The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-12-04 00:00:00

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1855

CHURCH POLITICS.

WE all know the use that has been made, and we
can all guess the uses that will be made, of the last
Census returns--doctored as they were to make it
appear, that dissent possessed a full half, if not more,
of the whole population. Even if such were indeed
the case, we see not how it could make any difference
in the course pursued by statesmen towards the
Church, if only they were accustomed to act upon
principle. But, alas ! expediency has taken the place
of principle ; and not a few of our leading men would
sell the Church's Head, as did Judas of old; much
more the Church itself, if by so doing they could
advance their own present interests, and secure a new
lease of political power. And, such being the case, it
is most desirable that the prevailing erroneous im-
pression should be corrected. Erroneous we feel
certain that it is. Setting aside the Romanists, who
are chiefly immigrants, or the descendants of such,
we do not believe that dissent possesses one-tenth of
the population. We do not claim the remaining
nine-tenths for the Church, for well we know that too
large a number are in fact nothing at all—Christians
unattached, as some one has wittily called them :
while others are practically heathens, in all but name.
But, as upon the one hand, we do not claim these
for the Church, neither upon the other will we permit
dissent to claim the half of them. Their very
existence affords an additional argument for strength-
ening the Church, and largely increasing the means
which she has at her disposal ; but none for crippling
her. For want of means she is utterly unable in
many places, in Liverpool for example, to labour among
them in such a way as to hold out any reasonable
prospect of their conversion ; and yet we are threatened
with Church-spoliation, because it has been groundlessly
asserted that half the population is given over to
dissent. However, as so many are apt to take up a
cry without particularly examining the logic of those
from whom it emanates, it becomes a matter of some

importance to show that the assertion is groundless.
And it appears that an opportunity of doing this is
about to be offered. A correspondent of the London
Guardian writes to that paper as follows :—" I am
informed that forms of queries will shortly be issued
to the 'clergy, requesting them to return the number
of baptisms that have been performed by them during
the past year, or upon an average of years. I trust
the clergy will have no hesitation in making this
return, which cannot but be of infinite advantage to
the =lie of the Church, for it is an undoubted
fact that ninety out of every hundred baptisms are
solemnised by the Clergy of the Church of England.
If, however, as a body, the clergy do not fill up this
return, it will be comparatively worthless in a statistical
point of view, and the friends of the Church in
Parliament will lose an excellent opportunity of
defending her interests." Something of this kind
Was done, we recollect, after the census of 1840, the
return required from the clergy including burials, if
not marriages, as well as baptisms. So far as the
question at issue can be decided by the number of
marriages solemnised by the Church, as compared
with that of legal unions, th,e annual returns of the
Registrar-General are amply sufficient, and show an
immense preponderance of the former : a preponder-
ance so great, that it seems incredible that any one
should ever have had the impudence to claim half the
population for dissent, or that any should have been
found sufficiently gullible to concede the claim. But,
as regards births, the Registrar's returns are worthless
for our present purpose. They merely record the fact,
that between such and such a date so many boys and
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But
giving to the religious principles of the parents.
giving us, as they do, nearly the total number of
births, the return of baptisms will enable us to
approximate to the true proportion of Church people
in the" whole population. It must not, however, be
forgotten, that the number representing the difference
between births and baptisms will have to undergo
several deductions before it can be taken to indicate
the total number of dissenters. First, a deduction
must be made for the estimated number of Romanists ;
and, secondly, for baptisms celebrated by the Church,
but not entered in her registers : and when we
recollect in how many places a fee is illegally
demanded for the registration, there is reason to
fear that this second deduction ought to be a very
large one.

The Guardian of Wednesday last contains another
letter, elicited by the one already quoted, the writer of
which heartily concurs in his predecessor's remarks ;
and he then proceeds to urge the necessity which
exists for the clergy throwing off " the political apathy
which' is slowly, but surely, surrendering the Estab-
lishment to its assailants." They might, as he justly
asserts, be one of the most powerful bodies in the
country; and that, without at all neglecting their
high and holy duties, or compromising their priestly
character. We are aware that it is a commonly re-
ceived, axiom, that the clergy should not meddle with
politics; but it is, we believe, a most mischievous one.
It has been urged by the Church's foes, for their own
purposes, while their own preachers and teachers have
notoriously pursued the very course which it condemns.
It is as if the Russians were to succeed in persuading
us that fighting is too undignified an occupation for
men of talent and education ; while, at the same time,
their own forces were abundantly supplied with the
ablest generals in the Empire. As the man who be-.
comes a priest does not cease to be a citizen, so, we
conceive, he has a full right to meddle with politics to
any extent which does not interfere with his special
duties. We do not say that he ought to do so, nor,
that it would not frequently be wiser not to do so;
but only, that be has a perfect right to do so. If,
however, as is frequently the case, the interests of
religion are involved in any measure brought before
the country, then we say, that he is bound to exert his
influence ; and that, in not doing so, he is guilty of
positive dereliction of duty. Let us look at things as
they are described by the writer last referred to :
" The Irish Bishoprics ,are gone—the Church revenues
are gathered up, ready for spoliation, by the Ecclesi-
astical Commission—the Canada Reserves are gone—
the first outworks of Oxford have been taken—the
Church-rates are all but lost—Mr. Heywood has got
his fangs fixed in the Act of Uniformity—and Dissen-
ters, both in England and Ireland, do not scruple to
avow their expectation of an early division of Church
plunder." Under such a state of things, the clergy
are bound to bestir themselves, and to strain every
nerve to avert the threatened evils. We, as Church-
men,. ask not for any privileges which are not pos-
sessed by all ; but we do demand to be continued in
the enjoyment of what is rightfully our own ; and,
above---ally-we-deniand,what at. present _we da not
possess, fair play : and we have a right to expect not
only that the clergy will direct any movement that
may be necessary for the Church's safety and welfare,
but that they will lay aside those prejudices and
jealousies which at present keep them asunder and
cause them to present so miserably divided a front to
an untiring and united foe.

FALL OP A 81L1D61.-411 occupation bridge across th
railway from Bishop Auckland to Crook, and near the Beech!
burn Station, suddenly fell in on Tuesday last.. Six farm
horses, with three men and boys, were passing along it, and
they were all precipitated to the bottom on
btout the railway.
One of the horses was killed on the spot, the others
escaped, and only one of the men was seriously injured. It
was. a wooden bridge, having metal plates along it, and had
been for some time in a tottering state, the timber, after the
fall, appearing in many places quite rotten., The lives of the
ngl-aud boys were saved owing to their' not falling through.
The mail train from Crook was detained about half an hour
until the way was cleared. The bridge was of considerable
length, and about 40 feet in height.—Newcastle Journal.