The Press.
London, England, 1857-10-10 00:00:00

THE PRIMATE ON THE CHURCH.

THE address delivered by the Archbishop of
CANTERBURY to the clergy of his diocese, on
Monday last, affords an oblique confirmation
of the views expressed by ourselves on the
subject of the Church of England. It may
be doubted, perhaps, how far the Archbishop
himself apprehends the conclusions to which
his observations would conduct us. Such
want of foresight is far front uncommon in
even younger men and more zealous partisans
than the present Primate of AU England. But
it is just because words coining front so high
an authority in the Church will, as far as thor
go, exercise great influence, and find a ready
acceptance among those who might not have
been prepared to concur in our deductions
from them, that we have thought it a good
opportunity for recurring to the discussion of
this subject.
His Grace's observations on the condition
and prospects of the Church of England at
the present moment are not encouraging.
He greatly deplores certain provisions of the
recent Divorce Bill; he is alarmed at the
spread of " Romish principles and latitudina-

" rian speculations ;" and on the question of
church rates he alludes to the possibility of
trouble and embarrassment, though convinced
of the injustice and irrationality of abolishing
them under existing circumstances. Here,
however, it isjthat his Grace'sjshortsightedness
becomes, in our opinion, conspicuous. ge
argues, that because only five per cent. of
English parishes have repudiated. church rates,
they cannot be disteeteful to the people at
large, and that, therefore, we need be under
no apprehensions for their security. But we
think experience has sufficiently shown that
the general feeling of the people of this
country can never be relied upon to counteract
the efforts of a zealous and persevering inino.
rity. Does his Grace require an actual in-
stance—the Divorce Bill which he so deci-
sively laments is exactly to the point. There
are, it is true, but five in a hundred of our
English parishes which have shown a disposi-
tion to escape the payment of church rates,
but we very much question whether the pro-
portion of those desirous to escape from the
restrictions of the marriage law was not some-
thing infinitely smaller. Yet, owing to the
want of concert among the friends of the
Church, and the absenee of any alliance be-
tween Churchmen and those politicians most
friendly to the interests of their communion,
the clamour of a small section was permitted
to triumph over the traditions and the com-
mon sense of the community at large. It' the
Archbishop earnestly desires to maintain the
temporal interests of the Church, he must use
his endeavours to re-establish that connection
between the conservative spirit in religion
and in politics which has now too long been
lost sight of.
Furthermore, if "Romish principles and
" latitudinarian speculations " are, we do not
say to be checked, but simply prevented from
swamping the Church of England, a steady
course must be held by the pilots of the latter.
When these dangers are threatening her it is
no time for discussing internal changes.
Alterations of her system or Sher Liturgy
would be but so many opportunities for the
waters to rush in. And perhaps it was ham
some feeling of this sort that the Archbishop
studiously abstained from the question of
liturgical reform.
The Church of England can only be main-
tained in the position which the Primate ap-
pears to desire for her by a careful and constant
recognition of her true character—a branch
of the Church Catholic purged of Romish
adulterations, and a member of the great Pro-
testant body of Christendom, but unspoiled
of primitive truth. It is because many zealous
members of the Church cannot bring them-
selves heartily to acknowledge this double
front which she thus presents to the world,
that she is continually swaying to and fro and
laying herself open to the aggression of an-
tagonistic creeds. If prelates and digniteries
of the Church of England will permit either
themselves or their subordinates to act and
preach in defiance of that middle course so
wisely adopted by our reformers, they cannot
expect that the outside world will be slow to
follow their example. If tilt), will not up-
hold themselves, nobody else will do it for
them. If they depreciate the importance of
Episcopacy, either expressly or by implication,
the public will ask to some purpose why such
large revenues are devoted to the support of
it If the distinction between church and
meeting-house is tacitly ignored, where are the
arguments of those who support church rates ?
If the sacred character of Church ordinances
and Church ministers be either impugned or
discredited, why should the clergy complain
that marriage is withdrawn from their juris-
diction ? It is infatuation to supp.)se that
certain doctrines can be steadily maintained
in the pulpit, without the people learning to
apply them for themselves at last. It is folly
to imagine that spectacles such as that
recently presented by the Evangelical Alliance
can be without their effects upon the minds
of a practical people like the English.
The old French noblesse wont on talking
republicanism and infidelity till the last mo-
ment, never dreaming that the people would
have the impertinence to take them at their
word. The English clergy may depend that
all " peoples " aro very apt scholars at this

kind of learning. And if the fabric of the
Church of England is to be maintained as by
law established—if her beautiful Liturgy, her
decent ceremonies, and her ancient constitu-
tion of bishops, priests, and deacons are to
continue in force—if all that influence, either
spiritual or social, which she has long exer-
cised for good is to flourish and increase, it
call only be through the exercise of the
greatest discretion and self-denial on the part
of the clergy—by a surrender of sectional
crotchets and personal caprices, and a manly
acceptance of the doctrines and practices of
the Reformed Church of England in their
fullest and strictest sense.

MILITARY PREPARATIONS.
GoVERNMENT is at length beginning, we pre-

slime, to see that " the magnitude of the
crisis" has not after been exaggerated. Three

months ago nothing could exceed the saucy in-
difference with which Lord PALMERSTON and

his colleagues treated all representations of
the truth. Notwithstanding the rapid succes-
sion of disastrous tidings from the East, they
still continued to assure us that it was only a
transient and local outbreak, which a few

European regiments could quell with ease.
There was only one thing more absurd than
clamouring for reinforcements for India, and
that was to embody the Militia at home. On
the 10th of July Lord PALMERSTON point blank
refused to take any steps for providing substi-
tutes or reserves for the Line. "He saw no
"reason why the intelligence from India
" should cause any change" in the inten-
tions of Government. On the following
day he repeated his refusal in still more
emphatic terms. And this, too, when Delhi
was in possession of the rebels, and our
losses had already amounted to some thirty
thousand men. On the 28th, in spite of
Lord ELLENROROUGIeS warning, this opinion
was repeated by Lord PANaluitE in the House
of Lords with characteristic doggedness. And
it was not till fairly frightened out of their
hauteur by the united demands of the Opposi-
tion and the public, that a slight concession
was made, and 10,000 of the Militia embodied.
Fifteen thousand more are now to be called
out, and there can be no doubt that it will end
as we predicted, in the whole force being em-
ployed.
Now, it is very easy to say that Government
was right to wait, and not to plunge the
country into expense till convinced of the
necessity of doing so ; but what we urge is,
that would they but have condescended to
listen to those who understand Indian ques-
tions, they might have been convinced long
ago. The public was convinced ; the relatives
of the unhappy sufferers were convinced only
too well. But still Government chose to deride
the gravity of the emergency, and neglect
means which would have rendered eveiy re-
giment in England available for foreign service
some six or seven weeks ago. One reason we
have heard assigned for this extraordinary
conduct too childish, we should hope, to be
the truth. Government intended all along, it
is said, to take the same measures, but refused
to be dictated to by Parliament. Why, in the
name of common sense, for what does Par-
liament meet? Or is Lord PALMERSTON trying
to parody the Grande Monarque---tetat c'est
moi. Not to be dictated to, forsooth ! When
the blood of Englishmen and the honour
of Englishwomen is crying for vengeance, the
Minister of the Crown delays to assist
them, because somebody else pointed out the
right way before he found it himself ! We con-
fidently appeal to the public whether this is
the man who deserves all the fulsome eulogies
which have lately been heaped on him for his
energy, his patriotism, and his foresight !
Is this the man, we would ask, in whose fer-
tility of resource or vigour of action any confi-
dence can be placed when the stimulus of
Parliamentary surveillance is removed ? Even
now the full difficulty of our situation is but
beginning to be felt. People cried with con-
fidence to hurry out reinforcement after rein-
forcement, fancying that it was merely a ques-
tion of tame when the mutineers should be