The Express.
London, England, 1847-12-29 00:00:00

Mr. R. II:
made.

(the Chapter Clerk)—None hu been

The eonge d' dlin was then read as follows :
" Victoria, by the grace of God, &e..—To our trusty and
wall-beloved the Dean and Chapter of our Cathedral Church
of Hereford, in the diocese of Hereford, greeting :—Suppli•
cation having been humbly made to tee, ou your part, that
whereas the aforesaid church is now void and destitute of the
solace of a pastor, by the translation of the Right Rev.
Father in God, Thomas, late bishop thereof, we would be
graciously pleased to grant you our leave and license to elect
you another bishop and pastor, we, being favourably inclined
to your prayers in this behalf, have thought fit, by virtue o
these presents, to grant you such leave and license, requiring
and commanding ysu by the faith and allegiance by which
you dead bound to us, that you elect such a person for your
bishop and pastor as may be devoted to God, and useful and
faithful to us and our kingdom. In witness whereof we have
caused these our letters to be made patent. Witness oursel
at Westminster, on the llth day of December, in the 11th
year of our reign. By writ of privy seal."
The Daarr—lt is proper that I should here Mate, that
several addresses have been nreeented to the dean and chap-
ter, requesting them not to proceed with this election.:Thc.e
addres es it ia not necessary for me to go through, as they
I have already been laid before you. I will now merely I.y
them on the table. The chapter then rose and proceeded to
the chow, when divine service was performed. At the con-
clusion f the First Lesson for the morning service, which
J was read by the Rev. J. Hopton, the congd &tiara was
again, by direction of the dean, read publicly in the church
by the chapter-clerk.
The DEAN then said: We had better now retire to the
Chapter•house to consider this matter. The dean and
chapter retired accordingly to the Lady Chapel, followed by
such of the public a. were present to witness the ceremony—
perhaps some 60 persons in all—and having taken their
1 places, the chapter-clerk read the citatory letter of the dean
calling the chapter together, as follows:
" John Merewether, Doctor in Divinity, Dean of the
Cathedral Church of Hereford, and the chapter of the said
church, send greeting to A. B.: Whereas the episcopal see
of Hereford, by the translation of the Right Rev. Father in
God, Thomas, late bishop thereof, is vacant and destitute
of a pastor, and we the said dean and chapter have, on this
present with all due reverence, received in our chapter-
house, from her Most Excellent Majesty Victoria, letters
of cosoJ d'dlire, under the great mat of Orw4
Britain for choosing another bishep and pastor of
the said cathedral church, and also other letters re-
commendatory, under the signet of her said Majesty
to ns the deaa and chapter directed We, the said dean
and chapter, according to the same respective letters, have
determined to proceed to the election of a future bishop in
j our said Cathedral Church. so as aforesaid vacant, and have
appointed that you, the aforesaid A.B. in particular, and the
canons of the said church in general? and others having, or
pretending to have, right or interest in the said election, be
lawfully coed to appear on the 28th day of December, be-
tween the hours of ten and twelve in the forenoon of the
same day, to give your votes respectively. We do therefore,
by virtue of throe citatory letters' warn you the said A B,
that you do appear before us, the dean and chapter of the
said cathedral church on the day end at the hour and
place aforesaid, in the forenoon of the mime day, and
in the choir of our said cathedral church pro-
ceed to the election of a new bishop and pastor in the
same cathedral church as aforesaid,l vacant according
to the tenor of the said conga critire and letter recommenda-
tory to the said dean and chapter directed, intimating to
you, and every of you, as by these presents we do intimate
and signify, that we, the said dean and chapter then present
do intend on the same day, and at the same hour and place,
I to proceed in the whole business of the said election, with ail
lite incidents, emergencies, and dependencies whatsoever,
until the final despatch of the said election, as, God willing,
we ought to proceed, your contumacy or absence noterith-
j 'tending. In testimony whereof we, the said dean and
chapter, have hereunto put our common seal, &c."
The names of all the members of the chapter who had been
severally cited were then called over, those above named
(only) answering to the challenge.
The Darn—The names of the several members cited
having been called over, I have now to declare those who
have not answered contumacious, and that the members pre-
sent censtitute a full chapter for the purpose of pr ceedtng
with this election. The usual form of opening the business
of the election was then gone througn, and the letter missive
read as follows:

-"10 our trusty and well-beloved Dean and Chapter of
Hereford, in the diocese of Hereford. Trusty and well-
beloved, we greet you well. Whereas the Bishopric of Here-
ford is at present void by the translation of the Right Rev.
Father in God Thomas, late bishop thereof, we let you know
that for certain conaiderationsue at this time moving we of our
princely disposition and seal, being desirous to prefer unto
the same see a person meet thereunto, and considering the
virtue, learning, wisdom, gravity, and other good gilts
wherewith our trusty and well-beloved Dr. Rene Dickson
Hampden, our reader in theology in our University of Ox-
ford, is endued, we have been pleased to name and retain-
nr.nd him unto you by these pre.ents to be elected and
chosen into the said bishopric of Hereford. Wherefore we
require you, upon receipt hereof, to proceed to sour election
according to the laws and statutes of this our realm, and our
cove Waits herewith sant unto you, and the same election
90 made to certify unto us under your common seal.—Given
under our signet, at our palace of Westminster, the 11th day
of December, in the eleventh year of our reign."
Mr. R. Underwood, the chapter.clerk, was then ap-
pointed notary for the election, and /deism. Knight and
Bpenar his two witnesses.
The DEAN --Tile next process is to proceed to the election
of the future bishop and pastor of this cathedra, church. It
has pleased her Majesty, in her letter missive, which Ilea been
read, to make a recommendation on this subject ; and it is
for the chapter now to determine upon that recommendation.
The vote' will be taken, commencing with the junior mem-
ber of the chapter present. There is a restriction as to the
dean in the statutes of this cathedral, that he should not vote
till the last. _ _ _

The RLtht Hon. and Rev. Lord SATZ and SELS—Before
we proceed to vote I think it right to inform the chapter
that I have this morning, upon what I consider undoubted
authority, an intimation that the Bishop of Oxford has with-
drawn kis intended suit in the Court of Arches against Dr.
Hampden, as testing his orthodoxy.
The DEAN wi,hed to know if the informstien was certain,
not that he disputed the authority of the noble and reverend
lord, but on all occasions of this kind it was necessary that
some authentic evidence of any fact stated should be
adduced. No allusion, however, having been made, in the
course of these proceedings, to the circum'tance adverted to,
he (the Dean) questioned the propriety of its being brought
forward at all.

The votes were then taken, the Hon.. and Rev. 0. For-
rester, as the junior canon present, voting first, in favour of
Dr. Hampden. The other members present, with the ex-
ception of the dean and the Rev. Canon Huntingford, the
canon now in residence, also voted the same way as their
names were called over, according to their seniority.
The Rev. Canon HUNTINOFORD, on being called upon to
vote, rose and said—With the utmost respect for the royal
prerogative, and with a full conviction that it is for the
peace and safety of the church that the crown alone should
nominate to vacant sees, yet in this particular instance I feel
obliged to defer complying with the recommendation which
has been sent down to us, anti/ a competent tribunal shall
have pronounced to be well founded or not the sentiments
expressed by so many bishops of our church, and by so many
members of one of our universities. And hers it is not a
favour, but an act of the merest justice to myself, considering
bow well known I am to most of you, when I ask yon to
acquit me of any personal direspect towards a learned
and talented divine—towards one who, I am told,
la so estimable in his disposition—when I uk you to believe
that I em not swayed by any of those unimportant (of
course I mean not unimportant in themselves, but still com-
paratively unimportant) motives, viz., a preference for one
political party to another or any feeling is between church.
men and dissenters, or between one partyand another within
the church. But, while I ask you to believe that I am prin-
cipally swayed by higher motives, motives which have no
connexion whatever with this earth or with the present life, yet
I will frankly confess that my mind Is much affected by this cir-
cumstance, that among the bishops of ourchurch who have
signed a certain remonstrance, there are, in the first place, two
prelates, who are said to differ in opinion in some other par.
ticulars —the Bishop of London and the Bishop of Wia&as.

ter ; that. secondly, there is or.e so itiatinguished for mild-
nese and Christian meekness as the Bishop of Lineoln ; and
thirdly, that there is one of so powerful sot intellect, and of
such sincere piety as the Bishop of Oxford. I say, I confess
that the above fact seems to me important, and confirms me
in the resolution which I just now stated that I
felt myself obliged on the present occasion to
adopt, namely, to wait for an impartial and so-
, lemn decision on this subject from a tribunal competent to
pronounce it. Considering that on such an occasion it is im
portant that one's words should not be mistaken, have
thought it proper to write what I have said on the paper
which I will now lay on the table; and for the reasons' have
stated, I vote fur deferring this election.
The DIAN then nee, and spoke as follows lam standing
in the sanctuary of the Most High Gal, and, together with
my brethren, the ordained ministers of our Lord Jesus Christ,
1 am called upon in the name of the Sovereign of this
land to choose and elect such a person as may lie meet to be the
bishop and pastor of this diocese. I solemnly declare here in
the divine preaence, thatitis my earnest and hearty desire to
be faithful and bear true allegiance, to pay all humble duty
and submissive oh. dience to her Most Excellent Majesty the
Queen of these dominions, who, I feel assured, en her part,
knowing whose minister she is, will above all things seek
His honour and glory who is the King of Kings and Lord ef
Lords, to whom, a..ove all, I owe my first allegiance; and
whereas by. the exercise of that civil privilege which gives to
the tirot minister of the crown the power of recommending to
the sovereign for nomination to vacant bishoprics, the Rev.
Rem Dickson Hampden, D. D., has been so nominated, and to
us recommended by the official instruments this day read be-
fore us, to the bishopric ef Hereford; and whereas we, the
dean and chapter of this cathedral church, are prohibited,
under heavy penalties, to elect any other person into the said
bishopric except the said Rev. Dickson Hampden, and
whereas the university of Oxford, in full and lawful convoca-
tion, did decree that the said Rev. Dickson Hampden should
be deprived of certain functions of office in the said univer-
sity, because in his public writings he had so treated
theological subjects th at in this respect the university had no
confidence in him, and that the convocation afterwards with-
in five years last past, after full debate, refused to rescind the
' said decree and deprivation ; andwhereas the saidße v. Dr. Reno
Dickson Hampden is now under the effect of the said decree
of the University of Oxford, in convocation assembled, and
from the careful and attentive perusal of the said writings, I
do believe their decree to be jus:, those writings
unsound in doctrine • and danjerous in their ten-
dency ; and whereas, taking the premises humbly and
anxiously into consideration, I preferred a humble petition
to her Most Excellent Majesty, dated the 17th day of De-
cember instant, praying postponement of the election until
due iirvestigetion had been made, and a sufficient removal of
the censure and deprivation of the said Dr. Henn Dickson
Hampden had been attested by a just and competent tri•
banal; mid moreover, further pleaded to her Majesty's prime
minister the entire circuantauces of the case, together with
the useful and constraining obligations by which we are
bound; and whereas the primate of all England, with 13
Wallops or more, have preferred their objections to the ap-
pointment, and great numbers of clergy and of the laity
throughout the land, of every shade of religious opt.
pion tolerated by the church, have by the most
solemn appeals entreated us to surcease from such election
until such time as the aforesaid objection should be removed,
or another unohjectionable person substituted. We, taking
allfthe aforesaid premises into our most serious consideration,
do most humbly and imploringly supplicate Him whose holy
word declares, ' That the hearts of kings are in His rule
and got ernment," that her Majesty may even yet be pleased
to reconsider our earnest and disinterested prayer, to correct
and amend the errors and misfortunes which have arisen,
and still more seriously threaten, from the ill-considered ad-
vice of a misinformed minister, as on other occasions her Ma-
jesty's royal predecessors have done, and so to avert the iajury
which must otherwise be inflicted on Ott church and pacify
the outraged feelings or tier members ; and here, in the
sight of God, in the midst of His temple., and in the per-
formance of our priestly office, I solemnly protest that it is
no deficiency, in the smallest degree, of loyalty and humble
devotion to our sovereign, of implicit respect sod deference
to the laws ef this realm which impels me to make this de.
elaration --it is the dictate of my conscience, the conviction
of my mind, that I am coustrained so to act as I tender the
safety of my soul, and dread the vengeance duo to infidelity
and insincerity, mockery and profaneness, from a justly
offended God, if I did not thus discharge what seems
to me to be my duty. I, therefore, John Mere-
wether, D.D., Dean ef this Cathedral Church of Hereford,
do humbly protest against this proceeding as an election,
inasmuch as certain persons have voted who I have reason
to believe, being merely honorary prebendaries, and not having
conformed to the provisions of the statutes of the church,
which I have sworn to observe, are cot qaalified to vote in
chapter; and also, because the majority so constituted has
not, according to the said statutes, the dean and three
retidentiaries at least voting therein ; and I require and
claim the power of extending this my protest, and that this
my protest be duly annexed and appended to the significa-
tion and certificate of election to the bishop elect, to the
crown, and to the archbishop.— (Signed), JOHN Maas-
*Evian, Dean.
This protest was also laid on the table.
The Rev. W. E. EvaNa—Mr. Dean, as the senior of those
prebend' whom you have objected to, I feel it my duty to
step forward and remind you that, on the previous occasion
when we were met together, you stated distinctly that no
objection should originate with you with regard to the 'nai-
ldity of our votes.
The Dux—That is a mistake. . _

The Rev. Mr. Evans—No ; it cannot be a mistake. I
appeal to those rev. gentlemen present who heard what
took place, it I did not ask you two or three times over
whether any objection of that kind would emanate from you,
and if you did not solemnly 'saute me that it should not?
The Rev. G. F Lewis—At the previous meeting it was
distinctly put to the dean whether any objection would be
made to the Totes of the honorary prebends—and the
answer was " no."

The Rev, J. B. Wenn—We stated on the former occasion
that if the dean and chapter objected to our votes we would
withdraw, but no objection was made and we voted.
The Rev. Mr. Musolthvz—But if the honorary prebends
had not voted, there would still have been a majority of the
chapter in favour of Dr. Hampden.
The Hon. and Rev, Lard SAYE and Baca—By the act of
puliament a majority of the chapter are competent to carry
any measure. The dean and four canons being present, the
majority of the four are quite sufficient.
The DEart—l submit that it is not for the chapter to
determine those points. I wish to call attention, however,
to what has been said by Mr. Beane. When I called
the chapter together to consult as to the numerous
addressee which had been received entreating the dean
and chapter not to proceed with the election, I stated that
a question might arise in regard to the right of the honorary
prebends to vote, and when I was asked if I should object to
their vete. I replied that it was not for meta object, and that I
should admit their votes, as I was required to do bymy office,
and they have been admitted. But I never did say anything
as to my supposition as to the right of voting (nor could I do
so with nuy:regard to right or proper conduct); neither did I
say anything which could affect these votes one way or the
other. I have now dune my duty in the eight of Clod, and
although some have endeavoured to cast a slur on my in-
tegrity and character, in regard to the course which I have
pursued in this matter, I declare, moetsolemoly, that I am free
from any just imputation of the kind. 1 distinctly and clearly
stated in the first instance that such an objection might be
raised, and that I believed the objection a valid one, and
I further stated that it was not for me to reject the votes of
the honorary canons, but that their votes would be inserted
in the list ol votes as members of the chapter, and that their
validity would be decided by others, who would constitute a
proper tribunal for the purpose.
The Rev. Mr. Dlosonavn--As I was present on the occa-
sion referred to, I can say that you, Mr. Dean, distinctly
stated that no objection to these votes should come from
you ; yet this objection is inserted in your protest.
The Dias—The statutes enact that in all these matters
which depend on the collection of votes nothing shall have
force and strength unless the dean and three resident
canons are component parts of the majority ; or unless the
dean alone dissents, in which cue his dissent shall be of no
avail. _ . .

The Rev. Mr. Lewis—Fourteen days ago I received •
letter calling on me to attend here to-day al a member of the
chapter. Who signed that letter /
The Duerr— The signature is in my hand.
The Rev. Mr. Lewis—The letter is under your hand
and seal.
Lord SATZ AND SALZ referred to the act 4 and 5 Viet.,
cap. 39, clause 16, which enacts that a majority of the mem-
bers of the chapter, including or not including the dean
should be sufficient to constitute chapter for the trans-
action of the business of the chapter.
The Dams deprecated the discussion of such matters, but
contended that the clause referred to did not apply to the
Cal?. _ .

The Rev. Mr. Mt7RORATIL—As the dean's protest is likely
to go forth to the public, and as be has mentioned the na ne
of the Primate of all England as having been one of the re-
monstrant., I wish to sa7 that at present we have no ground
for including the Archbishop of Canterbury's name amongst
the remonstrating bishops.
The DEAN would nut have alluded to the circumstance
was he not assured, on the best authority he could arrive at,
that the Archbishop of Canterbury did write a letter to the
prime minister previous to the re-monstrance of the 13
bishops. lie stated in his protest 13 or more, because he
knew that others had written to Lord J. Russell against the
appointment of Dr. Hampden.
The Rev. W. MOROAN—But we have no right to take
notice of that here.

The DEAN—I take notice of it, and am responsible for it.
I know I have done my duty.
The Dean then announced the result of the voting, viz.,
for Dr Hampden, 3 canons resident, 5 prebendaries of the
old order, 10 being absent, and 6 honorary prebends, 3 being
absent, and the dean and 1 canon resident being dissentient.
A long discussion again ensued as to the right of the hono-
rary prebends to vote, and the opinion of the Rev. Chan. ,
cellar Corbett wee asked, and given in favour of the right,
and stating that the only difference between the honorary
and the other prebends was in the emolument, the former
having all the duties of the office devolving upon them, but
without emolument.

The Rev. Mr. MOttOLN ultimately put a stop to the dis-
eussion by moving that the remit of the electioit be de-
clared ; which motion was seconded by Lord Faye and File.
The Dane—There are 15 ♦otes, or claimed votes, for
sleeting Dr. Rena Dickson Hampden as the bishop for this
diocese. There are two votes against him, other, being ab-
sent. It is for the chapter now to say if they consider that
to be an election of Dr. Hampden. After a pause, the Dean
added: No one, of course, will object but those who
have protested ; under those circumstances we have now to
decree three certificates of this election—one to the Queen,
one to the Archbishop, and one to the bishop elect. I beg
leave to add, that had I been allowed to proceed without in-
terruption, we should have concluded the business half an
hour ago.

The chapter then proceeded to the choir, and after the
conclusion of the service returned to the Chapter-house, and
•fixed their seals to the following official certificate of election :
" Be it known unto all men that a majority of the members
of this caLbedral church of Hereford, in full chapter this day
assembled, is obedience to her Majesty's license, have chosen
the Rev. Been Dickson Hampden, D.D., to be the future
bishop of this cathedral church and see, in the room of the
Right Rev. Father in God Thomas Musgrave, D.D., late
Lord Bishop thereof, now translated to the archbishopric of
York." Signed by the majority only.
The proceedings then terminated.