The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1866-11-17 00:00:00

PUTTING THE CASE BROADLY.

The London Tinges, to • leader commenting upon the cor-
respondence that has taken place betwixt "B. G 0" (the
It.. Lord spumy Go4is4oltln thbowte) and the ltlehop of
Be Mary, amongst other °Warman's, remarks
:
The question add& the Bishop of Salisbury and
his friends have to ask themselves in whether they have
any hope that the majority of the English people will
be converted to sheessertal which they are now preach.
ing; whether a system which is evidently identical
with that 4 the church of Rome will be accepted by-
the society of this age; whether, in a word, the Ria
formation of the sixteenth century will be condemned
aa • erime and a:calamity either by this or the next
gequation, —lt, is only by - potting the case thus
broaßly that We can hope to bring the High Church
party ton sense of the responsibility they are incurring,
and the evil they may bring on the institution
to which they profess to belong We
are simply addresstng the Bishop of Salisbury
and hie friends anthe paid ministers of a State Church,
which is maintained because-1W doctrines and services
are generally acceptable to the majority of the people
of; England, and notably to almoa; the whole of the
aak educated class. 14-the Bishop and his followers
were an ntiestablaheil religious community, they might
hold transubstantiation or judicial absolution without
placing themselvain g faint PORitioll. They might
say, "We believe 'thee doctrines, we delight in these
oeremonies ; we exareisersw sight of freedom in adopt-
ing them, and the inajorfty, of our countrymen are
equally free to differ frorriiithe' But the Alin:late* td,,
a national Church are hound to consider tha,nation..;
Every clergyman is invented with a politicadhlkaractil;
is as distinctly a servant of theakati. i tOh'ith is howt-c,
mitted by the State the performal.ce of certain dutiO, I
and a general superintendence over the teaching. and
the moral guidance of his paffsh.,lfle la as much Wind
to zeal and patriotism ass holdief dr a elyil servant ; he
he a_mpoh bound to study OW boarittione, the habits,
evolfinhe prejudices of the odnntryt• as if he were a poll.
Seal aclainistrator. The fuidalffental principle of the
Church' of England is trilit eiett Emilterman is a
Churchman; the Church 'en-extensfeit WITh the na•
tion Ohe portion of the Catch with which the clergy,.
magi las to deal consists of even, inhabitant of his
parish. A clergyman,therefore, does not do his duty
to,tio Chttrch.unlesn.bestiaags himself into moral ac-
callik so to speak, *fth kria:parishionera He tnav
a ',inhere theologian ; he May be a man pf tastee whish
ti. very desirable to cultivate; he tilMr be pure in
life and character, and eminent for matt tirtuei ;
but it he deliberately sets himself against the'religfOlui
beliefs or the moral &ailment of the nation, of
whpb• hot is hound to inform himself, he fails In
his allegiance to the institution which be has
contracted to support, WWI which can .nnly live
as.,lftrag .as it is the religious representation of
theSeatihn. The clerkyrean who desires- to restore
anyslocttinn. practice, oreerenainy io boundeo ask h•m-
eelt Whether it is likely to lesaccepte,l by the ca l ltm at
large. If he has reason to believe that the oppootion
to it will be but transitory—that it is the effect of
ignorant Or groundless alarm—he may try his system,
and even persevere in it, taking care to explain his p_ur.
pose sad removes nornples of fin casnontlanted. lint