The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-06-12 00:00:00

THE BISHOP OF RUPERT'S LAND.

The following is a copy of an address to the Right Rev.
the Lord Bishop of Rupert's Land, from the minister and
inhabitants of Kilburn, Middlesex :
"Connected as your lordship recently was with us, and
cherishing as we do towards you, feelings of the highest
esteem for your character, and gratitude for your faithful
and zealous ministrations among us during a season of
painful trial to yourself, we beg to be permitted before
you leave the shores of England for the distant diocese
over which, in the providence of God, you have been
appointed, to express the lively interest with which we
regard all that concerns your happiness and usefulness,
and our earnest prayer that in the sphere of your future
labours the great Head of the Church may enable yOu to
'do all that is in your heart,' and may crown it with His
abundant blessing. As attached members of the Church
of England, we hail with delight and thankfulness the
appointment of a missionary bishop to one of the most
extensive regions under the sceptre of our beloved Queen.
but which, alas, has hitherto been unblessed with the
spiritual privileges of our own highly-favoured land ; and,
knowing your ministerial qualifications, we cannot but
regard the selection of yourself as the first bishop of a
diocese, the duties connected with which will be so pecu-
liar and arduous, as the result of wisdom afforded from
above by Him 'Who holdeth the the seven stars in His
right hand,' and assigns to each the sphere in which its
light may best promote His glory.
" Independent in your circumstances, and enjoying the
esteem and love cf an extensive circle of friends, and of
.an attached congregation, you have sacrificed the enjoy-
ment and and advantages of home and country to devote
yourself to the most self-denying labours in a territory
whose climate is more severe than that of any of the ether
dependencies of the British Crown. The love of Christ
has constrained' you thus to act, and we are sure that His
presence will go with you, and bless you, and make you a
blessing.
" Seldom will you have the pleasure of hearing from
your friends in England, but you may have the comforting
assurance that their prayers, and those of many of whom.
you are not personally acquainted, will be continually
offered to the Throne of Grace for you; and it will be
our comfort to reflect that, although you are absent from
us in body, you will often be present with us in spirit, and
that we shall not cease to possess an interest in your
prayers.

' Finally, dear bishop, and dear friend; farewell: may
your lordship, through the grace and blessing of God's
Holy Spirit, be instru:nental in the land to which you
are going of building up the old waste places' and be
the restorer of paths to dwell in,'
,that the wilderness
and solitary place may be glad for you, and the desert
may rejoice and blossom as the rose,' so that many here-
after may rise up and call you blessed, and call that church
and nation blessed which sent you among them ; and,
above all, call that God and Saviour blessed ' from whom
all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do
proceed," who has given to England so large an empire,
and has at length inclined the hearts of her rulers and of
her people to seek the spiritual as well as the temporal
welfare of her vast colonial possessions.

"To this watchful Providence we commend you and
yours ; may He afford you a prosperous voyage ; may you
evermore be `satisfied with favour, and tilled with the
blessing the Lord, so you finish your course with joy,
and in the great day of his appearing receive the crown
of glory' which fadeth not away."

PRIMARY VISITATION OF THE ARCHBISHOP
OF YORK.-BAPTISMAL REGENERATION.

Last week the recently appointed Arshbishop of York,
Dr. Musgrave, held his primary visitation at Thirsk,
Beverley, &c., and delivered the usual charge, which was
an admirable one, and occupied two hours in the delivery.
The enunciation of his Grace's views on baptism may be
regarded as a settlement of the question raised in .Mr.
Gorham's case for surely we shall not have the melancholy
sight of one Archbishop pitted against another.
His Grace commenced by alluding to the removal of
tbeir late diocesan, who had so long, so mildly, and so
efficiently exercised his episcopal functions among them.
The last few years were remarkable for the building of
churches. Fifty new churches had, in the present century,
either been built or enlarged ; nine in last year and one
in this had been consecrated by himself'. It was difficult
to estimate the number of schools, but it was quite clear
they were increasing and rising up in every direction. The
school was indispensable to the carrying out of the church.
B3fore they could embrace right principles, they must
necessarily understand them ; and though difficulties often
presented themselves, they must be overcome. A great
deal of discussion had taken place as to government in-
spection, and many difficulties and much correspondence
had taken place, but the result had been, on the whole.
satisfactory ; and those parties who had objections to the
inspection and to the assistance, had still the power
of raising the money and superintending the schools.
He was net sure, however, that the standard of
the examiners was too high for village schools, and
thought and believed that moral qualifications in school-
masters and pupils would be taken into consideration
in such cases. A plan had been devised by the
Rev. Sir H. Thompson of diocesan visitation by
the rural dean or other parties, which had many and
great advantages. As to Sunday schools, there could be
no difference of opinion. Though some parishes were
too small for week-day schools, at least every parish,
however small, should have a Sunday school. After
alluding to the evils of non-residence, and urging that
when it arose from insufficient parsonages, the patrons
should endeavour to build them ; he strongly urged, in
cases where practicable, that there should be two full
services, and very forcibly pressed the catechising of the
candidates for confirmation. One of the important ques-
tions now occupying a large share of attention in the
Church was that of baptism. On the subject of adult
baptism, little difference of opinion prevailed ; but on
infant baptism a great deal of discussion was taking place.
This much, however, was quite clear, that the compilers
of the services, both in the 6th of Edward and also in
that of Queen Elizabeth, held the peculiar doctrines of
Calvin, almost without exception, on the doctrines of
election, predestination, and final perseverance. Hence
they taught and believe that spiritual regeneration in
baptism could only be partaken of by the elect, and all
men were not elected, and thus they could not be sup-
posed as believing it to be received by ell, nor could frame
it to convey such a meaning, unless with the gross dis-
honesty practised by some parties row, who teach one
doctrine, and at the same time believe another. No sucit
doctrine is held by the Articles, and you are not to force
upon them a construction they will not admit. Our re-
formers took the doctrines as they found them in the
Scriptures on infant baptism ; they neither added to them,
nor diminished from them. In the case of adults they
restricted the benefits of baptism to the worthy reception,
and left it open in infants, but different from, and exclu-
sive of, the ex opera`o of the Church of Rome. The
service is in the langnage of Martin Luther, and the
words are intended only to be expressive of hope and
charity. Some parties contend that they left the lan-
guage so open as to be capable of either interpretation,
but no such feelings actuated the reformers, and they
were incapable of stating in that manner, and we must
express it as the reformers did. Care, however, must be
taken in not carrying out these views too far ; the opposite
extreme is that which we must avoid—of losing.sight alto-
gether of the benefit of the sacrament. Men were now
ranged under two great parties, but they must nut gene-
rally be regarded as, in all things, assimilating themselves
under either extreme, nor be charged with a rebellious
spirit, because they hold somewhat different views, so long
as they adhere to the language of the formularies and the
Articles. We must not stigmatise those who do not see
just as ourselves. The wisdom which is from above is
first pure, then peaceable, easy to be entreated, full of
good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy ;
and the reverse of it is that other sort of wisdom, from
which proceed confusion and every evil work ; and who
art thou that judgest another man's servant ?—to his own
master he standeth or falleth. Both the sacraments
must be received as means of grace—the one as an admis-
sion to the privileges and blessings of the visible Church,
and the other as a mark of union and continuance in it.
Another question connected with this was the forgiveness
of sin before and after baptism : but to suppose either out
of the range of forgiveness is to deny the assertion of our
Lord. St. John also says—" If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to clennec
from all unrighteousness ;" and another apostle, in the
same spirit, urges us to come boldly to the throne of grace
that we may obtain mercy. Scriptures are full of the
offers of grace and repentance ; and as to sins, both before
and after baptism, " Christ is able to save unto the utter-
most all who come unto Ged by Him." They who rely
on Him for salvation will surely be pardoned ; for "He
who spared not his own Son, but freely delivered him up
for us all, will he not with him also freely give us all
things ?" His Grace begged to call their attention to the
proposed change in the law as to the marriage with a de-
ceased wife's sister, which had been brought into the
House of Commons by a member of this county (York
If it were in accordance with God's law, well; if not,
there must be an end of the whole discussion. Many
persons also disapproved of it on social grounds, and it
was a subject which requ7red to be well considered by the
clergy. Many as were the claims upon the clergy, there
were several societies which they would do well to pro-
mote, by every means in their power. There was the
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledee, which was
always extremely liberal; and as our Church is essentially
a missionary church, there was the Society for Propaga-
ting the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and the Church Mis-
sionary Society—and the clergy would do well to recom-
mend these, not only in set sermons, but incidentally in
the course of their ministrations, thus bringing their
claims regularly and systematically before their hearers.
How
its spreading
profess to receive the Gospel, and do
nothing for spreading to others, he was totally at a
loss to understand. There were also the Additional
Curates' Society, and one somewhat differently consti-
tuted, but having the same excellent aim-the Pastoral-
Aid Society ; and to the Incorporated Church Building
Society, and the National Society, many persons present
had been doubtless indebted.

The funeral of the Hon. Anthony F. H. Ashley, second
son of Lord Ashley, who died at Harrow school, took
place on Wednesday. At the gate of the churchyard the
coffin was met by the Rev. Dr. Vaughan, the head mas-
ter, who performed the service, and the pall was borne by
the ten monitors of the school. The rest of the boys
were in their places in the church ; and when the body
was taken to the grave in the north-west corner of the
Churchyard, the whole school, with the masters, stood in
order round the spot. The principal mourners were,
Lord Ashley and two sons, Earl Cowper, the Hon. J.
Ashley, Hon. W. Ashley, lion. W. Cowper, Lord
Jocelyn, Rev. W. Moore, of St. CEles's ; Rev. J. W.
Cunningham, &c: Mr. Ashley had just entered his lith
year. He was in the sixth form, and already gave evi_
dente of having inherited no small share of his father's
ability and character.