The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1877-11-06 00:00:00

BALIiBLTRY DIOCESAN SYNOD.
To du Editor.

noblys's letter is a very ingenious attempt
to turn the edge of the facts and arguments by which
ti the isatisfaction of sine of his own personal friends.,
I proved the independence ,f the Dbeesan Synosi I
mainain that my argumenf, from the liability of
Parliament t, have its proceedings 'topped by the
royal p iwer of die; ,Intlon, is substantially
That power may he interpose-a at any moment, before
discussion aa well as after diecussion, if Parliament
enters on an immoral or isuconstiviti .nal ernes,
Extreme cases demand an extreme remedy, but it is
highly improbable that they should occur either in
Parliament or in Diocesan Svn.els. I have never said
that the conetitution of Syn.mls is in o(/ respell
parallel to that of Parliament, but the freedom of
debate in both is real and practical. It is liberty as
distinguished from license, although in both it is
subject to wholesome restrictions. Some opponents
of our Synod write as if they were inem'enn of a
Presbyterian and not of an Episcopal Chum th, and
resent as an intolerable grievance a claim on tie part
of the Diocesan to exercise a greater authority than is
possessed by any individual clergyman. They forget
that the Episcopal office has a distinct and a lditional
sanction from Holy Writ, and it is not seemly for
them to assume that the wanton exercise of their
authority in an arbitrary manner is the rule instead
of the exception, on the part of our ecclesiastical
rulers. I feel sure that lam not expressing my own
opinion merely, but that of the members of the Synod
generally, when I affirm that our experience of
Epiecopal rules is the very opposite of what Mr.
Hobbs supposes to be the case. lie thinks that the
Synod " only exists in a state of bondage,- and that
we are "ringing to existence at the expense of
freedom." In what respect he and the few who think
with him are more free than we are I am unable t.
conceive. Throughout his letter he sets thcorics and
sappusitioas in opieeition tufa...fa. Facts are not in
this way to be overthrown, they are matters of
experience, and we are not vi be persuaded out of them
by the suppositions and ihturitx of those who have not
hail the actual experience which we have had. Some
of the statements of my worthy friend remind me of a
passage which I read long ago in Boswell's life of
Johnson. They were discussing the rptestion whether
man was a free agent, or only a machine acted on by
external forces, s dna plausible arguments were
advanced for the latter opinion: but Johns ais good
sense cut the matter short by saying " Sir, we Limes we
orr.fect, and there's an end of it" As ti the "agenda
paper" which prescribes the things to be discussed in
the Synod. I would remind Mr. Hobbs that not the
Bishop only, lint the Organising Committee also
claims and exercises the right of rejecting any subjects
which they think unfit to be discussed. I can only say
that we feel greatly indebted both to the Bishop and
to the Committee for saving us from the wearisome
and unprofitable discussion of individual crotchets and
other irrelevant and uselessonestions, which might be
introduced to the loss of mar time and the trial of our
tempers. I would heartily concur with our ..o.p meats
in watching over the rights and independence both of
the clergy and the laity, but I hope they will excuse
my wiring, that if they who etand aloof and imagine
. all sorts of dreadful things, will but give credit to
their diocesan for a desire to act with the same good
feeling, moderation and respect for the rights and
libertaes of others by which Owl (our opponents) claim
to be actuated, their crotchet., would vanish into their
air. Differences of opinion on public matters are
inevitable, and it is painful when we find ourselves in
confliet with those whom we highly esteem as I do
Mr. Hobbs. I. nectssardis sititas, is dahics libertus, is
: ontaihr,s moss. This is my la-t letter.
Yours very truly,
REGINALD SMITH.
P.S.—Strictly speaking, the prerogative of the
crown could not be Lunited to the extreme cases to which
I have referred. It may be exercised at any time or
circumstances, the ministers of course being
responsible for the advice they give to the sovereign.
Vilma is wanted in the Synod is not theoretical, but
practical freedom. That we have, as ham been pros', '1
by six years experience. If at a future time it should
be seriously interfered with, we should simply retire
and the Synod would come to an end. Solritur
ambula ado.

Satiou Liu AT SEA. —Some interest. Kg experiments
took place on Friday, at Shoeburynest, before Captain
Prowse, the inspect or of life.saving apparatus to the
Board of Trade, for the purpose of testing the merits and
capabilities of a newly-invented rocket and stand recently
patented by Mr. J. Singleton Hooper. The objections to
the rocket in use are many, and the merits and improve-
ments claimed by the inventor are great. From first to
last the experiments went off without a hitch of any kind
occurring, and were, upon the whole, cmsidered highly
successful.

BARQUE ABANDONED AND RECOTIRED. —The screw
steamer Spartan, of Rotterdam for Bilboa, on Thursday
anchored off the Harbour and sent on shore the captain
and 14 crew of the French barque Colbert, of and from
Havre for Buenos Ayres, which had been abandoned at
sea, on the previous day. The harque had on hoard &XI
tons of general cargo, and on Wednesday last Havre, and
experienced very bad weather. Next morning three feet
of water was reported in her, and this in :reseed fast, so
that when it amounted to ten feet, by report, the captain
determined to ahan In her, and they left about II o'clock,
between Bartley, and the Isle of Wight. The Spartan
afterwards picked them up, and tried to take the French-
man in tow ; hut she .eeine I waterlogged, two hawsers
were broken, and the at;empt was ab sndoned. lhe
C.lhert was afterwards picked up at sea, and towed back
to Havre, on Friday morning. The captain had gone to
Havre, before, so that he would he greeted by the sight of
his ship,
COASTGUARDSMAN RESCUING A MA RINE. —JAMES
Man', a coastguardsman, about a quarter to twelve on
Sunday night, was on watch near the depot, when he
heard a shout from the other side of the water, took
tnteigont and pulled across just in Time to find a
nearly drowned, near the entrance to the Pile
Pier and just inside the bow of the Commodore steam-
tug. The man was needy toms, but he was got into