The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1873-12-09 00:00:00

THE At3HANTEE WAR.

[moon, Dosetriber 6.—luteDienes from Caper Coed
Castle annoirnoes that preparatory mos/ores are Wag
taken for an adroit:too. Tiansport servirms are Wog
on:spited by mesas of native and Captain
Hewitt Is displaying gnat activity. Tb. weather is
favourable, but it Ls intended to await reinforsements
before oomprehensive micaures ass taboo. Tlio
A.hantee army Le retiring through tits bash sad
uutrshes.

TLIE NEW DECLARATION ON CONFFEI2IOIt
Remarking on the deearation on the subjeot of *M.
ftesloo, signed by Dr. Pussy sad 28 other clergymen.
the Tow aaja it indicates that so many Oergymee
believe they are both authorised sod boeud by the
Formularies they have subscribed to trecoerage ths
praoties of Private Confession. Their negative Oen.
'elusion oo the subject is only that the Ohara does 11011
teach that Piles's Confersioe "is • (audition India-
pet.sable to the forgiveness of Is after beptisen," and
that she doe* not justify any Pariah Priest in "re-
quiring Private Confession as • tondities of reesiving
Holy Communion." But their pesitive coriolusion Is.
not merely that "all who under the otronmstanees
above atsted, claim the privilege of Private Cciefeesiom
are entitled to it," but that "the Clergy are &rooted,
under certain circumstances, to 'move' persons to ma
Confession." The practice of seeking Private Absolu-
tion In Private Confession had, as • matter of feat,
beoome very rare. It la tbe plain obj it of Obeli
Clergy to revive at, and the gist of this Deolaration is
to esplein away every statem-nt In the Prayer book
which has hitherto been supposed to pis« any
limiutions on D. We mast take leave to sty that there
I. no euij,ct on which the ingenuity of enthusiasts is
more peiverse. The memorialists osn only quote two
a-ss to their favour—one from the lovitattoo to the
tioneutucien, the other from the Bsrvise for the
Visitation of the B,ck. The burden of the former
exhortation is to r, move, by gaaeral oonsideratlons,
the LeAiation it, ii..pastitly ft it to participate In the
most solemn ordir.ahce of our religion, and it Is only in
case acy Luso " cannot quiet his own ootscionee hectic"
by these gent rd l considerstiona thst he Is recommended
to "open WS trio to some discreet sod learned 'etio-
late, of GAl's Word." The occasion for such
. .

appileetiou is obviously remand to be esee-Ptio-S;1-.
In the 8 tidos for the Vositation of the eilek, it is
rzalooabty auppoted that at tl.e supreme hour of
eiterie eitotui.øe. in all the weakness or disease of
dee g, he may eted foots special onchuragernent from
epiritual adviser, sod the exceptional character of
Una °session must item unmistakeable tx any impartial
mind. The sick man is to be moved to make a special
Confession of ideates "If he feels his rout-Janos troubled
with any weighty matt, r." Nothiog la more natural
or more nun ble. Men mid women do moult sins
which, at critical moment., In their cometonscem
oppress them with a gainful burden, and they may
*rave at such times sympathy or a ocieuragement which
they have tot ventured to meth from their ordicary
friends. But the compliers of the Ceuroh of Ragland
formularies evidently regarded these cocesime as
exceptional, and provided unfesalon as an exceptional
remedy for them. To say that suoX mansions "do
practically comprise the whole of adult life" Is • mis-
teens. chatiou or wheel we can make allswanoe, bit
which con only be reseeded as the result of as illusion.
To throe who hat, stilted this Declaration, perhaps,
life is divided betwoen memento; of strange ecstasy and
dep a. Men are supposed to be at ad times either
"leekleg to ajoiet thair conscience" in the remembruee
of aOO3ll great sin, or feeling themselves" troubled by
erne weighty mattar" to the prospect of their lest hour.
hum a view a lae, howcrar, is purely eecieenetleal and
theoretical. The groat 'otiosity of henten beings, in
the ordinary mune of their inee' are not ice seantly
eserinad by these supireme sptritual d dieultise, and ere
still lees disposed to mole fruit], counsel in them.
The Church of England has, tie doubt, with its
usual appreciation of human nature, provided for
math ou But, with a similar appreeiatioo, she
hes treated them as rare and has relegated the peen-
tin of itaslon sod AM:dation to these rare camaiona
In this simple argument we are on broader ground
than in Mahn with the vexed queetlea of Absolution.
We will fraukly Goatees we give it up. The Ordina-
tion Betide. incorporates language which teed, to
fates • great delusloa, and willok Is undoubtedly an
innovation on the earlent custom of the Church.
Gentoftes peered away before Priests were told at their
ordication, ' 'Whosoever sins thou dust remit they ere
lemittod unto them, and whomeme elm thou cleat
retain they are retained." They are transudes,
words, and it la only jut to make much allowance for
Clergymen who interpret than literally. Bet the
simple truth ia that the met majority of Englishmen
do not believe them in their pl.ln meaning, sad uver
mil. liii could be shown to be the doctrine of the
Church of England that such words direct the Clergy
to regard the practice of Absolution as their most
ohanoberiatis office, the result would simply be • revolt
from her Machete'. But in point of foot these who
submit themoeives simply to the teaching of the
Formularies woeld never entertain sash an idea. The
Prayer Book taken by Wed( yet suggested the
assumptions put forward in this Declaration. It has
commanded the aunt of g time of Erigliebnie•
by its assertion of doctrines the very opposite of them
—by them rules of itheolutios with whiff', as the
signers of the Declaration quietly say "they were not
moosrued "—the rule. that to, prescribed at Morning
and Evecing Prayer, and for general use in the Com-
mune Serene. In these and la the general Whom
of the Prayer Book men have found the expression of
that sober mailmen sense which is the dominant
elimmteristlo of the Church no lees than of the
State In Ragland. There le no point on whleh
we feel more oponfident than that the balm°, of
healthy opinion repudiates them innovations or
menet.. We believe there is good nosed for belle,'
log that the pleas of the Declaration are aspens of
being fully anewered on thee'ogical grounds: hut It Is
boat to be frank, and toe.; that we do not care whether
they san be thus anew* fled or sot. It Is presibie,
though we do not believe it to be tree, that the
Reformers deliberately retained these relics of the
superstition which In substance they abandoned. The
lacy to the problem is, perhaps to be found Is the
Formularies of the Lutheran Churches', which retained
the old forum while puttiegAn entirely new meanies into
them. The Li Mire of Peterborough candidly aVOWII
that the existing Formularies do not enable him to
enforce a eh/time:Mon beteeen egoeptlonal and regular
Coefeolon, and he obeli/seems them who appeal to him
to suggest soy hubrio or Canon which would answer
the purpose. &toe an admission Is whe because It le
taue. If the Church leaves room for any exceptional
asfel., there will , Den be tha• who would solvent the
exeepthaus into the rule. There is no rimed, but to
appeal to the healti y inotinote of eaters. It Is on
that bread ground this queet.on must he met and
argued. It people want exceptional relief for their
couseier.om, if mune they w •Ii eetk it in ouch an &gene,
as these Chir,zymen (Mr. But the truth le the demand
Itself is a:dusk! y and ought to be repressed In ovary
peseiha way. Tilt man coltj at of mere' teachers
should he to onceursge eneependenter of moral teeing,
arid to tepees.a that eraviog for special mosolation
which these C creme's would foster, and which com-
fortably relievee their peuitents from the burden of
makiog their own ;me, with their conaoleneea The
sullen is a d IB rut, and in some rupees • delicate,
• ta treat, awl we tris.S is w,ll 000er bnome nee's.
rry to exeubst v. ry vigoroaey the transom thus
rocomenteded to the pub he. It rests w.tte the party
reproseutei by tin Doeletation whether extetien nista-
purrs will have to to taiee by the Church to demon-
strate what its spirit anal needing rally are.
M. anwbUe, we may be andeot to meet Declaration
with Inolaration, sod to sweet, as behalf or th.
Roil( h pulde in general, that the principlcs advocated
by these Cleegymee are at once theologically false and
morally peruielour.

Mr. 0. W. Don Asheaton Brattb, of Caernarvon, bas
deluded to contest tbia C'arearroaablro Boroughs in um
Cops.rvativia interest, at Om next ()opera' Veatlon.
CAMS M•IlT AT BABINOWTAIN —Moan. Bayabird
and Sons, land agents aid auct.onoera bay. arranged
to bold mouth', of lies stock at Basionst.lts,
arb:ati Is Ito centre of an important agricultural

_
TAUNT, N LLIC,IoN I'l[lllloN. —Notien haw j.lat been
given that 11•. Jt,• •111 Lear th deotion
petition 'whir •t Ulu Alt •.r, 0.)-x Lire! (11r. A. Junta),
•ncil his .ppoiut.,l Yowls), the 12t6 Li'
January, to cum.. boo I prtesedirgd. Mr. &Aetna
Belliantfte, Mr. If. 0 IT.rd, c., and Mr. J. 0.
o,,ffithe wid eiptar for the AttorlierGeoeteL The
allogstloas pleat the *ink; member an that he ham
boss guilty, by his ait,b4 01 bang, tnitits sada'
Woo" sod Peemailesh