The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1867-10-01 00:00:00

ecclesiastical latclligence.

THE DIOCESAN HEROItI AL TO THE
ARCHBISHOP OF CAN TERBURY.
We do not know of any class of men who are more
truly to be pitied thane large number of the country
o ergy in this diocese at the present moment.
Entering the ministry as a profession, because it
was so arranged by their parents, they found them•
selves at the great end of their hopes and purposes
when they became the poeneasors for life of • •ioarage
or rectory. Thenceforth their whole object was
" to keep things pleasant," by doing as little real
ministerial work as possible; their highest happiness
to dine with the nearest squire, anti if they got for
their daughter a ticket to the county ball, and for
their son • commission in the army, or • nomination
to • public school, they consider that they bays
"served their generation" well, and may now take
things easy. They have haJ few things to annoy
them ; • mole in the garden, a rat in the henroost,
Nonoinformirs circulating tracts in the parish, these
are their greatest troubles, especially the last. It is
true that they can do nothing with those farmers;
and they can't get the labourers to church, beyond the
reach of soup and sacramental alms; while that
wretched illiterate Nonconformist can always get •
house fall to hear him ; bot then it is not their
fault, have not they restored the church? have not
they trained the choir? And did not the bishop
when he came to the opening of the new organ, or
christening the new bell, or some other equally im-
portant event, hold them up to all the country
round as models of earneetoess, and devotion, and
loyalty to the church, and as always ready to every
good work? Anil so they have managed to get on
pretty well, avoiding the great object of their
abhorrence, namely, thinking about any one important
religious question and doctrine. Regularly have
they attended every visitation whether of
bishop or archdeacon. When there to:eel to be sermon',
they heroically sat through dons ; when the sacra-
ment of the Lord's Supper was added, they were not
offended at it; were they absent from the inevit-
able dinner, and when they had opportunity
did they fail to drink "his lordship's" health, with
thanks for his Charge. All this was tedious enough.
but as they had nothing elm to do, it helped to get
through one day at least, and there was no sub-
sequent remotes; no anxiety for the morrow. Oh,
happy days of ignorance, and stupidity, and in-
difference! But what must them men do now?
Not only has the bishop delivered • Charge,
irresistible from its length and dullness, but (*dein
clergymen have drawn up • protest against it; and
worse still, have sent it to those reverend individuals
with a polite request to them to sign their names to
it, if they approve of it. What must they do? Why
burn it, of comer But look here! Worse and worse!
There are churchwardens' names attached, and it is
sent to all the churchwardens. What will become
of the church if them lay fellows begin to criticise •
bishop's charge? Why they will begin to find fault
with those excellent discourses, which we have been
preaching to them for the last twenty years, and
which were warranted sound when we bought them.
But it won't do to burn it, for fear Mr. Church-
warden should ask Mr. Parson some awkward
question about it. So our poor old friend takes
down first the Charge, and than the Protest,
and with the determination of • Stoic, and the
feelings of • Martyr, sets to work to see what
it is all about. As for the Charge, besides that
it professes to be written by a bishop; he feels it
must be very learned, it has such lots of Latin and
Greek in it ; and for the life of him be cannot make
out what it means. What is "affirmed" and
"witnessed" in one page, seems to be contradicted in
another, and so, as be cannot make out much from
the Charge, he tries the protest : and here he is
perfectly horrified. Why these clergymen and
churchwardens are absolutely arraigning their bishop
before the archbishop; they seem to be accusing him
of false doctrine. What dreadful disloyalty I And
so he lays down both with an earnest hope that be
shall never have to undergo such • task again, and
relieves his miod by selecting for his next Sunday's
performance that famous old Sermon against ell
kinds of Dissent.
Of course, neither the church nor country expel*
anything from such individuals. It is, however,
• matter of sincere congratulation to all true church-
men that there have been found ninety-two clergy-
men to attach their names to that most important
document. It is equally important that more than
two hundred ohnrchwardens have done the same.
Without any pretenoe to learning, with • careful
avoidance of all rhetorical flourish, the memorial
lays bare the bishop's sophistries, and plums side
by side with them the plain teaching of our church.
We have evidence from every part of England of
the thankfulness with which this protest has been
received, coming as it does from that diocese where
the most open aggression upon our Protestant faith
has been made. Ninety-two clew may seem •
small number out of six hundred, but we most
remember that no one would sign that paper who
did not value the truth above episcopal favour, and
this at once excludes a large number of men, who,
whatever they may profess to believe, only believe
in reality in the bishop. We miss some names
there, which we should have looked for, but these
are days of trimming and truckling. We can but
resell throe names with shams and regret. We see
some which we did not expect to see • men whom
position makes it doubly difficult for Ism to cotes
out and declare themselves at such • time. All
honour to them ! and may their example, as we
believe it will, lead many to avail themselves of the
next opportunity of declaring " whose they are
and whom they serve." The church will attach
more importance to that expression of feeling on the
part of ninety-two honest clergymen and two
hundred honest laymen, than to any opinion
expressed by this Pan-Anglican exhibition in
London. But let us ask the question. If those
episcopal gentlemen bad the power to discuss any
important question, would not the very first be,
how shall we stop clergymen from exposing digit
bishop's unfaithfulness and heresy? We may be
thankful therefore that they are muzzled; they cannot
bite, and dare not bark, bet we commend to their
lordship's consideration the Sarum Memorial. We
wish they would help His Gram of Canterbury to
concoct an answer to it, and tell us what right •
bishop has to hold his positton in • Protestant
Reformed Church when he repudiates her protest,
and bates her Reformation?
But if the effect of this well-timed document is
salutary outride the diocese, its tendency within will
also be most ttrefuL It will serve to allay that feel-
ing of jealous suspicion that was arising against the
clergy, as if they bad separate interests from the
laity, and were animated by a selfish desire to raise
themselves upon the necks of their lay brethren.
They will now me that there are men among the
clergy who will place themselves in the gap; who,
while taking up the position of danger, look with
confidence to the laity to support and defend them.
It is by this mutual confidance that we can alone
hope to maintain our position. We would have our
friends look over that goodly list of names, and get
it by heart, and not trust one single man whose name
does not appear there. Endless are the excuses
that have been made for withholding names; the
reason is but one, unfaithfulness. Let them make
what profession they please, the laymen of Dorset
and Wilts have shown their readiness to contend for
the good old faith, and unless the clergy will go with
them they will find themselves "out of the hunt"
I t is singular at the present time to see how A merles and
England are brought together in mischief. America
mends us Poulain; England sends America Ritualists.
While our bishops are exhibiting their utter went of
wisdom and discretion by bringing themselves pro-
minently before public, notice at • time when their
utter incompetence and uselessness is in every man's
mouth, and while some American bishops hays been
deluded into playing • part in the farm, the greater
number of bishops in America have drawn up a plain
and practical protest against ritualism, which con-
trasts wonderfully well with the pompous sheurditim
of Sarum, or the plausible sophistries of Oxon. Here
le one clause of this document
" We consider that in this particular national Church
any attempt to introduce into the public worship of
Almighty God usages that have never been known,
such as the use of incense and the burning of lights in
the order of the Holy Communion, reverences to the
Holy Table, or to the elements thereon, such as indicate
or imply that the sacrifice of our Divine Lord and
Saviour "once offered" was not a full, perfect, and
sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction, for the sins
of the whole world, the adoption of clerical habits
hitherto unknown, or material alterations of those
which have been in use since the establishment of our
episcopate. is an innovation which violates the discipline
of the Church, offendeth against its common order, and
purteth the authority of the magistrate, and
woundeth the conscience of the weak brethren."
That Declaration ia signed by thirty out of forty-
three Bishops of the American church, but among
them we look in vain for the individual who made
such an exhibition of himself at Salisbury. The
fact is the men who have come over to this Pan•
Anglican Synod are • miserable minority in their
own country, and are come over here to join in an
Ecclesiastical conspiracy against the liberties of the
Protestant Episcopal church. Let us then not
suppose that the work is done. The memorial to
be efficient must be followed up by consistent action.
For our own part we feel that before Parliament
meets
again Shaftesbury's hands should be
strengthened by public meetings at Dorchester and
Salisbury; that petitions should be ready to lay on
the table at once, that the possibility of delay may
be precluded. Nothing will be done beyond whet
is wrung from the legislation by external
What little good there is in tb• Report of CT:-
mission is there in spite of the majority of the
Commissioners. What legislative steps are taken
is consequence of that report, will be taken in direct
opposition to themajority of the Ootnmiesioners. We
must place no oonedenos in the prolusions or pretax:es
of men who are in heart dissatisfied with • Protestant
church. And as we said before, if Bishops and
clergy will not help us, they will find we can do it
without them. Meanwhile let us remember that
however the attention of the English church and
people has been of late direeted to our Dims's, this
noble protest has drawn their eyes to us more
closely. We have published our manifesto. Clergy
and laymen cannot now flinch or drawback. We
have publicly celfect the attention of the highest

Ecclesiastical official to oar position : whether be
helps us or not, we have done .or doty, and his
Grace will not feel slighted if next time we go
straight to the House of Commons. And then
perhaps the question may be raised ; if bishops
min throw their diocese into confusion widths Aid..
bishops cannot help it, is it worth the chnrch's
while to keep such expeniive officials only to
display their finery, and waste thtir time at Pan.
Anglican performances, which are without autlarrity
or license, powerless for good, and ridiculous in
affvotatitu and self-invortanos ?