The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-31 00:00:00

" Hedgefield-house, Inveraoss, Jan. 25.
"My Lord,--I feel it right to inform you that
permission has been asked by the Metropolitan of
Capetown and two of his suffragans to allow the
use of one of our churches in Scotland, in which
they may consecrate the Rev. Mr. Macrorie,
Bishop Designate for the diocese of Natal. This
request is based upon the fact that there
is no provision in the English law for the
consecration of a bishop of 'a voluntary
religious association,' which, by the judgment
of the Privy Council, the Church in South Africa
has been declared to be. And we further are as-
sured that, unless the consecration of the Bishop
Designate shall take place before the Bishops of
Grahamstown and the Orange Free State leave
England for their respective dioceses, which they
do early in next month, very great delay in the con-
secration of the Bishop must take place, owing to
the extreme difficulty, attended with great expense,
of bringing together three Bishops for this purpose
in the extended province of Capetown.
" I have further to inform you that, in reply to a
communication from myself, his Grace the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury informs me that he sees no
objection to the consecration taking place in Scot-
land, in accordance with the request of the South
African bishops.—l have the honour to be, my
Lord, your faithful brother,

" ROBERT EDEN, Bishop of Moray,
&c., Pshnus.

" The Palace, Ripon, Jan. 29.

" Right Rev. Sir,—l have the honour to acknow-
ledge your letter of the 25th inst., in which you
inform me of the steps which Bishop Gray has taken
with a view to consecrate a rival Bishop fur Natal
in some church in Scotland.

" No one can more deeply deplore than I do the
existing state of things in the diocese of Natal.
But I sincerely deprecate the course which Bishop
Gray is adopting. The case of Bishop Colenso
has never yet been tried on its own merits before
any tribunal which the law of the land recognizes
as competent to deal with the question.

" Till this has been done, it appears to me that
the consecration of a rival Bishop will tend to ag-
gravate the existing strife and confusion, without
producing any countervailing advantage.—/ have
the honour to remain, Right Rev. Sir, your faithful
brother,

4, R. Rom"

THE OXFORD.

The prominency now given to the Oxford orchestra
enables it to do justice to overtures and instrumental
selections, and Mr. Jonghmaus has worked it up to
a point of excellence which leaves little to be de-
sired. Overtures of the dashing order of "Zampa,"
" Fra Biavolo," and "Le Cheval de Bronze," are
wisely placed in the programme ; whilst Strauss's
fantastic potpourri, "Le Bouquet ;" his "Homage •
to the Queen of England ;" and a new galop by
Mr. Coote, jun., "No Thoroughfare" (surely there
is danger in galloping in a cul de sac), still further
swell the instrumental list. We are glad to per-
ceive this larger infusion of instrumental music in
aid of the vocal portion of the entertainment. Mr.
Mackney continues to be the great comic star of the
Oxford. Ile goes through his old ride so well that
people do not ask for novelty. His defiance of
King Theodore, however, is something new. Mr.
Mackney, in his eight or ten "impersonations," is
equally happy on the pianoforte, violin, and banjo,
and with his legs, arms, and physiognomy ; and
when the audience leave off shouting for encores
they do so more from sheer exhaustion than from
any consideration for Mr. Mackney's constitution.
From amongst the many other sources of amuse-
ment on which we have recently touched, we would
again single out the weight-lifting feats of M.
Perrier, one of the most elegantly-framed and
graceful men we remember to have seen ; in fact,
he is an Adonis in form and a Hercules in strength,