The Sun.
London, England, 1867-09-17 00:00:00

MAILS DUE.

hestralia and New Zealand, via Sonthampton......Sept lg.
Ditto, Via Marseilles -............0at. 14.
Ditto, via Panama ••••• •• ...
Brasil, /Wenn Ayre), and Monte Video Oot. 4.
Ditty. by French packet • Sept. 2t
Cape Verde. by Brazil packet
';ape of Good !lope, Aeoension. and St. Helena Sept. 27,
uhtna, Penang, anti Singapore, via Southanipton Seet. 1).
Ditto, via Marseilles... Sept. 27
Falkland Islands Oa. 4
Gibraltar, via i3outliampton Sept. 19.
India via Southampton
Otttco,vl3 Mama es
Malta, Egypt, Sept. 19.
Ditto, Marseilles... Sept. 21.
Mauritius, Cape of Good Rope, and Natal. via
Sept. 11.
Soutilanipton
.
Ditt via Huse' lee O.A. 4.
Sewfoundland • •• • . Sept. 25
Oct. 4.
Portugal

Ditto, by private ship to Oporto ..
Ditto ditto to Lisbon
United States, Caaacia, California, &a, by British
.. Sept. 19.
packet
Ditto, by United States packet
Ditto ditto (New York.
D.tto ditto (New York)
DittJ ditto (Baltimore)
Ditto, by Canadian packet Sept. 20.
West Coast 31 AtriCa, Madeira, and Teneriffe Sept. 16.
West Indies and Pacific (except Mexico and Baha-
mas)
Cubs and Mexico Sept. 48,
Bahamas, via New York Oct. 9
Bermuda, via Halifax

The Marquis and Marchioness of Headfort are
staying at Baden-Baden.
The Marquis and Marchioness of Drogheda are
expected •to arrive at the Dowager Lady Wharneliffe's
residence in Tilney-street, Park-lane to-morrow, from a
cruise in his lordship's yacht.

Despatches-we:resent yesteiday from the Colonial-
office to the Governors of the West India Islands, British
OolUMbia3 and Dritiall klyuduraa.

THE RITUAL COMMISSION.

The following are extracts from the evidence of
the Rev. W. J. E. Bennett, of Frome Seiwood :
The 'Archbishop of Canterbury—Do you use the
surplice ?—We use the surplice always in the
matins and evensong, at all times, except during
the Holy Communion.
What else do you use at other times ?—At the
Holy Communion we use the vestments.
Will you describe them ?—The chasuble, dal-
matic, and tunicle.
Do you use those vestments at any other time,-or
any portion of them ?—No, we never use them
except at that time.
How do you justify using the vestments ?—That
would take a long time to answer.

I do not want you to go through the whole argu-
ment ?—llow I justify it, would take a long time.
It might be a very short answer, I should think ?
—I will make it as short as I can. I justify it upon
the Catholic usage of the Church throughout the
world, interpreted by our canons and Prayer-
book.

You have heard that there is very great differ-
ence of opinion among lawyers as to the legality
of these vestments ?—Yes, I have heard that.
You think you are competent to decide that
when learned lawyers differ ?—Yes, until it is pro-
hibited by some act of the Church.
Then you act upon the principle that every
clergyman is at liberty, in things which the Church
has not forbidden, to exercise his own discretion
as to the usage which each in his own opinion
believes to be according to Catholic usage ?—Not
any usage ; but those usages which are very plain
to him and to his congregation.
Plain ; in what sense ?—Not forbidden by the
law, and desired by the people. I consider that
the consent of the congregation and parishioners
is of very great consequence. _ _ _

You do not act at all in conformity with the
opinion of your bishop ?—My bishop has never
said a word to me on the subject.
Do you use incense ?—Yes.
Do you incense persons and things ?—We incense
the altar and the Holy Gospel.
You hold that to be legal—to swing the censer ?
—Yes ; if I thought it illegal I should not do it.
-What is your practice in respect to lights ?—We
always burn lights at the Sacrament.
How many lights have you ?—Two.
You never have more than two, have you?—
Nev er more than two upon the altar; there are
lights surrounding, the usual lights, but they have
nothing to do with the altar.
With respect to the mixed chalice, do you use
pure wine or wine and water ?—We pour the wine
first, and then add a little water in the chalice for
consecration.

And that you justify on the same principle do
you, of usage ?—Yes ; the same principle as the
vestments and the lights.

Do you introduce any singing in the celebration
of the Holy Communion ?—Yes ; we sing a hymn
at the offertory. We sing the Kyrie Eleison and
the usual parts, the Gloria, and the Creed. What
is not in the Prayer-book is a hymn which we use
at the offertory.

That is to say during the sentences being read?
—After one or two of the sentences have been read,
we sing a Eucharistic hymn.

You have no authority for that in the rubric,
have you ?—We have no authority in the rubric
to direct us ; but there is no authority to direct
other hymns which are sung at matins and even-
song in every Church throughout England.
What do you infer from that ?—I consider that
I have a right to -Ise the same liberty which other
Churches use.

But then the liberty which others use is in most
instances between two services, not in the middle
of one service. There is some distinction there ?
I have heard hymns sung as the preacher is going
up into the pulpit, which is in the middle of the
service, being after the Nicene Creed.
Archbishop of Armagh—You said you used the
vestments, by which I understand the chasuble,
cope, and dalmatic ?—Not the cope. I should use
the cope if I were wealthy enough to have one,
but I am not ; the chasuble, dalmatic, and tunicle
are all that I use.
You said you were authorized to do so by the
Catholic usage of the Church interpreted by our
canons ?--And Prayer-book.
Where do you find in the canons the chasuble
mentioned, or any authority to use it ?—I said
that it was a difficult question to answer off hand,
but I could produce the answer if I had time and
the references, because the canons are involved in
very great obscurity. I say the canons of the
Church, not only the canons of the English Church,
but the canons of the Universal Church, which are
not forbidden by the canons of the English
Church. It would require a great deal of time to
answer that question. I beg particularly to remark
that, and also that I can only answer off-hand in
the shortest possible way.

Do you not think that we are bound by our
own canons, by the canons of our own Church,
with respect to the vestments we use in divine
service, and that we should not go round the world
for the canons ?—No ; by the canons interpreted
by the various injunctions and other authoritative
decrees that have passed throughout the history
of the English Church and have been pro and con
at all times.

Have any of the congregation objected at any
time to the use of the vestments ?—I thought that
this would form the most important part of the
proceedings, therefore I have brought a letter in
which I was invited to do this very thing. I al-
ways told the people that I thought that was the
dtorrect usage of the Church of England, and I
never interfered nor did I attempt to do so till I
was publicly invited to do it by the document
presented to me officially by the churchwardens
and the communicants of the congregation. Then
I thought it was my bounden duty to follow what
they desired, considering it to be the law of the
Church. If you wish to have this in evidence, here
is the document.

Earl Stanhope—What is the date of it ?—No-
vember 15, 1865.
Archbishop of Canterbury—By whom is it
signed ?—By the churchwardens officially, and a
number of the communicants in the name of the
rest. [Here follows the document.]
Archbishop of Armagh—Was that document
signed by all the parishioner& ?---By a great num-
ber of the communicants; not by all the parishioners.
Those who were not communicants would have
nothing to do with it.
Did any dissent from that ?—I never heard of
any.

Earl of Harrowby—Do you mean the whole
body of the communicants ?—No ; a certain num-
ber representing others.
How is it stated there ?—There are signatures
of twenty-one men and thirty-five women, and the
two churchwardens.

Archbishop of Armagh—What is the population
of your parish ?—Our parish is divided into the
old parish church and two new district churches.
Those that remain connected with the old parish
church are about 5,000.

You made this great change at the solicitation
of fifty people out of a population of 5,000 ?—I
wish I had to deal with the 5,000 ; but at least
3,000 of them are Dissenters. I have not any
doubt that if I had to deal with them they would
be most glad to accede to what has been done.
Did you consider that these vestments would
make an additional bar to the Dissenters return-

ing to our communion ?—No; certainly not. If I
had thought so I should not have done what I did,
but I thought it an additional reason to bring them
into the Church, because I thought that the more

distinctive the Church is from dissent the better
for the Church.

Archbishop of Armagh—At what time do you use
the chasuble ?—At all times of the celebration of
the Holy Communion.

Is there any mysterious signification in the
chasuble or in wearing it ?--That is a question
which involves doctrine. If I am to be launched
into doctrine, of course that again will involve
an immensely long discussion.
I think it does not require a 'very long answer,