The Express.
London, England, 1847-04-26 00:00:00

OORNWALL.

Tun BODHIN CONTSST.—The PlyrnotdA Journal says:
—" A 'warm of candidates has alighted upon this borough,
and the competition for the honour of representing it fa un-
paralleled in its history. The gentlemen who have already
announced themselves, are, Mr. Wyld, the chart-seller;
Mr. Lacy, the deputy chairman of the South-Western Rail-
way Company, the lion. Capt. Vivian, Sir Samuel Spry,
Knight ; Mr. J. Dunn Gardner, formerly Earl of Leicester;
Dr. Mitchell, a gentleman of high respectability and con-
siderable influence in Bodmin; and report speaks further of
Mr. Cockburn and Mr. Butt, of the V. eaten. Circuit."
PROPOSED NEW BISHOPRIC OP CORNWALL.—The fol-
lowing statements, relative to the proposed appointment of a
bishop for Cornwall, have recently been published in Bod-
min .—" It is, we hear, determined to wigs one of the new
biahopries to Cornwall—an act of tardy justice. For eight
hundred years we have been deprived of our ancient see.
About 1034, Bishop Lyvyng, the nephew of Burhuwold or
Brithwald, the last Bishop of Cornwall, was permitted by
King Canute to annex the Cornish see to that of Creditors
His successor, Leofrie, transferred the seat to Exeter in 1050.
The ancient see was called the bishopric of Cornwall, and
also of St. Germans and Bodmin, like the present diocese
of Bath and Wells. Only, on the 30th of April, 1833,
a vulgate copy of the Gospels, which formerly belonged
to Bodmin, was sold for thirty guineas to the British
Museum, by Mr. Rodd, the London bookseller. Ho bad re-
cently purchased it at the sale of WhestleT-pork library,
near Oxford. How it came there cannot be disoovered. The
manuscript is said to be of the ninth century, if not of an
earlier date. There are 46 entries written on the back
,d3odl in.iLan,tigel,twofeemnlituorniss. manumissions partlyrs is
Bishop
This, we believe, is the only original record relating to
Cornwall or its bishopric anterior to the conquest. Henry
VIII. left • minute in his own handwriting for the restora-
tion of the Cornish bishopric, out of the revenues of the
priories of Bodmin, St. Germans, and Launceston. It is not
generally known that there were ordinations in Bodmin
church only three centuries ago, so late as 1538, by William,
bishop of Hipps, suffragan of the Bishop of Exeter. Thomas
Vivian, who died in 1533, also held several ordinations in
Bodmin Church. He was the titular Bishop of Exeter, and
prior of Bodmin. His tomb now remains entire in Bodmin
church, with his effigy thereon, ornamented as a bishop. To
support his dignity, he was allowed to bold, with the priory
of Bodmin, the rectory of Withiel, the vicarsge of Eglos-
hayle, and one of the prebends of Endellion. He appear,
to have been the last suffragan bishop in Cornwall, and to
have exercised his episcopal office at Bodmin for nearly
20 years. The present church of Bodmin is the largest in
the county, and the handaornest as to the interior, which is
151 feet long by 63 feet broad. It is in excellent order, the
area, containing 8,733 square feet, having been entirelybroken
up and renewed ix 1819, sometime before church restoration
became so general. It is larger than some of the Irish cathe-
drals. All the maims and sesaiona,and the archdeacon's registry,
are now fixed at Bodmin, which is situated almost in the
trent» of the area of the county, which contains 2,337 square
miles. The population of the parish is 5,000. '1 he ancient
borough, containing 2,785 acme, is the largest in the county,
and has returned two members to parliament from the earliest
times, The limits of the old British see, which are more no-
tura' and distinct than any in England, should be preserved.
They are the same as the Archdeaconry of Cornwall , contain-
ing 1,367 miles, and almost entirely separated from the arch-
deaconries of Totnes and Barnstaple by the rivers Tamar
and Carey, and the Mainland-brook. Wales, be it known,
has four bishoprics for 930,000 souls, whilst the diocese of
Exeter alone now contains 900,006. The population of
Cornwall is fast approaching to 400,000, the increase in the
county having been 30,000 in every ten years since 1821.
Compared with our twenty-seven bishopric, the population
of the srelideaconry of Cornwall will be found to exceed
thirteen of them, and to be nearly equal to that of several
others."

THE BRISTOL LIBERAL ABSOCIATION held a special
general meeting on Friday for the purpose of receiving a re-
port on the parliamenta7 register of the city, and consider-
ing the steps to be taken in anticipation of the near approach
of a general election. The report congratulated the liberal
party on the very favourable position it now occupies. In-
stead of having to struggle, as it were, for existence, it now
commands an undoubted and substantial majority on the
register. The committee stated their belief that the
seat of Mr. Berkeley, the present member, was secure.
Mr. W. Tothill, in moving the adoption of the report,
strongly urged upon the liberal party the importance of
their withholding any promise of their second Tote. There
was no present prospect or intention of bringing forward a
second liberal candidate; but it was rumoured that there
was a contest contemplated between the candidate who was
defeated at the last election and the present tory member,
and circumstances might vary. The most likely course to
preserve the peace of the city, would be to let their oppo-
nent, see that they would give no support to either of their
candidates, in which cue the weaker 'party, seeing their
chance hopeless, might think it wise to save their time and
their money.