The Sun.
London, England, 1849-12-12 00:00:00

what more active, and last week's quotations are well
supr.rted in every instanc

Witt 117 Z: 21 APEX..

Our unniket wai very steady to-tlay; in sown in-
stanws the quotations in.ti an upward I.,,ndency. 132 cf,
from 2s 4,1 to 3s Sd ; Mutton, 2s 10d to 3s 10,3;
Veal, 31 4d to 3::3 MI; and Pork, 24 Sd to 4a per
Sibs. by the carcase.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

-=ti ---

JUDICIAL COMMITTEE OF THE
PRIVY COUNCIL-(T111S DAY•)

G"RIIA➢I V. TILE BISHOP OF EXETER,
The further he4ring of this important else was resumed

this morning.
As on the precedhog day, the Court was constituted
by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop ef
York, the Bishop of London, the Marquis of Lansdowne,
Lard Langdale (tile Master of the Rolls), Lord Camp
bell, Dr. Lushington, Mr. Beron Parke, the Vice-Chao-
eellor Knight Bruce, Mr. Pemberton Leigh, and Sir
Edwerd Ryan.
Mr. Turner, Q.C., of the Chancery-bar, and D:. Bay-
ford, the Learned Civilian of Doctors'-commons, again
appeared as counsel for the Reverend Mr. Gorham, the
appellant; and the Bishop of Exeter, the respondent,
was represented by Dr. Addains and Mr. Betideley.
Mr. TURNER resumed his argument immediately oe
the Court having re-assembled. He proceeded to refer
to the opinions of Martyr and Bucer, Professors in the
University of Cambridge, quoted by the Judge in giving
sentence on this case in the Ecclesiastical Court, with
the view of showing that they thought faith and repent-
ance were necessary to ensure the benefits of bap-
tism. The Learned Ccunsel also read extracts
from Bullinger's Decades, in order to show that he
was of opinion that faith and the Holy Ghost, and
not the sacraments, conferred tho benefit of regeneration.
The time was then when the Church of England herself
held the doctrine laid down by Bulliuger, namely, that
faith and repentance were essentially necessary to the
reception of regeneration, and if that was the opinion of
the Church in those times, he (Mr. Turner) ventured to
submit to their Lordships the consideration whether, in
the altered views of modern times, and bearing in mind
that the Church in her early days held that faith and re-
pentance were undoubtedly held as necessary to procure
spiritual regeneration, a clergyman was now to be held
incapable of holding a position in the Church by reason
of his entertaining doctrines which the Church in her
early days enforced on its ministers? He would then
proceed to refer to the services of the Church of Eng
land, and he entered upon that consideration with some
feeling of pain. The first point was to con-
sider the principle on which those services
were to be construed. They were devotional
services addressed to all the members of the Church—to
all classes, as well those who were faithful and devout,
as those who were merely professing Christians. Let
their Lordships consider how a service of that descrip-
tion, which was to be applied, not rnerely by professing
Christians, but by the truly faithful and devout Chris-
tians, must be constructed. It must be constructed- on
the very highest standard; a service which was addressed
merely to a professing member of the Church would
never excite the devotional feelings of a man who acted
on principles not merely of profession. Nobody had
deeded, and nobody ever could deny, that spiritual re-
generation might be given in baptism. Ile would ask
their Lordships whethr they did not find iu the ser-
vice fur public baptism a thanksgiving for regenera-
tion actually given ? Among the members of the
Church to whom that service was addressed were those
who most undoubtedly, having au unfeigned trust in the
mercies of Almighty God, would believe that spiritual
regeneration was given in baptism. If there were some
among a congregation whose feelings and principles led
them to maintain that spiritual regeneration was actu-
ally given in bapti,m, it was not surprising that lan-
guage of thanksgiving, should be found for that gift of
baptism. Their feelings would be offended if any doubt
were entertained whether spiritual regeneration was
given or not given in baptism. He (Mr. Turner) said
it followed as a reasonable, and an almost necAsary
consequence, that they should find is the baptismal ser
vice of the Church of England a thanksgiving for the
spirituel regeneration being actually given in or by the
act of baptism. The true distinction was, that the ser-
vices of the Church of England were addressed to the
feelings of the people and not to their doctrines. The
Ifealned Counsel then proceeded to read various expres-
sions used in the offices of the Book of Common Prayer
for private and adult baptism, and for confirmation, and
in the catechism, with the view of showing that in those
services absolute expressions of regeneration were em-
ployed. Was the spiritual regeneration se said to be
given, given by God in, or at, or before,
or after baptism ? Who should determine ? The
question was, what was the meaning of the
absolute words of regeneration, which were contained
in the services of the Church of England ? Tho mean-
ing of those words must, of course, be taken in connec-
tion with the services, and with the congregation to
whom those services were addressed. It was not, there•
fore, a mere verbal question. Let their Lordships con-
sider the nature of the services in which those words
were used. The very nature of the sacrament of bap-
tism was figurative. It was the representation and seal
of the blessings of the new covenant of God. Let their
Lordships look, too, at the promises which were con.
tained in those services. Were they not of a figurative
character ? They were so, undoubtedly, in the reuse
that they were premises made by others for a being in-
capable at the time of making any promises for itself.
Let them look also at the language of the prayer for the
sanctification and the consecration of the child. It was
for the mystical washing away of sin. Their Lordships,
therefore, had, down to the period of the service when
the thanksgiving was introduced, figurative representa-
tions. If the service itself was figurative might
not their Lordships well believe that the words which
were introduced of positive declaration of regeneration
were figurative and sacramental too ? Again, the sacra-
ment of baptism itself was scriptural in the highest
Possible sense—was it not natural that scriptural
language should be used in that sacrament? He thought,
without troubling their Lordships by going into pas-
sages of Scripture, they would find frequent references
to a covenant as perfected, and that covenant was taken
and spoken of as fulfilled. Those observations occurred
to him on the frame of the services. Let their L ard-
ahipe now see whether they could fairly construe the
words of baptism in connexion with the Articles of the
Church without finding contradiction. The assertions
in the baptismal service were that the child was regene-
rated; they applied to every child. The Articles, on
the other hand, said that the sacraments were effectual
in those who received them worthily. The service for
adult baptism was equally clear and equally positive in
its terms as to regeneration. It was undisputed—it
could not bo disputed—that no spiritual regeneration
could be conferred in the case of a parent unless there
Were faith and repentance. Were their Lordships to
Rive one construction to the words which were contained
in the one set vice, and another construction to the words
found in the o:her? Were they to say that the words
were founded on a hypothetical assumption in the one
hcase, and that they were positive and absolute in another?
God Almighty may grant regeneration either before, at
the time, or after the sacrament of baptism. What hu,
man being should presume to judge on such an occasion
when the regeneration was granted ? Let their Lord-
ships again consider the baptismal service with refe-
rence to the sponsorial promises. The whole of it was
connected with those promises. Might it not be that
the performance of those promises was the con-
dition on which the blessing was given ? Let
their Lordships teke, fur example, the words " this
is my body," used in the Communion Service. Their
Lordships could not construe those words literally
without falling into the error of transubstantiation
The Learned Counsel then read a paragraph from the
works of Archbishop Cranmer, in which he said that
that the body of Christ was on the earth in the
Sacrament, "as the Holy Ghost was in the water of
baptism." By the sponsorial service (Mr. Turner
continued) baptism followed the promises, and pro-
ceeded upon them. The Church of England
required those promises of belief from its sponsors, u-
tile condition on which it granted the baptism. Could
it be that the Church re quired the promise, but disre-
garded the fulfilment of that promise ? If that were
not so, must not the blessing be conditional upon the
fulfilment of the promise which the Church required as
the condition of the grant ? And then the sureties only
gave the promises until the child came of age to take
them open him,eif. Supposing the surety declined to do
so, was it to be held that the baptismal bio.sing had been
conferred? It might be said that the blessing had been
conferred but had been lost by repudiation. Was not
that strong to show that the grant of the promise was
conditional on the performance of that promise? On
the whsle of the baptismal service was not the true
meaning this, that the language of Scripture being
"he that believeth and his baptised shall be
saved, but he that believeth not shall be
damned," conuecting the beneficial baptism with
the belief, and that Scripture having applied. and
laid down that connexion as to adults, the Church had
adopted as far as it could the scriptural doctrine, and
Applied it to infants? It might mean that by the charit-
able assumption of the Church of England spiritual re-
generation was given at baptism. Man had been
curious enough to inquire into and discuss
that matter, and that inquiry had not re-
sulted very satisfactorily. It had involved,
nod did involve, the Church of England in
discussion by the attempt of human ingenuity to fathom
almighty wisdom. The Learned Counsel then read that
por.ion of the burial service of the Chuich of England
which called upon its ministers to say over the dead
that the departed is committed to the dust " in sure and
eastaie hope of the resurrection to eternal life, through
our Lord Jesus Christ." What was the construction to be
put upon these word.? Did they not proceed on the
charitable assumption that the man had left the
world in peace towards God and in charity towards all
men? The Church of England assumed the language of
uuboueduel confidence in the mercy of the Almighty.
It expressed in the passage he had re al its hope that
evert hotly who had left the world hail left it to enjoy
eternal felicity. Could thet be on any other assumption
than that of charity ? And if, therefore, their Lordship
found in one service of the Church the expression of
charitable hope that the dead departed this world in the
'lire and certain hope of resurrection to eternal life,
could they wonder in another service, when the Church
• expressed herself as to the effect of baptism, that she
used terms equally charitable in speaking of regenera-
tion? He believed he had now concluded the
observations he had to make in this case
with one single exception. He thought it
was his duty to call their Lordships' consideration to
the question of what was the extent of the right of a
hithop to examine in cases of this description. This
vraa a question of vast importance, not merely to the