The Express.
London, England, 1851-03-20 00:00:00

PROTF.STANT DEFENCE COMMITTEE.

Yesterday Lead Micky, accompanied by a deputa-
tion of clergy and laity, presented the following address to
the Arehhistiop of Cantethury, signed by 238,860 clerical
and la)• nwnils rs of the church of England :
" To the Most Reverend John Bird, Lunt Archbishop of
Canterbury, l'rintate of all England and Metropo-
litan, &e.
" May it please your Graee,—We, the undersigned
clerical and lay members of the church of England, beg
leave to approieh your grace at a time when our protestant
institutions in church and state have been outraged by an
insolent and ' ' lions act of aggression nn the part of the
Ali hop of Rome, and menaced by other ant great dangers,
and to express our veneration for the Otte,• which your
grace sustains, and our unfeigned and affectionate respect
for the Christian wisdom and forbearance with which it.

high functions are exercised.
" While we regard the papal assumption of territorial
jurisdiction within this kingdom as dangerous alike to our
civil and religious liberties, and trust that effectual means
will be taken by the proper authorities to repel the aggres-
sion, and to avert the threatened ilanFers, our alarm is more
especially excited by the fact, sufficiently notorious, that
this external assault has been invited, encouraged, and
facilitated by the state of things in our own church.
" We believe that the principles and practices adopted of
late years by many of the clergy and laity, usually known
by the name of tractarian, and which it would be neither
needful or lassirning more particularly to describe to your
race, have deluded the Roman pontiff into the belief that
pro heart of England is infected, and that her church may
again be 11.4111t11i into subjection to the see of Rome.
We are persuaded that if those principles should be
allowed to prevail in our church, the I tope would he found
to have judged rightly that its strength for resistance had
depart (non it, that it could no longer retain its judo
prudence, but must yield as a blind captive to papal supre-
macy. The actual secession to Rome of so many of those
who have fallen under the infection of trachiritut printiplea,
Is a sufficient proof thereof. but even if our church were
in no danger from Rome, we should equally deprecate
Opinions and practices alien front the protestant character of
our church, its well as from the plain teaching of her articles
and formularies, opposed to the truth of the Gospel of
Christ, and which tend to bring the people under the iron
yoke of priestly despotism.
" It has heretofore been the glory of our eltureh to be
regarded an the chief bulwark and depositary of the pro-
testant faith, and we trust that she will yet vindicate to
herself this character, by casting Wan ailventitiousliercey,
and by maintaining the principles of the blessed Reforms-
tion, without abatement or compromise.
"Our hope of such an issue of the present crisis mainly
tests upon the faithful upholding of the supremacy of Holy
Scripture as the sole rule and ground of faith, and upon
united prayer to Almighty God fur the guidance of his holy
spirit, and for the fulfilment of the promise of Christ that
he will be with his people to the end of the world.
" But amongst the means to which we look for the desired
relief, we turn to those to whom God has committed the
chief rule and oversight of spiritual things amongst us.
And when we remember that your Grace was the first
bishop publicly to denounce the errors of tractaxianism, and
to forewarn the church of its fatal tendencies, we cannot
but humbly adore the providence of Clod, by which you
have been ails aneed, for such a time a. this, to the post of
supremo spiritual authority among the prelates of our
church.
" Our ecclesiastical constitution has placed an authority
in the hands of the archbishops of which the oath taken
by every bishop at his consecration, of all due reverence
and obedience to the archbishop and his successors, is the
exponent. Your grace's immediate predecessor, when the
evil of tractarianism was probably supposed to be yet re-
pressible by mild remedies, issued an admonition to the
whole church on the subject of rubrical observances, which
exercised for a time a very salutary influence. We look
back also to many instances in which your grate's prede-
cessors have interposed the weight of their pre-eminent
authority for the benefit of the church.
" Under these circumstances and with these sentiments
we humbly implore your grace, in this season of danger and
apprehension, to take all such measures as the constitution
of our church has provided for the rectifying of evils, and
for supplying the masses of our population with protestant
ministrations, and for pro.ecting them againstthe seductions
and contantivation of popish delusions.
`• In conclusion, we very humbly assure your Orme of
Our earnsst prayer to God that lie may bless your labours
to the ads ancement of tits glory ; that Ile may sustain you
under your heavy responsibilities and varied trials ; and that
Ile may long preserve your (trace, to direct the counsels of
our church by the wise exercise of your authority, and to
--rage the piety of her members by the example of •
God, of Christian charity, and of an inflexible
uphold in our church, in all its integrity, the
Gospel_"
address hs Grace returned the following
ANPIWIR :
chich you justly characterise as a season of
church, both from external aggression and
I divisions, I derive no slight comfort from an
that which you now present to me; which, inx-
_ is from the number of its subscribers, is still
important from the authority belonging to their

must be matter of regret and humiliation, that
aces of attachment to the church, which the
i.eys, should have been principally called forth
stances within the church itself, oceasioning
requiring correction. It will be vain to deny
adVlETStrillt have themselves avowed, that the
measures on the part of Rome, against which
protesting, have been encouraged be syntp-
approach to% weds ReatiA doctrines and Ilnmish
which have appeared of late years within the
EnaLusil. It is also certain that the principles
ave bees loudly maintained and zealously pro-
, under the equivocal title of church principles,
tend, ney to lead those who embrace them to men-
the church of Home, as the church in which
are most perfectly carried out and esta-

therefore cordially agree with the sentiments ex-
he &thief., and believe that the bold and open
of the distinctive doctrines of the Itaforma-
en are the doctrines of the Gospel, will be the
safeguard against Romish error at home, and Romish
from abrond.
address appeals to authority ; and desires that it
exercised in preventing such practices and innova-
publif worship as have their origin in error and
item. I hare much satisfaction in assuring you,
. may speak of my colleagues on the episcopal bench
generally reed Upon this subject. The practices which
• justly condemned have been introduced with no ap-
-si on their part; though in many instances, through

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