The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1875-09-28 00:00:00

tormsponbentr,

THE DECAY OF THE PROTESTANT PARTy
THE CHURCH.
To 14 Editor.
The letter of the Rev. Carr J. Glyn in your ea,
week deserves the attention of others beside, thf-r "f lat
of his own church. The letter is in everylnn
worthy one as coming from a prominent and
an tlote.
member of the Evangelical Party, and as contain; '42ltial
ments which demand the most serious consideryuh,,i4 'lota
who are interested in the Protestantism of th,. all
which, on hlr. Glyn's showing, is no longer s-a,/;."i'ibi ta.4
hands of the Church. Those who know Me (Li,
acquit him of any intention needlessly to alarm tire.° win
ben of his own church, or to sow brusstea.st
and charges which he cannot substantiate. yet ji","ehla
have known that his letter would le widely 4'114
and its statements severely handled both by the
of his own church as well as by others. There r"llers
large and noteable section of the so-called Ev:ea,,Z, 1
l'arty, who will admit no danger in connection witll
church: who try to persuade themselves tha, 'V*
testantiam is safely entrenched within its walls, mei w',,,sro•
therefore, will not thank Mr. Glyn for his honest arid
lees exposure of its present perilous condition. We ,”mr.'•
conclude that nothing but an urgent sense of such
awakened by a complete knowledge of the facts of
which can readily be produced, can have constrai -
Mr. Glyn to make such eweeping charges aaajz,ine'l,„
different parties in the Church. He naturally he ."'•
the collapse of the " Vigilant Committee." The NVI4
fortuist; while admitting the good intentious out,
nutters, held aloof from it, because of its want of a
aeZt.
and well defined basis of action. The very questionwhid,
needed most urgently to be considered, viz., thot of "
Establishment, was carefully excluded from the lee.-
gramme. To many Noneonformiets this fact alone waa
fatal to any successful action against the Ritualists, set;
sequent events have justified their (cars, it seen.
"'"'
such a Committee is helpless in the great end iiierc„,i
struggle against Ritualism. The stateluente of Mr. Glg
are of the most serious—alarming would rightly dewrite
them—nature. lie assure, us, on what no doubt ie goud
evidence to him, that the " Popish Patty" are iudciug Ire.
tress in their effort to un-Protestantise the church. Giie
the most serious aspects of the question is, the steliling
fecility with which Protestants, as they have deemed
themselves, accommodate themselves to the once hatefel
innovations of the Ritualista, and gradually give such
innovations the preference. We are in the habit of har.
iug of the members of old Protestant
_forsaking
the time-honoured services; of their church, for the 411-.
tastiest services of Ritualism. But what is still more
serious is, that the Evangelical clergy are beginning t save
way. They are not standing their ground." "here
appears to be a falling oil of such men." in, the
question of the surplice and choral services, Mr.
Glyn says they are yielding to the presser, of
the High Church l'arty. They are doing more ;
" they are stlyprruing ths doctrines of grace; in other
words, they are not content with surrendering the nag
they are. preparing to capitulate, to surrender the formai
itself. The mission, therefore, on the showing of Mr
Glyn, of his Evangelical brethren, would seem to hare
ignominiously ended, and the Established Church of this
nation is in the hands of the anti-Protestant Party, whose
avowed mission is to " un-Protestantisc 14 Church." mr.
Glyn must have seen that all this was involve.' in las
letter, and in the assertions which it contains; and, there-
fore the urgent question for him and those who think ems
him (a comparatively small number I fear in his owa
church ; although, I venture to assure Mr. Gl)'u, a very
large number without it), is, what course is incumbent
upon them and all Prutestaut Nonconformists " at iii,
most eoentful C 14014 i" For here I will admit that ag
intereets of Mr. Glyn and Protestant Sonconforafide
to be one. The bare abstract question of an Establishment
is a small question, compared with the ,Luestiou of a
Protestant Church or a Popish Church 114 the Established
Church of the nation. It ia the latter altercative a Ilich Mr.
Glyn fears,and dreads with sufficient reason, in the face 4th.
wide spread influence of the Itoinieli party and its be,,,ted
surceases during the past few yers. The dream of un-Pro-
testantising the Establisluuent, much as Eng,liehinen wish
to put the idea from them, is not without the range of
poseibility. and therefore the fears of such wen as Mr.
Carr Glyn are not to be pooh-pooted. At lent the
question of most urgent moment is to determine on a
course of action which will most effectually defeat any
such schemes. Here then I venture to submit that
•• watching the course of events " and "of standing fast*
is not adequate to the occasion. It seems to me that Mr.
Glen and others of like mind should endeavour to tlaus
events, and not stand by simply and watch; arid if the
right course has not yet suggested itself, there is a right
course to be taken, and the duty of all Protestants is to
endeavour to find it out. Might I submit with the
utmost respect and kindness, the following coueiderations
to Mr. Glyn and others of like wind? First, —The Lien.
gelical party have tried and failed. Any course which
they have sought to adopt has proved hopelesa. So Mr.
Glyn tells us. Second,--They have failed to ee,:ure any
effective aid from those outside bodies must favourable to
their scheme*. "The Vigilance committee ha. collapsed"
Is then the Evangelical party helpless in the struggle ! Is
there nothing more to be done I Might I suggest whether
the proper course has not yet to be adopted I a course. I
admit, which it must be difficult for them to adopt, al
Involving the surrender of life-long cherished conviction;
I mean the course of either separating at sum from
Eatablishment, and thus hastening the crisis, or of forth-
with agitating for the severance of the Church from the
state I Everything else has failed. Parliamentary action,
under circumstances never likely to prove Ito favourable
in the future, has failed, unless some very different
action is taken from what Parliawent has already
sanctioned. Rebuilt such as Mr. Glyn deeiderates, in not
possible in Parliament; so at least Mr. Cthelstoue informed
his correspondent the other day. I gather from Mr.
Glyn's letter that such is his conviction also What then
remains! There is no other course unless it be to accept
things as they are, and allow the Ritualists to pursue their
conquering career until the whole church territory is in
their possession; or, to make • strenuous and immediate
effort to dislodge them by Diseetablishusent. Fullownig
such • course Mr. Glyn will command the sympathy all.l
efficient co-operation of the Nonconforming bodies; and,
I will venture to affirm, that if such a course were adopted,
the most effectual blow w bleb Um Proteetanta ot the
Church of England could give to Ritualisni, would
be given by this means. The question of sectarianion
should have no place in a question of this kind. The
question is. •• How is the Protestantism of the country,
which is in imnunent danger meantime, to be saved r and,
as everything else seems hopeless such helpless, according
to Mr. Glyn's letter, the next question is, "Will Disestab-
lishment and Ditendownient meet the case?" If it can,
then the union of the Protestant Church party and the
Nonconformists can effect it. There is this to he said in
favour of Diseetablisliment and IJisenilowineut, that at
least there semis no other course open. Everthing else
has failed, prosecution ha. fsihc,l. Porliawent has failed,
and is not likely to do even as much as it has done. Nothing
remains to be ettempted, but this one thing 1/ieestablieh-
ment and Dieendownieut. While I do not anticipate any
favourable reception for my suggeated course, which I have
1, mg adopted, and mean to adopt with increasing vigour'
I submit the question with the utuiest respect and
earnestness to the consideration of Mr. Glyn and others
who think with him. :and who, in the present perilous
condition of the church, are casting about for seine safe
course which they can adopt. jam not unfamiliar with
the objections which Mr. Glyn may be prepared to urge
against my proposed course, and chiefly as depriving the
nation of a recomitend potions' religion. The event, how-
ever, would leave us no worse provided than we are now
for, as things are, we happen to le in the sal condition of
having no national Protestant religion, such as Mr. Glyn
eatuld be prepared to accept awl acknowledge. Such fear.
as Mr. Glyn and others like him not unnaturally cherish
in connection with the separation of the church from
the state, are, I submit, chimerical, and ma likely to
be realised. However, it is very certain that such • step
would free the Protestant party from %that must be to
them an entbarreeiug position, and make the difficulties
of the Ritualist party as • free party in the state alum*
Insuperable. The question is one for the most earnest
consideration of all sound Protestants and, CertailelY,
events are ominously pointing steadily in that direction.
A little time longer, and than it will be seen on which tide
lies the right in this matte-r.

TuoxAs l'isav E.

Dorchester, September 23, INIS.
aad confirmation of Mr. Glyn's assertion of the
suppression of the doctrines of grace in the Church is
furnished in the report of the meeting of the Bridp.rt
Deanery Church Sunday and Day School* AMOCilltion in
the same paper which contains his letter. In the oeurse
of his sermon preached before the members of the associa-
tion, and with their evident approval, the Ike. M. J.
Green, of Steepleton (senior Rural Dean) said, Mod Ithe
children (the exceptions I suppose were the children el
Nonconformists, who had not received the benefit of
baptism) who attended their schools hal been made the
children of God by baptism, and the Ilo'y Spirit would be
with them, they moat ever acknowleily• Him, and WI pro.
busting (inn would be aroma, them. They must ronember
that by their baptism the children were made inheritors 01
the Kingdom of !leaven; (tow muse therefore, tic troi.ad N
heap the DOW made for them in their early is..a”, and the,
iemilit be astisrledir,mt n high."—Doraet Cu sty E1P,41
September 21, Ims. If this he the prevailing teachinst
the Church clergy, it needs little preekion to see what
will become of its Protestantism in a very short space of
time.