The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1865-04-15
Bishop StnIey'. Pastoral Address


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Bishop StnIey'. Pastoral Address
Mr.. EDIroR-Sir Having read the Pastoral
Address of Bishop Staley, of the Church Of England,
recently printed at Honolulu, and now circulated
through the Sandwich Islands, l wish to make q few
remarks in reference TO the assertions. assumptions
and Misrepresentation Of said address. These re-
marks 1 make, not as q Protestant of any denomina-
ton of sects, or as a Catholic, but in the spirit Of
fair play and equal justice to all l perceive the
ordinations and recriminations between the Calvin
istic Church and the English Church on these islands,
for the last year, have been loud and fsrce-the
former claiming to be preachers of the true Christian
doctrine according to the Bible, in true Protestant
style, and condemning the latter as ApOstate from
true Professionalism; the latter repelllng the charge Of
Apostacy by claiming a Catholic Apostolic Success
sion, and condemning the former a pretenders to q
Divine Mission without holy orders, and heretics un-
deserving the countenance or association Of the Epis-
copal Ministry Of the English Church.
The foregoing charges are of the utmost import
ance, and 10 doubt the people belonging to the re-
spective churches must in all sincerity believe that
they are true in the Calvinistic or American church,
aud false in the English, or true in the English and
false in the American, and certainly must aim a vital
blow ar that church in which the delusion exists, in
the minds Of such Christians as have any concern
for the salvation of their souls. Light therefore
must be most essentially necessary to the people
whose eternal happiness or misery is at stake.
/ observe one consistent and rational course pur-
sued by the Calvinistic clergy-they claim their
church from the Reformation in the 10th century,
with John Calvin for their guide, rs the e1pOunder
of true Protestant doctrine. Whether that claim is
E II - =. =. -. -. I.,.-aa.
to inquire. While on the part of Bishop Staley and
his church, / observe the utmost inconsistency IN the
face of history md experience in claiming an earlier
descent for his church than from Martin Luther,
another of the Protestant Reformers. No history Of
England or Of any other country which speaks Of
the Reformation, and which was published since. but
will stand in evidence against Bishop Staley as q
Catholic Apostle of the Catholic English Church. 1t
is very noticeable that the Pastoral Address in ques-
ton gives not one single proof for the pretensions on
which he POUNDS his Mission, except that the Bishops
Of this place or that place said so. Now. if Bishop
Staley will be kind enough to inform Us in what part
Of England, or in what city or village. the doctrine
of the Church of England of the present day was
taught or practiced previous to the time of Henry
VIII, he will confer a favor on all seekers after
truth; and in doing so, his Lordship will also state
the name of the Bishop or Minister, with proofs from
said Bishop or Minister, that the present doctrine Of
the Church Of England was then the doctrine Of
England. If he flies to the traditions of the Fathers
Of the Roman Catholic Church, the Calvinistic clergy
have the same right to use the traditions Of those
Fathers against him.
Another weak and badly founded charge 1 notice
in the Pastoral Address of the representative of the
English Church is where he charges the Calyinistic
clergy of these Islands with apprOpriating to their
own use, according to the permission of the Pruden-
tial Committee Of the Evangelical Association, the
lands granted by the Chiefs for Church support,
with the addition that the Church of England never
did such an anti Christian act. As l remarked be-
fore, let Bishop Staley consult his history, and it will
inform him that the Church Of ] England, after the
Reformation, did not leave a single acre of land, that
was ever used for the support of the Catholic Church
from the days of ST. Austin 10 the days of Cranmer-
the first Protestant Bishop ever known in England
which was not. by the laws of the incorporated
State and Church Government, conferred on private
individuals, who were, in most cases, not even cler-
gymeu of the reformed religion. The same was done
in Ireland, and in addition, the people of that unfor-
tunate, prosecuted and down trodden nation are
forced, at the point of the bayonet, even to this day,
to contribute the very money they require for the
necessaries of life TO support a monster Episcopal
Church establishment, which they despise, and into
which three hundred years of me severest persecu-
ton could never force them. The people of the Pres
byterian, or Calyinistic Church, are treated in like
manner. Is this the Church that Bishop Staley
has come TO establish over the heads of the people
of the Sandwich Islands, under all the auspices Of
n divine mission from the Apostles Let the peo-
pie beware how they get the Church Of England in
the Sandwich Islands, like the Church of England
in Ireland, over their heads. with Queen Victoria at
its head, who can live in luxury. while her subjects,
both Irish and English, are forced to starve by tens
of thousands, and TO Hy by hundreds of thousands
from her dominions to the United States. If they do,
they will have reason TO curse the day. The present
Bishop Staley is her representative. His ordination is
from the Lady Apostolic Ruler of the English Church
by letters patent. But how the Apostolic succession
can come through a woman, l think will be something
new to those acquainted with the teachings Of the
Bible. JUsTITIA.