The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-29 00:00:00

THE BISHOP OF NATAL.

The Bfshop of OXFORD rose to propose an address to his
Grace the President, praying him to communicate to the
Bishop of Capetown an expression of the sympathy of their
lordships' house with him in the groat trials to which his de-
fence of the Church has subjected him, and their admiration
of the courage and loyalty to the Church which had marked
the conduct of his whole course with regard to the groat
invasion of the faith which had been attempted. The posi-
tion of the Bishop of Capetown was such as to entitle him
to support at the hands of Convocation. The bishop had
acted under letters patent, drawn up by the highest legal
authorities, and purporting to convey to him metropolitan
jurisdiction over the bishops of the province which they
constituted. His lordship detailed at some length the pro-
ceedings adopted by the Bishop of Capetown in his capa-
city of metropolitan of the Church in South Africa, with
the concurrence of the Bishop of Graham's Town, and
the other bishops of the colony, and the painful position
he was afterwards placed in by its afterwards being
found that ho had not the power which it was supposed
the letters patent appointing him confirmed. He thought
it right that their lordships should express their sympathy
with the Bishop of Capetown in the hardship of the cir-
cumstances in which he had been placed, and their thank-
fulness that in such perilous times there should be found
in our distant dependencies those who did not fear to stand
up for the truth of God. His lordship concluded by moving
the following

"ADDRESS TO HIS GRACE THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.

"May it please your Grace,--We, the bishops of the
province of Canterbury, in Convocation under her Majesty's
most royal fiat of summons lawfully assembled, pray your
grace, as the president of this synod, and as Primate of all
England and Metropolitan, to convey to the Lord Bishop
of Capetown, appointed by her Majesty's letters patent
metropolitan of the province of South Africa, and to the
bishops who assembled with him to try, under the powers.
purported to be conveyed by letters patent granted by the
Crown, a bishop of the province, accused before them of
heresy, the expression of our hearty admiration of the
courage, firmness, and devoted love of the truth of the
Gospel, as this Church has received the same, which has
been manifested by him and them under most difficult and
trying circumstances. We thank them for the noble stand
they have made against heretical and false doctrine, and
we trust that even out of the present difficulties and embar-
rassments with which they are surrounded it may please
God to provide some safeguard for the maintenance of the
faith once (for all) committed to the saints." All which
we pray your grace to communicate to the Lord Bishop of
Capetown."
The Bishop of LLANDAFF, in seconding the motion, said
he entirely concurred in all that had been said by the
Bishop of Oxford. lie believed that the sentiments con-
tained in the address would receive the hearty concurrence
of the Church at large, both in this country and in the
colonies.

The Archbishop of CANTERBURY said that, in the event
of their lordships agreeing to the address, he should dis-
charge tho duty imposed on him with great satisfaction.
He thought it would become the Church in this country—
at all events such portion of it as was then assembled—to
express such sentiments, more particularly as he had rea-
son to believe that the Church in America would probably
give expression to like sentiments—not perhaps that the
American Church would express admiration of the Bishop
of Capetown, but that it would express its sympathy with
the Church of England in its struggle against what it be-
lieved was contrary to the truth. They knew also that a
distinguished Nonconformist minister, who was present
when the Bishop of Capetown delivered the charge in
which ho so nobly vindicated the truth, had expressed his
admiration of the manner in which the bishop acted.
His grace then put the resolutions to the meeting, and it
was unanimously adopted.