to say nothing of the quite inadequate financial provision for the proposed See.
After much discussion, a resolution, moved by myself, and seconded by Bishop Patteson, was unanimously passed: "That whereas the General Synod is of opinion that it is better for the peace of the Church that Bishop Jenner should not take charge of the Bishopric of Dunedin, this Synod hereby requests him to withdraw his claim to that position."
Afterwards Synod proceeded to the Election of a Primate in place of Bishop Selwyn, the unanimous choice of Synod falling on the Bishop of Christchurch, H. J. C. Harper, D.D.
Then came a striking scene: the farewell of Synod, and in that, the farewell of the Church in New Zealand, to its first Bishop, George Augustus Selwyn. First, an address drawn up by Bishop Patteson on behalf of Synod, in singularly touching and effective words. It dealt on the extraordinary work accomplished by the Bishop during his Episcopate of twenty-seven years; his mission journeys by land and sea throughout New Zealand, and in the Pacific Ocean; the establishment of the Melanesian Mission work in the Islands; of the Native Church in New Zealand; the organization of Synodical government; and his great personal influence. It ended with the prayer "that the mind and spirit of its first Bishop may be stamped for all generations on the Church of New Zealand, and that the multitude of the Isles may learn in years to come the name of their first great Missionary, and may rise up and call him blessed."
The Maori address was so characteristic that I give its translation in extenso:
