The Sun.
London, England, 1838-11-02 00:00:00

THE BISHOP OF DURHAM AND HIS

CLERGY.

" College, Durham, Oct. 24, IS3t;.
My dear Lord Bishop,—l feel it my duty to call your at-
tention to the observations which are very generally made in
the public prints upon your Lordship's subscription to Mr.
Turner's sermons, and in particular to several successive arti-
cles which have appeared in the St. James's Chronicle in
condemnation of it, and which were sent to me by a neighbour
in this town.

" Perhaps in any case I should have thought it right to
name the subject to you, however painful the office may be,
but I can scarcely avoid the mention of it under the present cir-
cumstances, seeing that a strong feeling has been excited by
the subscription among the Clergy of the Archdeaconry, which
has been expressed in various ways to me.
" I need not say to your Lordship how deeply I am grieved
by the circumstance ; but it is better that the matter, which
now assumes so serious a form, should be brought under your
notice.

" I am, my Lord, with much respect,
" Your faithful and obliged servant,
" CHARLES THORPE."
" Auckland Castle, Oct. 25, 1838.
" Dear Mr. Archdeacon,-1 feel obliged to you for the
letter which I received this morning, and for the manner in
which you have called my attention to the paragraphs which
have been circulated in the newspapers, as well as to the in-
formation that a strong feeling has been excited among the
Clergy of the Archdeaconry, on account of my subscribing to
a volume of sermons about to be published by Mr. Turner.
" I beg you to understand that I gave my name on this oc-
casion in courtesy to an eminent person, for whom, setting
aside his religious views, I had been taught to entertain much
respect. I bad also his assurance that the topics which would
be handled in the sermons were of a practical, not controver-
sial nature ; and I could not but kno s that a Dissenting Mi.
nister, how much soever he differs from the Church, might
find ample matter in the illustration of evidence, in the exa-
mination of critical points unconnected with articles of faith,
and in enforcing the practice of morality, without touching
upon interpretations and opinions peculiar to his sect.
" Nevertheless, I have no hesitation in assuring you, al-
though I feel perfectly justified in my own mind, yet if I could
have foreseen that it would give offence to my brethren, or that
it would have been considered in the light of giving sanction
to error, I would have abstained from subscribing. I acceded
to the wish expressed by Mr. Turner as a personal compliment
to him ; but nothing could be further from my mind than
conveying approbation of his opinions.
" I never have intentionally countenanced any doctrine
which is at variance with those of our Church, still less could
I have thought of countenancing errors so grievous as I
hold those of the Unitarians to be. Yet this feeling, as to
the extent of their error, ought not to prevent us from
showing all possible charity to their persons ; and that, I again
assure you, was all that I contemplated by this act of courtesy,
which has drawn upon me, I cannot help thinking, much un-
merited censure.

s' I need scarcely remind you that Dr. Lardner's works,
edited by Dr. Kippis, also a Unitarian, were published by
subscription, and that almost all the Bishops of that day, with
the leading mon of the Church, were subscribers. Yet Dr.
Lardner's works contained not merely his masterly labours on
the credibility, but various sermons and tracts, including his
celebrated, but heterodox, letter on the Logos. Now, lam
not aware, and certainly I do not expect, that either you or I
shall find any offensive matter in the forthcoming volume of
Mr. Turner. Surely, then, lam at least as much justified in
subscribing to it, as the Bishops and Divines of our Church
were, in 1788, in prefixi►,g their names to the works of Dr.
Lardner, which contained the avowal and defence of all his
erroneous opinions.
" I do hope, Mr. Archdeacon, that what I have written,
however hastily, may appear to you and our brethren a reason-
able and satisfactory explanation.
" You are at liberty to give any publicity to this letter
which may be necessary ; and I beg you will believe me, dear
Mr. Archdeacon, your faithful friend and brother,
" The Venerable Archdeacon Thorpe."

" E. DI:NELM.

SIR A. L. HAY.—It is confidently stated that Sir
Andrew Leith Hay cannot assume the government of Bermuda,
owing to certain circumstances with which we believe the
public are already pretty well acquainted, and that the post is
at this moment to be considered in every light as a vacant one.
—Morning -Herald.
KILLARNEY, Oc T. 29.—0 n Saturday last as a
lady and gentleman, accompanied by five boatmen, were
shooting the arch of the old N'Veir Bridge, on their return
cfraormriedthedowthat three of
Net, and
saved by the prompt exertions
Uppernth the rapid.
, the v i
The oraetgwr
eats
boatmen perished, the rest wereN to stateunfortunately t upset,
the
his servant and boat
of Captain Deans Dundas, R.'cen.tially deterred from ascmedn,
who with his party were providentially ascend.
ing of water •
occasioned by
ing the rapid by the unusual quantity
the late rains.
THE Loss OF THE FORFARSIIIRE STEAM-
PACKET. --
GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATION.—We understand
that Mr. Sheriff Henderson. in consequence of an order
emanating • from Lord John Russell, her Majesty's Secretary
of State for the Home Department, transmitted through the
Lord Advocate ( Mr. , Murray), is engaged in making an in.
vestigation into the state of the steamship Forfarshire for
some time previous to the lamentable ship-wreck.—Dundee
Paper.

RAILWAY COMPENSATION.—In a case of com-
pensation decided in the Sheriff's Court yesterday, in which
the Birmingham, Bristol, and Thames Junction Railway
Company were the defendantit the claim was 4,371. and the
award 1,418/.