The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1868-05-12 00:00:00

To the Editor.

8111,—A school that professes to provide suitable adore.
Sion for the middle daises of the whole county, that is
mn,..a..tned by &committee of clergy and laymen, and up-
on the principle of • Limited Liability Company,
cZes at once • fitting object of public attention ; it
Is eelculated to do immense good, or unspeakable harm,
seeording to its management. And when we know the
character of the teaching at Lancing, and other
.chools, established and managed under the patronace
of the too notorious Mr. Woodard, we feel justified in
keeping • watchful eye upon a school, of which the
Bight* of this Diocese is the visitor, and the committee
of which is largely made up of his official/. Only two
classes of perilous are really required upon that com-
mittee. First, filen who have some experience in edam-
tins ; and secondly, men of the clue to be educated, to
see that the education is practical, and such as they
require for their children. In addition to this it it
absolutely ntoseary that the ohief men of the com-
mittee should have the confidante of the county, and
should be men of business. The Dorset County School
has been open for about four or five years; it has the
advantage of an excellent Head Master, whose heart is
in his work, and who understands his work well. It
was welcomed at its first opening us grant boon to the
county, and was well supported, but now there is
falling off in numbers, which it is not difficult to
account for.

In the first place, after all these years, the school is
just as far from having a proper locality and suitable
buildings as it was the first day it opened; and thus
the muter is called upon to work under great disad-
vantages. After three or four years of constant talk,
the oornmittee determined to purchase Byword Lodge;
and after two or three more weeks they determined t
sell it. Not a very good specimen of management. If
It was not a suitable place they ought not to have
bought it; if it was, they had no right, as tendon of
the company, to sell it : but Wagon& In the nest place,
they placed on the council the Rev. W. P. Ward,
Rector of Compton Valence, whose name as an extreme
Ritualist. to Ray the least of it, 'Quilts in the nostrils of
the middle classes of the county. This waa bed enough;
but when called upon to supply his place with another
name, a majority determine to keep him in the council,
and by that act they have, I firmly believe, unless
they rapidly retrace their stem put • finishing touch
to the history of the Dorset County School.
And as if this drsprrate folly was rot enough, Mr.
Ward's friends came forward in his defence, and so
keep the matter before the public : the greatest enemies
of the school could not wish for anything more ; and,
above all others, the Rev. Samuel Lane, Ex-rural Dun,
and Ruby of Frome Vauthuroh sal Ratoombe, comes
forward as eponsor for Mr. Ward's orthodoxy and
eborehmanship. Who has not heard of the Frame
Vausburch Branch of the English Church Union, and
It. hatred of hot cues buns, and its particular
fondness for coffin handles? Who haa not heard
of its advocacy of the celebration of the Euthuistie
sacrifice at funerals as the last office of the
church in behalf of the departed? And thus
Mr. lane, the guardian angel of this branch of the
English Church Union, la extremely indignant that
anyone should express his belief that Mr. Ward is •
Roo:mist. He states that certain ecclesiastical warts
have ruled "that prayers for the deed have never been
directly or indirectly prohibited by the Church of
England, and are not inomsistut with her principles"
I thould like to know to what court. Mr. Lone refers ?
Whether the Homilies are authoritative documents or
not, they certainly shew what is and what is not
cionsistent with the church's teaching, and nothing
can be moth plainer than the language of
the third part of the Homily concerning
prayer, as a prohibition of prayer for the dead
and both Mr. Lane and Mr. Ward have solemnly
declared that thus [brollies content "a godly and
wholesome doctrine." We could wish Mr. Ward no
worms lath, and the Ouuty School no greater misfortune,
than to have the name of Mr. Lane among their ad voeatea.
Kr. Montague Williams, writing with the feelings of
a relative, may be excused Nome little heat and some
few mistake.. He says : "Mr. Mule says that in •
sermon preached by Mr. Ward roma time ante in
Shoehorns Church, Mr. Ward avowed himself a
Romanist as distinctly as a person could do." Mr.
Williams goes on to say that he cannot find
that avowal in the sermon. LI Mr. Williams so very
green, or so very uncandid, am to imagine that Mr.
Mottle meant that Kr. Ward said "I am • Romanist."
If not, he would not have looked far to find Mr. Morde's
words amply verified. In imp 2of the sermon we
have it stated that the RONLit BIEVIART inverts the
order of the words of the text, and saya, "Love Peace
and Truth" (I translate the Latin, moat uselessly
introduced into the turmoil.) In page 3be speaks of
that inverted pusses se " THI CHURCH'S daily lesson."
Does not then Mr. Ward, preaching in a pulpit of the
Church of England, speak of the Roman Church as
"the Church?* not • part of the Church, hulas Church?
, and does he not thereby distinctly avow himself either
a Romanist or • heretic? And he doses his precious
discourse with the words inverted, instead of the order
of the Word of God, love puce and truth, printing
the word "peace" in different letters, and thereby, as
in all the sermon patting the teaching of the Church
of Rome above the Word of God.

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And this is the man who is to be kept in the Council
of a school which pretends to be a Church of England
SchooL It is quite true his influence in the working
of the school is sr present nothing at all; bat "coming
events cast their shadows before," and the determine-
tion to keep him there only gives just ground for
suspicion that what has been sumssaully tried else-
where will be worked hare, if not prevented.
Is the chooses of Oxfor& in every diocesan move-
ment, it has been the policy of the clever individual,
who Inhasivulates that part of the cherub, to enlist • few
names of Protestant and Evangelical men, just to give
a character of liberality to the concern. and to blind
people's eyes. There are always to be found men, in
every part of the church, open to a little flattery, and
who make themselves believe that they are animated
by the highest motives in joining with men, whose
principles they profess to abhor. In feet they all join
these things with the fall es potations of "converting the
Bishop ;" and so let his lordship concert them into mere
tools. They are always la a minority, and so don't
present the least difficulty In his designs, and thus be
has succeeded to silencing almost every independent
robe) in his dioesse. Is this game to be played here?
Are the one or two Protestaints who are on the Council
of the County School permitted to join for a similar
purpose? The determination to retain Mr. Ward leads
men to conclude that it is so; and when sufficient
dust has been thrown in people's eyes, ant the school
buildings have been completed, perhaps our friends will
find that deg are not wanted, but must retire to make
, room for the lit4v. Samuel Inns, and his Batoombe
aerate, and then the thing will be complete.
In the tneenwhile I look upon it as a grievous wrong
' to the Head Meter, that these hindrances should be
Pieced in his way: I say advisedly, knowing as much
as most people the feelings of the people of Dorset, that
Do power on earth can keep the method going, unless I
Mr. Ward's name is withdrawn. If the Protestant
members of the Council are in earecol, they have only
to dealer* that they will have nothing more to do with
the school, while that IMMO remains, and the rev.
gentleman will soon find an excuse ler retiring.
Although a minority, yet their opponents know that
they isn't get on without them wow, so eon is the time
to act. When the money which has been subscribed
on the faith of their names has been 'pent, it will be
too late.—Yours truly,
DORSET.