The Express.
London, England, 1866-02-26 00:00:00

TH3 TESTS ABOLITION (01701 D) BILL.

The following is the bill blotted in the House of
Ornassoos by lir. Coleridge sad Mr. Gant Duff to provide
for the abolition of religious testa in sonnstion with sew
dented degrees sad offioss is the Ilsiversity of Oxford:
" Whims it is expedissi that prevision shonid be
made for insane bar Majesty's subjeries to take
depots other than degrees is divinity is the
University of Oxford, sad to hold public pre.
feesorships, readerships, and other soadeneked
aims which are or may be tensWe by laymen
thassin, without requiring from them religiose toots : be
it enacted by the Queen's most excellent Majesty, by and
with the &Moe sod ocriment of the lords spirituel and
temporal, and Oosomons, is this pretest parliament
allablid, and by the authority of the same, as follows :
"Peen and after the passim of this ast. se parent shall
berequiredotpos taklegrifto sbable idea to tabs any degree
(other than a degree is divinity) within the rid University
of Orford, or as • oriuditioa of exercising or 'Ow/is' say
of the privileges and rights which may heretofore bars beau
or may hereafter be crannied and 'enjoyed by graduates
thereof, to subsoribe any article or formulary of faith.
or to make say declaration or take any oath respecting
his religious belief or Tr:Wanks, or to conform
to any religious observance, anything in the 44th seatkro in
he act passed in the session of parliament hold in the 17th
sad 18th years of her prompt Majesty, chapter 81, or any
other eat of parliament or statute of the said tutivomity, to
the contrary notwithstanding : provided always, that in case
any such degree shall be tendered as a qualification for any
dike now Womble only by a member of the united
church of inland and Ireland for which such degree bus
heretofore constituted tree of the necessary qualilloatiosis,
being other this an office within the said university or argot
oollmor or halls thereof, the person or peewee appointing or
electing to such office shall require the perms so tendering
meek depot, as aforesaid to 'absinths sash formularies or to
make such declaration as he would have been required to
subscribe or make on taking the degree of master of arts
in the said usivessity if this act had not posed.
" From sod after the passing of this set, so perms
shall be required, as a qualiflostiou for or as • condition of
holding say public professorship, readership, or other aca-
demical office which is or may be tenable by a layman
within the said university, to subscribe any article or for-
mulary of faith, or to make any declaration sr take any oath
respecting his religions belief or profendoe, or to conform
to say religions observance, anything fa the eighth, ninth,
awl teeth motioss of en act passed in the session of par.
fitment held in the thirteenth end formless* years of King
Charles 11., chap. 4, or in any other act of parliament or
statute of the raid aelvenity, to the costrery witerith-
standing.
" Provided always that nothing in this set oss-
tamped shall be taken to apply to any heedship or fellow-
ship, or any office of or in any college, house,
or hall within the said university, sot being
a fellowship or other endowment in such college, house.
or ball attechal to some public professorship, readership,
or other acadrimiml office ia the said university, and held
by virtue thereof." '

On Saturday afternoon the Bishop of London
consecrated the new church of St. Barnabas, in Harvest-
toed, Hornsey-road, as out district of Isliegtos. The church
has bee/ erected entirely by voluntary coetributions 1111.
sisted by rents from the Isliogtoo Clintch Betiding So'clety
of 1,5001., the Bishop of London's Fend, 7501. • sad the
Diocesan Society, 500/. ; its total cyst being about 5,8001.
The style ie Gothic, of the early decorated period. sod the
building will affoid sitting accommodation for about 1,300
persons, more than half of which ere free.
THE BISHOP OF LONDON ON &MICH AND
Remoroe.—Yesterday afternoon the Lord Bishop of
London preached at the Chapel Royal, Whitehall. The
Rev. W. F. E. Hnollys read the paten; and Kr. R.
Hassey presided at the organ. His lordship (sho seemed
far from well) took his text from 1 Timothy tu., 15, " The
house of God, which is the ebuich of the tiring God, the
pillar and grotted of the truth," and proceeded to show how
far the char& of England asswered the &diatom of a
church in the articles, and how it fulfulled its special mis-
sion. Its duty, be mid, was to express sod guide the reli-
gious fishese of the nation. There were many alarmed just
now at a possible split of the church into two partite—
the slergy treading one path and the laity the oteer, the
clergy becoming more superstitious and the laity too
freetbinkisg, though all freethinking might nut be eon-
fined to the Mir or all superstition to the clergy, for
some laymen might take a clerical tonedd vomit clergy-
men ape the dangerous scepticism the laity. It
would not do. en in tome cocaine, for relive to be ooa-
fined to priests sod women. sad all the manhood sad
intellect of the age to be left to the (nuance influence
of scepticism. There wes and could be no sotakionion
between religion std the exercise of ma's iutellect ;
superstition and scepticism were antagonism, bat super-
stela' was the brie counterfeit of ravioli and so was
scepticism of reason. Bathos must not be fireweed down,
doubt must not be called atheism, or inquiry sip. Of late
many questions, long since thought settled
had base re-
opened as to the nature of inspiratice, the mode of re-
eassilisg miracles with the Axed laws of the seines%
bolt In what we sometimes called the torpid days of re-
itgion, a hoot of brilliant weapons had been furnished to
Truth's armoury by men like Butler sad others girding
themselves meafelly to confront the Wide* and they oust
learn to abstain from sameeleas ammo or subjecting those
who diverged from the belief of ill.ieforred people to
abase as abettors of error.
It is sonounoed that the executive of
member the Dra-
matie College bare awarded to Mr. A. B. Sloss.a
of the Stock Exottense, the late Mr. T. P. Cooke's urine of
1001. for the best nstioaal drama. The title of Mr. Slows'
drama is " True to the Core," and it is antlenthed that it
i will soon be produced at one of the West-esd theater.