The Sun.
London, England, 1861-06-21 00:00:00

THE ESSAYS AND REVIEWS.

Convocation has every now and then a fit of
meeting, talking, arguing, and deliberating. Ordi-
nary persons have a very confused idea of what it all
means, and do not quite understand even the law of
recurrence by which the meetings themselves take
place—why Convocation meets at some times and
not at others, what there is to make it meet this
weak when it did not meet last week. It is an eccen-
tric phenomenon which they cannot reduce to rule.
They would like to know something about it, if they
could without the least trouble. Such is the curio-
sity of our nature. They do not, however, realise
the fact that there is anything human in its pro-
ceeding, or that its deliberations have any connec-
tion with the objects, concerns, or interests of man.
They are rather looked upon as hieroglyphical and
mystical ; the speakers are personifications of un-
known truths, and the scene is emblematic and
figurative, if we had but the key to the solution of
the sacred enigma.
It is rather hard upon Convocation that people
are determined to regard its proceedings in this
cabalistic light, because we believe that it is espe-
cially ambitious of being considered a practical
body. It has been engaged for some time in a despe-
rate struggle for this purpose, which perhaps, so far
as it has gone, does more credit to its strength of
will than to its tact or adroitness. Doctrine—until
this new blast of heresy from the authors of the
"Essays and Reviews"—has been by general consent
set aside, and for two years or more the one absorb-
ing subject which has occupied the deliberations of
Archbishops, Bishops, Deans, Archdeacons, Pre-
bendaries, and other dignitaries of Convocation, has
been the subject of Godfathers and Godmothers.
It cannot be denied, if the object is to do away with
the mythical character of these synodical debates,
that the subject is well chosen. Godfathers and
Godmothers are undoubtedly persons of flesh and
blood; nobody can deny that; so far from being
spectres, symbolic personages, and ghostly repre-
sentatives of sublime abstractions, they are really
very pleasant, hearty, genial, and comfortable
people to think about. They are associated with
family gatherings, plumcake and mincepies, with
annual sovereigns on birthdays, and with many
other pleasant things. They are surrounded by an
atmosphere of decent jollity—we say it in no dero-
gation of their spiritual functions; the Chnrch and
time combined have produced this excellent, well-
tempered mixture, of the spiritual and temporal.
But while the subject is well chosen for the purpose
of connecting Convocation with flesh and blood,
we aro not quite sure that the line taken about
it will please everybody, because Convocation is, in
fact, going to dispense with the necessity of these
excellent and useful functionaries. There is a cer-
tain 29th Canon, which makes it necessary for
everybody to have a Godfather and Godmother,
and, in order to secure this benefit to all the infan-
tine members of the Church, it prohibits the
parents assuming this office. The Canon appears
to argue in this way, and there is, perhaps, some
sense in the view ;—No father or mother, it
appears to say, is a real Godfather, or real God-
mother ; it is quite true that they may stand at the
font and take upon themselves the nominal office ;
but the real Godfather and the real Godmother are
the creations of time, custom, and the natural feel-
ing working within the precincts of the Church.
They are essentially persons outside of the home
nucleus, whose interest is engaged in the rising
young Christian by assuming this relation to him ;
the parents themselves are already sponsors ; and
ten times more, by the simple fact of being parents ;
if you give the child only his parents for his spon-
sors, you give him nothing at all, because he has
gat them already. The reason of having a God-
father and Godmother is that they are fresh per-
sons, who come from without and add the friendly
interest and attention to the parental one. If the
Canon, we say, argues in this way, it does not argue
altogether unreasonably, because it is a simple ab-
surdity to say that a 'parent can be what is ordi-
narily meant by a Godfather or Godmother.
There will be many good sort of people who will
not altogether concur in the abolition of the 29th
Canon ; but what was the Convocation to do ?
Convocation was in a difficulty. Having met and
met for several years, it at last aspired to the great
and distinguished honour of performing one real
synodical act. But, what was this act to be ? That
was the question. It wos too much to ask the Prim:
Minister, at first, to be allowed to make a new Canon.
If you ask for that, he looks glum. He says, " What
is this new Canon to be ? What do you want it
for ? We don't like Canons now-a-days. We
think we do very well without them." But if you
ask leave to abolish a Canon, that is quite a dif-
ferent thing, and the Prime Minister says, " Oh,
certainly ; you may abolish a Canon if you like,
and welcome ; that can do nobody any harm." So,
the abolition of some Canon or other being resolved
upon, what Canon was it to be ? It must be one
connected with a practical subject in order to do
justice to the practical temper of Convocation; it
must be one not of first-rate consequence, otherwise
you raise a storm in the Synod itself. se the 29th
Canon is selected as the vile corpus upon which to
make the first experiment of a revived process of
legislation, and Godfathers and Godmothers are
sacrificed to the restoration of synodical action. As
the good old institution, however,is only dispensed
with, and not suppressed, people may still hope to
enjoy it some time longer; they will probably even
see no great difference in the practice, notwith-
standing the solemn decision of Convocation. We
shall raise no alarm therefore on the subject, and
indulge in no gloonsy and austere prophecies of a
general termination of the genial patronage, con-
descending favours, annual presents, and other kind
attentions of Godfathers and Godmothers.

Convocation is in this difficulty—that it must be
practical, while if it is practical the danger is of
being mischievous. Thus the subject of Hymn-
books comes before it. There is a move for an
authorised Hymn-book. Congregations are over-
powered, it is said, by the quantity and variety of
collections which are forced upon them; every new
clergyman brings a new set with him. It is there-
fore proposed that Convocation should compile a
Hymn-book. We believe there is a kind of mania
for compiling Hymn-books among the clergy. There
are some things which everybody thinks he can do
best; poking the fire is the common instance given
of this wide-spead delusion ; nobody ever lived in
a house for five years, and had time for gaining a
thorough acquaintance with all its faults and bad
arrangements, but thought secretly that he really
could, with proper architectural aid, build a house
without a fault. The delusion extends to more
serious subjects, and certainly to that of Hymn-
books. Every other clergyman thinks, whatever
else he could not do, and whatever his moral and
intellectual defects are, which he admits to be many
and grievous, that he could compile a perfect
Hymn-book. It is certainly a grievance, but what
is to be done ? An " authorised" Hymn-book would
i
only be another added to the n
comes
interminable
it invokes that
the con-
sequence can ibs list.
Convocation debates on this subject, and '
wisely to the conclusion that nothing
can be done.
It is the best conclusion, undoubtedly,
arrived at, but, unfortunately,
that there is nothing in this
employ the practical powers of Convocation and
quarter to
that this negative result would have been obtained
even without its assistance._ Times.

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