§ THE EARL OF POWISinquired whether any measures were now in progress for the subdivision of the diocese of New Zealand? The matter did not involve the expenditure of Imperial or Parliamentary funds, and it was desirable that no undue delay should take place.
THE EARL OF CARNARVONthought 1446 he could give his noble Friend a very satisfactory answer, and one which he would be well pleased to hear. Those arrangements which were for such a length of time desirable to have carried out in respect to various sees in New Zealand he had every reason to hope would be immediately completed. The history of the case was a simple one. The original see, as their Lordships were aware, was the see of New Zealand, over which Bishop Selwyn, whose zeal and activity it would be impossible to exaggerate, presided. When he was in England, in 1854, that right rev. Prelate brought the whole matter under the consideration of the most rev. Primate and of the Government here, and he suggested a plan, which was in a great measure agreed to. That plan was the creation of four bishoprics—namely, Wellington, Christ Church or Canterbury, and the two native bishoprics. That scheme was in part carried out in 1856. The bishopric of Christ Church was then founded. There were then, however, no other steps taken in regard to the three other bishoprics, because difficulties in the way of arrangement had arisen—first, as to the metropolitan of the colony, and others of a financial character. Consequently the whole matter hung up for the following year or so. Last year, in 1857, the matter was resumed, and the scheme by that time was in sonic respects modified. It was then proposed to blend the two native dioceses into one, and to make Nelson a separate diocese. By the present arrangement there was guaranteed £5,000 to be set aside in the case of the Wellington diocese, by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel; £3,000 was promised from the same source for Nelson; £1,000 was to be added by the Bishop of New Zealand out of his own private resources; another £1,000 was guaranteed by private individuals in New Zealand itself—therefore £5,000 would be forthcoming for each of those dioceses. The native see would be provided for by the munificence of the Church Missionary Society until other arrangements were made. That was the state of things in 1857, when difficulties of a somewhat technical nature interposed, He was, however, happy to say, that within the last month the matter had been pushed forward, and he saw no reason whatever to doubt the probability of all these sees being brought into activity in a very short period.
§ House adjourned at Half-past Six o'clock, till To-morrow, Half-past Ten o'clock.