The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-06-20 00:00:00

THE SCOTCH CHURCH

We understand that a meeting was held a few days ago by
a number of ministers in Edinburgh and its neighbourhood,
with a view to make preparations for commemorating the
bicentenary of the Westminster Assembly. It has been
agreed that meetings shall be held in Edinburgh o❑ the 12th
and 13th days of July next, and arrangements are in pro-
gress for rendering them as catholic and comprehensive as
possible.—Scotsman.

'PATRONS AND VACANT BENIFICES.-It appears from a
statement in a Dundee paper, that the number of patrons of
church benifices in Scotland, exclusive of Kirk Sessions and
unincorporated associations, amount to

The number of sole patronages amount to
The number of joint patronages is 127, of which the half is 63

Total number of patronages,

The number of parish ministers in Scotland is ..
The number of endowed parliamentary churches

Total number of endowed churches
Number of patronages as above....

There reathin in the hands of Kirk Sessions, &c.

Number of sole patronages at present vacant 226
Number of joint patronages 11, of which the half is 5

Total number of patronagcs vacant

•II• • •

13.1J8tYIS:1f.

'~I~~~

TO THE Burrov.. or THE MACCLESFIELD COURIER
AND HERALD.

Slat—The insertion of the accompanying extract from a
v
by me,
in your next paper, may not perhaps
be letter
unproductivesome benefit to those who are desirous of
o
it is to be feared, are now widely
aid creceivedgtil eerrors,
r r bc
of
rs,
which.
spreading through the land ; and the description of what the
writer witnessed, cannot but call forth in many Pro-
same feelings of amazement and of sor-
row which he experienced.
s tan ts ,
actuallyhear
the
ts

I am, Sir,
Your most obedient servant,

J. R.
" London, May 29.
" Having heard of its existence, I went yesterday to Mr
Oakley's chapel to witness Puseyism, (I use the word, not
having another to express my meaning,) carried out in its
extreme-length.—At eleven o'clock, Mr. Oakley, followed
by two other clergymen, entered the church ; the former
proceeded to a small stand, on which the bible was placed,
at the foot of the altar rails ; the two latter went to the north
and south end of the altar, and sat facing each other ; kneel-
ing at the usual times, with their backs to the congregation.
Mr. 0. read the prayers from a small prayer-book, which
he held in his hand, and knelt during the confession, and at
the other times, on a cassock close by the rails. During the
Psalms, the three divines, accompanied by two little boys,
chanted one verse, the congregation and the choir chanted the
other. Whenever the Gloria Patri was repeated, they always
turned most pointedly towards the altar. At the conclusion of
the litany, Mr. 0. entered within the rails, and the trio si-
multaneously ascended additional steps up to the altar table ;
he went to the centre,—the two assistants to either end of it.
For some moments they knelt with their backs to the con-
gregation—no singing, but a dead silence during the time.
On the table were displayed the communion plate, two large
brass candlesticks, with very tall candles, but .unlighted, be-
tween which, was an immense cross, against the wall, and
two large prayer books, with gilt crosses on their covers.
The communion service began by him at the north end of
the table, with his face towards the wall, but rather inclined
towards the table. At the end of the collect he turned right
round, and read the commandments, and then resumed his
former position. Mr. Oakley had knelt the whole time be-
fore the table, but read the Nicene creed, and at its conclu-
sion gave various notices with respect to the time of the ser-
vice, and that the communion would be administered twice
on Whit-sunday ; but only by a simple notice—not by wha
i, usually read in the prayer book. Above the !table were
two windows, in each of which was a bunch of flowers.
Mr. Oakley next proceeded down the communion steps
backwards and ascended the pulpit, preached for about six.
teen minutes, and finished by turning round in the pulpit and
saying, ' Now to God the Father,' &c., with his face towards
tatunbrd liealaltar. He then returned to his place before the altar
table, and the clergyman at the north end began the offertory.
A collection was made from pew to pew in black velvet
bbliatg na-
turally
expectedthenreadbthe w
oprayer o thenfeolrude
wchurch e mblielistsanintg.,
my surprise he proceeded to read the notice for the commu-
nion, and read the whole of it.

" Mr. Oakley turned -himselff again to the congregation.
and gave another notice—that the communion would be ad..
dtihe
s.-
ministered on Sunday next ; and the congregation, with the
ho eummahin, sacramente,,ditifloorotthaenyblessing or of eLxocredn,tsi oSupper,
thosele ft
the
missal.
" My account must be very inadequate, for I cannot con.
vey the extraordinary tone, or the undevotional rapidity,
with which parts of the prayers were read ; nor can I describe
the sort of image-like manner in which the ministers so sae.
times stood, and especially during the effertory—they seemed
as if almost afraid to allow the breath to come out of their
mouth. There were also repeated bowings at the name of
our Saviour, and other little observances which occurred
during the service. This is, however, the chief of what I
witnessed, and for some time I was too much amazed, and
too much pained to know what to think of it. I could hardly
believe that I bad been in a Church of England chapel, or
that 1 was amongst a number of Protestant worshippers.
The chapel was very full, and so I hear it is every Sunday.
If such is to be the mode of conductive the service, and if
th 3 Bishops encourage insteaof, suppressing such extreme
lengths, 1, for one, fear the
" Why we are to have no reading desks, and the clergy:are
not to turn so as to be heard distinctly by all the congrega.
tion I know not ; and sincerely do I lament that the Bishop
of London is openly advising the adoption of such proceed-.
ings (?) That there has been a great laxity in the discipline
of the Church no one will deny ; but whilst we endeavour to
restore its discipline, and to give a stimulus to the tLvotional
feeling of our service, let us not follow in the steps of a cor-
rupt Church, or imitate the pract;ces of Rome."

The Vice-Chancellor of Oxford has stated in a letter to
certain requisitionists that he cannot publish the grounds of
his late sentence on Dr. Pusey. He says, that as the sta-
tutes do not prescribe, so he thinks they do not permit, the
course

• -

Vocal?

I 111F_, FACTORY EDUCATION BILL
.4 4 •

From Wordsworth's Excursion