The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-07-04
ANGLICAN
PROPERTY
Bishop Willis Tells Much
About Its Tenure
Here. 10 ~,

| The following article of local interest
anent the big church row, appears in
The Diocesan Magazine the organ OF
the Anglican body:
| 1t is of DE very highest Importance
| that there should be no room for doubt
| or debate on the subject which stands
at the head of this article. If by the
constitution and charter of the Angi-
| can church the course, by which real
estate intended for the use of the
church is to be secured, is not already
clearly defined, such defect cannot be
| too speedily remedied. But If, on the
other hand, provision on this head has
| been distinctly made, this should be
clearly pointed out, so that none may
| be led to acquiesce in the infringe
ment of statutory requirements
through ignorance of our constitution
| and charter.
The Anglican church has been in the
| Islands since 1862, and for thirty-si
years no doubt was ever entertained
that no person or persons were COM
petent to hold real estate for the pur-
pose and use 'of the Anglican church
but the incorporated board of trus-
tees.
But in 1893, it was argued in a pam
phlet put out by Mr.. Osborne, and
widely circulated, that members of the
church have full liberty to appoint
their own trustees of church property.
There is no canon or bylaw" he
wrote, lin the Diocese which provides
that church property shall be vested
in the board of trustees, nor yet that
it may not be vested in any person or
persons whatever. The charter OF the
! board of trustees provides that cor
porations may in their corporate ca
pacity hold real estate and personal
estate in trust for the church, but no.
| where does it provide that they, and
they only, shall do So"
The fallacy underlying this bit of
special pleading is so obvious to any
one acquainted with the constitution of
the church, that hitherto it has SEEM
| ed to be Superfluous to point 1t out.
But as it now appears that some who
! have not made themselves acquainted
with the constitution have been de-
ceived by it, it becomes desirable and
necessary to make it clear to all who
are enjoying their church privileges
under the constitution of the Anglican
church in Hawaii. that the machinery
! by which the Diocese is governed is
not so defective as to have left the
course to be pursued in securing prop
erty to the church an open question.
| The Diocesan Synod is, according to
the constitution (section 81, "a repre-
sentative governing DOQy Tor the man
agement of the temporal affairs of the
church. 1t having been previously
stated in the preamble that 1t was de-
sirable that the members Of the Angli-
can church in Hawaii should be
united together by voluntary compact
as branch Of the said Anglican
church for the ordering of the affairs,
the management of property" etc.
| 1t must be carefully borne In mind
that the foundation of our Diocesan
synod, as of all Diocesan Synods OF the
Anglican communion throughout the
| world, rests on the report of COM
lnittee Of synods, adopted by the Lam
| beth conference of 1867. which laid
down as follows:
| I'm the organization of synodal or
der for the government of the church,
| the diocesan synod appears to be the
primary and simplest form of such Or
ganiZation.
| by the diocesan synod the Coop
Grafton of all members of the body Is
obtained in church action, and shat
! acceptance OF church rules Is secured,
which in the absence Of other law,
usage or enactment, gives to these rules
| the force of laws, binding on those
who expressly or by implication have
! consented to them"
| For this reason, wherever the
| church is not established by law, 1t is,