Morning journal and courier., 1882-11-18

From the Edinburgh Review.l
 Federation, that is, conscientious respect for differences in religious belief, was possi- ble in the seventeenth century only within the limits which had been laid down at the Reformation. Elizabeth, when she came to the throne, found her subjects divided into two factions. Both believed in the Christian religion both believed that without a right faith in Christ man must die eternally. Both believed also that the right faith had been revealed. But there they parted. The Protestants held that it had been revealed in the Bible, the Catholics that it had been re- l vealed in the Church, and each regarded the other as Gods enemy. To the Catholic the Protestant was rebel against the divinely appointed autho :ity. To the Protestant, the Catholic 8 worshipsr of Baal, given over to idolatry and lies. The idolatry could have been borne with q form Of superstition but when to the general articles of the Cath ollie belief there was added another which was practically acted on, that it was the Churchs duty tu extirpate heresy with fire and sword, then naturally enough the Pro- testants regarded it as something which they were entitled to extirpats in turn and peace | could only be kept between them by superior authority very judiciously exerted. The Protestants were about 8 third of the nation. Under Parliamentary constitution like ours the mass would undoubtedly have been main- tained as Queen Mary left it. No other form of worship would have been permitted, and schism and heresy would have continued to be treated as crimes. Elizabeth, it is often
 said ought to have allowed both parties the
 free exercise of their religion, and have for
 bidden them to meddle with each other
 Unfortunately both parties were agreed also
 that it was the business of the magistrate to
 execute justice and maintain truth, and
 avowedly neutral no magistrate could afford
 to be- France was situated very much
 England was. The Valois Princes did grant
 freedom of religion, and the result was that
 in every town and village there were rival
 churches and ohapels. The congregations
 attended the services armed, and when the
 sermons were over they fought their differ
 ences out in the market place. Ten years of
 inter rmittent civil war culminated in the mas
 sacre of St. Bartholomew. The same thing
 probably would have happened in England.
 The temper was the same in both countries
 the circumstances were the same. To have
 allowed Protestants, Anglo-Catholics, and
 Catholics proper their separate establish
 ments would have turned every parish into a
 cock pit, from Berwick to the Lands End
 Elizabeth chose that there should be no fight
 ing, and, as far possible, persecution.
 She would allow no open non conformity.
 She created the singular constitution known
 as the Church of England, with services so
 patient of opposite interpretations that Pro-
 testant and Cathollc could equally use them,
 and whose hierarchy might be regarded
 either as successors of the Apostles or as
 State officials appointed by the Grown for
 administrative order.
 Mrs. Lillie E. Wood, the Hartford lady
 who took the prize for writing the greatest
 number of words in circle the size of
 silver quarter, states that she not only got in the 795 words of the first chapter of the Genesis and IA punctuation marks, but to make sure of the prize she wrote in forty
 five words of the second chapter, making
 total of $40 words. In one specimen, contain ing S32 words, the lines can be traced with
 the naked eye, but it requiresa glass to make out the words.