The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1875-10-05 00:00:00

To the Editor,

As Mr. Naive comments at length upon Mr. C. Glyn's
letter, with respect to which I also addressed you, I trust
that I am not trespassing too much upon your kindness in
requesting you to find room for the following remarks.
Mr. Neave declares that the only cure for Ritualism in the
Church is secession or disestaldishment As to the former,
I will only remark that some of the leading Ritualists,
Including Mr. Stanton, of St. Alban's, Holborn, are what
Is called Liberationists. So far from disestablishment
being a cure for Ritualism, these gentlemen believe—and
they might at least to know as well as Mr. Neave— that it
would open the door for an immense triumph to Ritualism.
They themselves consider that their heaviest blows and
, sorest discouragement& have arisen from their connection
with the Establishment. I venture to ield that uneasy
as Mr. Glyn may be In his pneient position, I think he
will not improve it by enlisting under the banner held
aloft by Father Stanton, Mr. Neave, and Mr. Bradlaugh.
Then, as to secession, several good an.l eminent men have
already for various reasons joined Diseenting bodies. As
• matter of fact has Protestantism been thereby streng-
thened I If anything the reverse ; and I know on excellent
authority that one of the most eminent who so 'moiled
felt afterwards that he had taken a false step, and, more-
over, dissuaded those that consulted lam from following
his example. Mr. Neal's, quite unaware of what he is
doing, draws anything but a favourable picture of the
wisamii and unsectarianisin of the cointuunities be is
inviting Churchmen to join. Hu tells us that the
"Vigilant Committee" appointed to watch over the
interests of Protestantism in the Church f.iled, because
"Use very question which needed most urgently to be
considered—via., that of 'an Eitabliehment'"--was care-
fully exclude." from the prognunme. "To ninny Non-
conformists this fact alone was fatal to any successful
action against the Ritualists." In plain English, that is,
"many Nonconformists" hated the Establishment more
than they loved Protestantism. Is not this an example
of the entire sway which sectarianism has obtained over
"many Nonconformists r Yet, to quote Mr. Seats 's
own words, "the question of sectarianism should have no
place in • question of this kind." In these words hi
condemns the conduct of his own brethren. If they are
wise he is foolish. But he gives the Evangelic:a party in
the Church credit for a disinterestedness and uniectarian-
ism which "many Nonconformists" have shown them-
selves not to possess. For he counsels that party to throw
over the Establishment, and that, too, on the remote con-
tingency of thus being able in some way or the other to
strengthen Protestantism— a supposition on his part
which, as I have said, experience, so far, gam entirely to
disprove. Mr. Scare's good opinion of thedisinterestedness
and unsectarianism of the Evangelical party Is quite
refreshing ; but his estimate of their practical wisdom is
equally disheartening. Your correspondent quotes two
sentences from a sermon recently preached by the Rev.
M. J. Grmin, and charitably founds on them a charge
against the Church of "suppression of the doctrines of
grace." The sentences are these, "Most of the children
who attended their Bch* hiy.l Imeu mule the children of

Hod by baptism, and Ili' Holy Spirit would be with
them; they must ever acknowledge Him, and Ilia protect.
ing arm would be around them. They must remember
that by their baptism the children were made inheritors
of the kingdom of heaven; they must therefore be trained
to keep the vows made for them in their early years, and
they would be aasisted from on high." Now, in connec-
tion with this quotation, I will ask your readers to con-
sider the following:—" It is certain that both pardon of
sins and newness of life are offered to us in baptism and
received by us." "We receive a twofold grace and benefit
(tom our Hod In baptism, provided we do not annihilate
the virtue of the sacrament by our ingratitude." "In the
supper, Le in baptism, Hod gives in reality and effectually
whatever he amine in them." "The proper otflce of baptism
Is to ingraft us into the body of Christ." "1 distinctly
assert that men are regenerated by baptism." Ilere
Mr. Neave will exclaim are monstrous "suppressions of
the doctrines of grace." Are they from some Ritualistic
publication, or from the sermons of some high church
bishop or rural dean / No, sir, these "suppressions of the
doctrine of grace" are all extracted from one volume of
the works of Calvin, the thorough going l'rotestant, the
hater and persecuter of Ritualists, the stern Puritan, the
founder of the Nonconformist Churches abroad, and the
friend and colleague of John Knox, the Scotch Presby•
terian. Apply to these " suppressions," so similar to that
quoted by Mr. Nears, his concluding sentence, "11 this
be the prevailing teaching of the Church clergy it needs
little prevision to see what will become of its Protestant-
ism in • very short space of time." Yet the Church .d
Geneva remains, and so al-so, in spite of similar teaching
for the last 3;10 years, the Church of England still stands.
Things threatened live long.

A CHURCHMAN.