The Express.
London, England, 1863-05-20 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS.—TurADAY, MAY 19.
Tim Lim Camecuaya took his scat on the woolocck
Si No o'clock.

PETITIONS.

.
The Earl of SHAFTESBURY presented numerous peti.
lions from Yorkshire and other counties against the sale of
intoxicating drinks between the hours of 11 on Saturday
evening and 6 o'clock on Monday morning.
The Earl of DERBY wee understood to present a peti-
tion from working miners complaining of stoppagee in their
wages and praying for an amendment a the law.

THE AUGMENTATION OF BENEFICES BILL.
Lord BROUGHAM said he regretted that he could not
be present in the house before the third reading of this bill,
the principles of which he highly approved. Hiving had
the honour of holding the great seal he could speak from
experience of the inconvenience to the Lord Chancellor of
having to dispense the patronage of these small livings, and
he might state that soon after being appointed to the °Mos
of Lord Chancellor he addeesed a circular to all the
right reverend prelates making • proposition in regard to
these benefices, but he was sorry to say it did not result in
anything being done. He hoped the bill would peas through
the other house. The only thing he regretted wu that it
did not contain a clause to prevent the sale of next presenta-
tions.

PRIVATE BUSINESS.
The following hills, amongst others, were read • third
time and passed :—The Totteobam and Hampstead Junc-
tion Railway Bill, the Loodon (City) Traffic Regulation
Bill, and the Mersey Dock and Harbour Bill.
THE ACTS OF UNIFORMITY AMENDMENT BILL.
Lord EBURY, ate: presenting several listition nu-
merously signed in favour of thin bill, said the subject
which he desired to bring under the notice of their lord-
ships was undoubtedly of very great importance, though
it was of an abstruse and dry character, and not likely to
elicit their sympathies. He would now throw himself
upon that patience and indulgence which be had before ex-
perienced from their lordships, who would recollect that
when he brought forward the same motion last year he did
not press it to a division, not bc...tuse of any hostility ex-
pressed towards it, but because it was the wish of the
right rev. prelate the Bishop of London to have more time
to consider the matter before he was called upon
_to give a
decided opinion in regard to it. He (Lord Ebury)
was rejoiced to find that that right reversed
prelate thought the time had now arrived when
• settlement of this question should be made.
He believed be might say that he brought forward this
motion with the consent. perhaps, of a majority of the
clergy of the church of England ; but if not of a majority,
certainly with the consent of a met number of that body.
The bill merely proposed to abrogate the clause in the set
of 1662 which required the unfeigned assent and conseut of
the candidate to everything contained in the Book of Com-
mon Prayer. If that clause were struck out there still
remained the declaration contained in the act 13 of Elizabeth,
and also the declaration of conformity to the Liturgy which
was contained in the act of Charles 11.
The Archbishop of CANTERBURY said that with
regard to the multiplicity of declarations be was quite pre-
pared to acknowledge that they might be simplified, but be
shoal say that the question before them was substantially
• question of clerical subscription or no clerical
subscription, and he did not suppose that they
were prepared to adopt a proposal that would
have the effect of allowing clergymen to enter the
pulpits of this country without having promised to adhere
to the doctrines of the church of England. (Hear, hear.)
In the first place, let them consider what was the real mew.
ing of the subscription which his noble friend wished to
abrogate. It required a clergyman to state his unfeigned '
smart and consent to everything contained in the Book of
Common Prayer ; but he thought that in interpreting the
Act of Uniformity they would see very great reason for
acknowledging the truth of that which many learned and
distinguished divines had maintained, namely, tbai(that sub-
scription had reference merely to the use of the Liturgy.
If they referred to the Act of Uniformity they would see
that in the enacting part it was said that as it was so dssir-
able that uniformity of public worship should prevail, it was
enacted that every clergyman should in the church in which
he officiated " declare his unfeigned assent and consent to the
use of everything contained in the Prayer-book." The real
meaning of the declaration, therefore, was that the dru-
m= pledged himself to use the Prayer-book as it stood. It
was quite true that no one could with • safe consoience use
the language of the Prayer-book unless he believed it ; and
that brought him to this point : he could not conceive that
• change from one declaration to another would give any
real relief. The clergyman declared that he would conform
to the Liturgy • arid what was the meaning of the word
" conform?" it was of course not only that he would read
it, but that he believed it to be Divine truth. He could not
promise conformity otherwise than upon that condition,
unless he was prepared to say he would read that which he
did not believe, and that he would perform that to which
his mind did not consent. His first objection, there-
fore, to the measure was, that it would give no real
relief to the clemy. He would next to consider
whether it would give any real relief in the ease of can.
didates for holy orders. Now he had to observe that if
the declaration operated in the way of preventing young
men from taking holy orders, it had been in operation for
200 years, and one would have naturally supposed that
during that keg period it would have produced a deficiency
of candidates for the service of the church. The fact wee,
however. that the deficiency bad only been remarked within
the last 10 or 12 years, and there were many other names of
accounting for it. It should for instance be ackoo
that the relative value—if he might use the expressige ii dne!
worldly sense—of the church and of other professions had
materially altered of late years. The system of com-
petitive examinations had opened to intelligent and
distinguished young men from the universities careers
which promised early honours and large emoluments.
Then, as regarded the time for introducing this bill his
noble friend had pointed out some objection. He
was not inclined to dwell upon that, because if a change
was desirable it ought to be made as soon as possible. But
in one respect he did not think this was the time for intro-
ducing a change, namely, the state of men's minds. He
had only that day seen that a clergyman—he hoped it was
• solitary cue—was desirous of preaching the gospel with-
oat the Bible. But be coofined himself to these two
points—that the proposed change would afford no real re -
lisf and that there were other causes which were quite
raffia-kid to account for any deficiency of candidates for
We ministry. He therefore, did not feel himself at liberty
to support the bill, and begged to move that it be read a
second time that day six months. (Hear, hear.)
The Bishop of LONDON said he was forced to the
conclusion that the declaration was anaeoessery. He
conceived it was proved to be unnecessary by the fact that,
as explained by the most reversed prelate, it was an echo
of a declaration which bad previously been made. And for
his own part, in explaining the declaration to his clergy, he
gladly adopted the explanation given by the meet reverend
prelate, and to impress upon them that what was required
of them was that they should be able conscientiously and
heartily to nee the Liturgy of the church of England. Bat
it was an unfortunate thing that certain words bad slipped
into the declaration which to mon of scrupulous and con-
scientious minds did present the appearance of a meaning
more than this. (Hear, bear.) It was his opinion that all
declarations and oaths should be expressed in such unmis-
takeable language that no man could doubt their meaning,
and this was doubly necessary when it was the clergy who
bad to make declarations and oaths. If, therefore, in this
wimple declaration of a hearty drain to conform to the
Liturgy of the church of Eogland there bad unfortunately
intruded themselves words which seamed to imply that that
Liturgy was exalted to a place for which it never
was intended, then it appeared to him desirable
that words which were liable to be so maws-
rimed should be removed from the declaration. (Hear.)