The Sun.
London, England, 1861-02-26 00:00:00

ESSAT 8 AND 1?E VLETP S.

The following letter appears in a contem-
porary . .

Sir,—l am induced to address you by observing
that the manifestoes put forth under sanction of all
the bishops,condemning the publication of "Essays
and Reviews," should excite so little attention in
the public press.
It' it were merely a squabble confined to and
concerning only the tenets of an ordinary sect, it
would certainly not be a subject adapted for dis-
. cussion in a daily newspaper, but when the whole
of the nominal leaders (or at all events controllers)
of a Church supported by national funds desire to
impose a construction upon its formularies which
is not recognised by some of its most intelligent
members, and which shuts them out from ordina-
tion, the matter is of such importance that it
behoves the press to encourage discussion upon it,
and to give public opinion an opportunity of
declaring itself.
If this declaration of the bishops be not protested
against, but adopted by the Church generally, it
must have the effect of driving from ordination
such as may hold similar opinions to those ex-
pressed in " Essays and Reviews," thus depriving
the Church of the services of men equally worthy
of respect (we may suppose) with the authors of

that work. -
The right of private judgment has long been ac-
knowledged by church authorities, and if that
means anything at all, it justifies these men in put-
ting their own construction on the church's formu•
larks ; and the bishops, by calling their honesty in
question, seek to destroy this right. They are,
indeed, justified, not by any innovating doctrine,
but by the tradition of the church itself.
The adoption of the bishops' principle would not
only be grossly unjust, by excluding many now
eligible from entering the ministry, by shutting out
intelligent men—it would be detrimental to the
church itself, and by deteriorating the quality of a
class who have great influence from their office,
apart from their individual qualities, it would have
injurious effects wherever their influence is felt.
If the Church of England persists in narrowing
its principles so as to exclude by each step some
further portion of its followers, it must manifestly
decline in strength in comparison with the rest of
the nation, and will not much longer be able to
support its claim, to be considered a national
Church ; therefore if its supporters wish that it
should continue to be entrusted with. the national
property, they would do well for their
own offic own_caers use
not to allow it to be weakened by its .
From these considerations alone I think it must
be acknowledged that this protest of the bishops
should not be sanctioned by the Church generally.
To those who advocate the independence of i
vidual opinion its opposition to that doctrine will
be sufficient condemnation.—I am, &c.,
Cork, Feb. 2L E. R. F.

Preparations have been made for the purpose
of establishing an annual fat cattle show in tho Isle of
Wight.
PUBLIC PETVIONS.—Between the 18th and 20th
nine petitions for another Reform Bill were presented. 238
petitions with 12,112 signatures were presented against the
Church Rates Abolition Bill. There was one petition in
favour of the bill and 11 for alteration in the law.
The electric light is now produced by the latent but im-
mense force of the magnet, precisely similar to that employed
in Herring's magnetic brushes. Dr. Ilassall says, " I regard
them as the most perfect brushes hitherto made, as respects
their mechanical construction and their magnetical
They are the remedy for grey hair, neuralgia, rheumatism,
.he. N.B.— Counterfeits are being made. Offices, 3?, Basing-
hall-street, London. _

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Rheumatism, Gout, Tic-doloreux.—Scarcely a week passes
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joints, muscles, or nerves, whence it may be driven by
fomenting well with warm salt and water, and, after drying
the skin, let it be rubbed twice a day with Holloway's
' soothing Ointment, which should also be rubbed into the
neighbouring glands. It is always advisable to take Hollo-
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blood, and expel all morbid matters engendered by
these
diseases—not only will all pain cease, but the cause of these
maladies will be dislodged,