The Sun.
London, England, 1870-01-28 00:00:00

LIBERAL BANQUET AT PORTSMOUTH.

On Wednesday evening a large and influential section of
the Liberal party in Portsmouth celebrated the first anni-
versary of the association organised at the close of the
late election, by dining together in the capacious hall ad-
joining the Portland Hotel, at Southsea. The event wasin
every respect a complete success, and of such a character
as to admit of encouraging prospects at an ensuing poli-
tical contest. The chair was occupied by Mr. E. K.
Parson, the President of the local Liberal Association, and
amongst those in attendance were Mr. IV. H. Stone
(M.P. for Portsmouth), the Right Hon. W. H. Cowper-
Temple (M.P. for South Hants), Mr. J. D. Lewis (M.P.
for Devonport), Mr. C. Millward, Q.C. (who at the last
election contested the southern division of the county of
Hants in the Liberal interest), and Captain Maxse, R.N.,
the energetic but defeated Liberal candidate for the
borough of Southampton. Mr. Stone was cordially re-
ceived. He defended the Government in reference to the
dockyards. Mr. Cowper spoke at length on the Educa-
tional question, and gave a decided opinion that compul-
sory tuition should not be based on any fixed religious
principles. Mr. Lewis, in responding for " Mr. Gladstone
and the House of Commons," spoke at length, and was
cordially received. The proceedings throughout were en-
thusiastic.

THE RITUAL COMMISSION UPON THE
LECTIONARY.

The report of the Ritual Commission upon the Lection-
ary is now published. It is signed by all the commission
without comment except by Sir Joseph Napier, who thinks
that the report ought not to have been presented to the
Queen until the whole subject under the consideration of
the commission had been considered—else he agrees with
the report. The signatures to it are the following:--A.
C. Centaur, M. G. A magi', Stanhope, Carnarvon, Harrowby,
Beauchamp, S. Winton, C. St. David's, C. J. Glocester and
Bristol, William Chester, Harvey Carlisle, Portman, Ebury,
Spencer H. Walpole, Joseph Napier*, Robert Phillimore,
Travers Twiss, John Abel Smith, A. J. B. Beresford Hope,
J. G. Hubbard, Charles Buxton, Arthur P. Stanley, J. A.
Jeremie, R. Payne Smith, Henry Venn, W. G. Humphry,
Robert Gregory, Thomas Walter Perry.
After remarking that the commission has specially to con-
sider the subject of the morning and evening lesson, the
commissioners proceed :—We felt it incumbent upon us care-
fully to consider the many schemes which have been pub-
lished, or have been privately submitted to us, upon this
subject. After much deliberation we have come to the con-
clusion that it is sxpedient to read, as now, at each service on
ordinary days, one Lesson from the Old Testament and an-
other from the Now Testament,generally according to the order
of the Books. On a careful revision, however, of the present
Table of Lessons, we have thought it desirable to vary and
shorten many of them. We have disregarded to some ex-
tent the present division of chapters when the continuity of
the subject seemed to render such a course desirable. And
while we have not felt ourselves justified in recommending
any omission in the passages selected, we have endeavoured
so to arrange the Lessons as to include whatever might be
most conducive to edification when read in the general
congregation. In the schedule to this report will be
found the Revised Table of Lessons Proper for Sundays,
the Revised Table of Lessons Proper for Holy Days and
the Revised Table of Daily First and Second Lessons.
It will be seen from this schedule that, on the one
hand, wo have introduced many passages of Scripture (e.g.,
from the Books of Chronicles and from the Book of the
Prophet Ezekiel) which are not now read in public wor-
ship ; on the other hand, we have largely reduced the num-
ber of Lessons taken from the Apocrypha, so that, instead of
26 Lessons taken from it for holy days, there will now be
only four, and, instead of 106 for ordinary days, there will
now be only 40. The New Testament Lessons are so arranged
that the whole of that which is now read three times will
be read twice in the course of the year—once in the morn-
ing and once in the evening. The yearly calendar will be
closed with 22 Lessons from the Book of the Revelation of
St. John the Divine. For the Proper Lessons on holydays
many passages have been chosen which we think will
be found, more appropriate than those in the existing
table. Lessons for Ash Wednesday are provided, and the
series of Lessons for the Holy Week is now made complete.
A second series of Lessons for evensong on Sundays has
been also provided, to be used either as alternative Lessens
at the second service, or: at a third service, if such ser-
vice be thought desirable. Where there is a third service,
wo propose to leave to the minister discretion to read for the
Second Lesson auy chapter or appointed Lesson out of the
think it expedient to select.
four Gospels which he may
We further propose that upon occasions to be approved by
the Ordinary other Lessons may, with his consent, be sub-
stituted for those which are appointed in the calendar. We
feel it our duty to state to your Majesty that we deemed it
expedient to submit privately the Tables of Lessons thus
revised by us to the Archbishops and Bishops of Eng-
land and Ireland, to the Deans of Cathedral Churches,
and to the Theological Professors of the Universities of
Oxford, Cambridge, Dublin, and Durham. To the sugges-
tions which we received we have given full consideration,
and wo have adopted those which seemed to us to ho im-
provements on our original proposals. We cannot conclude
this Report, which we now submit to your Majesty's consi-
deration, without expressing our humble but earnest hope
that it may please Almighty God to bless our labours to the
advancement of His glory, and to the fuller knowledge of
His most Holy Word and Will. The Schedule contains
a Revised Table of Lessens Proper for Sundays, occupying
14 pages.

THE NESTORIAN OHRISTIANS.—The English Inde-
pendent has some exceedingly strong remarks upon the
Archbishop of Canterbury's appeal for funds to aid the
Nestorian Christians. "It will scarcely be believed (says
our contemporary) that the Archbishop makes no refe-
rence whatever to the fact that Protestant missionaries
have been at work among this people for a generation, and
that he leads Churchmen to believe that they are in " igno-
rance and darkness" which nothing but their own fidelity
truth prevents from becoming total. When the American
missionaries first reached them theywere in darkness in-
deed, almost as degraded as their neighbours the Persians,
and their Christianity was a mere form. Now it is true,
as the Archbishop says, that " the reading of the Scrip,
tures in the vulgar tongue "is diligently practised" by
them. But for that they are wholly indebted to the Ame-
rican missionaries, who have rc d iced their vernacular to
writing ; have set up printing presses, and published
the Bible in the " vulgar tongue ;" have circulated
copies, and have taught children and adults how to read
them and how to profit by them, Tho Archbishop bases
his appeal upon the fact that the Nestorians themselves
have asked the Church of England to come to their assis-
tance. "Several Assyrian bishops, priests, and deacons"
addressed, he says, the late Archbishop and himself in "a
touching letter, to send soma one to instruct and
enlighten them." Has the Primate made any
inquiry as to the value or origin of this
letter? Does it come from Nestorians who having
been trained by the American missionaries for the work of
preaching were dis iatisfied because they were not also paid
by the American Society? By what casuistry does he
justify himself in putting out such a statement as that
which was printed in the Times last week without giving
the English public the least inkling of the real condition
of affairs among the Nestorians? He has deceived the
English public, and when his action becomes known to the
American churches it will excite their utmost indignation.
We shall be surprised if the Araggican Episcopalians do
not join in a ri4,l43cras teqvt PIA 4eBl4ql°
i1q0414412,