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A thinly veiled scrap was going on between the Cathedral Body and the bishop in late 1927. Flying between them were topics as varied as the management of St John’s itself to the use of ‘at home’ cards. The issues at stake represented, on one hand, the guardianship of colonial distinctions which ultimately had nowhere to go but never quite went away and, on the other, the promotion of corporate and diocesan responsibility which had much of the future to address but never triumphed entirely. Bishop Duppuy, on leave in England, had completed the recruitment of the Reverend Alfred Swann, Vicar of Liversedge in the Diocese of Wakefield. From his home in Harrogate, on 17 September, the bishop announced the appointment to the Victoria Diocesan Association, the foundation of which had been one of his first initiatives as Bishop of Victoria. He told them, ‘After consultation with the Archbishop of Canterbury and others, I have decided that the Senior Chaplain of the cathedral shall have the title of Dean.’ He pointed out that the title ‘dean’ was given at Holy Trinity, Shanghai. In Singapore, the clergyman was an archdeacon and in Cairo a ‘subdean ’. He went on, ‘I am also asking Mr. Swann to be Archdeacon for English work in the diocese. Other diocesan arrangements, I hope to make on my return.’1 He had written too about how much he would miss Mr. CopleyMoyle , who would have gone by his return. On a personal level, that was doubtless sincere, but there is every sign that the chaplain’s departure was what the bishop needed for a clean sweep in the cathedral . The Church Body did not exactly share his perspective. On 6 December 1927, they went on record saying that the bishop should have consulted them on the naming and status of a dean and archdeacon . They also noted that it was too late. He had publicised it. Chapter 5 The Making of a Cathedral, 1927–1941 140 Imperial to International Nevertheless, they set about a rearguard action. Swann would have to be inducted as a ‘chaplain’ not a ‘dean’, to be in accordance with the ordinance. In their traditional anxiety over anything that might divert the chaplain from his cathedral duties to them, the Church Body objected to the description of the dean having ‘oversight of English work in the diocese’. Duppuy, realising probably that something would have to give and that the vision he had for the office would not suffer from the loss of this loose description, agreed to withdraw it.2 Annoyance was not quite done with. By 19 December, the Church Body had entered into an argument with the bishop over the reception arrangements for the new dean. It would not be privately catered for in the Helena May Institute, as the bishop had suggested. It would be held in the cathedral hall, organised by the Women’s Guild, and no cards were needed. To rub it in a little, His Excellency the Governor would be informed of the changes. Duppuy returned on 6 January 1928 with Alfred Swann, his wife and their two children, Timothy, aged 3, and Julia, aged 3 months. He counterattacked with a printed statement. St John’s was the mother church of the diocese and the title ‘dean’ more accurately described this role. He quoted from Cathedrals Commission of the Church Assembly in support of this view.3 He explained that the dean was to be an archdeacon because the bishop needed a chief lieutenant. ‘This is not primarily to provide me with relief,’ explained Duppuy. It was to give the chief clergyman of the cathedral an appropriate stature with which to deputise for the bishop. It was all part of giving a strong lead from the centre and promoting ‘general efficiency and the corporate spirit’. Dean Swann could adequately fill both roles, which would not be distorted by responsibility for Canton. In harness with Swann’s appointment as Archdeacon of Hong Kong, the bishop had announced the appointment of the Reverend Mok Shau Tsang as Archdeacon of Canton, an office which had fallen silent since the departure of the last occupant, John Gray. Mok could manage Canton and the Chinese church. Swann, who had more experience of the wider world, could handle English affairs from Hong Kong. Duppuy’s vision for a cathedral was clear and encompassing. It should be a busy centre of the diocese. It was the convector of the wider church and world, and...

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