The Sun.
London, England, 1870-02-07 00:00:00

LONDON, _MONDAY, FEB. 7, 1870.

ISY a curious coincidence the new constitution of
the Irish Church was published almost simultaneously
with the judgment in the Court of Arches on the
two Ritual suits instituted by the Church Associa-
tion. While Irish churchmen, being free from
State control, are free also to choose not only their
own ritual, but also their government and doctrine,
English churchmen. being still under the control
of the State have to listen with becoming serious-
ness and gravity while Sir ROBERT PHILLIMORE
pronounces the liberty of clergymen to wear any
caps they please, including a night-cap. There is
something very suggestive in this contrast, and the ad-
vocates of free Churches will be sure to make the most
of it. In truth, the Church Association is straining to
the uttermost the present bond between Church and
State. When clergymen are summoned into the law
courts, and exposed to ruinous costs,because they choose
to wear a head-dress of a peculiar character which
has the misfortune to bear an Italian name, it is not
surprising if some of them desire a condition in which
there would be a little more liberty and a little less
law. As it is, the Church Association has received
another well-merited rebuke, and another defeat.
True, it has deprived High Church clergy of the
right to wear coloured stoles ; but it has also
deprived Low Church clergy of the right to wear
those broad black scarves worthy of the great
undertaker, Mr. BANTING, with which they used to
adore themselves. Henceforth clergymen at matins
or evensong must content themselves with donning
their surplices alone, must even deny themselves the
luxury of their university hoods. So far, then, there
is a drawn game for the Association. But the
next point is a decided check. Eucharistic
vestments are declared lawful. Copes, chasubles,
dalmatics, and the rest are all permissible. The result
of this suit is therefore exactly the reverse of that
which the prosecutors intended. They wished to
abolish all distinctions between the costume worn at
the ordinary service and that worn at the Communion.
Instead of effecting this they have made the distinction
more marked than ever. The clergyman at matins
and evensong must be content with plain white ;
the priest at celebration may wear all the colours of
the rainbow or the parrot. The result will be that
High Church clergymen with a taste for eccle-
siastical millinery, who have been longing to wear
these "beautiful garments," will order them forth-
with, and Messrs, SMITH and TATTERSALL will be
deluged with orders for elaborate costumes. Was
it really worth the while of the Church Associa-
tion to purchase so many candles fur such a play
as this?

It is a relief to turn from these miserable trials, which
degrade alike the law and the church, to the con-
stitution drawn up for the government of the dises-
tablished Irish Church. This constitution exists
only in draft at present, and it is possible that it will
be materially modified. It is possible, for
instance, that the party with whom the Aiten-
BISHOP of AnaLton is believed to sympathise, and
which wishes to make Episcopacy and Presbyterianism
open questions—allowing the clergy, who prefer the
latter form of Government, to minister in the Church—
will be strong enough, though this is not probable,
to enforce its wishes. However that may be, the
draft constitution provides the Episcopal form of
government alone, and gives a great deal more
authority to the bishops than the laity are likely to
approve. For instance the bishops institute the
clergy, and in the event of a refusal the appeal'
is made, not to the full court, but to the
College of Bishops, who will be sure to
support their order. Moreover, in the Church
parliament, the bishops while deliberating with
the Lower House, will vote by themselves.
In other words the Bishops will have the power of
throwing out any measure whereof they disapprove,
just as the House of Lords have in the British Par-
liament- Nor is this all. No bill can be as much as
discussed in the Lower House without the leave of
the Full Synod, that is of both Houses. The Bishops
will therefore not only be able to reject a measure
which they dislike, but will be able also to
prevent it from being debated. It seems impos-
sible that in these democratic days any such
regulation as this can be maintained. The bish4s
also take into their hands the patronage which has
hitherto been administered by the laity in the person
of the PRIME MINISTER, namely, the appointment of
deans and other dignitaries. This is no very great
matter, we admit yet it is important as denoting
the resolution of the bishops to absorb as far as
possible all ecclesiastical power.
But if these features are objectionable they are
Compensated in a great degree by the admission of
the laity to a part in the counsels of the Church. It
is the exclusion of the laity which has wrought so
much mischief in the English Church. It has been, far
more than stoles or birettas, the great cause of
estrangement. The laity see that they have no voice,
and having no voice are not considered by
the clergy. The appointment of pastors &itr them
from whose doctrines they dissent, whose conduct
they disapprove, and who may have bought them
like so many sheep at a fair, is in itself sufficient to
account for dissent. In the Irish Church provision
will bo made for the influence of the laity in the
appointment of the clergy. Each diocese will have
a synod which will consist equally of clergy and laity,
and will elect a committee of patronage equally
composed of both elements ; and this com-
mittee of six joined by three communicants
of tho parish in which a vacancy has
occurred, will submit three names to the Bishop, who
may, however, as we have said, reject all of them,
subject to an appeal to the College of Bishops. The

clergy only select the bishops, the laity having the
power to reject all three of the names sent
up to them; but then the appeal is to
the College of Bishops in this case also, so
that the bishops constitute the ultimate court of
appeal in all matters of this hind. There is room
here for considerable modification, and we believe
that the laity of the Irish Church will not be content
to accept the draft constitution without making some
ill:iv:dud alto:aim in it,