The Sun.
London, England, 1869-04-27 00:00:00

TILE COLENSO DIFFICULTY.

Some one, it does not appear who, has asked the
opinion of three eminent counsel—Sir J. D. Cole-
ridge, Sir IL Palmer, and Dr. Deane—with respect to the
Nat .ldifliculty. The question they asked was, " Assum-
ing that the present Bishop of Natal has been guilty
of en ecclesiastical offence, what sters can be taken
to bring him to trial, and before what tribunal ?,"
The Times, which publishes the counsels' opinion,
and also a leader on it, assumes that it
is the friends of the Bishop of Capetown who
have consulted the above-mentioned eminent lawyers.
This arsumption scarcely seems to be borne out by
the fact that Dr. Colenso is spoken of as the Bishop
of Natal, whereas Bishop Gray and his partisans
declare that Bishop Colenso has been deposed. How-
ever, the most important matter is the opinion itself.
From this we learn that the Bishop of Capetown has
no jurisdiction over Dr. Colenso ; that even if the
letters patent granted to Dr. Colenso were valid,
there is no tribunal, civil, criminal, or ecclesiastical,
in Natal whichcan determine if Dr.Colenso's opinions
rre erroneous, or can enforce a decision ; that the
Archbishop of Canterbury has no authority over the
Bishop of Natal ; that the Crown has no authority
to try the question • and that the only ground on
which the letters patent could be revoked would be
that they were ab initio void, and the result of the
case "-Bishop of Natal v. Green" renders it quite
possible that they might prove legally %: lid. "We
are therefore of opinion," add the counsel, " that no
means at present exist for trying before any tribunal
competent to decide the question whether or no pr.
Colenso, the 'present Bishop of Natal, has advocated
doctrinal opinions not in accordance with the doc-
trines held by the Church of England; and, assuming
the present Bishop of Natal to have been guilty
of an eecics:astical offence, no steps can be taken to
bring him, as such bishop, before any tribunal. We
do not, however, think that, upon the present mate-
rials, it would be satisfactory or proper for us to enter
into the question whether, if Dr. Colenso were pre-
sent within the jurisdiction of an English ecclesias-
tical court,
.and were in this country to commit any
offence against the laws ecclesiastical, he could or
not he proceeded against, under the Church Disci-
pline Act, as a clerk in holy orders of the
Church of -England." According to this opinion
the Crown, even if it has legally appointed bishops
in the colonies (which is doubtful), has appointed
irremovable, irresponsible bishops, who cannot be
tried.for any proceedings, however outrageous; and
thus the energy of those Churchmen who founded
the Colonial Episcopate about a quarter of a century
ago, and the liberality cf persons who, like Miss
Burdett Coetts, have largely endowed colonial
bishoprics, have been grievously misdirecta There
seems, however, no doubt that Bishop Colenso can
be brought to trial under the same conditions as the
vicar of Frome. The Bishop's work on the Penta-
teuch was published in the diocese of London no less
than Mr. Bennett's essay on " The Church and the
World." The Bishop himself would probably throw
no obstacle in the way of a fair judicial inves-
tigation.

TIIE PIMACIIING SEM On

The London preaching season is now in full force.
Bishops, being mortals, have a lively appreciation
of the amenities of the metropolis during the
spring; and probably more than half of the
bishops who are not impotent are now in
town. They make good use of their Sundays by
preaching in behalf of various charities, or for
their friends who have not yet advanced beyond the
second clerical order. On Sunday three archbishops
and a large number of bishops held forth at various
churches. The Bishop of Derry, the foremost orator
of the Irish Church, preached at Westminster
Abbey, to an enormous congregation ; but though
there were eloquent passages in the sermon, it did
not come up to the high expectations which Bishop
Alexander's fame had excited. At the Temple
Church the Bishop of Peterborough preached to- a-
cong,regation -which contained a large number of
notabilities, including the Speaker, Lord Grinvilt.e,
pMrre.acliiiaetirdayt,
adkillddel‘rnTri.atalit.i(rhyv ,eOlll.l
tThhee
excellenciesß i Bishop ofOoxff
the
eel
Church Liturgy.

TURNING TIIE TAMES.
The harvest festival of the Rev. Alan Greenwell.
at I Inydock, in Lancashire, willberemembered because
of the appearance of a pig's head among the offerings.
Great was the outcry excited by that unlucky gift of
the peasant who in the fullness of Iris heart gave of
his substance, and never dreamed of the notorie! y
that his act would bring upon his village. Air
Greenwell shortly afterwards resigned h's cure
and was succeeded by a Mr. Sherlock. Ili(
gentleman has given great offence to his
parishioners because he has abandoned some of
the Ritual practised by his-predecessor. One of th(
churchwardens has presented his vicar to the Arch-
deacon on the ground that the vicar would not weal
the "legal eucharistic vestments." A.rehdeacor
Jones declined to give the required admonition. Ar
appeal is now being made to the Bishop of Chester
and the churchwarden declares that he will, if neces-
sary, carry the matter into the Court of Arches.
Clearly it is the Church militant which we have her(
en earth.

I,IE. ACLAND, M.P., ON TEE FRIENLs OF Tll

CI:UT:Cir.

Mr. Adana was one of the guests at the festival 01
St. Mark's Training College, Chelsea. In the course
of his remarks the member for North Devon said
" they had heard that these were times full of clanger
and difficulty—times in which the Church had tc
encounter (as they were often told) hostility ane
treachery ; but he would say to the young mer
before him, ' Do not believe that the cause of the
Church depends upon any particular party in the
country. Use your common sense and con.mor
judgment, and do not believe that those who appeal
hostile to the Church, awl are perhaps compelled tc
take a course which wears that aspect, may not, after
all, be some of the warmest-hearted and most earncsi
of Churchmen.'" Wise words these, and partial.•
.
larly needed just now.

BETTING AND LOTT EWES.

The sober-minded valio_will be glad to hear