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[OTHING can be more thoroughly unsatisfactory or disheartening than the relations of the Clergy to Education. They are losing ground everywhere, and yet are unwilling to admit it. Dr. Irons, no mean judge, asserts that during the last two years, there have been "blotted out 20,000 places previously recognized by Government as efficient schools"-many of them, no doubt, Christian. In other words the School Board system is surely destroying voluntary schools both right and left. And many Bishops and "Liberal" Clergy are practically conniving at their destruction. In due time both Town and Country Parsons will reasonably get tired of the unceasing cry-" Give, give, give!" And, one by one, Church schools will go. Roman Catholics will thus eventually suffer likewise. For if the Established Church is beaten; their own less influential communion will not be able to maintain its present educational position very long. Let the Cardinal and his provincials look to this at the coming elections. As to financial demands on the general public in the shape of rates, the RegistrarGeneral asserts that the population of England is increasing four-fold, so that at the end of the next generation we shall have 7,000,000 of children to provide for. Now 7,000,000 children means £14,000,000. Thus, whatever money has been borrowed with which to build schools, must be paid, and it means, therefore, an expenditure of £28,000,000 per annum, at the end of 30 or 40 years-a pleasant prospect certainly. Those who have brought about this new state of things are Dissenters, Doctrinaires and "Godless Philosophers." And their obvious aim is to destroy True Religion and overthrow the Established Church. Within the last month a School-Board orator urged upon his excited hearers the solemn duty of temporarily bearing the burden of increasing the rates, for said he "the heavier you now make them, the more ready will people be to overthrow and grasp the accursed riches of the bloated Establishment in order to ease themselves of the burden." If men heeded warnings (which they do not) they would heed this. But Liberalism, License, Radical Ritualism and Indifference, in an unholy combination, are sapping the foundations of Justice, Right and Truth.

THE recent debate and division on the Burials' Bill is instructive; while, at the same time, it is sufficiently ominous. Under a powerful Tory Government with an avowed majority of seventy, only thirty-one is the number secured by an urgent whip, in defence of the great Tory Principle of an Established Church-for that is the real point at issue. Irish and Scotch Conservatives deliberately absented themselves. The feature of the debate, which pleased us most, after Mr. Cross' and Mr. l'israeli's speeches, was the publication of Mr. Hugo's forcible and expressive description of Dissent. Nothing could have been either more true or terse; and every one (except, of course, Dissenters themselves,) must have felt and known that it was so. Neither churchyards nor churches, however, can be successfully defended much longer; because Mr. Disraeli's and Archbishop Tait's combined policy towards High Churchmen has alienated thousands both of clergy and laity from that political party, which, on mere sanitary, if not lower motives, is now defending the Establishment: and has thrown the said Churchmen (inconsistent though they may be, in going,) over to Mr. Gladstone's side. What his side is, nobody can possibly doubt. Whenever an Election occurs for Oxford University, balm will be poured into his wounds, and he will be most certainly returned: and then his friends the Radical Ritualists, the Puseyites (always Whigs!) and the Philosophers and Freethinkers combined, will soon gain their point, -disestablishment and disendowment. Dr. Tait's and Dean Stanley's policy of a Church without Creeds, a Happy Family with the animals' claws clipped and teeth drawn, is only the bilious dream of Broad Church unbelievers, and will never work for any length of time. Far better abolish the Parsons, and double the Police-force. What the more farseeing Dissenters hold is, of course, based on careful calculations and obvious possibilities. Hear what "Mr. G. W. Latham, J.P. of Sandbach" prophetically avers to be their

policy, for it is worth hearing: The Burials' Bill question he asserted was inseparable from disestablishment, and as sure as the sun would rise to-morrow, so surely, in a session or two, would the Bill be carried. If the clergy thought that

dissenters would rest satisfied with this Bill they were mistaken. When they gained the outposts they certainly would not relax their efforts in gaining the fortress. Their success would stimu late to further victory, and they would work until they had swept away the last remnant of the religious inequality which at present defiles and disgraces this land of ours." The serious practical point for wise and open-eyed Churchmen to consider is, whether it is now worth while to lay out money in churchbuilding or church-restoring at all,-money which will either advantage such worthies as Mr. Latham, or only help to enrich Dr. Tait's worthless and Erastian "Church of the Future."

THE dangers of the present Ecclesiastical position, having

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recently been put before Archbishop Tait, by a HighChurch relation of His Grace's, coupled with the remark that many influential laity had resolved to find no more funds for Church purposes," the Archbishop is reported, poohpoohing the notion, to have remarked that "the Ritualistic folks would bear a deal more squeezing yet; for they did not appear to own a grain of principle; as the more closely they were pressed, the more ready they now appeared to throw aside practices which only two years ago they maintained to be essential, -an assertion which gave the Bishops a world of trouble." There is of course some truth in His Grace's shrewd remark-as recent advice given by our penny Church contemporaries to their dupes proves. On the other hand we know that a west-county peer of the Diocese of Exeter, a munificent Churchman, has resolutely buttoned up his pockets; and, when in another diocese the Vicar of Brighton asked Mr. Barchard for financial aid, that gentleman, pointing to the P.W.R. Act, promptly and finally said "No."

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AS regards the Folkestone Case, the course of events has furnished an excellent illustration of the maxim "principiis obsta." Mr. Ridsdale, in his letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury, laid down with great clearness the fundamental reason why, on principle, the new judge and Court for "putting down Ritualism should not be obeyed. "I desire," he wrote, "not to be misunderstood as recognizing any spiritual character in the Court, but only a civil jurisdiction, capable, indeed, of commanding compliance under pains and penalties. but not of interpreting the laws of the Church, so as to bind the consciences of Churchmen as they would be bound by the decisions of a Court which had received its jurisdiction from the Church as well as from the State." Had Mr. Ridsdale consistently and steadfastly acted up to this belief, and treated the new Court as one which had no jurisdiction, i.e., had he refused to plead, appear, or obey, and taken the consequences; he could not possibly have been in a worse case than he is now; and he would not have we ikened his position by such recognition of the Court as is involved (1) in pleading; (2) in obeying as to the matters on which he does not appeal; (3) in applying to the Court for a suspension of the monition; and (4) appealing to the Judicial Committee which stands on just the same Act-ofParliament footing as the pseudo-Arches' Court. If the points as to which Mr. Ridsdale determined not to appeal were unimportant, or seemed unimportant to him, (though we do not admit this) it would have been far better to discontinue them before the case came on for hearing; the decks should be cleared of lumber before the action begins. We hope that the spirit in which Mr. Ridsdale's approach towards compliance has been met by the ex-Judge of the Divorce Court, will be a warning to all who may be attacked, neither to plead before, nor to ask favours from him and his pseudo-ecclesiastical Court, but to make up their minds that there is neither justice nor mercy for consistent High Churchmen in these days, and that the only way to combat the Public Worship Regulation Act is that by which the noble-hearted Bishops and Priests of Germany are combating the Falk Laws, viz., by suffering under it until God arises and His enemies are scattered.

CANON CARTER'S recent letter to the Guardian will have been read with interest. It was refused admission by the Times, though intended to correct obvious falsehoods and deliberate mis-statements made in that journal. This indi

cates that the position taken up by the Canon is only too true; and that a knowledge of the truth is feared. If some of our other "great leaders," who are silently skulking in holes and corners, would only come out and co-operate with the Rector of Clewer in resisting Erastianism, some good might yet be done. We observe,-and it is a curious and notable fact,that the Rector's assertions and arguments are identical with those of another writer on the subject of the new Court; we mean the well-abused "Presbyter Anglicanus."

THE

mass of glittering gilt,-by which every artistic excellence in effect is altogether lost. What with figures in bronze with a hat and feathers, and figures in brass on a prancing steed, making an obsequious bow to the Moon, and figures like gilt gingerbread in calm repose, we believe that, if the Prince could only see these brazen absurdities in all their hideous deformity, he would (if it were possible in his present state,) go clean out of his mind. In a northern city there is one dark bronze representation of him-poor man! -where he looks like a self-conscious but warlike nigger, in a cocked hat and Wellington boots, sitting in a registered stove. The energetic Mayor, who got the figure up, was knighted by the Queen at its unveiling, instead of being imprisoned for life, as he deserved. However, now that about sixty images have been erected, cannot some one advise Her Most Gracious Majesty to allow the Prince's obvious virtues to be henceforward commemorated in some other manner?

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HE tactics pursued by Archbishop Tait with regard to the last meeting of Convocation at Westminster, will not bear investigation. Private disappointment and secretly expressed indignation on the part of Proctors (who grumble, and go home again,) do not always come before the public. If they did, Churchmen in general would sometimes speak out more plainly than is the case, and make their voices heard. As it is, many feeble Churchmen-trembling in abject silence-seem to act more like whipped curs than men of principle and spirit. The Archbishop is personally THE want of a policy evidenced by the leaders of absolute as regards the Lower House, and what work it the Radical Ritualists was never more obvious than now. undertakes; and by manipulating the Prolocutor and his Even their own better-instructed followers feel this sorely, assessors, he can stifle discussion; or so arrange matters when pressed, but cannot secure a hearing in public. If our that, when much good and necessary work has been done at readers desire to make out the points for themselves, let them a great cost of time and labour, the whole of the results carefully read the documents given in another page under the can be swept away and brought altogether to nought. This, head of " Indications of Current Opinions." Mr. Huff's calm as regards the Burials' Bill and the Final Court of Appeal, and argumentative retort upon the illogical assertions of a his Grace cleverly succeeded in accomplishing. The penny contemporary; and the scathing criticism of Mr. Morning Post (part of a recent article in which we quote in Mackonochie's consistency, from the pen of a Rector, will another column) states the difficulty temperately, and puts be read with several painful and prolonged sighs. the blame on the right shoulders. If Convocation, by the Archbishop's secret action, is thus made to appear to stultify itself and render the work of its most able members wholly impotent, the Archbishop, and not the Lower House, should be properly credited with the tactics, by which such a base policy becomes temporarily triumphant.

IT
is reported, though we are unable to vouch for the
accuracy of the report, that a quasi-Concordat has been
satisfactorily arranged between the Bishop of London and the
clergy of St. Alban's, Holborn,-on the basis of accepting
the present and existing type of public service, as both
reasonable and moderate. If so, we hold that the exact terms

ARCHBISHOP TAIT'S " Ecclesiastical Offices' and Fees of the Concordat ought to be published: for they would be

Bill" is another long step in further Erastianizing the National Church. Under the plea of abolishing useless offices, it really provides for the payment of our modern Tom Cromwell-Lord Penzance-who is to receive the proceeds of the sale of new Lambeth-Office stamps. These will have to be purchased by those foolish flics who deliberately walk into

the spider's parlour. The Bill also practically abolishes the ordinary jurisdiction of Archdeacons, while (as Archdeacon Denison points out,) it efficiently robs them right and left. Now, however, that all Episcopal jurisdiction has been resigned and centred by "law" in the new Judge, it certainly does seem altogether superfluous that any inferior person, like an Archdeacon, should possess any. Convocation, of course, has not been consulted by Dr. Tait-another prelatic snub, which no doubt the Proctors and others will take with their usual admired humility.

OUR

UR statement which follows may be denied; but we are assured by some who ought to know, that a scheme excogitated by Archbishop Tait and Dean Stanley, under high patronage, is about to be floated for the interchange of pulpits of those who may wish to make such an interchange, between the clergy of the Established Communions of England and Scotland. At present there are some considerable legal difficulties in the way; but the aid of Parliament is to be invoked for their removal; and no doubt, sooner or later, the scheme will take effect. Convocation will not be consulted, and the wishes, likes, or dislikes of the Scotch Episcopalians will be simply ignored. When the Saturday Review and the Guardian recently fell foul of the Archbishop's extraordinary Reunion speech in Convocation, they evidently did not in the least comprehend its purport and undercurrent. The Times, in a mysterious and "communicated" leader, showed that it owned better information. Mr. Isambard Brunel could, if he would, throw a little light on the subject.

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very interesting, for instance, to the congregations of St. Matthias's South Brompton, St. Peter's, Old Gravel-lane, and St. Mary Magdalene's, Paddington.

AFORCIBLY-WRITTEN pamphlet, in the form of a Letter to a Clergyman, has just reached us, somewhat startlingly entitled "The Discipline of Christ and the Discipline of Devils; " and a more seasonable or incisive production we have seldom read. It is a masterly statement of the situation; and specially concerns the benumbed authorities of the E.C.U. and the Donnybrook-fair leaders of Radical Ritualism. It came too late for detailed comment; but shall be noticed at length in our next issue. Who may be its author we know not-but he is evidently a man of vigour, independence and power.

The Catholic Revival at Home.

SUNDAY CONFERENCES.-At St. Stephen's, South Kensington, a series of Conferences are being held on Sunday afternoons. The first took place on Sunday week, when the Rev. Malcolm MacColl spoke on the Priesthood of the Laity," and last Sunday the Rev. E. L. Cutts, on The Church in the Nation."

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THE S.P.C.K.-On Tuesday at the meeting of the S.P.C.K. Canon Girdlestone's resolution, which practically censured the Tract Committee, and which affirmed no expression used by the Church of Rome should be admissible in tracts, was negatived by 52 to 14. £2,000 was granted to the Diocese of Melbourne, and £500 for educational purposes to the Diocese of Calcutta, besides a number of other grants.

THE BISHOP OF LINCOLN'S RETORT.--The following letter appeared iu last Saturday's Standard:-" Sir,-Mr. Osborne Morgan is reported to have animadverted on some language of mine, in his recent speech in Parliament on the law of burial. It so happens that my words, denounced publicly by him, were little else than a translation of what was said, in a similar manner, by one of the greatest Bishops of Christendom in the fourth century, St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan. It is an honour to be censured in such company.-C. LINCOLN."

LENT LECTURES.-On Thursday the Dean of Lichfield commenced a course of Lenten lectures in the parish church of Wokingham, specially title of the course is "The Service of God in Daily Life," and the intended for the educated classes in the town and neighbourhood. The lectures are given at three o'clock on Thursday afternoons. The subjects are "Christians a Holy Priesthood," by the Dean of Lichfield;

"Music," by the Rev. H. Shute; "Conversation, its Danger and Responsibilities," by Archdeacon Purey-Cust; "Mental Culture," by the Master of Wellington College; "Home Influence," by the Rev. W. F. Norris; "Habits," by the Rev. T. A. Warburton.

THE FOLKESTONE CASE.-It is announced that there will be an interlocutory appeal to the Privy Council in the Ridsdale case, praying for a suspension of the monition in the pseudo-Arches' Court in the case of those things as to which there is an appeal. Pending the appeal Mr. Ridsdale bas discontinued celebrations of the Blessed Eucharist in his church. In announcing this to his congregation on Sunday week he urged them to avail themselves of the opportunity of communicating at other churches, and, with several of the congregation, he went to St. Michael's for that purpose.

THE BRIGHTON BRANCH OF THE E.C.U. AND THE CLIFTON COMMUNION CASE. The following resolution has been forwarded to the Bishop of Chichester:-"That this meeting views with indignation and alarm the judgment of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the case of Jenkins v. Cook,' whereby one accused of an Ecclesiastical offence has been admitted to Holy Communion by other than an Ecclesiastical Court, and respectfully asks the Lord Bishop of the Diocese to take any steps he may think advisable to protest against such a wresting of the custody of the sacraments from the hands of the Church, by which the commission of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has been grossly and outrageously set at naught."

CATHEDRAL ORNAMENTATION.-The Bristol correspondent of the Pall Mall Gazette, writing on the 7th inst., says: "Another ecclesiastical difficulty has occurred at Bristol. In the restoration works of the nave of the cathedral now going on, a new porch, the gift of Mr. Wait, M.P., is being added. Over the entrance is a cluster of figures in bas-relief, to which attention has been called by correspondents of the local newspapers. The great objection is to one of the four figures, which represent the Fathers of the Church. They are St. Jerome, St. Gregory, St. Augustine, and St. Ambrose; and St. Gregory is represented with a tiara, the figure being, in fact, an exact counterpart of one of Pope Gregory, now being erected at the new Roman Catholic Cathedral at Clifton. The facts having been brought to the notice of the Dean of Bristol, Dr. Elliot, he has written home from Nice, crdering the work to be stopped until his return."

A BOLD CLERGYMAN.-The Bishop of Rochester, having given notice of legal proceedings against the Rev. A. Tooth, of St. James's, Hatcham, for certain "ritualistic" observances Mr. Tooth has addressed a Letter to the Bishop, in which he observes that he knows nothing of, and cannot acknowledge, any authority under the Public Worship Regulation Act; that it is a measure which has never been accepted by the Church, and that it was hurriedly passed by the influence of the bishops in a "mixed parliament of every possible religion, or of no religion, and wholly in disregard of a resolution of the Lower House of Convocation of Canterbury and York." In conclusion Mr. Tooth says "In reference to the papers I have received, and the proposed proceedings under the Public Worship Regulation Act, it may be well to say that I am unable to admit its jurisdiction. I feel it would be inconsistent to plead before the judge. I do not propose to defend myself nor to obey when condemned."

CHURCHES RESTORED.—The parish church of Newton-Poppleford, a small ancient edifice, built in the fourth year of Edward III. by Hugh Courtenay, Earl of Devon, has undergone a much-needed restoration. The building has been lengthened some twenty feet. The east window is the gift of the vicar's wife, and represents the Crucifixion. In the tower, or west window, are figures representing St. Luke (to whom the church is dedicated) and St. John, the gift of the vicar, the Rev. Reginald Worth. The organ is the gift of two clergy men. On the day of reopening the clergy and choir walked in procession to the church singing hymns; the service was choral, and the Bishop of Exeter was the preacher. The parish church of St. Andrew, Turvin, a parish where much fighting took place between the Royalist and parliamentary troops, has been restored and reopened. A striking feature of the church is the tower, the depths of the window and doorways being about three feet.The parish churches of Summerton and Gainsborough have been restored and reopened, the former by the Bishop of Oxford, the latter by the Archdeacon of Stow.

THE CLIFTON COMMUNION CASE.-The Privy Council having decided that the Rev. Flavel Cook, Rector of Christ Church, Clifton, acted wrongly in refusing the Communion to one of his parishioners, named Jenkins, who had denied the Personality of the Devil, Mr. Cook has resigned his living rather than communicate one whom he considers an Unbeliever. The living is in the hands of the Simeon Trustees. Mr. Jenkins has since received the Blessed Sacrament from Mr. Cook's curate. The Rev. A. D. Wagner, Vicar of St. Paul's, Brighton, preaching at the district parish church, referred to this case. He said he deplored the power of the Privy Council to interfere in matters of faith and doctrine, admired the conduct of a clergyman who preferred to resign his living rather than conform to the judgment of such an authority, and hoped that any one similarly circumstanced would emulate such an example. On the other hand, the Rev. Dr. Irons, in a sermon explanatory of the Commination Service, expressed his opinion that Mr. Cook had acted wrongly in the matter. It was only to notorious evil livers the parish priest was to refuse Communion, he had nothing to do with the private opinions held by individuals. He deplored that clergymen were not better informed on these points, remarking that had Mr. Cook been properly instructed by his Bishop when he was being prepared for the priesthood he would have saved himself, his family, and the Church generally much anxiety and distress.

ST. MARY WOOLNOTH.-For some time past the Post Office authorities have been trying to effect a purchase of this church, with the adjoining rectory (which they now rent at a sum of £1,000 a year), in order to erect on the site a large branch office. Much dissatisfaction has been

expressed at the proposal, which appears now to be abandoned, and the church has just undergone a thorough restoration, and has been reopened, the Archdeacon of London officiating on the occasion. The restoration includes the substitution of low oak benches in place of the old high pews, the removal of the galleries, reading desk, the clerk's desk, and the shifting of the pulpit (which has been considerably lowered) from the south to the north side. A chancel has been formed fitted with choir stalls, and laid with rich encaustic tiles. The altar has been raised, and is furnished with a pair of handsome candlesticks, cross, and vases of flowers. The church is rich in carved oak work, all of which has been retained, the lectern and stalls being made from it. These alterations in the fabric of the church have resulted in certain improvements in the service. The choristers are now vested in surplices, the boys in purple cassocks also. The service on the reopening of the church was choral (excepting that part of the Communion Office which follows the prayer for the Church Militant-which was plain, and at this point the choir boys were conducted out of the church by the curate), and was sung to Gregorian tones; the Canticles, as arranged by Dr. Stainer, and the Psalms to Helmore's notation, the whole congregation joining most heartily in it. Bishop Piers Claughton was the preacher, and in his sermon remarked that those who were frightened to go as far as the Prayer Book were spiritual cowards, whilst those who went beyond it were spiritual traitors. There is daily Matins and Evensong, short mid-day services on Wednesdays and Fridays, and the church is open all day for private devotion. In this, as in other cases were the services are bright and hearty, the congregations are large.

THE RECTOR OF CLAYDON SPEAKING OUT.-We cull the following brave and true utterance from a Lecture recently delivered by the Rev. George Drury at Ipswich:-"What Protestant will ever promote a Churchman if he can help it, and who can tell the amount of scheming that must have been practised in order to secure to their party twentyfour bishops out of the twenty-eight "on the bench," nearly all of them inferior men, remarkable for neither sanctity, piety, nor knowledge of theology, all of them party men of the most extreme colour (purple black), and all patrons or encouragers of the so-called Church Association, a joint stock persecution company for getting rid of rivals and other objectionable persons, the principles of which are precisely similar to those of the Society of the Assassins, founded by Hassan Sabah in the 'dark ages' (the end of the 11th century), but far more cowardly in the destruction of its victims, because whereas the Assassins were required to yield implicit obedience to the mandates of their chiefs and without inquiry or hesitation to plunge their daggers into the bosom of whatever losing their own lives, but our modern Associationists, who have already victim was pointed out to them,' there was a certain amount of danger of brought about the death of John Purchas and threaten to ruin all English priests who are faithful to God and their Church become members of their Society without the slightest risk of life or limb, by merely sending a note or cheque to the Secretary; nothing can be more easy or safe, but was there ever a more diabolical and cowardly conspiracy instituted by the malice of men? And will not the contrivers of it as surely perish by their own inventions, as did those of the guillotine? Moreover, these bishops, these guardians of the flock, in view of disestablishment, have been careful to obtain new or restored palaces, and a retiring pension for themselves, and have induced Parliament to establish a new Archiepiscopal Court to enforce upon the clergy of the National Church as law all the private opinions of the chief archbishop, while the salary of the judge is paid by the victims themselves."

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MR. HINGSTON-RANDOLPH, RECTOR OF RINGMORE, ON THE NEW LAMBETH COURT.- We quote the following because of its inherent excellence:"What is this Court? Poor Lord Penzance evidently felt a little queer when he found himself about to deliver judgment. So he made a sort of apology for himself and for his position. It is no new court, he tells us: it is still the old Court of Arches, the only difference being that they have made a bogie' carriage, by joining two courts, York and Canterbury, together, and have greased the rusty old wheels well, so as to go comfortably round the sharp curves which tried the old-fashioned engines so abominably. So it is not a new court! All I can say is that the hands may be the hands of Esau, but the voice is Jacob's voice! I am under the impression that the last Dean of the Arches, Phillimore by name, died (judicially) because his court died. And as to the exDivorce Judge' (as you very properly call him), and his Apologia,' all I can say is that when I had finished reading it, I said to myself Qui s'excuse s'accuse!' And I imagine that most plaindealing Englishmen will be of opinion that the Court was really created by the Act, as it certainly never existed before; and that it is part of the machinery prepared, under Mr. Disraeli's patronage, for putting down Ritualism.' The fact that the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have appointed the new Judge, under the provisions of the Act, only makes matters worse. For, whatever it ought to be, or whatever it may be hereafter, it is certain that, now, our Constitution is a Constitution in Church and State;' and I am quite unable to see that a Court can be constitutionally created, against the formal protest, and, therefore, of course, entirely without the concurrence, of an integral part of the Constitution. The Church is not represented in the Constitution by such Bishops as happen for the time being to have seats in the House of Lords, still less by a couple of Archbishops; but by her own Convocations, in which her prelates have their own proper place, and apart from which they have no business to join in, still less to initiate legislation in her name. Lord Penzance, therefore, may rest satisfied that, whatever he may say, the majority of sound English Churchmen will regard him as a new Judge of a new Court, the erection of which is a direct invasion of the liberties of the Church by the temporal power, aggravated exceedingly, instead of palliated, by the complicity of certain 'Lords over God's heritage.' As to Mr. Disraeli's share in the business, he is probably sorry enough for it by this time; but I can promise him that we shall neither forgive it nor forget it till he has repented and publicly recanted. The clergy worked hard for him at the last General Election, and voted for him almost to a man; he must not expect us to do it again!"

FRAGMENTA.-The Lord Chancellor has presented the Rev. E. J. A. FitzRoy, editor of the John Bull, to the living of Abberton, Essex. It is worth about £400 per annum.-The Bishop of Salisbury has convened a general Synod of his Diccese to be held in the Chapter House on April 27th and 28th.-We hear that the Denbigh reredos case will come on for hearing almost immediately in the pseudo-Arches' Court.-A successful Mission has been held at Northampton and Lincoln, the attendance of men of all classes being very remarkable. The Bishops of Peterborough and Lincoln have taken a personal part in them.-In the Diocese of Gloucester and Bristol no prosecution under the P.W.R.A. has as yet taken place. This appears to have displeased the Bishop, and he has accordingly issued a ('ommission to inquire into any excess of Ritual practised in churches in his Diocese with a view to the prosecution of some unfortunate victim. It is hoped thus to bring within the clutches of the ex-Judge of the Divorce Court a clergyman whose church is largely attended by a fashionable congregation, where the alms are liberal, and the services frequent and hearty.-The Rev. Harry Jones, Rector of St. George's-in-the-East, in giving notice of the services to be held in his church on Ash-Wednesday, stated that the Commination Service would be used, and added, "It is a Service I utterly detest."A lady has offered £10,000 for the endowment of the proposed Bishopric of Liverpool.-In most Cathedrals the alms given at the offertory are disgracefully small, but such is not the case at Lichfield Cathedral, where considerably over £2,000 is collected every year, and various charities are thus liberally aided.-The Dean of Norwich is concluding the series of "Lectures on the Lord's Prayer" on the Tuesday evenings in Lent, which he commenced in St. Paul's Cathedral last year. Each service consists of a collect, one hymn, the lecture, the Miserere, and the final part of the Commination Service, altogether occupying about one hour.The aged Dean of Bangor is seriously ill. Faint hopes are entertained of his recovery.-The Bishop of Winchester has finally left "Winchester House." St. James's-square, which is now empty and unsold.-The Rev. J. P. Kane is preaching a very powerful series of Lenten sermons on Sunday mornings at All Saints, Lambeth.-The Rev. Sydney Turner, who some three months ago was appointed to succeed Dr. McNeile in the Deanery of Ripon, has been compelled to resign in consequence of ill-health.

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One of the principal topics of discussion here just now is, of course, Lord Salisbury's new scheme of University Reform. Great fault is found with various points in the Bill, and petitions against them are being organized. In some quarters the chief fear seems to be that the Bill will be too Conservative in its operation. The points to which special exception is taken are the exemption of Headships from the operation of the Bill, the length of time allowed to the Commission, the numbers and authority of the Commissioners to be appointed by the several colleges, and the general vagueness of the provisions of the Bill throughout. The suggestion made by your contemporary, the Guardian, in favour of including education amongst the objects to be kept in view by the Commissioners, meets with very general approval. But in Conservative circles it is felt that it would be most desirable that colleges should be encouraged to make such a use of their funds as may be generally beneficial to the University by the creation of Professorships or other offices within their own societies. Conservatives are, however, strongly of opinion that funds are not to be diverted from the separate corporations and paid over to the University chest.

The title proposed for Her Majesty, of "Empress of India," is viewed with very general dislike by historical students; and the prospect of hearing it recited in the Bidding Prayer at St. Mary's has been especially animadverted upon by one of no mean historical reputation in the University.

Oxford is feeling very hopeful as to her prospects in the boat race. The turn in the tide of her fortunes coincided with the Conservative reaction. May both of these continue to flow side by side for many years to come! Mr. D. Plunket Barton, of Corpus, the Secretary of the (Tory) Canning Club, and the recognized leader of the Conservative party at the Union, was last week elected Treasurer of the Union Society by an overwhelming majority.

Yesterday (Sunday) the Lord Bishop of Derry and Raphoe (the Right Rev. Dr. Alexander) delivered the first of his Bampton Lectures. His lordship's discourse, the text of which was taken from Ps. xxii., was most eloquent, and was listened to by an overflowing congregation. His lordship stated that the subject of the Bampton Lectures for this year would be "The Witness of the Psalms to Christianity." In the afternoon Dr. Gifford, of St. John's College, Cambridge, preached an interesting and learned sermon on the subject appointed for the day by a benefaction-the Jewish Interpretation of Prophecy.

On Wednesday last the Rev. Mr. Magrath, Fellow of Queen's College, and the Rev. Mr. Henderson, Fellow of Wadham College, were elected Proctors for the ensuing year by their respective societies, and, according to the usual custom, will enter upon their office next Term.

VISCOUNT ST. ASAPH ON SPANISH POLITICS.

We quote the following letter from last Saturday's Tablet. It is from the pen of Viscount St. Asaph :

SIR,-I feel sure that I may reckon upon your impartiality to allow me the privilege of saying a few words in reply to the article headed, "The Crisis of the Struggle in Spain," which appeared in the Tablet of Saturday, Feb. 26.

The author of that arti le, speaking of the Carlist rising, asserts that "from the first it was a hopeless adventure." That it might well have appeared to be so at the first I will not deny, since it is plain that the thirty-two peasants of Navarre, armed only with sticks, who, on the 3rd

of May, 1872, welcomed Don Carlos at the frontier, and proclaimed him their king, did not constitute a force exactly calculated to inspire a very lively faith in the result of their enterprise. But when it is remembered that, thanks to the personal qualities of Don Carlos himself, to the skill of his generals, and to the admirable devotion of his people, this little band had within four years grown into an army of 100,000 men; that the provinces occupied by them enjoyed all the advantages of a regularly organised administration, and possessed two military schools, several manufactories of arms, and a mint for coining money, it is difficult to understand how a cause which made such rapid progress, and in so short a space of time realised such immense results, can fairly be described as a hopeless adventure. I venture to maintain, on the contrary, that so long as the Government of Marshal MacMahon observed a strict neutrality between the contending parties, King Charles VII. and his advisers were justified in nourishing more than a hope, almost a certainty, of ultimate success. But when the French Government applied itself in earnest to the task of stopping the Carlist supplies of provisions and ammunition at the frontier, furnishing at the same time ammunition and provisions to the Liberal troops, and when, finally, the latter were allowed to pass on French territory, and thus to surround in overwhelming numbers the gallant army which for nearly four years had held them at bay, then hope vanished indeed, and had Don Carlos continued the struggle for another day, he might have merited the reproach of causing useless bloodshed which the tone of your article implies throughout. But he did not do so. It may be said that Don Carlos ought to have foreseen what would happen, and this is, perhaps, true, but surely a young and chivalrous prince may be pardoned for having judged others by himself, and for having believed in the solemn promise which was made to him that under no circumstances would the Alfonsist troops be allowed to cross French territory. Had this promise been kept, Don Carlos, instead of being an exile in London, would have been now at the head of his army, not, in all probability, fighting his way to Madrid, but maintaining his position in the Northern Provinces, where he might have continued to reign as King until such time as some new revolution in the capital should bring the whole Spanish nation to his feet.

History will certainly tell that Don Carlos was vanquished not by Don Alfonso, but by Marshal MacMahon and his government, and history will also tell how France had afterwards reason to bless the names of those who thus aided to rivet along the Pyrenean frontier the iron chain with which Germany is surrounding her, a chain forged by German military skill, and paid for with German gold, but whose disconnected links have been united by French diplomacy!

The triumph of the Alfonsist cause is the triumph of Germany and prince who for the present occupies the throne of Spain I have nothing the triumph of the Revolution. With the personal piety of the young to do, but I would like to remind those who build up hopes upon it, that the personal piety of Queen Isabella and her mother, Queen Christina, were powerless to stem the revolutionary torrent which had carried them to the summit of power. These Catholic sovereigns were compelled to take part in acts of anti-Catholic legislation which bore a striking resemGermany, excited so much just indignation. The law of 1836, by which blance to those proceedings which have more recently, in Italy and the regular orders were entirely suppressed, and that of 1841 (not carried out in toto till 1855), by which the whole property of the secular clergy was confiscated, will suffice to give the measure of the "intensely Conservative and Catholic spirit" by which your article would give us to understand that the Alfonsist party is animated. But without going back to the past, surely the present is eloquent enough, and the howl of exultation which is now being raised by the whole revolutionary and anti-Christian Press throughout the world, from the Times in all its glory down to the lowest mouth-piece of the Revolution in Brussels or Geneva, is a sufficient proof that in the defeat of Don Carlos the Church has received another heavy blow, and the Revolution achieved another triumph. There is nothing suprising in this general cry of jubilation, but I must with all deference, and in all courtesy, ask you to allow me to say that as a Catholic Englishman I am intensely astonished and deeply deplore that such a chorus should be swelled by the voice of the leading organ of the English Catholics. I cannot but trust that the attitude taken up by your paper is the result of a misapprehension, and that when his Majesty King Charles VII. again unfurls, as he oue day will, his flag inscribed with the words "Dios, Patria y Rey," the Tablet will be found on his side, mindful that its own motto is "Pro Ecclesia Dei, pro Rege et Patria."-I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant,

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