The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-02-01 00:00:00

to to the rest

love of novelty or notoriety seems to have taken so strong a
hold upon many of the clergy.

The letter of the Lord Bi-s.bop has been eircu:ated amongst
gy in Birmingham, and doubtless throughout the dio-
cese, within the last few days, accompanied with the follow-
ing circular from the Rev. J. Garbett, the rural dean

the cler

CIRCULAI

Birmingbani, Jan

28,4842.

Rev, and Dear Sir,—Contsiderable-exciieinent and con-
troversy having been raised in this place, and offence taken.
by the introduction of certain novel observances in Divine
worship ; and public attention having been directed to it, not

only in our local but also in the metropolitan journals, I for-
ward you a copy of a letter recently addressed by the Lord
Bishop of the diocese to one of our brethren ; it being his
lordship's wish that I would embrace the opportunity of thus
informing the clergy of his opinions " on the general sub-
ject ; " in order that it may be known that our diocesan is
decidedly opposed to the introduction of novelties—" which
create disunion without producing any counterbalancing good
whatever ' • " a sentiment in the propriety of which I cannot
but think every sincere friend of the church's purity and
peace will heartily concur.—l remain, reverend and dear
sir, your affectionate brother,

JOHN GARBETT,
Rural Dean of Birmingham
(CoPr.)
Palace, Worcester, Jan. 19, 1342

Reverend Sir,—My attention has been called to certain
letters in the Birmingham Advertiser, wherein it is alleged
that in one of the churches in Birmingham a gilt cross has
been introduced upon the communion table cloth, and that
the officiating clergyman is in the habit of kneeling down
before this cross, on his way to the reading desk, and of bow-
ing•to it on returning to it, after the prayers and the sermon.
Not knowing to whom these letters referred, I wrote to Mr.
Garbett, the rural dean, and requested that he would make
the necessary inquiries. I now learn from him that you ary
the individual who has given such cause of offence; and 1
think it therefore my duty to call your attention to the fol-
lowing observations.

Wiebout entering into the question of how far the intro-
duction of such novelties may be justified by the practice of
antiquity, I would wish you seriously to consider whether
they are of such importance as to justify the destruction of
unity in the church, which must be the necessary conse-
quence. The mere display of the cross,.as a symbol of our
Christian profession, may indeed be a matter of indifference ;
and I lately declined ordering one to be removed, as I was
requested to do, from one of the churches which I have re-
cently consecrated at Rugby ; but I then said that I would
certainly do so, if I afterwards found that it led to idolatrous
or superstitious practices. Now I firmly believe that you do
not worship the cross in the sense in which the Roman Ca-
tholics are said to do so ; but if you do not, you cannot at-
tach any religious importance to its display in your church,
or to the genuflexions and obeisances, which, without any
direction from the Rubric, you are in the habit of making
before it ; and if these be things indifferent, where is the
prudence of " troubling the consciences of those who are
rightly religious," by. adopting practices in themselves in-
different, but which you know will give cause of offeioe to
others?

There is one other point which I wish to press upon your
attention. Granting that various modes of divine worship
may, for various reasons, have become obsolete, which yet
may have been the practice of the primitive church, and even
directed by some of our rubrics or canons, who is to decide
upon the propriety of their being again revived ? Is every
individual minister to take this upon himself? Or does it
not more properly belong to those who are placed in autho-
rity ? And may it not be inferred, from their silence, that
they consider such a revival inexpedient, or at least indiffe-
rent?

I have received the little pamphlet which I conclude you
sent me ;* and though to comment upon the whole of it would
exceed the compass of a letter, I cannot refrain from observ-
ing, that when you undertake that you will " conform to the
Book of Common Prayer," the object of desiring this decla-
ration from you is to secure the use of the general " form of
the Morning and Evening Prayer, and administration of the
two Sacraments," in opposition to other forms, or to the
extemporaneous composition of the minister. Essential and
honest conformity is here meant ; not a scrupulous adherence
to petty ceremonies, which time may have rendered obsolete,
and which the lawful authorities of the church had never re-
quired the restoration. _

I have written more at length upon this subject than is,
perhaps, required by our relative positions ; because 1 am
anxious to use the language of remonstrance, instead of au-
thority ' • that of a father to an indiscreet son ; or, if you
will, that of a senior presbyter, to a very young one, who
yet has taken upon himself, without authority from his
bishop, to introduce practices, which, if they ever prevailed
in the church, have long since fallen into desuetude.
In conclusion, I will refer you to an authority older than
any that the utmost admirer of antiquity can produce. St.
Paul distinctly asserts that there was no sin in eating meat
which had been offered to idols ; still, he directs the Corin-
thians to abstain from such a practice, out of consideration
of the consciences of others—" When, therefore, ye sin
against the brethren and wound their weak consciences, ye
sin against God." And again—" Give then none offence.
neither to the Jew nor to the Gentile, nor to the church of
God."

I feel sure that this admonition will be sufficient to ensure
the discontinuance of the novelties complained of; and I
beg that you will believe me to be, always, reverend sir, your
faithful friend and brother, H. WORCESTER.
* Extracts from the Rubrics, Canons. &c.

THE LATE GALE

PWLLHELI, JAN. 27.—The Solway, of Whitehaven, from
Liverpool to Barbadoes, is on shore under Pistill, near
Portinllaen; crew saved. The Ardent, Roberts, of Nevin,
came ashore at Portivallaen, yesterday, and became a wreck ;
one man and a boy drowned. Last night and this morning
it blew a most awful gale of wind, ranging from S.W. tq
N.W. ; about eight o'clock this morning it moderated a
little, still blowing fresh from N.W. The barque Sarah,
(before reported) rode out the gale, but drove considerably.
I have been informed that she has capsized her windlass.
NORTH SHIELDS, JAN. 26.—The fore part of these 24
hours strong gales, with thick showers of snow. At meri-
dian the Argus, Patterson : and Eliza, Gray, when taking
our bar, the wind from E.S.E., got too far to leeward, and
drove upon Tynemouth rocks ; they came in contact with
each other, and the Eliza within half an hour after striking
went to pieces; the crew got on board the Argus, the gale
still continuing with great violence. Captain Manby's ap-
paratus was speedily put into operation, and the crews of
both the vessels were safely landed by that useful and invalu-
able invention.
WEXFORD, JAN. 26.—1 t has been blowing a terrific gale,
accompanied with rain, since one o'clock this morning, and
about four a.m., the Sarah, Rossiter, of Waterford, from
Llanelly for Bannow, stranded at Tacumshane, a short dis-
tance to the westward of the wreck of the Honor, of St.
Ives. The sea was breaking with tremendous fury, the crew
were in the rigging, and every effort to render assistance
proved ineffectual. At last the vessel yielded to the power
of the sea, and the master and three of the crew perished
together—one man only was saved in the most exhausted
state.
LIMERICK, JAN. 26.—We have been visited with one of
the most terrific and destructive gales of wind it has ever
oeen our lot to witness in this country. The gale com-
menced between the hours of. three and four o'clock, a.m.,
from the southward, and continued with unabated violence
till noon. The, immense damage done to the shipping cannot
be properly estimated, bet it is supposed to be considerably
underrated at £15,000. The tide was forced considerably
above the level of the quay, so that any attempt to keep
fenders in their proper places was completely out of the ques-
tion. The destruction among the houses was also very con-
siderable ; roofs and chimneys have been blown down, and
windows, in thousands, have been broken. Twohouses have
been blown down and six persons buried in_ the ruins. The