The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-06-11 00:00:00

UNIVERSITY 4 CLERICAL NEWS.

OXFORD.—In a congregation held on Thursday the
following degrees were conferred :—Masters of Arts—
William Long, Balliol, Grand Compounder ; Nicholas
Darnell, Fellow of New College; Rev. Henry Mellish
Stowers, St. Edmund's Hall ; Rev. George Frederic
Morgan, Christchurch ; Thomas Henry Roper, St. John's
College ; John Bumble Riddle, Wadham ; Rev. Robert
Twyford Mills, Magdalene ; Rev. James Philip Brem-
ridge, Exeter; Rev. John Collingwood, Pembroke; Rev.
William John Groves, Trinity ; Rev. William Archibald
Paxton, Trinity ; John Turner and Wm. Fox, Balliol.
Bachelors of Arts—Lord Viscount Lewisham, Thomas
P. Rogers, and Francis Lagier Lamotte, Christ Church ;
John Thomas Aikin Swan, Lincoln ; George Henry
Egerton, Brasenose ; John Rigaud, Demy of Magdalene;
Henry Nicholas Ellacombe, Oriel ; Wm. James Farrer
and John Charles Keate,
CAMBRIDGE.—The Chancellor's medal for the best
English poem has been awarded to Edward Henry
Bickersteth, Trinity College. Subject—" The Tower of
London ;" and the Camden medal, for the best exercise
in Latin hexameter verse, to William Johnson, King's
College. Subject—" Archimedes."
OXFORD.—THE VICE-CHANCELLOR'S DECISION ON
THE REV. MR. GARBETT'S. SERMON.—" The Vice-
Chancellor begs to acknowledge the receipt of a copy of
the sermon which, in consequence of a formal allegation of
complaint, he requested Mr. Garbett to deliver to him, un-
der the provisions of the statute, tit. xvi. sec. 11. Tire Vice-
Chancellor having had before him, since Friday, the 24th
instant, the sermon which has thus been called in question,
and having carefully considered what steps it might
be his duty to take on the occasion, informs Mr. Garbett,
without delay, that, in the exercise of the discretion re-
served to him by the statute, he deems it unnecessary to
institute any further proceedings.—St. John's College,
May 29, 1844."

A supplement to the London Gazelle contains an order
in Council constituting Stockport, Ashton-under-Lyne,
Bolton-le-Moors, and Bury, in this county, and several
other places, separate districts for spiritual purposes.
THE EDINBURGH MUSICAL CHAIR.—The election
for the vacant professorship of music in the Edinburgh
University took place on Saturday week. Since the
meeting in April Dr. Wesley had resigned, and on Sa-
turday the candidates were reduced to three—Mr. Pear-
son, the son of the Dean of Salisbury ; Mr. Donaldson,
the advocate ; and Mr. Bennett, the pianist. The Senate
divided thus :-14 voting for Mr. Pearson, and 11 for
Mr. Donaldson. Mr. Bennett had no vote.
WIDOWS AND ORPHANS OF THE CLERGY FUND.—The
report of the institution for the relief of the widows and
orphans of clergymen who have officiated within the arch-
deaconry of Chester, has just been published, together
with a statement relative to the school lately established
at Warrington, and united with the Chester Diocesan
Board of Education, for the daughters of clergymen who
have officiated and are officiating in the same archdeaconry.
We heartily commend so excellent an institution to the
benevolence of our readers, for it is not a charity to be
supported merely by clergymen, the laity are also called
upon to contribute to its funds. We perceive, by a recent
regulation, that all parishes not contributing to the charity
before the next anniversary, will be prevented from deriv-
ing any benefit from the institution, it is therefore desirable
that as little delay as possible should take place in for-
warding donations, as the subscriptions for the present
year are now due. The Bishop of the Diocese is the
patron of the charity, and of the officers annually ap-
pointed, Sir Stephen R. Glynne, Bart, M.P., is president,
and the Rev. Geo. Heron, Incumbent of Carrington, in
this county, preacher for the year. The anniversary will
be held this year at Liverpool, on the Ist of August, and
sermons are requested to be preached, and collections
made in aid of the funds of this charity, previously to the
annual meeting.

METROPOLIS CHURCHES FUNDS.-011 Sunday last
sermons were preached in all the churches in the diocese
of London in aid of this fund. The Bishop originally
contemplated the erection of fifty new churches in the
metropolis, thirty-six of which were completed, two were
nearly erected, and twelve would be proceeded with so
soon as sites could be obtained. These churches would
contain altogether about 57,000 persons, and would there-
fore afford the means of attending divine worship to
114,000. His lordship, however, contended that this
supply would be inadequate, as supposing one-third only
of the population attended public worship at one time,
there ought to have been church room for more than
400,000 in the parishes containing an aggregate population
of more than 1,380,000, whereas in fact there was only
roam for 140,000, leaving a deficiency of 260,000 to be
supplied. Supposing 57,000 to be accommodated in the
new churches, there would still remain 213,000 wholly
unprovided for. The subscriptions which have been re-
ceived since his lordship's first o!niouncement of his scheme
amounted to no less a sum than £158,173. A separate
fund was long afterwards formed for the erection and en-
dowment of ten additional churches, with parsonage
houses and schools, in the single parish cf Bethnal-green,
containing more than 70,000 inhabitants. To this fund
the contributions amounted to £59,691, so that altogether
a sum of £217,867 had been subscribed.

VALIDITY OF LAY BAPTISM.—In the Court of Arches,
on Friday week, Sir Herber Jenner Fust, the Dean of
Arches, gave judgment for the rejection of an allegation
by the defendant in the case of " Titmarsh a. Chapman."
It is a proceeding in the form of articles under the Church
Discipline Act, against the Rev. H. Chapman, Vicar of
Basingbourne, in the county of Essex, for refusing to
bury the body of a child, earned Jane Rumbold, the
daughter of parents belonging to the sect known as Inde-
pendents, and the present allegation assigned the grounds
upon which the rev. defendant had so refused. The main
points upon which the defendant rested, are that the child
had been baptised by a minister belonging to the sect of
Independents; that the baptism is an heretical baptism,
affording none of the privileges of a valid baptism ; that
burial in a churchyard of the parish is one of those privi-
leges to which, therefore, this child was not entitled ; and
besides this, that the parties promoting the present pro-
ceedings deny that the Church of England is a true and
apostolical church, and are consequently, by the canons
of that church, excommunicate, and not able to promote
the office of the judge against a member of the church.
The learned Judge considered that these articles did not
contain any sufficient answer to the charge brought against
the rev. defendant. As to the heretical baptism pleaded,
the question was whether the baptism performed upon the
child was or was not a valid baptism ? and the Court was
unable to distinguish the present case from that of " Mar-
tin v. Escott," in which the Privy Council had held that
the baptism performed by a Dissenting minister was valid.
As to the objection which was founded upon the incom-
petency of the present parties to promote the office of the
judge, it could not be upheld, as the civil law authorities
all held that excommunication, even ipso facto, required
a declaratory sentence, and here no sentence of excom-
munication had passed.