The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1867-06-25 00:00:00

Corrtgypnbtlltt.

IMPBSIENTATION k MIS-REPRIMINTATION
re the Mitten

lit the article which appeared in Your lan PaPer
reenacting " Coovocation and the questions Agitating
the 4 hunk.' yisu have called Public attention to • vary
important subject. The liberties of the tuition, civil
and religions, are new threatened as they have not
been since the days a/Charles I. and Archbishop Land.
" Convocation," however contemptible in itself, aboard
in its proceedings, and ludicrous in the eyes of non-
conformists. is • powerful engine in the hands of the
skilful diplomatisti who now manipulate it to Nerve
their own ends. It ;oust be so whilst its sots and
decisions have such an Mumma on the Government as
they are now allowed to have. It no more represents
the Chun% then • grinning skeleton, with but ono arm
bone and no tip, represents • living man. But even
each • bugbear may be of toe bathose who hold it up,
in frightening sonie 1101,0,411 people, and amusing ethers,
whilst the crafty promoters of it are carrying forward
their designs with rumen. You have well pointed out
that it has been one of the instruments employed to
set aside Lord fikaftesbury's sensible and straight-
forward Bill, and that it has succeeded in so moulding
the Royal Commission that the very evils that it was in-
tended to remedy will probably be confirmed and
greatly increased. We may expect that the affairs of
the Church will be mismanaged so longue the Church is
misrepresented. If there were no pretence Of repre-
sentation the case would be much less grievous. But
that parties affecting to represent our intereets (and
accepted by the Government, without our consent, as
doing so, whilst they are all the time undermining the
Church of England,) should be encouraged in their
endeavour to bring the nation Mtn bondage to a new
system of Anglo-tholitim is most vexatious and
irritatins as well as dangerous. The Totes lays that
those schemes will not succeed, because the prettiest of
the Ritualist. ere distasteful to the people of England.
But who can judge what the popue will do when
cleverly led! The war with Austria was most distaste-
ful to the Prussianpeople, but we all know how heartily
they prosecuted it when owe in it. Ills an alarming
fact, if true, that "there are already more Roman
Catholic. in London than there see in Rome." Ritualitte
and other Anglo4ntholics certainly increase and mul-
tiply. Their strength may in some degree be estimated
' by the money they !Tend in building and decorat-
mg churches, keeping up expensive choir!, and
bnnging new plans into operation for increasing the
power of the Bishops, sad, if possible, their numbers
also. You justly observe that "every day sees so-ne
new plan devised for increasing episcopal power." To
those plans which you have enumerated you might have
added • most unlikely one, namely, that Convocation
actually volunteers to reform itself: One of the Lot
discussions in Convocation was on the subject of
Reform, but it wishes to bring about the Reform with-
out the intervention of Parliament. It sokno.ledges
that it needs Reform, and would submit to it, pro-
vided that the Royal assent be granted for its reforming
itself without the consent of Parliament And, when
they are rendered by Royal assent independent of Par-
liament, we may easily foretell the nature of the reform.
But this side wind attempt to be acknowledged inde-
pendent of Parliament by Royal assent is just charac-
teristic of the craft and activity of the Anglo-Catholics ;
and what is the true Church doing to counteract all
this activity The Noorsonformista content themselves
with making Convocation • laughing stock; or, think.
ing that these things affect only the Established
Church, they leave them to take their own course.
imagining that they are not much concerned in them.
The Rvangellcal clergy content themselves with forming
Church Associations, without any definite s''
object, which, of course,
oppoz,-.g.'-... •of them
say that .ey Or error is to preach the
tbSaWdo preach it in such • manner that they
...Pot to be in a terrible fright lest their preaching should
lead to a corresponding pr.otios. The laity of Dorset,
you tell us, are 'ride awake now, and must keep their
eyes open. Bo they are and so they do, much as the
Austilais did when they saw the Passions coming, just
to see which way they can run as loon as they have
made • feint of resirtanos. If the laity are as determined
not to be trifled with as you tell us they are, the Church
Associations will supply forms of petition against the
Royal commission ea at present constituted, and they
will be signed and presented to her Majesty in multi-
tudes sufßcient to bury Convocation. I aro no advocate
for the intimidation system of Bright, Reales, and Co.,
but certainly the Government cannot help people who
do not tell them what they want. The petitions to
Parlianient in favour of Lord Rhaftaibury's Bill were
very successful; and petitions now presented, praying
that it may be allowed to proceed, intiesd of the
Ritualistic commission, may be still more effectual.
Let the Dorchester Church Association initiate some
such or some better movement in this county. Some.
thing ought to be done without further delay, for, in
the words of one of your contemporaries." The peril
must not be underrated. The Government is betraying
the truth. Civil and religions liberty axe inseparably
bound up with the maintenance of Protestantism.
They stand or fall together. Union with all true men,
true to their God, and Christian agitation throughout
the length and breadth of the land, are what we need."
If you think that these remarks are likely to be useful
in stirring up any of the laity or Evangelical clew/ to
effective activity you will obi* me by inserting them
in your next issue.
June 19, 1867. NETS! PIIII
P.B.—lf you, or any of your correspondents, will
oblige your readers with • °oscine account of Convoca-
tion, informing us of its origin-- explaining the way in
which it is immoral to represent the Church—how its
members are elected what deference is expected to its
decrees—why it was practically suppressed—how it is
that it has not been prorogued as soon as summoned
during the last few years at it used to he—and how the
expense attending it is paid, many of us will thank
you. Also, if you can give us an abstract of the Rill which
Passed the Lords and Commons in the days of King
William for so enlarging the platform of the Church of
England as to include once more the orthodox Dis-
senters, we shall feel obliged.
- - • •

[We- understand that-tbe Church Association and
the Lay Association a.e only waiting until the sishop
of Salisbury publishes his change, as he promised he
would speedily do when it was delivered, but which,
for reasons boat known to himself, be has hitherto
refrained from carrying oat —ED.]

To rlie Editor.

Will you kindly .flow me (through the medium of
your valuable paper) to direct attention to that
abominable system at fish poaching, which is so fre-
quently curried on in the Fordington meadows,
especially oa Sundays during the hours of Divine
service, by curtain idle fellows, and to ask, why do the
Fordington farmers allow their Imes to be trampled
down by these idlers, and this system of dishonesty
Instead of protecting the near Frome and its
grZeteti
from being Illegally robbed of it. fish! Why
they don't unite topther and enforce the Salmon
Fishery Act? •nd have the police force no power of
preventing this state of thin,!
Dorchester, June 24, 1367. FAIR PLAY.