The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1858-08-05


of the Lords Bishops Deans, and chapters of sepa-
rate dgnitaries, are justly apportioned, and that
nothing could be more proper than that a marked
distinction should be kept up between a spiritual
lord dressed in magnificent dress; decorated with
title; lattered by chaplains, and surrounded by
little people looking up for the things which he has
to give away, and the poor country clergyman,
which SIDNEY SMITH has so graphically described,
as ''an average, ordinary interesting, minister;
"obese, dumpy, neither ill-natured nor good-na-
''tured; neither learned nor Ignorant striding over
'tsties to church with second rate wife-dusty and
tdeliquescent-and four parochial children full of
Foatcclism and bread and butter" These contrasts
the middle class Englishman regards as absolutely
essential to the welfare of the church. The
scheme must have few prizes and vast num-
Der of blanks; but to those who draw the lat
ter, the gracious permission is accorded to keep
on trying to draw other prizes that, year
after year, drop sparngly into the clerical
wheel, even though they may never succeed in win
ming the fortunate number. But while the English
man is perfectly content to rich clergymen very
rich and the poor clergynen very poor, and the Gu
rates laboring in their vocation on stipend of five
dollars a week, he is great stickler for the
purity of the doctrines preached in his parish
church, and infinitely prefers TO doze comfortably
over a drowsy sermon, than to be kept wide awake
by new tangled innovations, or by the revival of
observances against the practice of which his fore
fathers had vehemently protested. Now, during
the last twenty-five years his mind has been greatly
exercised Quiet rectories, over whose portals
dolce far nieme-"sweet do nothing might
have been appropriately inscribed have been storm
ed by Oxford Controversialists, eager to do battle
with the old Calvinistic doctrines of the church
to modify the ritual to reform the rubric; and to
garnish the worship of the Anglican church with
symbols and ceremonials The intense English
man who pays his stipulated 1.-THE of mint and
cumuin punctually, but with audible grumbling,
is indignant that the rubrc should be treated dis
respectfully, and is utterly astounded that there
should be any difficulty in swallowing ''the Thirty
nine Articles He has no liking for pale ascetics;
thinks they too much of the closter and the
lamp and though they may be Englishmen by
BIRTH is half inclined to believe that they are
Jesuts in disguise. He likes to see his clergyfnen
with double chins and rosy faces, solid men and
stately; slow of speech and methodical in their
habits, and as he pays forty millions of dollars
year for the conservation ofthis respectable class,
he has perhaps some reason for contending that he
should be INDUCED in his within. 1t is certainly
quite wrong that his religious sensibilites should
be shocked in the manner they appear to have
been of late, especially as he holds stouty to the
opinion once expressed by the Duke of Newcastle,
that he has "a perfect right to do as he pleases
with that which is his own" Puseyism, or that
which passes for Puseyism, has been for a long
time great source of trouble to him. but he sought
to console himself with the reflection that it would
die out after WHILE and that the old soporfc order
of things would then be restored Unfortunately
for his anticpatons, Puseyism continued to
play sad pranks with old fuse and won't"
made many friends among the nobility, and
gathering strength from the ranks of Young
England, compromised the orthodoxy of the
Universities, and took triumphant possession of
from one-third to one-half of the benefices and
revenues of the Church. To the middle class Eng
lishman nothing could indicate more strongly the
corruption of the age, and the decadence of his
cherished institution. He believed that every man
ought to enjoy liberty of conscience, and was per-
tecty satisfied that dissenters should support
preachers of their own choosing, provided they
paid the usual tthes to the established Church, and
did not trouble themselves too impertinently about
Its dogmas. Hewoud even concede sometime to
the eccentric religious notions which he imagined
might be entertained by people of rank and fash
ION, and was willing to recognise them as not
wholly unworthy members of the Church of Eng
land so long as they did not exceed the license of
Anglican liberality-but the confessional in Bel
gravia has taxed his patience overmuch. The sys-
TEN of brotherhood and sisterhood fostered by the
Puseyites he thought Was bad enough; but to
attempt to engraft auricular confession upon ro-
testant doctrines was too monstrous heresy for
any middle class Englishman to tolerate in silence
and straightway the Rev. ALFRED POOLE, assistant
stipendary curate in the church of st. Barnabas.
in the district chapelry of st. Paul, Wilton-place
in the county of Mddlesex, and diocess of London.
is arraigned at the bar of public opinion, on the
charge of violating ecclesiastical discipline by the
systematic admission of the people under his min
istry to private confession and dissolution. Suo-
ported by Mr.. LIDDELL, the rector of the parish,
who promptly came forward, and offered to sub
stitute himself for the accused party, and take
upon himself all Mr.. PooLE's responsibilities, the
curate of St. Barnabas opened correspondence
with his metropolitan Bishop, defended his course
demanded that the charges made against him
should be direct and explicit, and showed himself
disposed to court a controversy The Bishop re-
joined briefly characterized Mr.. PooLE's course as
tending to provoke scandal, revoked his license to
preach, and declined TO explain the grounds of
his decision. The church-wardens of ST. BARNABAs
then took up the matter. In letter to the Bishop
of London they claim that the practice of confession
is the right of the people, which the clergy may
not refuse when any come 20 them for it, and
that 1t is perfectly proper to question them
concerning the violation of the seventh COM
iiahument, Or of any of the commandments,
ana females no less than males To this pro-
test the BISHOP replied, expressing his regret
'ha' ''ie church-wardens of ST. BARNABAs should
llhe Inherent view from himself of the respon-
slblItles and duties which attached TO his office.
VI course popular demonstration followed next.
Seven thousand persons assembled Of iCbe1sea 70
adopt measures for the immediate snnnro,,;o, of
the confessional system then INTRODUCING ;tsolf;n+
the Protestant Church of England stron,,
speeches were made in which the innovation -
declared to be the result of an atrocious conS,,o
to undermine the faith of Protestants, and rob
them of their civil rights, and that they, the mid
die class Englshmen, must undertake to restore
of themselves the good old order of things mas
much as the Nobility, as class were too selfish
and exclusive-two of them having absolutely re-
fused, when called upon, to preside at the meeting
then held A memorial to the Queen was then
adopted the national anthem was sung, and the
'sSeinoiage dispersed. In the meantime Mr..
POOLE had appealed to the Archbishop of Canter-
oury against the decision of the Bishop of London;
Out tne Archolshop promptly confirmed the sem
Ience OF dismissal and Mr. POOLE is now gentle
nan at large. One question, however, yet remains
% be answered-now that the Curate has been
laaltx hat