, 1879-02-23

aHLagpul9tn anu uQbtuttleS DttWeeO LQc laaLy AnC
Bishop Wcl1cs. The telegram announced thu
result OF q secret meeting OF lay members Of the
parishes OF St. Paul, St. James, and St, John, al
Which au address was adopted for dis
tribution protesting against the cathe
dra1 chapter scheme inauguratcd b1
Bishop Arnitago and furthered By 1is
successor; also against the manner in which the
mission funds arc being distributed by the
Bishop. The publication Of this address wa.
forced b. the telegram to THE TRIBUNE, aud
has ere this been read BY all who feel an inter.
est in the controversy. Hence there Is no ne
cessitr Of reneatfng its salient features here. In
private conversation tue laymen ut the head OF
this movement claim that they are actuatcd by
motive to secure more rapid increase Of
growth in the Church. They say that the Prot
estantsln OF the nineteenth century is antaeo-
nistic to the ccccsiasttcism Of the fourteenth
century, which found its main strength to lie in
Capitalization: They say that the attempt to
establish cathedral chapter ia calculated to
give dictatorial power TINT they cannot ap-
prove Of, because 1t is in conflict With our Dem
ocratic ideas, derived from contact With a
detnocratlc form Of government. They say that
centralizationis an extreme High Church hobby,
men, imbued with the libcrality OF the age, to
stray from the mother church at least tenn
pornrily, content to remain without
the fold as long as their ideas do
not harmonize with those Of the
thus opposing the spirit of Capitalization, to
win these Young men back from what cannot
strictly and truthfully be pronounced the error
OF their wavs; to increase thus the membership
OF the parish churches and strengthen the llands
OF the parish rectors in the direction Of success
fu spiritual labors. They claim that they are
not hostile to the Bishop personally, but, on the
contrary, hold him in high esteem Us pure and
true Christian. To oppose his position in rela-
t1on to the Cathedral CHAPTER does not, In their
opinion, impair his power to accomplish the good
work connected with his high office. They pro-
fess to wish him WE'LL and express q desire to
wrench him from the grasp OF small handful
Of designing clergy, in obedience to whose be-
hests he. has undertaken task the accomplish
ment of which must prove injurious to the fu-
ture welfare OF :the church.
This, in brief, is the attitude Of the protest.
ing laity. On the other hand, the friends of
Bishop Wcles and the mission churches that
have been organized, aud are being: successfully
conducted under his fostering care, claim that
subterlu9e, 4 dclusion, and snare. They
claim that all this hostility, or at least
the greater portion OF 1t, las grown out OF the
division Of old st. Johns Parish md the estab-
lishment Of Trinity Mission Parish on territory
formerly embraced BY It through sutfcrance,
and not from any established right under the
established form Of church government. This
hostility they attribute to the Rev. Dr.. kecne
and the supporters of St. Johns Parish Church.
They recognize the fact, also, that the establish
dral" Church. cmbittcred the laymen sup
porters Of old st. Paul's Church and Parish,
from which all OF the other parishes have
sprung into. existence: They dcnounce the
course OF the, Rev. Dr.: Fulton, the present
Rector Of old st. Paul's Parish, in opposing the
Ric Eon and his f!1thpffrn1 r1nu hpf.arsA II