The Express.
London, England, 1851-03-17 00:00:00

cht expreio.

TO CORRESPONDS 4 TS.
hillieleeteeteentit lalestieul far The Eames; Lariltin Evening Imre,
ore lei •'theOS" Zoomirearest. by go (Mush ha the
day et bobleageb.

11100 WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
Tom U+,.-Marais.. D. 44as. .—..Ahrresca, 9na.
Um:A.4M -]Wail. 21. 31a. .Aftrefocs. U. Siva.

LONDON, MONDAY, MARCIE 17.

Tina 4.11 the Roman catholic church may not be,
as a meeting at Whitteehapcl the other day, on the
mo'ion n Isuptist minister, resolved it to he, a
great conspinwv against the liberties, the property,
and the lives of the British people, it is the veriest
simplicity or the cunningest craft to treat that
chuteh as if it wen, in thus realm a mere ordinary
voluntary religious eolunlunity, and to plate it in the
tame ellitgUry ass the Wesleyan, the huptist, or the
independent ceelesiastii-al society, US did Mr.
l'AtArm on Friday night.
All that the unman church has in England in
emzonain with the diswnting communities is its
voluntarism; or rut her is t hut word very differ-
/oily un'ilerstond and pramisid. The Yoluntaryinn
of di...lit i. a grid. religious principle deeply
clicrishid and stoutly propagated; it is the glory and
the 11•11111.11 "1 11.11-I'mtrormilw : they would
not east it off even if they could; with then. it is the
very life of reli.riou, the Mind of their union, the
Torun. of tlwir extension. But, here in Englund, the
voluntaryism of the ltontan communion is min-
pulsory. and unwillingly assumed; it is the signal
of that chutch's overthrow, the sign sir its de-
gradation, the seal of its defeat. Nowhere is
the Homan than+ a voluntary church of it, own
free will: everywhere it see'k's to became nut only
the establisl.44 but the only church. its hierarchical
system, it. priestly otvanisution, its pretensions to,
universal authority nail 'Joplin; )))) , its infallibility, its
uitily or art ion, and its tinily of camm law adapted
fur generil uv. are all uttcriv opposed to such volun-
taryism, Ws our dissenting ludies boost the possession
et. A church which lei fit:v.'s itself, as a church,
to have a divine utissi.m —to be, as a human in-
stitution, the only means appointed by the
A 131161111( whereby men can be brought within
the 1.4.1 e of salvation, 1.. be entlowtsl with the power
19 speak authoritatively un earth is require to its
der......ms • crsal obedience :to exist irrespectively
sir state-' and „iliumma laws, anti tube itukstructildc
au, a chinch b utay e rowed into the ismition of
volunim; ism; but it is (111 abuse 4.f the great prin-
ciple or %,,liiiitar‘isni, a. pod, ' 11 and amtertili in
the lihrrty 1s lingli.h di,...eisters, tit
dismessuch an organisation us a voluntary Issly ;and
t.. 31V1111.. 11. does Mr. ItorNogi.i. Ptt nim. the inle-
t that whatever its acts or deeds. it must is
In !gest in the United Kingdom as u thurch purely
tcl..ristus us the Wedleyan, uuambilieur as. the 'tap_
list. or devotall to liberty ns the Indepetittents. This
la 11011/11.11.1`; wit., worse titan 11011,4•11 W, it is delusion,
if it Ire not try.i.yhym.
But it limy be said that the law has for the last
twenty years twitted it 04 a voluntary church.
Certainly it has.. And the law would continue to do
lad it not shown tint it aimed, not nwrelv at re-
ligious rumen* by nwans of Isrop..4,mittlisit. width it
WWI and is free to use. hut at its establishment hen'

--. . .
in Englaml as a pn-dominating. if not the
predominant church. Not an account do we
receive from Rome, whence only we can
learn the mat object and desikne of the late
changes in the orgunisatiem - not a letter is there
mblished that does mg flatly contradiet the assertion
1
1111de for domestic uses. that the Poet: and his car-
inal meant onlv to develop the hierarchy of the
I: ttttt an (lurch us England. An expectation of the
re-u tt i..n of England to the Chords of Rome is tho
pr. sailing belief. the supreme hope of the Poole and
his adviser.. Read the lust emcee pn-aehed b% Dr.
111141:m %N. in his lath and plaster cathedral•lmilt
only for present use, before leis departure for
Rome ; and there you will find how he pro-
mises that such an union shall nut deprive us
of our liberties, hut shall ungnwist our greatness.
That is the gnat object of his life :it is by that light
we must look on all his meoementie, and actions, and
thoughts. Ile himself would be the first to smile
at our credulity, slid we :tempt his excuse about
developing the hierarchy for his own religionists.
The inordinate ambition of the man cares little for
them; it is on Eughtnd that he has fixed his "evil
eye."
It is very true that laws cannot do much, in
the war of police or repressive legislation, to check
such designs. But that is hardly the object of Lord
Joust Russo... Leis bill: that is its form, not its sub-
stance. What is ehictly required is a brand to be
placed on the outrageous aggression of the Roman
pontiff and the British cardinal-is a stigma to be
fixed on their insolence—is n rebuff to be given to
their impertinent.... It is altogether a mistake to
suppose that any rational man. certainly none of the
liberal party. seeks to oppress or to npress the vo-
luntaryism. or the internal freed.mt. of the church of
Rome. Nothing of the sort. The Roman eatho-
lies might. in another shape. have had bishops
and anlbishops to their hearts' content here
in England. and have met in maids as often
as they pleased. But when the Port: attempted
to give to his prelates a national character
and a territorial status, the hounds of ‘ohmeace.
ism were pasted: and those of aggression and tres-
pass were enters el en. These it ts that we are now
resisting: and that we will resist to the uttermexst.
The true and honest voluntarism of the Boman
communion every liberal would.. have supported and
defended, but no liberal can submit to the danger of
Roman supremacy. And that, that only, is Cardinal
WisraLes s object.
But how is it that Mr. Rot-salmi. P eiwra. the
tractarian, is thus found to energetically supporting
the claims of voluntaryism. 31s falsely presented by
the church of Route? • How is it that persons who,
like him. place such inordinate importance on the
value of a church, and assign to it a position in reli-
gion for which there is no warrant in revelation—
Lew is that they demand fur the Purr, under the
flag of voluntaryism. that power and authority and
freedom of action which is denied him in all Raman
catholic countries? Some few years ago these
very men were writing " their little books of
nOLIACILSC " in favour of reviving the Roman
catholic disabilities and of religious persecution;
tome few years ago they told us that " the
state had a conscience." and that it was bound to
propagate a religion. Now they arc not only for
religions liberty but for religious &war. Whence
the change ? What is it that has made our PaLaitms.
war (it.ttwrems. and our llores, democrats and
revei!utionists in religion ?
Can any man doubt that their object is to have
a model church here in England, such as they have