The Express.
London, England, 1860-05-14 00:00:00

GETTING OPER SCRUPLES.

(From the Examiner.)
The Bishop of London objects to the revision of
the Liturgy. proposed by Lord Ebury that there is now
agreement in the church, but that any alteration would
introduce differences and secession. The fallacy hero lies in
the word agreement. Words are subscribed to and inter-
Cedin widely different or absolutely opposite senses.
mee reads black as signifying black, and another as
meaning white. And this, forsooth, is called agreement by
• bishop, who justifies it thus :
•It was not felt that there was anything dishonest or
inconsistent with the moat perfect fair dealing in its being
imillseelood by mossy on WA there were Various senses in
Adak MIMI VOWS tea the different propositions which
eereseel Y puts et fist erred."
So one clergyman saclimilmals absolution and remission
al ohm id the Prokledrist Itherei ell another construing it in
the Banish sense ineuksim eenfemion, and this is pro.
Pounced by
,high prelatic authority an hottest and consistent
The hi.srti;p, indeed, his little respect for scruples :
" It was greatly to be regretted that young men of pro-
mise should be excluded, as was alleged, from the ministry,
by reason of their scruples ou these points. But men of
very scrupulous consciences, if they did not find a difficulty
about one thing, would be almost sure to do so about
another. He might illustrate this matter by an incident
connected with a debate which occurred in that house
some twenty years ago on the kindred question, bow
subscriptions should be arranged so as not to do
violence to tender coassignees. A petition was drawn up
to their lordship' honor en the enbjeot, and as *Wotan
hind a his wee requested to rip it. On reading the peti-
tion. bowever, he mid there was somethhig in it to which
be could not saxes. The answer he received wee : 'Jon
must get over your scruplee the best way you can.' That
showed howdifficult it was to drew up any form of words
which would really commend the assent of every mind."
It shows nothing of the kind. It shows only that the
man who advised the getting over scruples was a man him-
self withtout scruples, and the advocate of loose unprincipled
etedoe

There is not a knave and thief in the land who does not
hold precisely the same language to the novice he initiates
into crime. He scoffs at scrap sod exhorts his pupil
to I'M over them the best way he can, and leap boldly into
gnat
And this bishop coolly tells us that respect is not to be
had for scrupulous 001266811Ce11, because if they do not find
a difficulty about see thing-they will find it about another ;
therefore, instead of removing difficulties out of their
wa
hey
overy, they Sr. to be spuned over them with a sporting cry
of !
Wham, then, in the name of wonder, do the scruples
begin in the church for which there are allowance and
reaped? According to the explanation of the Biahop.
the 'fuming agreement in the church all depends
on the absence of scruple*. The morality of all this is
rather startling. And when we find the black sheep in
the fold rather more numerous than they ought to be, the
scandalous feet mar be explained by their having got into
the habit of "getting over their scruples" so cleverly as
to have none left to stand in the way of any temptation.