The Sun.
London, England, 1869-12-22 00:00:00

SPIRIT OP TIM PI7BLIO RITRITALS, THE CONSECRATION OF THE BISHOPS OF
I EXETER, BATH AND WELLS, AND TILE
43. I FALKLAND ISLANDS.

`i lie archbishop of Canterbury, rays the times, hes
applied to the Government to sanction the appointment cf
a suffragan bishop to relieve him of part of the burden of
his duties. It is expressly stated, however, that tho Arch-
bishop's request was made quite independently of his
illness ; and, in fact, though the Government have acceded
to it, no further steps will be taken until it is seen
whether his Grace's recovery proves as complete as is now
hoped. The request, therefore, comes before us
on its merits as proposing a normal arrangement
for thn Archdiocese of Canterbury. It amounts
to a formal statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury
that the work of his office is too much for one man, and
that he thinks the appointment of a Suffragan Bishop a
proper mode of affording him relief. But, even sup-
posing some relief to be necessary, we still have to accom-
modate ourselves to this conception of Suffragans, and we
own the task is not easy. It will not lie lightened by the
circumstances of the present day. What is a Suffragan?
Is he simply an episcopal curate, with the rough work to
do and neither the responsibility nor the honour of
full episcopal authority? Is he merely to perform
ceremonies, and do a certain amount of official
routine ? The spectacle of a number of persons thus
restricted in their powers will scarcely aCal to the
im•sressiveness of the Episcopal Bench, yet we find
it difficult to conceive how they can be anything wore
important. The human mind, but particularly the eccle-
siastical mind, has a great regard for authority, and this
can be transferred from an actual member of the Bench
to such an unintelligible creation as a Suffragan. Above
all, a Suffragan Archbishop of Canterbury is as incon-
ceivable as a Suffragan Pope. We cannot, in short, but
fell that this is an experiment, respecting the prospects of
which very little is known, and we rather regret
that the Archbishop should have given it the
sanction of his example. The Bishop of Lincoln is
to try it, and it will bo wise to see how it works in his
diocese. For this reason it is, perhaps, as well that the
actual appointment within the see of Canterbury should
be delayed. There will be time for observation, and,
perhaps, for mature reflection. The duties, the position,
lie incomes of suffragans ought to be more clearly pro
videl for before the new episcopal order is formally intro-
duced among us. If we have come, in short, to such a
pass that bishops and archbishops must have suffragans, it
will be a groat question whether the time has not come
for a general reconsideration of our ecclesiastical arrange-
ments.

The Standard declares that nothing Dr. Temple may now
say or do will avail to mitigate the painfully exceptional
circumstances under which he was consecrated to the office

of a bishop. No explanations which he may now tender
—and we cling to the hope that he will at length break
th 9 silence which he has maintained in the face of the
many and urgent entreaties that he would speak out—can
do away with the fact that ho takes his place on the
episcopal bench in violent resistance to an amount of pro-
test such as no other bishop has ever encountered
in the whole history of the English Church. It is diffi-
cult to understand that Mr. Gladstone could have had
no other motive in selecting him than a malignant
desire at once to outrage the Church and encourage the
distaste with which its union with the State is regarded in
some quarters. Nothing could tend more effectually to
make the union hateful than such a demonstration of the
spirit in which the Crown may be made to exercise its
prerogative under a a indictive Minister. Thanks to Mr.
Gladstone, it is now an established possibility that the
bench of bishops may be packed with divines who are
m,st repugnant to orthodox Churchmen, and whom. the
Church has visited with her heaviest censures. No appeal,
no remonstrance, is listened to. The Minister is om-
nipotent, and no amount of unsoundness is held
to disqualify a Radical clergyman who has done
good service to his party. The whole Church may rise
in indignant protest, but it is powerless against the malice
of a single statesman. What is the obvious inference but
that the union which subjects the Church to such shame-
ful indignity is a cause of damage and weakness? If Mr.
Gladstone, in spite of his protestations, desires to teach
such a lesson, and win fresh converts to the gospel of dis-
establishment, he could hardly have resorted to a more
cogent illustration than he has supplied in the appoint-
ment of Dr. Temple. He has scandalously abused his
power, and the day may come when Churchmen will
make him heavily responsible for the mischief he has
caused. _

There is no longer any question, remarks the Post, about
Dr. Temple's elevation to the Episcopate. That he will
make an admirable bishop is the unanimous opinion of
his enthusiastic friends. Many who know him only as a
public man—ourselves amongst the number—believe that
in due time and after some experience, the fervent hopes
of his admirers will be realised. But there is no use in
concealing that for some time to come ho will be far from
a.cseptable, as a bishop, to hundreds of the clergy and
leading laity of his diocese. That .his great forco of
character, his commanding abilities, his personal
qualities, and his huge industry will disarm
opposition, dispel suspicion, and win confidence,
is as probable as anything in the future can
be. But the time is not yet. Very much must depend
upon the few first steps taken on his arrival at the scene
of his future work. There is a powerful class which no
bishop, anxious to discharge his duty successfully, would
think of underrating. It numbers some of the best of
the clergy and the most influential of the laity in Devon
and Cornwall. The conscience of these is offended by the
bishop's complicity with "Essays and Reviews." It
is unless to call this narrow-minded, as some of the
bishop's friends have done. The fact remains. Men can-
not help their convictions. The bishop will do well
to take the conscientious scruples of these earnest
men into his reckoning. They have a special
claim upon him, after his professions of largo-heartedness.
Their present grievance is that he has hitherto entirely
ignored them. We have borne testimony to Dr. Temple's
high character and defended his appointment; but we
cannot defend his reticence, and we press upon him that
his very first step on reaching Exeter should be to folios:7
frankly the wise counsel of the Archbishop of Canterbury,
and make a full and free statement to his diocese as to his
own views and feelings on the questions which have been
raised. Should he have the wisdom to follow the Primate's
admirable advice we cannot doubt that all distrust,
anxiety, and opposition will be at once allayed, and that a
future will lie open to him as useful as brilliant, and
fame as lasting as it will be well deserved.
The Daily News observes that the clerical and episcopal
agitation against Dr. Temple's appointment has not only
failed, but neither Archdeacon Denison's preposterous
prayers, nor Bishop Trower'sfra.ntic efforts, nor the Bishop
of Lincoln's protest, have been able to interpose so much
as a hindrance in any single step between the nomina-
tion by the Crown and the consecration by the
Bishops. It will be well if the Bishops and clergy of
both the great parties in the Church learn the lessons
these events should teach them. They are neither the
Church nor the nation, nor is it for them to say what shall
bo or what the nation shall do. It is not clerical opinion,
but national opinion, which must predominate in the
Established Church; and a Minister, in bestowing the
higher offices of the Establishment, must consider,
not the clergy alone, but the nation. It may
not be possible that the Church should bo as
wide as the whole religion of the English
people, but in its ruling elders all the elements of
Churchmanship may at least bo represented. Dr. Temple
represents an element which is weak among the clergy,
but strong among the laity, and his presence among the
bishops will bo another sign, which both clergy and laity
will understand, that the Church is for the laity, and
not the laity for the Church. His appointment has been
made the signal for threatened division, but will
become a pledge of peace. The storm which
has been so industriously raised is already over, and Dr.
Temple goes to his diocese with the good wishes and con-
gratulations of a larger public than were ever before into-
rooted in an ecclesiastical appointment, and with the
prospect of illustrious service in a sphere which greatly
needs the presence of a reconciling spirit and the gentle
influence of a healing hand.
Tho Herald thinks that it becomes daily mere evident that
the opinions of those who some years ago were fanatical
on the subject of unlimited generosity towards foreign
nations, combined with a very grudging policy on their
part, have been substantially modified by events. They
aro not recanting their free-trade, nor are they indulging
in dreams of protection; their object goes no farther than
that the commercial policy of the world, insomuch as we
can influence it, shall be founded, as all commerce,
and indeed all life, is at home, upon a basis of
mutual benefits, an exchange of advantages upon fair terms.
Progress is being made, and one by one the wholesale
disciples of a former day are dropping out of their alle-
giance. They, or the more rational and honest of them,
know perfectly well that no doctrine has been revived
implying that this country should be self-supporting
in the narrow sense of the term, and altogether
independent of foreign importations, whether as article,
of food or as the raw materials of industry. So fa
from it, a distinct principle recognised is, that no clas-
of human provisions stroll be weighted with any impost
whatever ; and that the utmost encouragement shall
bo given to the importation of raw materials when
they are not produced in sufficient quantities
by ourselves. With cheap corn and meat, and cheap mate-
rials to labour upon, and a tariff which should not lite-
rally swamp him in many important fields of industry, the
workman might natural:3r expect an improvement in his
position, which at present is going from bad to worse. But
the teaching of the professors `shown he at last repudiate=
is, that he should be glad to pay a (!oulle toll on his own
productions, and then to see them undersold in his own
niaA9,t, by ;he foreigner._

--.4,

What a pity it is that Archdeacon Denison was not in
London today. Wordsworth (not the I3ishop tut the

poet) tells us that kind nature does not always sympathise
with us in our moods. She certainly was sympathising,with
the Archdeacon of Taunton on Tuesday. It was the shortest

day of the year, likewise the darkest ; for in addition
to the brevity of sunlight, inevitable at this season,
there was a London fog. The sun was blotted

out of creation ; the outer world of London streets
was hid at first in a fog, through which the lamps

glimmered feebly, and afterwards was blurred and blotted
with floods of rain. In the Abbey itself the darkness was

gross and palpable, and the wax tapers in the chancel
stalls, and in the candelabra of the Sacrarium, served only-
to make the darkness visible. Now and then a feeble,
ghastly light struggled through the gorgeous dyes of the
great south wheel-window and the new Chaucer vindow
but throughout the whole service there was not any ap-
proach to real daylight. A dark deed, according to
Archdeacon Denison, was clone in darkness.

•
It was certainly not clone in a corner.

Tu©

whole world WM there to see it. Every seat in
the chancel and in the sacrarium was filled, and
there was besides a dense throng of witnesses who
had to be contented with standing room. Inclement as
was the weather the number of ladies was very large. Of

clergy there was a great gathering, so far this
ceremony was very different from that in Bow Church a
fortnight ago. The service was fixed for eleven. Long
bcfore that hour the Abbey was crammed. Long after

t' at hour the people sat waiting and waiting, listening
. _ _ _

- _
for the first note of the organ to herald the

a)proaching ceremony. Many and anxious were the looks
tuned toward the Western screen. "Why did the wheels
of the episcopal chariot tarry so long in coming ?" was
fle question on every lip. It was not until
nearly the half hour had passed that the first slight
swell from the organ told that the procession was at hand.
In it passed, through the screen door past the monuments
of Newton and Stanhope, a long array.

But while they are taking their places, let us ascertain

what has happened to delay them. How was it that there

had been this unusual delay, and who was responsible for
it? Tho three bishops who were about to be consecrated,
the Bishops of London, Ely, Worcester, and St. David's, by

whom the solemn ceremony was to bo carried out, Dean

Stanley,the Dean of Durham, the chaplains of the various

bishops. Sir Travers Twiss, the Registrar of the Province,
and the registrar of the diocese were present in the Chap-
ter House, when the Bishop of London said he had been
requested by the Archbishop of Canterbury to consecrate
Dr. Temple as Bishop of Exeter, and two others who
were present ; and he thought it necessary to say

a few words with reference to the consecration of Dr.

Temple. It was a matter of public notoriety that four
protests had been received from comprovincials, viz., the
Bishops of Gloucester and Bristol, Hereford, Lichfield, and
_ _

Lincoln. It was also stated that four other bishops,

although they had not formally sent in protests, dis-
sented from the consecration, viz., the Bishops of Llandaff,
Bangor, Rochester, and Peterborough. There were in the
province twenty-one sees, and taking into account the three
vacancies and the eight protests, there was still a majority
who might fairly be assumed to consent to the
carrying out of the ceremony of the consecration.

For himself, representing, as he did, the Archbishop on so
solemn an occasion, he must say he felt the extreme gra-
vity of the position, not only on account of the character,
learning, and standing of the dissentients, but also
because it involved the vital points of the relations
between Church and State, and, still speaking for himself,
he could not avoid adding that it was a most
unfortunate thing that at such a time as this
when the gravest questions were arising as to our
national Establishment, this commotion had taken place.

One of the protesters had asked that the consecration
might be deferred, but the consecrating bishops,acting under
the commission of his Grace, saw no reason why the ceremony
should be deferred. Owing to the lateness of the period
at which the protests had arrived, he was deprived entirely
of the opportunity of communicating with any of the other
bishops except the Bishop of Ely, but he had obtained
the highest legal advice, and the effect of that
was that there need be no hesitation or ambiguity in the
matter. There could be no doubt that, legally considered,
the archbishop not only might, but was bound to proceed.
The Bishop of Lincoln in his protest did not say
whether he thought that a majority of dissentients would
bar the consecration, but according to the Council of Nice,
a majority for it would bind. The right rev, prelate
then quoted the Councils of Nice, Laodicea, and
Antioch, also various canons and legal authorities
deducing from the whole the fact that a majority
of comprovincials being assenting parties to
the ceremony, left the Archbishop no choice but to •pro-
cced. Had there been a majority protesting, he should
have felt how extremely difficult his position
would have been, but happily this question did not arise.
On the previous day he had had the opportunity
of counselling some of his comprovincials, and
they agreed with the eminent lawyer whose opinion
had been taken, that he was bound to proceed with the
consecration in accordance with the Queen's mandate and
the Archbishop's commission.
The Bishops of Ely, St. David's, and Worcester severally
said they concurred entirely with what their right rev.
brother had said.
The parties then proceeded in procession to the Abbey.
Probably very few of the vast congregation present were
aware of the scene which had just taken place. Certainly
there was nothing in the aspect of the person most con-
cerned to indicate it. He walked with firm step, and if
his face were perhaps a little flushed, that might easily
have happened to any man about to undertake the most
solemn office to which he can be called. Morning
prayer had been said at eight o'clock, and FO
the present service commenced with the Communion office.
The Bishop of London read the first part. The Epistle
and the Gospel were of course not those for St. Thomas's
Day, but those in the consecration service. The Nicene
Creed was sung to Smart in F, and that ended, the Dean's
Verger conducted Dean Lake to the pulpit. It will be
remembered that he was appointed to his present prefer-
ment after it had been declined by Dr. Temple. Having
read the collect for SS. Simon and Jude, the Dean gave
out his text from the Epistle to Titus, ii., 2, 15.
The preacher said that these verses form one of those
exhortations which contain, in a few words, almost the
whole of the Christian doctrine. The one fact of
that religion is that Christ is God. Christ and His
apostles did not demand belief in any doctrine which did
not deal directly with Christ. The two great creeds con-
tained only the two great cardinal truths—that Christ
is tho Son of God, and that He rose from the dead.
We have no right on the grounds of faith, reason,
or practice to ask of Christian men anything more
I than was asked in the times when martyrdom was the
test of sincerity. Referring to three bishops about
i to be consecrated, (Lord Arthur Hervey, Bath and Wells,
W. H. Stirling, Falkland Islands,and Dr. Temple, Exeter),
Dean Lake said that the two first of them had by their
lives well prepared themselves for the life of self-denial
which was before them. Then with somewhat faltering
voice, he added, I wish I could dare to say all that I think
of the other. In a few brief words he spoke of
, Dr. Temple's earnestness, sincerity, and deep humility,
to which he could bear witness after an acquaintance of
many years. Never has there been a time when there was
more need to think of these qualities. It is .not sad that
men should differ; being different members, though
of the same body, it is inevitable that they should
differ. What is sad is that we do not
allow liberty for these differences which have
arisen in the good providence of God. It is a fault of
which we aro all guilty, let us therefore apply it to our-
selves, not to others, and seek hereafter more effectually
to keep the unity of the Spirit in a bond of peace. There
was this liberty in the earliest and best days
of the Church. If ever there was a champion of ortho-
doxy it was Athanasius, if ever there was one
who protested against heresies it was that great Bishop
of Alexandria. Yet when men told him that Basil was not
fit to be a bishop, that he was in communion with heretics,
he exacted nothing from Basil but a confession of belief in
the two creeds, and wrote to him that he would be most
glad to receive him as a bishop.
The Dean having descended from the pulpit, the
verger conducted the bishops elect to Islip Chapel,
near the Sacrarium, where they put on their rockets,
the choir meanwhile singing Ousley's anthem,
" How Goodly are thy tents" Returning, they
wore presented by the assistant-bishops to the Bishop
of London, who sat in front of the altar in tho Arch-
bishop's chair. The Litany was then sung, Dean Stanley
saying the concluding prayer, and offering the Arch-
bishop's thanks for:that measure of restoration to health
which had been afforded to him. The ceremonial
iper then proceeded. It reached its culminating point
of solemnity during the singing of the " Vein Creator"
this time the dim light had become dimmer,
and all was seen through the yellow haze of the
many lights burning before the altar. The three
Bishops Elect, Dr. Temple in the middle,
knelt before the consecrating bishops, who, with
hands clasped, and heads slightly bent, doubtless felt the
gravity of their position. The ceremony of laying on of
hands was performed separately with each bishop, and the
charge was repeated separately to each. Dr. Temple was the
first to receive the imposition, and just as the sacred words
of consecration had been uttered, the great bell of the
Clock Tower boomed forth half-past one. The Com
munion office was then proceeded with, and a
very large number of persons remained to communicate
with the now prelates. The proceedings did not termi-
nate till about three o'clock, having lasted nearly four
hours.

The very extensive Distillery now beintl erectl
at Belfast, with all recent improvements for the manTlfactur.eed
Irish whisky, by Messrs. DUNVILLE & Co., who have gainto
a world-wide celebrity for their fine old Irish whisky, IS
to
called "The Royal Irish Distillery."

lIIGII WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.
MORNING. EVENING 4
WEDNESDAY 10 min past 4 ...... 28 min past 6
THURSDAY
FRIDAY 50 min past 4 ...... 10 min past, 4
35 min past 5...... 0 min past 6
SATURDAY "6 miu past 6 ...... 50 min past /
SUNDAY
MONDAY
.. '2 min past 8 ...... 57 min past /0
I CESDAY, „,. ;20 min pant 9 10 rail' Vaist