The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-01-23 00:00:00

THE ST. ALBANS CASE.

The following is a copy of the Order in Council on
the appeal of " Martin v. Machonochie " from the
Court of Aril. to the Queen in Council : The Times has the following leader on the above :--
"To tho Court at Odmrne Home, Isle of Wight, the 14th The Rev. Mr. Mackonochie's letter may, perhaps, possess
day of January, 1009. some Interest for the public who are Ily this UTme sick of
" Present —The Mlle.'s Mod Rue lie Majesty, Lord technical arguments concerning the term.; of the Articles,
Cliamellur, Lord Plesbient, Lord Chmnberlain, Mr. thischen. and of discussions as to all the comtructions that lan he
o Whereas there vras this dmr read at the Hoard a report I placed upon the iudgment M the Privy Council. It may
from the Juiticiel Committee of the Privy Council, dated the terve to throw mime light upon the peculiar mental
lint of of Dec. nsb. r, 1808. in the wor .5 follewing. viz..— tetisties M the Church party to svnich air. -M hi
ackonoce
• Whereas, in a ...Mani cause of the office of the Judge, belongs, if, indeed, he will admit that the chureh can con-
which was lately depeuoing in the Arches C dirt of Canter- tatn a party within itself, and is not a mystic., indivisible
bury, and was promoted and brought in virtue of letters of whole ; and, at all events, it put. forward a very distinct
request, under the hand and seal of the Right R-v .‘ther IndleY for the ctimmt in adoption of all Churchmen. Mr. Mac.
he
in God Archibald Campbell, by Divine permissitm Lord kimochie hm been condemned by a tribunal to which
Bishop of London by John Martin, a parishioner of the new owes suhjection for an offeece against the law of the Estate
I h
parish of St. Alban's, Holborn, lit the county of 411 idlesex, ated Church t which he belong& There is no further
o
deese of London, and province of Canterbury, against the Court of Appeal ; and the remedy which Mr. Mackenochie
n
Rev. Alexander ileriot Mackonochie, a clink in holy orders I shag-tit as the mope, one %Miler the circumstances is—first
of the United Church of Eni4lautl and Ireland, the ineum- to ahoiish the tribunal and then to divot,- the Establish.
Wei perpetual curate ol the said parish, the Runt In saying this we entirely acquit him of being In-
bent
Sir Robert, Joseph PhilHatore, KMght, Doctor of Laws, the tl ienced by persona chagrin, end we are glad to Dike the
Jiidge of the said Court, dld 01. the 2-ith day of March, laas, portunity of acknowledging that, so far as we know, he
by his Lteriocutory decree. prouccume that the proctor for has born hilmelf the mahout what has been totim a severe
the said John Madill had sufficiently proved his ititelltio,l trial with becoming temper.
deduced in the 3rd, 4th, 7th. ath ac , h, loth, mil 11th articles The burden of hi. complaint against the recent decision
given in iced admitted in the said came, mei that the Rev. id the Privy Council is that the argument upon which it is
Alexander lierbit alackoitoeltie, clerk, had offended agalimt i based cuts Churchmen off from Catholic tradition. It is
the statutes, lea s, coostitutions, anti comas of the Church ...Me true the. the declaim does not recognise the whole of
Engl•nd M the paiticular .natters alleged anti set forth , Catledie traditMn, but Its not true thM it admits none of it.
in the saltarticles in rash as here'mafter mentioned, and On the cent tiny, it in effect declared that the Ref or tMn
ma
did therefore ish the said itev. Alexander lieriot Mack- settled what a CathMi, tradition should be retained and
Hira his to abstain for the future iron the elevation id I what discarded. The result was modification, ad: ot lit
city sea paten during the administration
comuimion, m also from the use from the to Catholic or pre.Protestaut tradition. They dislike the
mixing water with the wine during the adelleiStrat lee of • hare rot taut Ceremonial. They ignore the settlement of
mid Holy Communion, as pleaded•
the sal articles, the Reformation. As, therefore, it lathe duty of our ecclesi-
the
lett del g.ve no costs; anti whereas an appeal (rem the mid , astical tribunals to eliforce that settlement, they cannot es-
deer, has be. prosecuted to your Majesty in council on , cape condemnation But this act of condemnation i- by no
Is.haff id the said John • main in so far only as the said means the only Offence •hich in the ryes of Mr. Mackin-
Ii
did not by his said dome primeence that the said I ochie has been committed by the Privy Council. He Mears
Alexander Heriot 31ackontichie had offeitiled against the , that tribunal a grudge also on account of the Gorham
Matta.- •nd the constitutions aiid canons e lesiastical judgment and of the judgment in the case of Ersays
by he
I knelt or prostrated himself before the consecrated and Re nie ter. But when he says that never
elements duriug the Prayer of COnsecrAtion, and by having accepted those judgmenta, and that if he had done •
permitted and sanctioned such kneeling or prostrating by he would have been guilty of heresy, he misrepresent.
other c erks in holy orders, auti did omit or decline to ad- the nature altogether. He assumes that they im
ll posedtht
menish him maniac so offending in future. and did omit or false or disatowed true doctnne, whereas, in fact, aa
decline t. prom unee that the said Alexander HeriM Mae- they ditl was to la decre clergymen net open to prosecution
kottochie had offended against the statute law anti the for preaching that wMch is not forbidden by the Articles.
Stilt is Bud emuil -m erm ainatical by havin g used lighted Such liberty, it appears, is abhorent to sound Churchmen.
candles on the CommiuM,n Table dming i the celebration This gives an idea of the mil of justice which woold be
a tile Holy Communion ot times when such lighted candles dispensed if the Privy Council were superseded by a tribenal
were slot wanted for the purpose of giving light, and by after air. Mackonochle's OWIII heart. Low Churchmen would
having permitted and Ballet stied such use of lighted candles, he discountenamed ; Broad Churchmen would be silenced ;
and did omit or decline to a Imonish him against so affemli g t Ritualists alone would be indulged in their rites. But, of
in future, Ind also old omit or decline to contienin the said course, Mr Mackonochie does more than take exception to
Alexander lieriot Mackonoehie In the costs incurred in the the particular decisions of the Privy Council. He denims to
Salt came on behalf of the said John Martin; an! whereas its general constitution and jurisdiction. /le stigmatizes
$ as disqualified by ignorance for the
the usual petition of appeal to your 31 kitty in Council of their Lordship
the proctors of the said John Martin stenos ref fu
erred to this nctions they have to perform. A body lairs,
committee under and by virtue of your 31ajoity. General not all n. centrally Church men, how can they be
Order in Council of the 4th day of November, 18117 and ht to decide Cnurch questions ? Well, they do not pre-
whereas an appearance has been entered in the registry of tend to the infallibility of the Pope, nor do they undertake
your majesty's Curt of Appeal.. on behalf of the said Alex- to legislate for the Church, like the ancient Conmils, no do
inder Heriet Markonochie, the respondent in the said cause they even sM up to be antiquaries versed in the history of
of appeid. Now, the Lords of the Committee having, in Church vestments, ceremonies, and doctrines. But, after
MINI mice to your Majesti's aaid Order in Council, taken the all, their duty is but a plain one--to interpret impartially
said petition into consideration, and read the proem dings the Rubric and the Articles which lie before them. For
mil evidence transmitted Dem the Cotrat below, and ou this purpose the eyes id most people professiiii al Judges
four former days heard counsel arid proctor. on both sides, will seem better qualified than oh rgymen posseasing
no
Wel having msturely deliberated, have t Ili. day agreed judicial ex perience and with all the bias of theolouical parti-
humbly to report to your alajemy their opinion favour of saes As for the Privy Council sanctioning blasphemy, as
the appeal of the said John Martin thM the decree of the Mr. Mmkonochie is pleafted to predict, we may expect that
ieurt below ought to be amended to the extent hereinafter they wM sanction it when the Rubric and Thirty-nine
menth that the principal C4lnie Might BO be retained, and articles sanction it, and not before. Mr. Mackoutichie,
with
taiein that in addition to the matters ie which the Said hi s or . tup cb. noion M the sernatural existen fth
ce oe
Alexander Heriot Slackonnehie was in the decree appealed Church, concludes hy llenying thM the Privy Council has
him oun pronced to have offended, and frtni which he Waß any spiritaM jurisdiction over him SO Bo bind him in fore
therelm monished ebstain for the future, he, the said con..entice. BM nobody ever asserted that it had.
Alesander Benet Mackunecnie ought to Int pronounced ta The Privy Council can only declive what is per-
have offended he
against the statutes, laws, constitution:, and miscible, and punish Mr. Mackonochie if lbs.
canons of the church of England by haviug within the said obeys. No tribunid, ecciesiastical or other, that We can
Ch of the new pariah of St Alban's, Holleirn, knelt or imagine could 110 any more. The second remedy which Mr.
hurc
prow rated himself before the consecrated elements during Markonochie proposes hi the abolition of the Church Estab-
the Prayer of Consecration, and also by having within the lishinent. To him and his friend. the burden has become
said church used lighted candles on the communion intolerable. By the prohibition of lights on the altar and
Holy Communion, genuflections before the altar, they are now compelled to
table during the celebration of the H
at times when such lighted candles were not perform the service of Holy COMMOIIIOII in a way which to
e anted for the of givitig ant thM the them is most unreal. They long to be delivered from the
purpose
sai,l Alexander If eriot Si ackonochie might to be admonished scandahms company immmed upt in them of pentium who hold
to alotain for the future from kneeling tr In him- defectiv views of baptismal regeneration, of sceptical
self befire the consecrated elenienta dui ing the Prayer of Essayiste s and Reviewers, arious heretics from Bishops
Censccration, and also from ming in the said church lighted dowtiwartia They deeire thof ev c'ergy, for their own sake and
Cahill. 011 the communion table duling the celebratii nof for the sake of the laity, to be free from the temptations to
the Holy Communion at times when such lighted candles worldly gain and ambition. So far Mr. 3lackonochie
are not wanted for the purpose of giving light ; and further, intelligible enough. These considerations, whatever else we
tied he, I' Alexarnicr Herta alackonochie, ought to may think of them, are practicaL They include Penne tenets
etmdemned In the costs incurred on behalf of thesaid which he would find the Liberation Society held in mmmon ,
Jiihn Martin, as well in the Court below as in the said with himself. But then Mr. alackonochie is careful to I
' tell as that these do not constitute the chief objection
appeal. I
" tier Majesty having taken the said report in considers- to Establishment.. The evils ahove described, aggra-
nd with the advice 01 her Privy Council sating as they are to the Church, are, in fact, in
thin, was pleased by a
to approve thereof and of what is therein recommended, and the nature oi a punishment. The Church ought never to
ordered, that the same tie duly and have been
.estahlmhed at all.
.An Establishment Is an
to order, as it is hereby or
penctually observed, compiled with, and carried into execu- abiding spit:du:ll fence. The union of Church and State is I
thin. Whereof all persons whoni it may concern are to take terrible spiritual adultery. It is curious to observe the
process by which he arrives at this singuler result, in the I
notice and govern themselves accordingly.
first plaee he appareittly cannot understand, or he refuses to
see, what is an I:stablisliment of a Chui oh by iaw, such as is
familiar to us all. The ordinary incidents if an Establish-
. ment are that the State portions out the entire kingdom for
ecclesiaatical purposes into dioceses and parishea ; that it •
sets up an ecclesiaatical hierarchy, investiug the members I
with fixed ilutbs of a determinate straw. ; that it provides ,
endowments in the right to perception of tithes and other
advantages, regulates the tenure of benefices, authoriees the
bratitutMn ef Ecclesiastical court. with compulsory juris-
diction fur the maintenance of doctrine and discipline,
and in varioua ways makes provisions for the spi-
ritual comforts of the people. All these are consider-
ations too simple, too common-place, too matter-of-fact
for Mr. Mackonochie to take into his account. No. the
State, when it estahlishes the Church, marries the Church.
Union of Church and State is marriage of Church and state
—nothing less and nothing more. Of this proposition Mn,
Mackonochie offers no explanation. But we must take it
for granted In iruler to follow his argument. His second
point is that the Cloirch is the spouse of Christ. That the
Chureh was founded by Chriet, is supported by Christ, I
preaches Christ. may he true, but this is not sufficient for '
the purpose of Mr Mmkineichie. Nothing sill satisfy hint
but to adept in a natural or, shall we say, a hideously non •
nateral sense the figurative words of Scripture that the
Church is 'the spouse of Christ."
We are now in a position to understand the strange logical
dilemma put foreard by Mn. alackonochle. The State Bays
he is either imbell-ving or believing. It were trmst, he
thinks, to say unbelieving, for iusu, one wishes to imp se
upon the ruling 00111 ea in the English State, except mon the
Crown, the name if Christian "—that is, liecause we tie not
ezmutle Roman Catholics, or Bonbon forminte, or Jews from
our Houses of Parliament, we are an unite ieving people.
If he continues, the State be unbelieving, the very idea of
the stnte marrying the spouse of ('heist is an offence to the
dullest Spiritual Meth.. If, en the other hand, the state
bm belbodug, the acme Is stilt worms ; it Is not sdultsey,

"ARTHUR BUM"

lien. A. H. Maekonochie on the Judynnene of the Privy
Counti/.

The Rev A. H. Mackonochie, in explanation of his
rcfunal to comply with the judgment of the Privy
Council, has sent the following letter to the Papers
fiir publication : -

There is great danger lest, while thinking of the particular
*ming of the present report of the Judicial Committee of the
Privy Council, we loge sight of the great prim.iples which
are involved in it, and the line of action'which I venture to
think, is necessitated by It. 11. the Mgt point there must
be • great diversity of feeling. Some men in the church of
England, of thoroughly catholic mind as to doctrine, posi-
tively dislike all expression of doctrine by way of ceremonial;
others agree with us entirely as to the principle of cere-
monial, but have never become used to it, at least in the
form of altar lights Neither of these can be agsrieved by
the actual finding of the court in the game way as we are,
thoimi, all of them must he outraged by the injustice done.
I am not going to examine the judgment ; but to notice one
point on the face ot it, which might to draw all cathelics ,
together. It is the one to which reference has liven no iiften •
male, namely, the marked and deliberate way in which the
argument s which the decision is based, cute us off as far
as the act of a mere civil court can do no, from catholic tra-
dition Now this catholic tradition is the thing, and the
only thing, on which the church of England protegeen to
stand. It has her oim der, rice tor the Reformation. A most
ample defence it is; but then, here comes the Privy Council
with /I bold assumption of the very pposite. What are we
loft,? We hare been talking a long time; what are we DOW
trk do?

‘rVII, !WM t. 4114.16 ill( ase- ? ,r% e Ire I.Ule that we bole the
"Wawa" au% we bore ibe "low sad Bewley" CONN

but incest. For the Church, being the spouse of Christ, and
the Christian State being a end •I the Church, whereof "each
individual is begotten again of God in Christ Jesus," the
union of Church and State is an unhallowed union of mother
and son. With a person who deliberately puts forward
notions like these we scarcely know how to deal. Statement
of fact and argument are thrown away. Mr. Niackonochie
evidently lives in a world of fantusy, putting worthi for
things, the form for the substance, the figure for the thing
signified, and enveloping all his ideas in all incense cloud of
sentiment. His whole denunciation of E. B tablishment is •
wonderful commentary upon Ritualism.