The Sun.
London, England, 1870-09-26 00:00:00

these ten years by the joint consent of Parliament
and C,nvocation, and to substitute certain chapters
of the Bible in public service for certain other chap-
ters. By a sort of fatality this last achievement, the
only one to which practical effect had been given in
the shape of a Parliamentary bill, was at the last
moment withdrawn by Mr. BRUCE, regardless of the
factfthat thereby hundreds of unfortunate bookbinders
would be reduced to the verge of starvation.
kVe almost fancy that the Commissioners have done
one other thing—that they have proved the impractica-
bility of Dean STANLEY'S theory of a State Church,
—a Church which shall include all schools of thought.
This "Final Report," such as it is, bears a very small
_ _

proportion to the whole contents of the Blue Book.
The great bulk of it is made up of pro-
tests by individual Commissioners. The
SOLICITOR - GENERAL was clear-sighted enough
to withdraw from the Commission altogether.
lie saw plainly that his time could be more
profitably occupied than in the hopeless task of
reconciling men of such different views as Mr.
VENN to Mr. PERRY, of Brighton, and Lord EBURY
to Earl BEAUCHAMP. Two of the other Commis-
sinners, Lord CARNARVON and Sir ROBERT PRIEM-
MORE, might just as well have followe I Sir JOHN
COLERIDGE'S example, for they have refused to sign

he report. As for the rest, they seem to have

bad for their one object that of showing the utter
variance of opinion that there was among them;

they have, in fact, agreed to differ with a
vengeance, and it is almost the only thing in which
they have agreed. Here their agreement is truly
wonderful. In fact, the primary object for which the
Commissioners met would seem to have been to
show that men may belong to tide same Church, and
differ toto ccelo upon every question. On no Matter
have they differed more seriously or more vehe-
mently than the Athanasian Creed. The Report says
with regard to this document, that " the existing
rubrics are retained, but at the end is added,
Note : The condemnations in this Confession
of faith are to be no otherwise understood than as a
solemn warning of the peril of those who wilfully
reject the Catholic faith." But though this recom-
mendation being embodied in the report might be
supposed to be the recommendation of at least
bare majority of the twenty-nine Commissioners, no
fewer than seventeen express their dissent
from it; dnd thus, reckoning the two others
who have refused to sign the Report at all,

we actually have the extraordinary spectacle of a
recommendation
_embodied in the Commissioners'
Deport, which is disapproved of by nineteen out of
the twenty-nine.
There is one matter for satisfaction which
redeems this most lamentable document from
being an entire fiasco. On the one hand are the
arguments—the regular knock-down sledge-hammer
arguments—of Mr. BUXTON and Dean STANLEY
against the Creed, on the other hand is
the absurdity by which the Creed is re-

tained, while the very object for which it was
drawn up is surrendered. Intended by its originators
to damn men who did not receive all the deductions
which certain metaphysical theologians had drawn
from Scripture, it is now supplemented by its
retainers with a postscript to the effect that such per-

sons will not be damned. The absurdity of this com-
promise is so outrageous that it is impossible the Creed
can continue in force many months more. The Ritual

Commissioners may not •be able to see their way to
removing it from the Prayer-book, but the laity will

speedily cease to use it or to tolerate its use in the
services of the Church. And when that clay comes
the Clergy will have to treat this document as they
long ago treated the Thanksgiving Service for the
restoration of that most religious and gracious King,
CHARLES 11., of blessed memory.

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

ENGLAND lINP,REPARED.

When Earl Carnarvon has thought it expedient

to make the observations he did on Friday, with
reference to the extreme inadequacy, in point of
strength, of the English Forces, naval and military,
people will no doubt begin to surmise that the fears, so
easily silenced by a grant of two million pounds some
few weeks since, were only too well founded. How
essential military preparations in England are now,has
become even more apparent since the great
battle of Sedan after which a diminished, but
victorious army brought 300,000 soldiers

under arms up to the walls of the
enemy's capital. Earl Carnarvon was no doubt
right in saying that there was a vast superiority in
national armaments over those of mercenary forces,
and- he was assuredly so, when he said that England
now only possessed a handful of regular troops corn-
pared with the armies of the continent. What then,
it may well be asked, is to be done in case of emer-
gency ? Our volunteers as they are, although a
patriotic branch of . the service, reflect only dis-
grace upon us. Recruiting for the re-
gular army is proceeding so slowly as

to • lead to very grave expressions of opinion, while
our sailors declare their want of confidence in cer-

tain of her Majesty's ships. Fortunately our fleet at
present is superior to that of any other nation, but
Tarl Carnarvon only states the feelings of the country
when he says that the Government are not acting
prudently it they rest almost the whole safety of

, ;SEPTEMBER 26, 187 u,

Irreconcilables for all their disappointment and de-
feat during the debates on the Education Bill.
The special purpose for which the Commissioners
were appointed was to consider the altirations
which bad been made of late years in the manner of
conducting the services of the Church, oad to
advise what modification should be made in the
"ornaments rubric." Lord SHAFTESBURY, Lord
EBURY, and one or two other like-minded peers, had
been calling for summary justice upon the party in
the Church who had originated these alterations,
and went so far as to introduce a bill which,
among other provisions, regulated the length of
clergymen's surplices. Parliament is not fond of
sumptuary legislation, and would have none of
Lord SHAFTESBURY'S. But, inasmuch as it
was necessary to do something to pacify
Exeter Hall, the Ritual Commission was
appointed as above mentioned. The Commissioners
took plenty of evidence, and speedily published it
in a volume, which attained an honour never before
achieved by Blue-book ; it went through three edi-
tions in less than as many weeks. Nevertheless, three
years afterwards—three years of consultation ove r
wine and biscuits—have failed to elicit any proposal
or recommendation upon the very subject which the
Commissioners were appointed to consider. The
Ritual Commissioners are unable to make any sug-
gestion with regard to the "ornaments rubric." The
way is now clear for Lord SHAFTESBU nv to reintro-
duce his measure ordering surplices to be of regula-
tion breadth of sleeves and length of skirts.
The Commissioners have, however, done some-
thing. They have recommended that permission
shall be given to shorten certain services, to omit
.inie of the prayers for the QUEEN when her Majesty
has been prayed for once, to leave out certain pas-
-I:ages from the Marriage Service which are deemed
too Scripturally outspoken for modern ears polite,
to modify the Burial Service so that the clergy
may not be compelled to apply its euthanasia
to notorious evil-livers—the one really valuable
recommendation out of the whole, to abolish the
three " State Services," which have been abolished