The Sun.
London, England, 1840-09-03 00:00:00

.
tin E SUN, O _DON, THURSDAY, SI4,PrF,MI3ER 3, 184(3.

iiound by way of Hampton, the other direct; therefore,
give up that portion
the utmost that the Derby Company could do
. ---'-'
be to
on their ow-- '.
..- Of. '11: C'oarge for travelling
.... one between Derby and Hamp
-
-Ai ; and even if they gave up all this, still those
who went by this route to London would have to
pay ss. for the distance from Hampton to Rugby.
This, then, would be the minimum that the Midland
Counties Company would have to come to, supposing
the Derby Company determined to carry passengers on
their lir r”ce of all chary.
A Pi. SIETOIt asked whether the Directors were
quite satisfied that the London and Birmingham Corn.
pany would not assist the Derby ?
The CHAIRMAN reWied that they had not the least
doubt upon the subject.
Captain WATTS, in confirmation of the Chairman's
opinion, said that at the last meeting of the London and
Birmingham Proprietors he put the same question to
the Chairman, and he had the distinct avowal of one of
the most honourable men in existence, that they would
preserve a strict neutrality.
In answer to another question by a Proprietor,
The CHAIRMAN stated that it was not the intention
of the Directors to extend the proposed reduction to
Nottingham.
R. ROBERTS, Esq., of Manchester, had been most
anxious to ascertain whether the Midland Counti,s
Directors were or were not culpable in reference to the
dispute between the two Companies ; and he confessed
that on entering the room that morning his impression
was strongly in favour of another course than that rc-
commended by the Directors. He was happy, how-
ever,
to SAy, that having, as he believed, beard the
true position in which they were placed, and also be-
lieving that the Directors of this Company were actua-
ted by feelings alike honourable and fair both to their
own proprietors and the proprietors of the Birmingham
and Derby line, he hoped the result of what had trans-
pired would be to induce both parties to meet together
at no distant day, and come to an amicable understand-
ing with each other.—( Hear.) He trusted they would
no longer present the spectacle of running like rival
coaches, to exhaust their pockets, without satisfaction
to the public, and certainly without advantage to them-
selves.

The CHAIRMAN assured the Hon. Proprietors and
the meeting, that as they had not provoked hostility so
it should never be intentionally kept up. They enter-
tained no unfriendly feeling towards the Derby Com-
pany, and the moment they could adopt a different
course to that which they recommended with reference
to the interests of this Company, they would gladly do so.

ERRORS OF THE CHURCH.
REVIVAL OF THE LITURGY, &c.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SlR—From many leading articles, letters, &c., that
have been inserted in The Sun, and in other Liberal
papers, it appears that a spirit of free inquiry is excited
in the nation, and that the laity are not so much in-
clined to be dictated to by priests, or to renounce their
reason in matters of religion, as they formerly were. if
reason be the gift of Heaven, it is the voice of Heaven
speaks. Shall not men hearken to it?
Quite enough has been said by able writers, both
lay and clerical, to induce any TRUE Protestant to re-
ject the Nicene and Athanasian creeds ; but, Sir, I ob-
ject also to that creed which, in the eighth of the
Thirty-nine Articles, is stated to be the " commonly
called Apostles' creed." I object to it for this reason—
there is no satisfactory proof that it was composed by,
under the direction of, or even in the time of the

Apostles. The word " Catholic," (i. c. universal or
general) in it is strong internal evidence that it was
written long after the apostolic age ; for I have never
understood that any Christians were called Catholics
until generations had elapsed after the first preaching of
tip:. Gospel. Indeed they could not, with any propriety,
be so called in the infancy of the Christian religion, and
before it was universally or generally established.
Our great Teacher, Jesus Christ, did not encumber
his pure system of religion with any long, complicated
creeds. He inculcated the belief of one God, whom he

taught maakind to address by the endearing name of
Our Father." The duties of man he comprised i❑

the love of our beneficent Creator and of our fellow-
creatures. They are admirably summed up in the fol-
lowing passage (Mist. 22, 37), " Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and
with alt thy mind. This is the first and great com-
mandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two com-
mandments hang all the law and the prophets."
I will now, Mr. Editor, with your permission, mention
a curious mistake in the Church Catechism. The Church
of England decidedly rtjects the doctrine of the rea!
presence, not taking the words " this is my body,
this is my blood," in a literal sense—that is, it does
not hold that those substances which are bread and
wine beihre consecration, become, truly, really, and sub-
stantially, the body and blood of Jesus Christ after
consecration. Yet in the Catechism it is said " the
body and blood of Christ are verily and indeed taken
and received by the faithful in the Lord's supper."
Now, how that can verily and indeed be taken and
received which is not verily and indeed there, is a
greater mystery than transubstantiation itself. At least,
it seems very much like nonsense,
" And nonsense never can be understood."—DßYDEN.

The Church of England, which calls itself a Pre-
testant Church—very inconsistently, in my opinion—
professes to believe itself the Catholic Church. It has even
made that belief an article of faith. It must conse-
quently be of great importance, and must mean a firm
belief in the doctrines taught by this Church. But how
can a firm belief or faith exist, unless this Catholic
Church be believed to be incapable of error, in other
words, infallible ?—a principle utterly at variance with
those of Protestantism. But where is this Catholic
Church t It cannot be admitted by English Protest-
ants to be the Church in communion with the Pope or
Bishop of Rome, since the dogmas of that Church, ac-
cording to the homilies of the Church of
England, teach " damnable idolatry." Yet this
Church is the only one now existing that. has
the least pretensions to Catholicity, that is, of being
the Church of all ages, and more or less of all nations.
The Church of England, or as it is now called " the
United Church of England and Ireland," has clearly no
claim whatever to the term " Catholic," i. e. of being
the Church of all ages and of all countries ; for it is
the Church of two countries only, and was established,

not three hundred years ago, by an Act of Parliament.
It seems extraordinary, therefore, that the compilers of
the Liturgy of the Established Church should have re•
tained this article of the creed.
1 could point out several other important things
which serious and reflecting persons disapprove of in the
doctrines of the Church of England, but I :rust not
transgress your limits.
In fact the Law-Church is very improperly called a
Protestant Church ; for its public Liturgy is merely a
new edition of the old Roman Prayer Book, with altera-
tions, omissions, and additions. The great Lord Chat-
ham used to say that we have a Papist Prayer Book,
Calvinistic Articles, and an Armenian Clergy.
It is much to be lamented that our ecclesiastical
rulers so obstinately refuse to have the Book of Com-
mon Prayer revised. They must certainly think the
original compilers of the Liturgy (men selected by
the Government of the day) were infallible. This
reformation, however, must take place ere long, so
as to meet the increasing intelligence of the age,
or the Church will inevitably fall. Indeed it
would stand a very short time longer, if it were not
supported by the Government for political purposes,
and by the Aristocracy for the maintenance of some of
their younger sons ; for a least three-fourths of the
people of the United Kingdom (including the Catho-
lics) are now Dissenters,—or dissatisfied with the Esta-
blished Church as it now exists, and Lhui, numbers-
rapidly augmenting.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
A FRIEND TO RELIGIOUS LIBERTY.
Bath, Aug. 31, 1840.

THE EASTERN QUESTION.