The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-02-25
Religious Tests In England,


Religious Tests I'm England.
GREAT BRITAIN processes to be tolerant OF all
forms of religion; but this toleration is so
limited and restricted that although no man
is obliged to connect himself with the estab-
lished Church, it is necessary for him to do 80
If he would be placed on perfect equality
with all the subjects of the Crown. Another
contest in behalf of freedom of conscience has
just been inaugursted in the House Of Com
mons, in which Mr.. Coleridge, the Solicitor
General Of the new Government yesterday
introduced bill to abolish all religious tests
in the Universities. From time immemorial
1t has been required of every aspirant for
University honors that he should solemnly
profess, under oath, his belief in "the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Ghost" If this ele-
ment of orthodoxy were wanting, no amount
of erudition could qualify student for the
reception of any collegiate honors. But
square Issue on the repeal of these
ridiculous tests has just been raised by the
circumstance that an Israelite has distanoed
all his evangelical competitors in the race for
the Senior Wranglership at the University of
Cambridge, the highest honor within the gift
of that time-honored and exceedingly ortho-
dox institution of learning. As a matter of
course, he objects to that portion of the oath
required of him, which starts out with the
words, "In noniHe PatriS, ct Fla, ct Spiritus
Sancti =" The University Senate are in
muddle over the affair, and Parliament is now
asked to help them out of the difficulty by
ha ofI
away altogether with the doctrnal tests which
have thus far hampered education.
Only forty years have elapsed since Catho-
lie was first permitted to take the seat in Par
lament to which he had been elected by the
people. The Test act was repealed in 1928, and
in 1929 the Catholic Emancipation act passed,
against grand 'No Popery" cry on the part
of orthodox Englishmen. But even then a
member of Parliament was still required to
take the oath of Office "on the faith of a
Christian" and by this requirement no
Israelite was suffered to crawl into the evan
gelical House of Commons. In 1847, Baron
Lionel de Rothschild was returned as one of
the members for the City of London, and
although suceessively reelected he was not
permitted to take his seat until 1858, when
Parliament decreed that each house should
be at liberty to dispense with this portion OF
the oath at its option. In this shape the law
stands at present, and believers in 'the faith
which the Disciples professed before they
knew their Lord"-as Mr.. Disraeli has quantity
expressed it-are admitted to the House of
Commons only by sufferance.
That the reform proposed by Mr.. Coleridge
will encounter violent opposition from the
Tory side Of the House is to be expected. I'm
fortunately for the evangelicsls, the "No
Popery" cry cannot be raised by them, but
they will doubtless discern in the movement
an attempt to unChristianize the English ma
tion. The party which elevated Mr.. Gladstone
to power, however, is pledged to a sweeping
reform of all such abuses, and their majority
in the House is SO large that it will doubtless
not only suffice to pass the act abolshing all
the University tests, but to push it, by its
moral influence, through the orthodox House
Of Lords as well. 1t is quite time that the
thing were done, for such invidious distinc-
tions are disgrace to any nation which pro-
fesses to be both civilized and Christian.
-1--
The SENATE yesterday, by its action on the
subject of the printing of the debates OF Con.