The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1860-11-19 00:00:00

Church with those which are considered "high" of

he Scotch national church, and so on with others.
is clear, therefore, that the difference is one of

principle, and that it has its origin not under any

particular form of Church government and ad-
Ministration, lid lh human nature itself: In a

wordi it is the old struggle hetNieen the lay and

he clerical elements of tile ClitirCh fOr the pre-

dominn.nee of the one over the other--4lie excess

Of ziainval instinct which leads classes as well
ai3 individnals to aspire to the posiession of abso-

ute power over others. That first principle of

our natire which impels is to preser7 and pro-
mote our own interests aild tiosidoii, is constantly

,pt to run into the excess of sacrificing the equal
rights of others, in order that I've may thereby

Minister to otir own gratification and ambition.
One class seeks po§itiTi and,lio*er through the
acciimUlation of Intiterial*efilthi,aiibtlier through

the exercise of eareftilly cultivated arid well
stored mental capaCities. To enumerate all
the .paths by which Men aim at power over
their fellows, Would fill a long catalogue. But
one Of those with which we have chiefly to do at
i)resent, is that Of What is called spiritual or
influence WhiCh enables a
dominant priesthood to lord it over the flocks
under their care. In the dark ages, when the
whole of the people were illiterate and unthinking,
this pAestly influence swayed an unchallenged
power. With the revival of letters, the spread
of knowledge, and the consequent stimulus to
action among, all classes, there sprung up that
love of freedoth diid of iricteoiidetit thought and
action, which shook the clerical tyranny to its
basis, and rendered the Reformation a great fact
—not more a triumph to pure •religion and
morals, than a victory in favour of liberty and
progess, socially, intellectually, and politically.

It is nothing strange or wonderful that among
so large a body of men as that of our clergy and
ministers there should still be found working in
sortie breasts the old leaved of priestcraft‘ Nor
is it wonderful that, in a state of society still

very imperfeetly enlightened, such a depraved
influence should still find Many willing subjects.
It is grat4iiig; hovieVer; to think that the vast
majority of our religiotis instnictors have been
wise enough to discover the happy medium be=
twist the extremes of clerical dictation on the
one harid, and ministerial unfaithfulness on the
other: It is even more satisfactory to feel
assured that the eopie themselves are, if pos-
sible, more resohitely alive than ever to the real
objects of Puseyitical retrogressionists, and appa-
rently more resolutely determined than ever to
maintain the rights conferred on society by the

Reforihation, and to resist eVery attempt td coun-
teract or destroy those precious privileges by the
.readiest, even if it should happen to be occa-
sionally the roughest, means.
We have recently had another painful illustra-
tion of the futility now-a-days of any priestly

attempt to crush and dveiride the sound Protes

tant feelings of the people. A few days ago,
when referring to the St. George's-in-the-East
nuisance, now so happily abated, we remarked
that the lesson there taught to the Bomanising
portion of the clery might and would be
repeated, either there or elsewhere; wherever the
cloven hoof should beconie too plainly linCloaked:
We little thought as we penned those Words the
Protestants of Ireland were verily fulfilling our
words. The Bishop of Down, some time ago,
unwarrantably interfered to interdict one of his
beneficed clergy froth granting the use of his
pulpit to a brother clergyman to preach a Pro=
testant anniversary sermon. We have seen
Puseyitical clergy affront the people and desecrate
the house of prayer by the forcible and deter-
mined introduction of obsolete Popish exhibitions,

to the great scandal of religion and the dis-
turbance of the peace, and yet the hishdps have
professed their want of power to interfere or to
suppress the mummeries. There has been the
greatest delicacy and tenderness shown to the
more than half Romanised Puseyites, but
His Lordship of Down and Connor has no hesita-
tion in interposing his high authority, instantly
and unqualifiedly, to suppress any enthusiastic
demonstration in his diocese in favour of Pro-
testantism ! Those who know how much the
Protestants of Ireland have to .suffer from the
insolence and intolerance of the benighted Papists
of that land, will not be astonished that they
shOUld feel keenly an affront cast upon them by
one of their own lishops--44 one Who, above all
others, was bound to encourage.and support theni
in the truth, and such will not wonder overmuch
at the scene enacted the other day when his lordship
attempted to occupy the chair at a public meeting of
the Propagation Society. On that occasion, as most
of our readers are aware, the large meeting rose
en nias§e, and demanded that the Bishop should
leaie the chair. Although, according to the rule
that every I:lidding has a right to elect its own
chairman, it might be argued that such a step as
that of rejecting an obnoxious person—lay or
clericalwas quite usual and orderly ; yet, under
all the circumstances, it was too painful a scene
and too rude an exercise of right to be dwelt
Upori by any lefei: Of peace and goodwill without
experiencing emotions far front tigfeertblei Still
who can deny that the Bishop had fairly
challenged the people and insulted their views in
the most unjustifiable manner. If he got more
than a Moderate afneurit Of retributive justice, it
is
done to be observed
he
ran
a.,
all
r itshk
st a . in t a
The
l cing
prelate
course
ktew h
was obliged
ote hadiiee
ignominiously to retire, while the. people
remained triumphantly victorious. The imme-
diate effects of such outbursts are no doubt
prejudicial to good order and decorum. But,
war IE3 sdthetimes the less of two evils. The de-
monstration was not against episcopal authority
but-against its abuse--z-not against the Ace of
the Bishop, but against the anti-Protestant views
of the individual representing it. That the con-
duct of the meeting should, in certain quarters,
be denounced as riotous, turbulent, and irreligious,
is only what we might expect. That all who see
ora anything
anything wrong in.the proCedure of the Bishop,
in' mitigation of judgment against
the enthusiastic biedwd) on the occasion; should
likewise be held up to scorn as abettara of anarchy
and disorder is easily understood. The same par-
ties, however, who so loudly profess respect for,
and deference to,' the episcopal chair have been
invariably the most obstreperous and rebellious
against the exercise of its prerogatives when these
have militated against Puseyitical errors and in
favour of the niaintenance of Protestant doctrine
and usages. The real qUestion, however, is not one
as between friends and foes of " the Church" or
of "the Bishop," or as to any narrow point of
order or privilege. It is a question as between
the defenders of Protestant truth and practice in
the Church and the secret friends of Popery who
have stolen within her pale under a disguise, and
who seek to seduce and coerce her faithful Pro-
testant adherents. As the people of St. George's-
in-the-East treated the Rev. BRYAN KING, so
have the Irish people the anti-Protestant Bishop
of Down, and however much, in both cases, we
may lament the necessity for such a modus ope-
randi, we feel certain that every Protestant son
of the Church will say, more in sorrow than in
anger, "Served 'em right."