The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-10-05

complai is made that the committee
have been too radical in their action.
Their book leaves out 261 hymns
contained in the present hymal, which
Is seriously radical innovation for
so conservative a body as a convention of
the Protestant Episcopal church to make
1t forms far more comprehensive volume
than the present hymnal, containing 673
hymns and 80 doxologies. Little fault
is found, or can be found, with its literary
quality, and whether or not the matter Of
providing a new hymnal for the church
will be postponed until the convention of
1895. Bishop Doane and his fellow COM
mitteemen have compiled a volume which
is exceedingly valuable as treasury of
devotional poetry, intended for use in pub
lie worship. Not a few of the clergy IA
vor the adoption as the American hymnaI
Hymns Ancient and Modern;" and pos
sibly. If the convention should decide
upon taking radical course in giving the
church new hymnal, which is quite I'M
likely to happen, the English book may
have the preference over that OF the Bishop
Doane committee. Lively discussion GER
tainiy will follow the report on the pro-
posed hymnal. The various schools of
thought, which alike find home and 10y
atty within the broad enclosure of the
Protestant Episcopal church, will find OBJ
portunity of large discourse in its consid-
eration.s
1t is probable that some action will be
taken at the Baltimore convention with re-
gard to the ''canons of ordination" The
fact is highly suggestive one, that not a
few ministers of other religious bodies
seek admission into the ministry of the
Protestant Episcopal church. At the gen.
eral convention held i'm New York in 1889
the house of bishops made such amend
ments to the canons of ordination as
\
preparation for the ordination of ministers
from other bodies. No action was taken
in the matter by the house of deputies. but
it is probable that the coming convention
will act in the direction of facilitating the
advent into the ministry of the church of
men, who, by their experience as ministers
in other bodies, are already partially and,
in some instances, finely qualified for
immediate service.
Another subject Of great importance to
the future of the church in this vast
country and which probably will be dis
cussed in the convention, is that Of divid-
ing the United States into provinces, each
of the % to consist of several dioceses. This
is very serious and great question. among
Others involving geographical difficulty.
New York state includes at the present
time five dioceses, and these would be con-
stituted one province without the geo.
graphical difficulty suggested; but
obviously provincial boundaries could
not be made coterminous with state
boundaries. Tiny Rhode Island could
not be constituted province, while
New York could be. The provincial system
would involve the abolition of the present
practice of every diocese in the church
having a vote for or against the consecra-
ton of a bishop elected by one of them.
the vote of every diocese within the
province then only being taken. Other great
xvuA
in the adoption of the provincial system.
The necessity of general convention be-
ing held every three years would be no
longer felt, every province having its
synod, relieving the general governing
body of the church of much work which
comes, under the present constitution,
within the scope Of its legislative author
ity. An intelligent view of the operations
of the church il the wide held of the
United States leads inevitably TO the con-
clusion that the adoption of the provincial
system is among the coming constitu-