeting, with the Bishop, every month to consider Church affairs. ”

“ It is essentially a digger's Church, as, with one or two storekeepers, they form the whole congregation. We have now six churches altogether, of which I serve four, as they are within reach of Hokitika, but this means on Sundays a very full day, and many week-day evening services. The track to Waimea runs through the township of Stafford, much of it in the thick forest, through which a narrow wooden tram-line has been laid. ”

“ Merino and half-bred sheep accustomed to the mountains will live through several weeks under snow, kept warm by the proximity of each other, and to some extent finding a little rough pasture. If they survive they are weak, and the growth of wool is injured ”

“ Paul used meant; nothing can be plainer or stronger. He is speaking of the Christian life in terms of the contests in the arena of public sports which all Greeks were so fond of. In all those sports no competitor could enter unless he had passed the examination of certain persons appointed to test the competitor's qualifications ”