The Sun.
London, England, 1861-06-19 00:00:00

THE UPPER HOUSE.

The Archbishop and Bishops composing the Upper House
assembled in the oard-room of Queen Anne's Bounty-
office. The Archbishop of Canterbury presided, and there
were also present the Bishops of London, NV inchester, Lich-
field, Oxford, St. Asaph, Chichester, Lincoln, Glooester
and Bristol, Bath and Wells, and Salisbury. Mr. Francis
Hart Dyke, the registrar, and Mr. Felix Knyvett, the Arch-
bishop's secretary, were also in attendance.
PROPOSED NEW CHURCH HYMNAL.

The Bishop of LONDON called attention to a request on
the part of the Lower House of Convocation to the effect
that his Grace the Archbishop and their Lordships would
appoint a committee to act with a committee of the Lower
House to consider the propriety of authorising a book of
hymns and metrical psalms for the use of the Church.

The Bishop of OXFORD said he must deprecate the ap-
pointment of such a committee. There had been hitherto
great liberty in the Church of England with regard to this
matter, and the loss of it, he thought, would be deeply felt.
He thought it was perfectly manifest that there was no-
thing which touched so quickly the religious feeling's of all
Christian people as psalms and hymns, and nothing to
which people would be more instinctively alive than taking
from them the freedom they at present enjoyed in refer-
ence to this act of public worship. He, of course, consi-
dered it a great misfortune that there was such a diversity
with regard to the books of psalms and hymns now in
use in our churches, and he believed that the only way
of escaping from the action of that misfortune was by
bringing more together the religious feelings and expres-
sions of their common Church, and by the gradual growth
and more general use of that which was dearest to all.
It was only by the principle of willing selection that
any such aid could be obtained. Deeply as he desired
to see more unity, ho did not think that at the present
time, and under present circumstances, any attempt of this
sort would bring about the result which was anticipated.
He hoped, therefore, that the prayer of the petition would
be postponed.
The Archbishop of CANTERBURY said he agreed entirely
with what the Bishop of Oxford had said. He thought their
Lordships would do well to send a message to the Lower
House, stating that they did not consider it desirable to
accede to the suggestion which had been made.
The Bishop of WINCHESTFM thought it would be exceed-
ingly difficult to find any hymn-book which would give
general satisfaction to the Church.

The Bishop of SALISBURY said ho must vote against any
attempt on the part of Convocation to set about this matter.
He was most eager to maintain the present prayer.book
without alteration in any way, and he thought that liberty
in other matters tended to maintain the prayer. book in its
integrity. If they determined now to set about producing
a new hymn-book, they would find that they had not the
materials for it.

The Bishop of LONDON said ho had brought the matter
under their Lordships' notice, knowing that it had received
the grave consideration of the Lower House, and he should
be sorry to find that no one agreed with the Lower House
in the conclusion to which they had come. Many of Ow un-
fortunate disputes which had taken place in various parishes
owed their origin to the hymn-books which were in use, or
" hymnals," as they aro called. It was desirable, if possible,
that there should be some mode of removing those disputes,
and it was to secure that object that the Bishops were for •
mally appealed to to sanction a hymn-book for general use.
The Lower House did not ask that the thing should be done,
but simply that a ccmmittee should be appointed to con-
sider it.

The Bishop of WINCHESTER said the appointment of a
Committee would induce the belief that something beneficial
would arise out of it, which ho scarcely thought could be
the case.

The Bishop of LICHFIELD considered that doctrine was
taught as much by hymns as by other means. Wesleyans
had but one hymn-book for their whole body, and wherever
they went, even across the Atlantic, there they found it.
He was once at the Land's-end when a seafaring man told
him that that was where John Wesley wrote his celebrated
hymn. He asked, " What hymn 2" and the man said,
" Why, the hymn on page 16 in the book. (Laughter.) He
believed that many of the clergy would consider such a
general hymn .book a great boon to their parishes.
The Bishop of LINCOLN did not think the importance of
the question could be exaggerated, and that as the Church
had one prayer-book, it should have one hymn-book, to be
used wherever worshippers met together; but he feared that
ro appoint a Committee would be only to raise hopes which
there would be no reasonable chance of fulfilling, especially
when he remembered that at the present time there were at
least 300 different hymn-books, that each had its compiler,
in many cases a living compiler, and that each compiler
had a publisher, friends, and attached congregations. In
many congregations there was as much attachment to the
hymn-book as to the prayer -book. Under these circum-
stances he did not think that a hymn. book emanating from
Convocation would have a chance of taking the place of any
of those now in use.

After some further discussion,
The Bishop of LICHFIELD moved that his Grace the Pre-
silent be requested to intimate that while the Upper House
Was fullY Gcusible of the importance of thesubject, they did
not at present think it advisable to recommend his Grace t,)
appoint a Committee. This resolution was unanimously
agreed to.

THE 29TH CANON.
The Bishop of OXFORD said he wished to bring under the
notice of their Lordships the alterations which the Lower
Rowse had made in the 29th Canon, as amended by the

Upper House at the last sitting. His Lordship said hehad a
strong objection to those portions which affirmed that the
parents of children should not act as god-parents when others
might be had. This was a subject on which the Church
allowed great liberty of action, and he thought it was inex-
pedient to use any language which would tend to circum-
scribe it. The early Church encouraged, if in some cases it
did not require, that parents should be god-parents. It
was the doctrine of spiritual affinity which brought on the
corruption of later times, and which tended to bring fees
and authority to the Church of Rome.
A lengthened discussion took place, and it was agreed
that an intimation should be sent to the Lower House that
their Lordships did not agree with the alterations which had
been made in the amended canon.

After the transaction of some further business the house
adjourned.

THE LOWER HOUSE.

The deans, archdeacons, and proctors composing the
Lower House of Convocation assembled in the Jerusalem
Chamber, "Westminster Abbey, at 11 o'clock. The Vener-
able Archdeacon Bickel-sta'n presided, in the absence of the
Dean of Bristol, the Prolocutor ; and there were present the
Hon. and very Rev. Dr. G. Pellew, Dean of Norwich ; the
very Rev. Dr. llarvey Goodwin, Dean of Ely; the Ven.
Archdeacon Sandford (Coventry), the Von. Archdeacon
Randall (Berkshire), the Von. Archdeacon Thorp (Bristol),
the Von. Archdeacon Denison (Taunton), the Rev. Dr.
Wordsworth, Canon of Westminster; the Rev. Dr. Jelf,
Principal of King's College; the Rev. Dr. Leighton, War-
den of All Souls' College, &ford ; the Rev. Dr. Briscoe,
the Rev. Canon Woodgate, the Rev. Lord A. Compton, the
Rev. Sir George Prevost, the Rev. A. Oxonden, the Rev.
E. A. Ommanney, the Rev. F. Vincent, the Rev. Sir
Henry Thompson, the Rev. Mr. W. Mayow, the Rev. G.
Gillett) &c.