The Express.
London, England, 1867-02-20 00:00:00

THE ARCHBISHOP OP CANTERBURY ON
RITUALISM.

The Primate of all England received a deputa-
tion at Lambeth yesterday from the N►tional Club on the
subject of ritual practices. Between 20 and 30 gentlemen
attended, including Sir B. Bridges, Bart., M.P., Rev. Sir
H. Thompson, Mr. W. B. Beach, M.P., Major Willoughby
More, and General Lawrence.

The Archbishop of CANTERBURY in reply said-1 am by
no means insensible to the dangers which at this moment
beset the church of England from the renewal of certain
ceremonial observances, and the introduction of changes
in our ritual symbolical of doctrines at variance with those
of our reformed church. The answer which I gave to the
address of the English Church Union twelve mouths ago
sufficiently indicated my feelings on this subject, and sub-
sequent events have only tended to confirm the justice of
the remarks I then made. With an anxious desire to
follow after that charity " which thinketh no evil," I now
Gad it impossible to evade the conviction that among those
who are joining in the present movement for the restoration
of Eucharistic vestments, the use of the incense and candles
lighted in the day time, the offering of the holy sacrament
Id a propitiatory sacrifice, and the elevation of the
consecrates' elements for the worship of the people, there
are many who are resolved, if possible, to obliterate hi the
formularies and worship of our church every trace of the
Reformation. (Hear, hear.) The publications which are
the acknowledged exponent. of their opinions leave no
doubt in my mind upon this point ; and having had some
experience in times peat of the tendency of such a move-
ment as this, I have the less difficulty in interpreting its
real bearing. Sixteen yowl ago I bad to contend with an
attempt of somewhat the same character at St. Saviour's,
Leeds, where among other innovations the practice of con-
fession, after the Roman usage, was introduced ; and as
soon as I proceeded to repress it by the exercise of
discipline, some of the clergy of the church
showed themselves in their true colours by se-
ceding to the church of Rome. (Hear, hear.) I have
great satisfaction in believing that there is not a single in-
stance in the diocese of Canterbury in which the changes
you have enumerated in the usual mode of administering
the Lord's Supper at present exists ; and in the only two
cases of the kind of which I am cognisant—(in one of
which the adoption of the vestments was contemplated,
and in the other lighted candles were used in the celebra-
tion of the Holy Communion)—the respective incumbents
yielded at once to my wishes, and abandoned their pur-
pose. You have, therefore, I trust a sufficient guarantee
that wherever my influence or authority can avail
they shall be exercised to discourage and re-
press those practices. (Hear, hear.) At the same
time it must ever be remembered that the bishops
are judges, and cannot act as partisans. What-
ever changes may be fairly considered to be symbolical of
erroneous doctrine, and to favour that which was delibe-
rately rejected by the church of England, whatever I
have reason to believe is offensive to the great bulk of •
congregation and calculated to estrange them from the
church of their forefathers, all this I shall resolutely dis-
countenance ; but I must not be understood to promise
any interference with that legitimate latitude which is
permitted in the ordering of the services of the church—
for instance, the alternative which allows certain portions
of them to be either said or sung, or to con-
trol variations in things indifferent where there
is no appeal to me from the tion. I
could not say with truth that those ergy who
have been following irregular customs to which they have
been habituated from their youth are equally deserving of
censure with those who introduce innovations with a special
object foreign to the spirit and letter of our formularies. Rut
while I admonish all who have broken in upou the unifor-
mity of our ritual observances on the side of excess, I
would remind those who, either by intentional omission
or by neglect and laxity, have offended in the other direc-
tion, how much they thereby weaken the side of order and
embarrass the administration of even-handed justice by
their own short-cominp. You are all, doubtless,
acquainted with the deliberate judgment In these
matters of ritual passed by the two Houses of
Convocation of the province of Canterbury, • judg-
ment which I hope soon to see ratified by the Con-
vocation of the province of York. (Hear.) I will not
do the advocates of extreme ritual, to whom this judgment
refers, the injustice of supposing that they will persevere
in their present course in the face of such authority ; I
would rather anticipate their promptly yielding to it.
They will thus aid in the restoration of that harmony
which has been so grievously disturbed by their recent
and will help to avert those imminent i dan-
gersstr have threatened the church from their rash and
wilful innovations. (Hear, hear.)

YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN A SSi WIATION. —The

Earl of Shaftesbury presided at the twenty-second annual
meeting of the members of this a.ocuttion, held last
evening at Exeter Hall. Amongst those present were the
Rev. Dr. Cumming, the Rev. Mr. Brock, the Rev. Mr.
Reeve, the Rev. T. Blaney, the Rev. Mr. Dibdin, and Mr.
Williams, the founder and treasurer of the association.
The Secretary Ilk. W. E Shipten) read the report of the
committee, which gave en account of the operations of the
society in City houses during the past year. It stated that
the Bible classes and various meetings had been well at-
tended,and had produced good results, as shown by nume-
rous communications which had been mteived. The howo
of the association, furnished for young men with every
convenience for study, and with many provisions for intel-
lectual culture and for social comfort, hash been used during

the year by nearly trOU young men. At the commencement
r of the yearaconsuierable number of clergymen responded to
, the invitation of the committee that they should preach ser-
mons especiallyaddressed to young men, and the committee
acknowledged the services of many ministers of London
• who had, by special addresses delivered before the newel*.
tion, and by addresses at social meetings and otherwise,
i given their assistance in promoting the objects of the ass*.
elation. The society laboured under many disadvantages
• caused by diminished resources. During the year there
, had been an addition to the debt, but some old and valued
t friends were labouring to better its Sunda] condition.
t The report, on the motion of the Rev. Mr. Brock, seconded
• by Rev. Mr. Reeve, was adopted. Addressee having been deli-
; vered by the Rev. Dr. Cumming, the Rev. Mr. Blaney,
and others, a vote of thanks was at'arded to the noble
I chairman for haring presided, and for the interest which
he evinced on behalf of the society. The noble earl briefly
returned thanks, and the proceedings then terminated.
New Ceuecii AT POP LAX. —The Archbishop of
Armagh, acting under a commission from the Bishop of
London, yesterday consecrated a church fur the sew
ecclesiastical district which has been created out of the
parish of Poplar. and which will Itenc•Jorth be known as
that of St. Matthew. The church itself is not a new one.
it is to be restored at a cost of about 3,0001., hut tho
consecration service was performed yesterday, their being
in attendance the Rev. Canon ('ham ,net's, WA„,,
vicar of St. Pancras ; the Rev. T. W. Nowell, M.A.,
rector of Poplar ; the Rev. J. W. Capam, M.A.,
incumbent of Christ Church, Millwall ; the Rev. Henry
Boyd, WA., incumbent of St. Mark's, Victoria Docks ; the
Rev. A. How. 8.D., Vicar of Bromley ; the Rev. C. R.
Holmes, M.A., incumbent of St. Michael's, and many
other clergymen of the neighbouring parishes. The Bishop
of London has nominated to the incumbency of the new
church the Rev. John Fenwick Kitto, 11. A., of St. Alban
Hall, Oxfool, late curate of St. Pancras, who has isaued an
earnest appeal on behalf of the new district, in which be
states that the visitation of cholera during the last sum-
mer, and khe appalling distress of the winter, have taxed
the charitable resource' of the neighbourhood to the ut-
most limit, and render it quite unable, without assistance,
to meet the proposed expenditure for the substantial
repair and restoration of the edifi,e.
Hie MAJ MTV'S SrAnnotxna.—The Great Wes-
tern Railway Company will run a special train from Pad-
dington to Twyford on Friday next, at 9.30.

BUNIIILL - FIELDS i;1•111.iL Glatt'Nl).
The Leave to the I ..n+ rati• v • f •14.11 of thi- I itirmi
Ground will expire at the eh Lo• .4 the prew et year.the
Corporation have liven itt treaty with the &sett-via:me:a Com-
missioners. a ith the view of pet, I .l.•t froin
lion by and hate ..Kt-reel to he the expense tit pre-
serving the tooth., and n-pairing, wvt,-hine. maintaining. anus
keeping the ground ai an ornaineuLk: open >paev for the line of
tberatthefor ever. The CamaidleSdligUii-tare retazed the over
of the Corporation : nogutatitivaa have hi, ken .at, and at
the end of MA year the Commivvionery bolo the right, to take
potaravkon of the ground as the freettobh
-Tho ....:n lvt: w taw lletoitito of 41in Wirer denerninat of
PeritrKfmt 77Inellt6in have inemorialivel Loth the corp.:dem
and the conintitsiotten, urging that •tt bhould be taken
immediately to allay the anxiety of the. h., have
relation. hurie.l ill the gnatinl I.y the dedievt ion of the place
in perpetuity at an open upset., iavt thi, ha- tint been
done.

The Committer Invite the en-op,rati.m ~1 311 I.eriong t. ho fed
interested io the presert4tlon of the ground frt.' dowrati."l. •
C.lntutitlicatien3 to he addresm3l to the uhdenitated.
•111:111E.11tD.
Secretary to the liephtiee of the Three Tienotntnttiotet
ut l'rute.t.tut thbtenters.
73, t reet, 1.6•Iglon.

Felt IC,