The Express.
London, England, 1850-04-15 00:00:00

THE ANTI-STATLCHURCH MOVEMENT.

A public meeting was held in the Town Hell,
B.rmingham, oa Frioay evening, to take into coatiderstion
the question of separating the church from the state, fur the
adoption of • petition to parliament on the subjece, and the
appointmeet of delegates to the approaching conference to
be held in L-indon. the meeting was well attended ; the
Rev. John Burnett and Mr. E. Miall attended as • depute-
doe; and Mr. Joseph &macs occupied the chair.
The CHAIRMAN, in the copse of his remarks intro-
ductory to toe binning, said that as belonging to • religions
community which had for about two een.uries put held so
strongly the opinion that there shoeld be no connection
between the (Aura and State, that there dusld be no
compiling mutant for the support of religion, and had
uudorgaly refused to pay any rata of the sort, but allowed
their goods to be seised rather than do se—beloagii g toutch •
comment y, housed not but rejoice stowing the pregress that
great nuation had made in toie wintry. Ile was certain
dien was no denomtnation which suffered in mush in their
spirituality as that religion which received support from the
state, and es long as it coatiaued, so long would there be •
fraitiol goons of discontent—so long would there be an in-
tor tatence with the humus, which should inlet is any natkin
professing Christianity.
Tin Rev. W. REED moved the first resolution—" That It
is the deliberate opinion of this meeting that the establish-
meat of any form of religion by the government is contrary
to scripture, violates conscience, is injurious to trim nip
"too, sad motions discontent among the people."
Mr. B. MIALL seconded the resolution. In the coins
of his observations he said that they were not attempting
to do inj en to any oho-eh—that they were not attempting
to decide what was Uutb, nor discussing what faith was
moat in acondune with scripture, nor when system of
ncledastical discipline or polity c nee nearest to the model
left them by the Apostles. Their simple object was to state
what oared lobe the position which truth should occupy—
to express an opinion that it should stead en its own menu,
and that if it could not exist by its owa vitality, it ought to
expire —that if it could not reach the hurts of men by
its own persuasions, it ought sot to be able to reacts the
pockets of meshy the von of the magistrate—that if it could
resemerate society, as he believed ft could, having come
down from God, it did not want to be backed by bursae laws ;
and if it could not regenerate society, the sooner it quitted
the bosom of society the better. For it must be an =pos.
taro unless It was competent to anomplieh that which it
came into the world to do as • divine revelation. Their
objection to state churchism woo, that it took hold of what
was professedly divine, what was inteaded to work upon the
mind and heart of mu, and bring him beck to allegiaoce to
the divine authority ; that it took hold of this element of
isdaeaciand power, and endeavoured to further it by phy-
Mal force, calling in the aid of the military and the police.
men, when necessey. Mr. Miall went on to refer to the re-
sent decision in the Bishop of Exeter's suit against Mr.
Gorham, which was regarded by numbers as a triumph of
the evangelical party lathe church. It was an odd triumph,
it must be confessed, to use tw ) parties in scorch oppou d
to each other on what they both believed to be a fundem.ntal
orinciple of Christianity, while the judicial committee
laid It down that they might both remain in the church,
and affirming that the articles of its faith were teamed pur-
ponly so that they might both be accommodated. (Laugh-
ter.l They might accuse him (Mr. Wall) sal his friends of
attempting to injure the church, but the fast was there was
no church. (Hear, hear.) They had sa establishment, bet
not • church. Destroy the temporalities of the church tee
morrow, and the two parties would fie &seeder.
A letter was read from Mr. Scholefield, M.P., declaring as
a churches= his appri Lotion of the mongoose, but okras-
sive of his wish in connexion with the proceedings, that
everything might be avoided in the discussion which savoured
of personality or related to doctrine, and pkedealarly that
the unhappy dissensions within the church itself might not
Le ands Me subject of hostile comment or discussion.
The resolution having been carried, and the form of •
pedtim to pediment submitted,
The Rev. JOHN BURNETT next roes to 'adroit the
meeting. He toned hie auditory to look lathe great pried•
jle they had nun to matatain—(hear, Wese)—let the church
not seed out its pigmies to throw out • word or two
and fancy they had done mighty deeds. In truth that bat
showed the Mereh'• weekness; it should seed out Its mighty
cue of Oath, its bishops, deans, and clergy, to diens@ the
question—(putial hissing and loud cheers)—and then they
would see her in all her dierni y !In rank, and glory. There
was no state church in the bible from begianing to sod,
neither In patriarehial thaw, is Jewish times, or In Christian

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THE OORHAM CASE.
GORWI IP. ?NZ Hisao? or Eirrai.

In censequesee of the decision of the Privy Council, •
inonitioa wee tweed hues this court calling upon the Bishop
of Baiter to seed bt the letters of isetitation, in Cider that
Mr. Gorham night be inducted to the living of Brampdoed
Spoke.
Upoo the Judge taking his seat to-day
Mr. Bawdier, the proctor for Mr. Clarheai, said, I beg to
inform you, sir, that no 'stars hoe bees received to the
masitiou Whisk wee ordered the left swot day to be awed
ea the Bahsp of meow. I better prsy that • certificate of
ite tiOntinsatilla be granted.
Judge : Has it been served P—Mr. Beadier : Yes.
Judge: The presentation ham not been lest in by the
bishop, then P—Mr. Belittler : No.
Judge : Does any one appear for the bishop ?—Mr.
Bendier : No. Mr. Tether is absent, end therefore we pray
that you will grant • certificate of the extension et the
_ _

11iiirT; we order the case to stand over.
The effect et the bishop net mediae in the institution
paper will be that IS dlls newt elan day (May 8) ulterior
proreedinp will be easateseed naiad Ida lordship.

COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH.
Tax Bum? or Emu' to. Gomm.

This being the Stet day of term, the equity and common
law Everts were spewed in the usual way. A considerable
number el persons assembled ins the Court of Queen's Bench
to see Lord Campbell take his net u Lord Chief Justice of
Eaglind for the fine
Alter the usual preliminary business,
Sir Fitssoy Kelly rose aid applied to the wart, on the
part of the Bishop of Exeter, for a rule to show care why
a writ of prohibition should not issue against his Ore.. the
Archbishop cf Canterbury and Sir Herbert June! Fist,
judge of the Arches Court, prohibiting them from requiring
the Bishop of Exeter to present and institute the fits,. Kr.
trortunt into his spiritual charge in the diocese of
Exeter, as as exams of their jurisdiction, and es
being contrary to the common. the statute, and ca-
nonical law of this country. The learned coastal, after reciting
the facts of the case, roceeded to say that in the Ant
place it was unusual and unconstitutional for the appellant,
Yr. Gorham, to appeal from en ecclesiastical court to the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Conrcil, who had, as he
contended, no jurisdiction in matters relating to the doc.
trace of the church of England ; end in the second p!sce,
who had no power to refer the execution of the decision of the
Committee of Prie7Couseil to the court fromwhence the appeal
proceeded. If en appeal were comp teat at all, that appeal
should have been, not to the Privy Council, but to the House
of Lords, or if that tribute' could not deal with the matter
in dispute, then a convocation of the tee ;gaited heads and
authorities of the church should bare been called, to whom
all points in dispute should have been referred. True it
was, indeed, that the Queen was the temporal he'd of the
church, and if the nutter which he had brought beton the
court related only to temporal matters, it might have been
competent to the Privy a uncil to take cogniunce
of them, hut, as they involved spiritual mitts n also, it was
necessary that the heads of the church elicutd pronounce a
decision on the doctrine of the church wilt regard to spi•
6.11,1 rig, ttttt ion in baptism. It say court had the power
to consider and decide upon the question, it was the Arches
Court, which was the church wart, and no appeal from it
could be made to a purely legal tribunal.
Atter hearing the argument of the learned counsel the
judges twk time to consider their decision.