The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1875-11-30 00:00:00

gorresponbmet.

CHURCII AND DISSENT.
To the Edit9r.

Fearing lest tbetrite but pertinent saying "gleam gives
ootiment" should lie applied to the 831,661..40( Dorchester,
I, as their minister. feel hound to request a small space in
your valualde paper to answer an aspersion cast at them.
In a letter which appeared in the Dorset Expres* last
Monday., headed " The toleration of Independency " and
signed ' Churchman." I read to tuy astonishment and
verat that " the Baptists of Dorcheter were a half
banditti of members. not two agreeing in one common
sentiment," I will allow the first statement is the truth,
but to the second I give a distinct ant emphatic denial,
and at the sane time I would courteously !suggest that the
gentleman " Churchman "at 1.1 be more careful for the
future to write (Acta and not fancies, especially when his
fancies impugn unjustly the character of some of the most
devoted awl consistent Christians in Dorchester.
.1. IiAIIiAINGTON, Baptist udnister, Dorchester.
Nov. iNth,

_
tAn answer to " Churchman" by the Rev. T. Neave
arrived too late for insertion Linear next issue.—En.)

OUGHT WZ TO STRIP THE STATE CHURCH,

To the Editor.

As an Independeut, awl not a Liberationist, a Dissenter
who does not attack the listshlished Church's property
gets the usual fate of -monhatoiLi—jealousy trout I.th
parties. constant atten,pts Li draw luau fr.eit his neutrality,
And often impertinent qteers at 'ii hat is said to he his bat-
like form. Out let me a. a 0 0r...0. Ifie.cnter (nen the
Episcopal chureh, W 110 t1i.104 not even 11.71.1tpt her Ifitb
Artiele, oil partially quoted lay Mr. Itolton, protest. against
our being for cal into. belligerent camp, on the .plestion
of Prelaey'e tempera! endowment. The Revs. J. Ihemor,
Stack, Williams in, awl Tid.well, by their persistent use
of the term "Church" as applied to the Episcopal Church
of this country, sewn to ch for it the monopoly of the
title as the Chlrel. if Hilo who loved it anal gave Himself
for it. Independents may fairly protest agastist this; the
English Churchmen, by their own shoe ing, can he Wit a
portion of the Clinrch of Our Lord, of the churenes of
Jerusalem. Alexaw I ria, Antioch. Rome, the seven churches
of Asia, the churches 14 Germany, Seandinavia, Rued's,
And Awerica, in fact all the other churches of the Earth,
mu-t he entahle the church of Christ—a projeeitien
nsouctroue as to be almtird. The Church of England then
can be but a part of the church of Christ. and I prota,t
against the confusion of terms, the only result of which
could be to mislead, The Church of England, as is
not even integrally a part of the church of Christ, for she
has contained within her pale those whom lives showed
them to have been false to their baptismal vow.,
1111v1 false to their Lord, men who have died false,
/tad who therefore were not, according to he, word; '
Wilted with Him. Nor doer the Church of Eugland
teach the whole truth, awl nothing but the truth,
or there could not be necessity for constantly-differing
stateineuts as to what she does teach; she could not
heartily and effectually, ao she aloe., include tlewe who
wrestle with awl contradict each other. For, be it
rentemberml, the Church of England is a visible, material
corporation ; and this is go far distinct from the Church of
Christ, which is a partly invisible and spiritual Isidy.
Thu-, without opening the deleateable point.' of difference
betw wen Episcopacy and Diewnt, it may be seen that this
writer does not ....sent to all in the sermons which com-
menced the late attack. Rut Mr. Ness* aeeks to rouse
us to ettack on the special privileges awl property of the
Established Church. awl goes hack to the time of the
Saxon kings to prove that these things were given hy Act
of Parliament One rano it ar,itie that a title hundreds of
years old to property, is not good at the present time.
Lamm of less than :Jell think 20 fears I. often held to do
for the occupier who has paid no renti as much at actual
purchase; show that a matt has held a. vereely (has paid no
rent or acknowledgement) for that time, and any other
title must be very clearly proved, or the property is his.
But in the case of the Church of Enakeel, the title has
been frequently reviewed and distinctly coufinual, awl it
now rests upon the same foundation as that of thc 'aflame(
the nobles, the old landswenera of the country—on grants
by the Sovereign, by the Legislature, hg private gifts, and
al.l, on purchase anal sale. The Crowe and the Legislature
have taken away part of the property at times and granted
it at others, as the Crown and the Legislature have taken
their estates sissy f peers and other 611 l1-0M11.1• and
granted them to others, er retained them ; tut
these have been acts of force, or punishments for
grime.. Whether we regard the seizures lay Henry VIII,
for instance, as sheer acts of violence, or as punishment
for the crimes of the "religious' teacher.a and establish-
Wan lA, they were justified on exactly the mine ground as
wen, the impoverishment of formerly land-holding
families. Has. then, the Church of England Leen guilty
of such crimea as would justify such punishment in our
days, Or are we justified in recuimuending acts of pure
force I The latter I suppose Mr. Neave would not main.
Wan fairs moineut If he did, then, by the same rule let
hilt...advocate the disestablishinent and disettdowment of
. . .

Land owners whose families retain their estates by in-
heritance. That time may conic when we or our posterity
declare that inheritance is no title, but that all property
belongs to the State for division amongst individuals,
according to wants or deserta. But it would be cowardly
to adopt that principle now towards what we think may
be an interest less strong than that of other estate hohlers,
audit is irreligious to enlist as our allies the prejudices of
those who hate all relicion. Ilas, then, the Church of
England —taken. as I believe her to be, as a temporal col.-
peration. or as her members may believe her to Ire. as •
spiritual body —committed such crimes as to warrant her
being 'gripped of the property she has had m long and
desire. to keen In England every one is held innocent
till found guilty let the Liherationista impeach her of
treason to the State, and prove their charge. I believe
they cannot, and, therefore, hold we have no right to dis-
endow, and disestabliehluent is of no object without. A
word or so directly in rvspome to "Churchman.- As an
Independent. I admit that, if we did the thing( our
Independent anceetors did, we should be rightly
disestablished and elisendowed. But we are so already.
Anil the question does not arise. I do not shelter iuyeelf
under the inaccurate term "Cougreiretiotteitet r an
Independent I am willing to share what blame and shame
we may fairly inherit; bit the example of our body
should he a warning to show that when • section of the
Church seta itself up as a State church and governing
power, it takes the po,ition of a temporal corporation, is
likely,almost iveuin, to lieeintio.intolrrant, and liable to
tent srl punishment when convicted of temporal iefearc.
The indepee.ients, who had been (technically) diel'iyal
the head of the State church, were, with perfect equity
from the State point of view, ejected. May the lemon
serve them for all time. But we gained more spiritually
than we lost temporally ; we have now clear views that
the lied is the head if the Holy Catholic c Lurch. ..0
i kingdom is not yet of this world. Churchman's
that Hs
attacks upon us and other free sects might be balanced by
what "Time is short has written respecting the
sions within the pale of Episcopacy. But let us rather
wish for fuller revelations of what the Holy Catholic
Church is—larger, broader, having more diversities of
peration, an more lit to be the bride of the Infinite
Ithan can be represented by the members or the
mrd,
doctrines of any one section, or by any human Idea of the
Church.
Weymouth, November. I£os.

Discs As.