The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-31 00:00:00

THE "SUN, LONMONI, FRIDAY fr.vg NINO, OOTOBfR 81, 1862.

posed for a moment that the civil power in this age
will tolerate an imperium in imperio, and that it
will allow a great corporation in possession of large
property—for the property is considerable, although
if distributed it may not offer adequate compensa-
tion to those who are labouring in its service—the
civil power in this age will not permit a great cor-
poration in possession of this vast property to act in
independence of the State. (Cheers.) And therefore
there is no concealing it from ourselves, that it
would soon end in further spoliation, and the Church
would be left without the endowment and status
which it at present possesses. (Hear.) The prin-
ciples of Divine truth, I admit, do not depend upon
property,
but the human machinery by which the
circulation of the principles of Divine truth is
effected depends upon property for its organisation ;
and no one can deny for a moment that the Church,
deprived of the means by which the Divine instruc-
tion which it is its duty to afford to the people is
secured—the Church deprived of these means would
of course lose immensely in its efficiency. But in
the case of the Church of England it is not merely
a question of the loss of its property, but it is also a
question of the peculiar character of that property,
because the property of the Church of England is
territorial property—it is a property so distributed
throughout the country that it makes it from the
very nature of its tenure a National Church ; and
the power of the Church of England does not de-
pend merely on the amount of the property which
it possesses, but in a great degree on the kind and
character of that properly. (Hear.) Then I say the
result will be that, the Church of England deprived
of its status would become merely an episcopal sect
in this country, and in time in this country it is not
improbable that it might become an insignificant
one. But that is not perhaps the whole of the great
evil that might arise from the dissolution of the
connection between the Church and the State ; be-
muse, in the present age, the art of government
becomes every day more difficult, and no Go-
vernment will allow a principle so powerful as
the religious principle to be divorced from the
influence by which it regulates the affairs of a
country. (Hear, hear.) Then what would happen?
Why it is very obvious what would happen. The
State of England would take care, after the Church
was spoiltd, to enlist in its service what are called
the ministers of all religions. The ministers of all
religions would be salaried by the State, and the
consequence of the dissolution of the alliance be-
tween Church and State would be equally disastrous
to the Churchman and the Nonconformist. (Hear.)
It would place the ministers of all spiritual influences
under the control and the influence of the civil
power; and in this country it would effect in reality
a revolution in the national character. (Hear,
hear.) It would, in my opinion, even have an in-
jurious effect upon the liberties of the country ; and
I cannot believe that after the thought and discus-
sion that have been devoted to the subject for the
last 20 years, there can be amongst those who
have well-considered the subject any great difference
of opinion ; but that all men—l would say the
Churchman, the Dissenter, the philosopher, would
all shrink from a solution of the difficulty which we
feel with regard to the present state of the Church
—a solution effected by means so injurious as the one
to which I have referred. (Hear, hear.) Well, then,
what would you do I maintain that you have only
one alternative—that if you do not favour a dis-
solution between Church and State, you must as-
sert the nationality of the Church of England.
(Hear.) I know it will be said, " Assert the na-
tionality of the Church in a nation where there are
millions not in communion with that Church!"
The right hon. gentleman proceeded to consider this
question at some length, and contended that many
not now in communion with the Church were not
adverse to the Church, and might be brought within
its pale, and the nationality of the Church proved and
asserted. He looked, as a means to this end, to the
influence of the Church in education, to a moderate
and well considered extension of the episcopacy, to
a complete development of the lay element in the
administration of the non-spiritual affairs of the
Church, and the maintenance of the parochial sys-
tem. Unfortunately in this country, continued the
right hon. gentleman, so far as the church is con-
cerned, great errors exist on the subject of parochial
constitution. In consequence of the great changes
that have taken place of late years with regard to

parochial administration, there is an idea too gene-
ral that the parochial constitution has been sub-
verted ; but as far as the Church is concerned, the
parochial constitution is complete and inviolate,and
the right of visiting both by parishioners and the
parish priest remains intact, and which properly
acted upon is a source of immense and increasing in-
fluence, especially in those great towns of which we
hear so much, and where that right is not even in
existence. The fifth means by which I think the na-
tionality of the Church may be asserted brings me
clearly to the resolution. I mention it last, not be-
cause I think it inferior to any of the others. You
must render the clergy more efficient, Whether in
the great towns you increase that staff of curates,
which perhaps is more advantageous than building
churches without making preparations for their
maintenance, still less for their endowment, or
whether you avail yourself of those means which
other societies in the diocese afford for the in-
crease of spiritual assistance, or whether, *lastly
and chiefly, you take the great subject in hand
which has brought us together to-day, and make an
effort throughout the country for putting an end
to those low stipends which are almost in mockery
now appended to the discharge of laborious paro-
chial duty. (Hear.) These are five great practical
means by which the nationality of the Church can
be asserted. But they are only means and machi-
nery, and they must be inspired by that spirit of
devotion which only brings success, and which only
deserves success. But in the present state of the
country I think that a great corporation like the
Church of England may look forward, by means of
machinery such as I have mentioned under these
five heads, to great, triumphant, and final success.
(Cheers.) These five measures, with the exception
of the increase of the episcopate, can be adopted
without any appeal to the nation. We must not
shut our eyes to the fact that the time has gone by
when we could ask for new powers and privileges
from Parliament to establish the position of the
church. (Hear.) I myself do not undervalue the
public recognition of the Church by the legislature
of the country. I think its importance cannot be
overstated. I believe that in its action it gives an
authority in many minds which, without that posi-
tion, it would not possess or exercise. It is because
I believe a public recognition of the nationality of
the Churn by the Constitution is of that great
value, that I and those who have acted with me re-
sisted all the attempts which have been made dur-
ing the last few years in Parliament, and which
have aimed at damaging the public status of the
Church. We have done that because we believe
tbat the public status of the Church gives it an im-
mense advantage when the opportunity occurs of
asserting its nationality. If we had not believed
that to be the consequence of its position,we should
have declined the contest for privileges which
might otherwise be considered merely obsolete,
and for a public status that was barren. I
would venture to hope that this meeting will be
of some use—that an effort will be made in this
diocese, and that it will not be confined to this
diocese. I hope we shall no longer be appalled
and paralysed by indefinite estimates of the hos-
tility and obstacles that we have to encounter.
I hope, above all, that the faint-hearted among
our brethren who, of late years, seem to be only
considering how they can decorously relinquish a
post of great responsibility, will learn that the
wisest course with respect to the Church of Eng-
land, as with regard to all other cases in which
great duties are involved, is to be courageous and
to attempt to perform our duty, and then I am con-
fident that the Church of England will show to the
world that it has powers of renovation that have
not been suspected by some. (Cheers.) For my own
part, I uphold it not merely because it is the sanctuary
of Divine truth, but because I verily believe it is
our best security for that civil and religious liberty
of which we hear so much, and which :we are told
is opposed to its institution. (Loud cheers.)
The resolution was then agreed to, and addresses
in support of the institution were delivered by Mr.
Walpole, Mr. Hubbard, and other gentlemen.,