Page images
PDF
EPUB
[blocks in formation]

MEN of position and knowledge of Continental affairs are asking "Are we to have an era of peace?" There are certainly some signs of returning amity, but how far may they be relied on? The Prince Royal of Prussia has been received with marked cordiality at Vienna. The defeated Hapsburg has embraced the victorious Hohenzollern, and the ex-Kaiser seems to be in so forgiving and gentle a mood that a report is now current, and generally believed, that having taken to his bosom the Prince who stripped him of supremacy in Germany, he means to embrace the Robber-King who turned him out of Italy. It is stated as certain that, upon his return from Constantinople and Egypt, Francis Joseph will call upon Victor Emmanuel at Naples. But there is also a concurrent report, much believed in, that all this fraternization means treachery and hostility to France, and that it is the result of combinations conceived when Rumour represented the health of the French Emperor as extremely precarious. It would argue infinite baseness on the part of the Austrian Emperor and the King of Italy to combine with Prussia against the Emperor Napoleon, who saved one from annihilation and enriched the other with sundry fair territories: but that consideration should not make us reject the report as incredible. On the other hand, the Russian Press is warmly recommending an entente cordiale between France and Russia. The Russians, who never liked the Prussians, are becoming jealous at the rapid strides to empire which Prussia has made within three years, and rather uneasy at the creation of a German navy under Prussian control in the Baltic. This consideration might be enough to induce Russia to ally herself to France, and to aid France in wresting the Rhenish provinces from Prussia without insisting upon Constantinople as her own recompense, at least for the present. At all events, these are signs that induce us to fear that an immediate disbandment of the great Continental armies is out of the question.

What some enthusiastic people call "the bone and sinew" of our country, but what we should more properly term by a far less complimentary epithet, met together in Hyde Park last Sunday, to the number, as the Standard declares, of one hundred thousand. This was evidently a moral-or rather an immoral-demonstration against the powers that be. The agitators themselves, if there was any authority remaining, would, in a well-ordered state, be put into confinement at once as enemies of social order, and pests of Society. This will not happen, however, until London, or parts of it, have been given up to the tender mercies of such a mob for eightand-forty hours. Then it is just possible a dawn of common sense, may break in upon our rulers, that is, upon those who are not candidates for the Dictatorship. For the present Mr.

[ocr errors]

Gladstone and Mr. Bright, who were both strongly in favour of granting a political amnesty, have been notoriously checkmated by the superior common sense of their less Radical colleagues in the Cabinet; but how long that will last if the meetings as threatened become a weekly institution, no one can predicate. Let the Fenian and " Reforming leaders bawl and bellow with a little more vigour and frequency, let the sedition and blasphemy be-if possible, which we doubt -even more highly-spiced and revolting than it was last Sunday, and King Mob will soon seat himself on the throne of St. Edward, or else clect a representative to sit there and do his bidding. Men may be blind, and they may refuse to see, but with such rank social disorder as is now tolerated and worshipped, the dark day of Anarchy, Bloodshed, and Revolution cannot be very far off. In France there was little or no warning in 1798. The horrors broke out quite suddenly. So it will be here. We are quite aware that such is an extremely ugly subject for contemplation; but better far to contemplate it in time than to have to endure the curse of it for a

season.

meeting, having evidently ordered its reporter to make sport The Times, with short-sighted folly, pooh-poohs the of the speakers, and carefully "doctor" their speeches. But a paper which openly lauded to the skies such a ruffianly anarchist as Garibaldi, and which employed Gallenga on its staff, should not be astonished if the bone and sinew". as Mr. Gladstone termed them, "our own flesh and blood ". learns the lesson then taught with regard to other nations, and puts it into practice at home. If so, God have mercy upon us.

[ocr errors]

.or

Six days before Lord Derby's death, when first it was rumoured that his illness was likely to prove fatal, Dr. Forbes of Dundec-with a random eagerness and indecent haste which cannot be too sufficiently reprobated, bad taste in a layman, but worse in a clergyman-arrogated to himself the work of nominating a successor in the Chancellorship of the University of Oxford. This unfeeling suggestion, which appropriately appeared in Mr. Gladstone's Wednesday organ, has given much annoyance to many of the late Earl's intimate friends, and was certainly not that kind of painful performance which anyone would have imagined could have been perpetrated by so polished and elegant a person as the Bishop of Brechin. By this time we trust he can say "Dum religo, scripsisse pudet."

may

We note that both the John Bull and the Globe, scrambling after Dr. Forbes' pilot-balloon, have apparently settled between themselves that Lord Salisbury is to be the new Chancellor. It may be so, but if the Tories wish properly to honor Lord Derby's memory, which they profess to do, they might surely select one of Lord Derby's party. Whatever Lord Salisbury he is, he is certainly not that. be-and it would puzzle some persons to declare what and efficient men amongst the late Chancellor's personal and Were there any lack of able political allies the John Bull and the Globe, our co-Dictators, might have reasonably wandered to the cross benches or to those below the gangway to find a fitting successor to him. But this is not the case. The Duke of Marlborough, Lord Stanhope, Lord Malmesbury and Lord Beauchamp--all wellknown members of previous Conservative governments-would, either of them, by their rank and abilities, properly fill the position; whilst amongst existing political hybrids, Lord Harrowby, Lord Lothian, and Lord Carnarvon, (the present High Steward,) might, according to the opinion of some, reasonably enter into competition for the honor. For ourselves we discountenance haste in the selection, and warn our readers against pledging themselves to any candidate. The idea of Mr. Gladstone being put forward is only an idea: or possibly a grim joke of the Globe to remind the Oxford Radicals of their total defeat.

Both in England and Ireland some of our leading Bishops have been delivering their Charges: and all have had much to say thoroughly worth listening to. Archbishops Beresford and Trench have indeed an arduous and difficult work before them. All the more necessary is it, therefore, that they should receive the sympathy and co-operation of their brethren, the Clergy, in England. When Mr. Gladstone with his Rationalistic, Dissenting, Popish, and Ritualistic allies-was robbing the Irish Church and abolishing the Eighth Commandment, the exulting delight of the Ritualistic Radicals knew no bounds. Gross falseholds, borrowed from the Nonconformist and Weekly Register, were artfully circulated as Gospel, and the silly youths who perpetrate external antics in Church, believed them. Irishmen, who to their shame reviled the Church of their country, would have found it a hard task to have substantiated a sixtieth part of the misrepresentations put forth concerning it. By such means as these the powers of the "robbers of Churches" were augmented. And this conduct is not unreasonably felt very keenly by a highminded and sensitive people. The Archbishop of Armagh puts forth words of truth and wisdom. His Grace truly declares" We have not to construct a Creed or erect a new Church, or invent an ecclesiastical polity. Our Creed remains in its native truth and purity, resting unshaken upon its Divine foundations; our Church is the same in all vital and essential points as it was when planted by the zeal of the triumphant Missionary upon the broken altars of pagan idolatory; and our ecclesiastical polity has its fixed and settled principles, and only requires to be carefully and wisely adap ed, with as little disturbance as possible, to a new state of things, not of a spiritual, but of a temporal nature. To bring our proceedings to a successful issue we must exercise the most unprejudiced reflection and dispassionate judgment; we must be animated by a spirit of forbearance, of mutual love and concord." Archbishop Trench, in referring to the Church Disestablishment Act, said most truly that they could not but regret that the House of Lords (although more for their own sake thanfor the Church) did not from the first declare their inability to do anything effectual on the Church's behalf. Had they avowed from the beginning that they were but as the porcelain jar, and the House of Commons the iron vessel, and that a collision between the two must, at any sacrifice, be avoided, one might have regretted that their real power was not more commensurate with that which the theory of the Constitution assigned to them, but none could have been so unreasonable as to find fault with the weak for owning themselves such. It was a pity they promised so much and performed so little. It excited a painful surprise to see the manner in which the House of Lords gave way, amid the mutual congratulations of its members, and as though they were accomplishing a feat the most glorious, everybody extolling everybody else, the consciousness of having extricated itself from a position of embarrassment rousing in it a delight intense enough to swallow up every thought of the poor Irish Church at the expense of which this extrication had been effected. live over again," said his Grace, that memorable night, I feel that it is not we who have lost and suffered the most." This is most true. No wonder that he "was bold to prophesy that the struggle on the Irish Church Bill will be the very last in which the House of Lords will ever venture even to appear to cross or thwart the will of the House of Commons in any matter of high national significance." His Grace advised the Clergy to dismiss the idea that any considerable purse was to be made by commutation. In England the Bishops of Gloucester, Ely, and Rochester have been addressing their Clergy. At Bristol Bishop Ellicott uttered words of wisdom and worth-evidencing a correct knowledge on his Lordship's part of existing dangers. The Bishop of Ely also spoke with great power and thorough grasp of his subjects. As regards Reunion, he takes up the

[ocr errors]

"As I

[ocr errors]

thread which that noble Prelate, Bishop Hamilton only laid down in death. Must we then entrench ourselves in our isolation?" asks Bishop Browne. "Heaven forbid! We may be unable to go over at once to the Continental Churches, or to unite ourselves to dissenting bodies. But we have the advantage of standing midway between them, and may be the means under God of one day uniting them. We are both Catholic and Evangelic, and if we will be patient we may do much. Impatience is a great danger. No sound and lasting work is done hastily. But though we must wait, we must work! There is a great work-field among our poor who are sadly alienated, not only from the Church but from all religion. We must throw ourselves most fully and boldly among them open our Churches to them, adapt our Sermons and Services to them. Intemperance is a monster evil with them; and our disunion puzzles, distracts, and so alienates them altogether. With regard to Dissenters we must not sacrifice truth: we should do all we can to win them, acknowledging our own fault rather than pressing theirs." Men like these, hampered though they may be, will do a true service to our old National Church. In many respects, the Bishop of Rochester's Charge is equally good. But excellent Conservative as he is, he recommends, or seems to recommend, principles which are openly at variance with the existence of a Church teaching Divine Truth. If the Laity are to dictate to the Clergy-which he appears to imply what is to be taught, what is to be done, or what is to be left undone all order and law must come to nought. One thing, however, is certain, that only Corporate Reunion can preserve to us both Church and State, and the sooner our Bishops face the subject instead of avoiding it, the better for themselves and for us all.

[ocr errors]

If

been a bungle and a mistake from beginning to end. The The opposition to Dr. Temple's appointment has, we fear, attempted alliance between Dr. Pusey and Lord Shaftesbury was the first fatal policy: for what concord, as the apostle so Had the Church and State Society," which was formed after such properly asked, is there between light and darkness? an extravagant outlay of money, been planned by people of ordinary foresight, it might have existed now, ready for action in a crisis. But its long array of titled names-like the spectres in Macbeth-have passed away: (people did not want names but organization and action,) and now the whole concern has been long ago dead and buried. As to the meeting itself it was disorderly, ill-managed, and uninfluential. the Tories do not choose to organize themselves, and think it wise to depend on mere Puritan co-operation, they must put up with the frequently recurring inconvenience of being outwitted and checkmated by their clever opponents. A party which is anything but "stupid," but which acts stupidly, must not object to being credited with the quality, however unjustly. Furthermore if the Bishops, Deans, and Canons who were appointed by the Tories do not think it wise to defenders of the faith, and champions of Christianity? And speak out, at such a crisis, where can we reasonably look for yet such Bishops, Deans, and Canons, with the sole exception. of Dr. Mansel, are all silent and still. They are like well-fed snails which retire to their shells, in showers and storms.

Mr. Bennett, whose case is now on, owes it not only to his party (which has stood by him, and is still willing to stand by him), as well as to the whole Church of England, to explain why he refuses to appear before the chief spiritual Court of his Province. Because at present his conduct in this particular is inexplicable.

A correspondent informs us that a tract by Monsignor Capel against Anglican Orders, advertized as "Now Ready" five weeks ago, having been submitted to his superiors for their sanction, has been suppressed on account of its inaccuracy and weakness. At all events it cannot be had. It is also said its author is by command, re-writing it.

A rumour is current in Scotland, which we believe to be well-founded that the Queen will be unable, as announced, to attend the ceremony of opening the new Blackfriars Bridge and Holborn Viaduct. Her Majesty's weak state of health is the avowed reason: but the Fenian demonstrations of last Sunday, and the threatened attendance of those out of, employment are believed to have had something to do with this decision. It is stated that the Bishop of Chichester is about to place the resig nation of his See into the hands of the Prime Minister. Those high in authority in the Diocese believe that Mr. Gladstone has Her Majesty's authority to offer the position to be vacated to the Rev. Prebendary

Liddon.

The North British Review has lately passed into the hands of Sir John Acton, the well-known "Liberal" Roman Catholic. It is now edited by Mr. Thomas Wetherell of B. N. C. Oxford, who previously edited The Chronicle, a Liberal Roman Catholic newspaper which, after a short life, is said to have died of literary dulness.

The formal appointment of Dr. Temple to the See of Exeter appears in yesterday's London Gazette.

The Vev. Archdeacon G. Merriman, M.A., of New College, Oxford, who was placed in the Second Class in literis humanioribus, in Michaelmas Term, 1846, has, we are glad to learn, been unanimously elected Bishop of the Orange River State. He belongs to the family of Merriman of Marlborough and of Kensington, and is a man of very considerable ability and worth.

27. WED.

KALENDAR FOR THE WEEK.
OCTOBER.

A marriage was celebrated on Wednesday last in the choir of Salisbury Cathedral, the first which has taken place since the 1754. year The Confirmation of the election of the Bishop-designate of Salisbury took place this morning in the Church of St. Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside. Amongst those prayed for, on Thursday last, at the consecration of St. Saviour's Church, Everton, was "Edward, Earl of Derby."

The works at the Church of St. Thomas of Canterbury at Rome are progressing most satisfactorily, and before the new year it is hoped the roof will have been placed on.

than 25 adults present at the Morning Service at the Parish Church of A correspondent informs us that on Sunday last there were not more St. George's, East.

A new organ, which has been erected in the chancel of St. Mary-theGreat, Cambridge, was opened on Sunday last. The Services on the occasion were choral.

It was stated on Monday by the Earl of Devon, at a meeting of the E.C.U. at Torquay, that the Union had come to no decision in reference to Dr. Temple's appointment.

Cardinal Reisach had reached Milan by the last accounts, and was

already better for the change of air. He is obliged to travel very slowly

and is accompanied by his physician.

cates awarded by the London Committee of the University of Oxford Mr. Gathorne Hardy has consented to distribute the prizes and certifiLocal Examination, at Willis's Rooms, on Wednesday, November 3rd.

The Bishop of London has expressed his strong disapprobation of the conduct of one of his Rural Deans in officiating in an English Chapel in Scotland, where the authority of the Scotch Bishop is set at nought. Canon Girdlestone has published a letter, in which he exhorts the the law by rejecting Dr. Temple.

Vigil of SS. Simon and Jude, Violet. At Evensong, Red, Dean and Chapter of Exeter not to commit themselves to a breach of

Collect for SS. Simon and Jude.

28. THURS.

SS. Simon and Jude, Red.

29. FRID. 30. SAT.

31. SUND.

Feria, Green. Abst.

Feria, Green. Vigil of All Saints'. Fast.

Green. 23rd after Trinity, Green. At Evensong, White,
Collects (1) All Saints' (2) Of the Sunday.
NOVEMBER.

1. MON.

All Saints', White.

2. TUES.

All Souls, Black.

3. WED.

Of the Octave, White.

PREFERMENTS AND APPOINTMENTS.

The Rev. E. Austin, Rector of Honiton.

The Rev. S. Clark, Incumbent of Christ Church, Thornton.

The Rev. C. H. Everard, Composition Master of Dulwich College.

The Rev. R. B. Gardiner, Assistant Master of Dulwich College.

The Rev. C. H. Lane, Assistant Master of Dulwich College.

The Rev. Malcolm MacColl, to the Senior Curacy of St. Giles's, Camberwell.
The Rev. William Richard John Neame, to the Rectory of Tresmere, Launceston.
The Rev. W. M. Puttock, Curate in Charge of St. Philip the Evangelist, Islington.
The Rev. J. B. Parish, Principal Mathematical Master of Dulwich College.
The Rev. R. Rawle, Vicar of Tamworth.

Dr. Forbes, Bishop of Brechin, in a letter to the Guardian recommends that the Marquis of Salisbury should be chosen successor to Lord Derby as Chancellor of the University of Oxford.

The death is announced of the Hon. and Rev. Joseph Constable Maxwell, M.A., brother of the thirteenth Baron Herries. He was in holy orders in the Roman Obedience.

It is announced for the benefit of old Rugbeians that committees have been formed in Oxford, Cambridge, and London to determine the best way of expressing loving respect for Dr. Temple.

The Archbishop of York has recommended a form of prayer for private and domestic use in his Diocese and that of Carlisle for those who are about to become Bishops of the Sees now vacant.

The Bishop-Designate of Winchester expects to be able to hold an Ordination at Christmas for his new Diocese. Candidates should at once apply to him at Oxford.

The Times refused to insert the advertisement calling the meeting on Wednesday at the British Hotel to protest against Dr. Temple's appoint

The Rev. Albert Hurt Sitwell, Vicar of St. Peter's, Stepney, to the Vicarage of ment, on the ground that it was disrespectful to Mr. Gladstone!

Minster.

The Rev. John Steel, jun., to the Vicarage of Harrold, Bedfordshire.

The Rev. Robert Baker Stoney, to the Rectory of St. John's, Wednesbury.
The Rev. R. Oscar T. Thorpe, to the Incumbency of Christ Church, Camberwell.
The Rev. Wm. Vincent-Jackson, to the Perpetual Curacy of St. Stephen,
Nottingham.

The Rev. John Winter, to the Rectory of Norton Canes, Staffordshire.

Home and Foreign Church News.

A "Liberal Evangelical" in the Record defends Dr. Temple's appointment, saying, "Few greater and holier men have been consecrated." The Pall Mall Gazette suggests that Professor Maurice should be the new Dean of Ely.

Over 4,000 persons assembled at St. Michael's Church, Coventry, on the evening of Sunday week to hear Archdeacon Denison preach.

A very hearty Dedication Festival was held at Chislehurst on Thursday. The Revs. W. Denton, G. Nugee, and C. F. Lowder were amongst the speakers at the luncheon.

The Empress of the French has presented to the Armenian Church at Pera a tapestry-copy of Raphael's "Transfiguration," manufactured expressly at the Gobelins, and valued at 10,000l.

The Rev. Daniel Moore and the Rev. Daniel Wilson desire that it should be widely known that that they are not members of the same Committee as Dr. Pusey in regard to the appointment of Dr. Temple.

The anniversary Services of the Churchmen's Club at Norwich took place on Wednesday. There was an early celebration of Holy Communion at St. Andrew's, and choral Evensong at St. Peter's, with a Sermon by the Dean of Norwich.

Bishop Trower has appended his name to the memorial to the Queen against the appointment of Dr. Temple, accompanied by a subscription The Nonconformist says, that "Dr. Temple has more of the spirit of to the funds of the committee. His Lordship claims a vote in the Chapter Christianity in him than all the Record party put together."

Mr. Butterfield's design for the Cathedral at Adelaide, South Australia,
the erection of which will cost about 25,0007., has been put in hand.
The Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, Rodriguez, is dead, as well as the
Bishop of Leon, Mgr. Castello y Orviedo.

The Bishop of Peterborough has reopened the Church of Kilsby, which has been restored from designs by Mr. Christian.

The Earl of Shaftesbury has become one of the Trustees of the
Curates' Augmentation Fund.

The Dedication Festival of All Saints' Church, Lambeth, will com-
mence on Sunday evening. There will be an octave of Services.
Hymns Ancient and Modern have been introduced at St. Mark's,
Kennington.

as a sub-Dean.

[blocks in formation]

It is stated that Canon Cook, though given a Canonry, at the Earl of Shaftesbury's request, will vote for Dr. Temple's election, as will also the Prebendary returned by Conservatives to Convocation, owing to his staunch views on the Irish Church, in place of the Bishop-Elect of Oxford.

Mr. Gladstone has nominated the Rev. Edward Austin, Curate of Broughton, to the Rectory of Honiton. The Rectory of Honiton belongs to the Earl of Devon, but the Crown claims this presentation in consequence of the elevation of its Incumbent to the Episcopate.

On Sunday week the Rev. F. Pigou, "read himself in" as Vicar of

Doncaster. The Mayor and Corporation attended in state. A local paper observes that, in reading the Thirty-nine Articles "it was quite evident Mr. Pigou felt all that he uttered."

The Marquis of Bute has expressed a wish to take Holy Orders in the R.C. Communion, but the Pope strongly disapproves of the step. The Marquis has given the Holy Father a very large sum of money in the shape of "Peter's Pence."

Mr. J. R. Mowbray, M.P., has given £200 to Keble College, Oxford. The buildings are now rapidly approaching completion, and several students are already entered on the books. The College will be opened after the next long vacation.

The Parish Church of Plympton St. Maurice, Devon, has been partially restored and reopened. The parishioners objected to the removal of the pews for open benches, but allowed the pew doors to be

taken off.

The War Office at Rome have given orders for the stationing of dragoons at the railway terminuses during the months of November and December, in order to insure order and prevent accidents in consequence

of the crush attendant on the arrival of the trains.

It is stated in some of the provincial papers that a Bishop, who is not identified, has written anonymously to one of the newspapers, advising the Dean and Chapter of Exeter to elect Prebendary Mackarness instead of Dr. Temple.

The Mission Church of All Saints', Grovenor-road, Pimlico, will hold its final Services on Sunday next. the site being required for the permanent Church, which is to be a Gothic building, designed by Mr. Jolly, architect. The Services will be choral.

On Sunday, St. John's Church, Belfast, was draped in black in memory of Lord Derby. The Incumbent, in the course of his Sermon, spoke of Lord Derby's opposition to the Irish Church Bill. He believed that but for the noble Earl's exertion the Conservatives would have allowed the Bill to pass without opposition.

A legacy of 4,000f. has just been left to the Pope by a pious person in Belgium, with a prayer that the Holy Father will celebrate a Mass for the soul of his parents. 15,000f. have also been given by an anonymous donor, through the Semaine Religieuse de Cambrai, 5,000f. for the Zouaves, and 10,000f. for the Council.

A handsome pavement of encaustic tiles has been laid in the floor of the Ladye Chapel of St. Mary Redcliff Church, at the cost of the Freemasons of the city. It is composed of rough encaustic tiles of varied combinations, with rich glazes of yellow, green, and black, being partly reproductions and partly imitations of ancient examples.

A choral wedding took place at St. John's, Clapham, last Tuesday. The Vicar's daughter was the bride. The professional services of Miss Blanche Reeves, Miss Adelaide Newton, and Mr. R. Temple, were, we are told, secured for the occasion. The celebration seems to have passed off with great eclat.

The Daily News says:-" At Rochester, the Rev. F. O. Mayne, Vicar of Strood, has refused to permit the Church prayers to be said over the man who recently died while in the act of plundering a house into which he had broken, and the deceased was consequently interred without any religious Service."

A correspondent calls attention in the Lincolnshire Gazette to the neglected and mean appearance of the tomb in Lincoln Cathedral of the Lady Catherine Swinford, the third wife of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and direct ancestress of Her Majesty the Queen, who is sixteenth in descent from this lady.

St. Mary's Church, Huntingdon, was reopened on Tuesday in last week, by the Bishop of Ely, after "Alterations, modifications, and improvements," as the local journal describes it. The same paper also informs us that the chancel has been "modernised." We should doubt, however, as to this being an improvement. There was a surpliced choir, but the Service was not choral.

Archbishop Manning preached on Sunday at the French Church on devotion to the Blessed Virgin. He said that in France and other Catholic countries that devotion was practised extensively and with good result in religion, while in England, Germany, and other Protestant countries where devotion to the Blessed Virgin was not cultivated, but was rejected, there had grown up Rationalism and Infidelity.

The Master of the Temple will read the Greek Testament each day, except Saturday and Sunday, during the Law Term, beginning on Tuesday, the 2nd of November, in the Lecture-room under the library of the Middle Temple, at 8 o'clock a.m. Any graduates, whether laymen or Clergymen, will be admitted, if their names are sent to Dr. Vaughan beforehand by letter. The subject for this term will be the Epistle to the Colossians.

Some years ago the Captain of a merchant vessel gave a thank-offering of £100 to the Church of St. Philip's, Stepney. With this money the then Incumbent purchased a pair of massive altar candlesticks. Since that time they have undergone various changes-sometimes being placed on the altar-at other times carefully hidden away, according to the whims

of the various Incumbents. Now they are used as ornaments on either side of the fire-place in the Priest's vestry.

Last Thursday the Bishop of Chester consecrated a new Church in his Diocese called St. Saviour's. The cost of the edifice was £27,000, and a local paper says " there are several memorial gifts in the Church, including a beautiful font, a handsome wood pulpit, a lectern, a Communion rail, and a costly altar cloth, the latter being presented by the architect, Mr. Gordon N. Hills.”

Archbishop Manning's secretary is requested to make public the following:-1. All statements hitherto published, in respect to the intentions of the Catholic Bishops in England, are entirely destitute of foundation. 2. That, as the preparations for the Council hitherto, and its proceedings hereafter, until published by authority, are and will be under the highest obligation of silence, no such statements hereafter can

have authentic warrant.

and Rev. C. L. Courtenay, in moving a resolution in reference to an At a meeting of the E.C.U. held at South Devon on Monday, the Hon. increase in the Episcopate, suggested that the present Bishops should have power to appoint assistants to carry out the episcopal duties of their Dioceses. He thought that most of the Dioceses could be cut into three. The consecration of the Assistant Bishops should be licensed by the Crown. He would do away with Bishops in the House of Lords.

At the last monthly meeting of the London Free and Open Church Association, it was stated that efforts had been made at Croydon to render the new Church of St. John entirely free and unappropriated. A compromise had, however, been agreed to, by which, with one exception, there is to be no new assignment of seats, and as the old seatholders die out or cease to reside in the parish, or to use their sittings, they would become free.

The Kensington News is informed upon good authority that Mr. Edward Sex has directed Mr. Hewett to purchase the valuable Advowson of Rayleigh Rectory, Southend, with the view of presenting thereto the Rev. G. C. Dickinson, Senior Curate of St. George's, Hanover-square. The present Rector is anxious to dispose of the property in consequence of the sudden death by drowning of his eldest son.

Dean Close has addressed the Times on the appointment to Exeter. He is indignant that it should ever have been supposed that he was capable of uniting with Dr. Pusey. He dislikes Dr. Temple as much as anybody can do, but (he says), "I cannot see the wisdom or consistency of joining with the chief representatives of one class of error in order to put down another." The Dean "sincerely regrets that even for a good and common purpose" any union of High and Low Churchmen should have been effected.

Two painted windows have recently been placed in the Church of Butler's Marston, to the memory of the late Rev. George Fuller Thomas, for twenty-two years Vicar of the parish. The subjects selected are window in the Church is an offering from the widow and relatives of the "The Good Shepherd" and "The Good Samaritan." The one light late Vicar. The subject is "Our Saviour breaking bread with the two disciples at Emmaus." The Church was restored by Mr. Thomas shortly before his death.

the Archbishop of York, Mr. Hunt, the editor of a daily Radical paper, At a Church Conference held at Hull last week, and presided over by said he thought it would be for the advantage of religion if all religious papers were at once exterminated. He thought an exception might perhaps be made in favour of the Guardian and the John Bull. At Creed might be omitted as it was given in a less dry form in the Te the same meeting another speaker said he thought that the Nicene Deum. He would also omit the Athanasian Creed.

A private letter from a French Missionary Priest in Syria. to a friend in London, states that, from the different Oriental Churches in communion with the Holy See, four Patriarchs, six Archbishops, and about forty Bishops will proceed very shortly to Rome, in order to be present at the Ecumenical Council. These Prelates belong to the Catholic Armenian, the Greek Catholic (or United Greek), the Maronite, and the Catholic Syrian rites. They are all subjects of Turkey, and the number does not include some dozen cr fourteen Bishops of the United Greek Church, whose Sees are situated on the Austrian dominions, nor those of the same rite whose unfortunate lot is cast in Russia.

A correspondent of the Weekly Register thus writes regarding one of the R. C. organs:-"If the literary power of the criticisms in the Dublin Review cannot compass a greater breadth of view than it at present reaches, it would be far better for the interests of the Church if we had no such review at all. We Catholics may get the credit of being very wise, if we will only hold our tongues; but if we come out in the line of literature, and immediately degenerate into the narrowest and most overweening self-conceit, we shall merely succeed in making ourselves the laughing-stock of those who know what a literary journal of high mark is, and ought to be."

A letter has been received by Captain Vivian, M.P., from Mr. Gladstone, in answer to a memorial from the Clergy of West Cornwall in reference to the proposed new Bishopric. The Premier writes:-" I will not fail to bring the subject of it before my colleagues. The new

Bishop, you may rely upon it, will not place any undue obstacle in the way of the division of the Diocese. But there are other difficulties. The funds of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners are all appropriated, I believe, by Parliament. Local contributions might perhaps be deemed necessary as a proof of local desire. And lastly, the mind of the Church, so to speak, does not seem to be clearly made up on the question what should be the status of new Bishops."

Lord Shaftesbury, in a letter to the Record, in which he declines to be joined with Dr. Pusey in the same Committee, to avert the appointment of Dr. Temple to the See of Exeter, says: "I have received some anonymous letters, rebuking me for my association, however limited, with Dr. Pusey. I have said before, and I say again, that I shall ever be willing to join with him in whatever I am conscientiously of opinion can subserve the cause of Christ. The e gentlemen or ladies, as the case may be, seem to think that there is no danger to the Church or to religion but from Tractarian excesses. I presume to differ from that learned person on many doctrines of vital importance; but I will always maintain that the able, pious, and sincere author of the Lectures on the Book of Daniel is entitled to the respect and admiration of every believer in God's Word."

On Sunday evening, at All Saints', Lambeth, the Vicar, Dr. F. G. Lee, preaching from the text "Thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age," Genesis xv. 15, referred to the great loss which the country had sustained by the death of Lord Derby. After alluding to the changes which death makes in the humblest circle, he pointed out how the deceased Peer sprung from a noble race, the allies and advisers of kings, had efficiently served his country with deep wisdom and farsighted judgment. "So long," he remarked, "as our nation produces men like Eldon and Wellington, Bentinck and Derby, the old Constitution, sanctified by its intimate alliance with the Christian principle, may remain a blessing to ourselves and the admiration of foreigners." After the sermon the Psalm De profundis was chanted together with the

Dies Ira.-Pall Mall Gazette.

On Tuesday evening, Mr. Charles Mackeson, editor of the "Guide to the Churches of London," &c., lectured on Church Music at Wingham, near Canterbury, the illustrations being creditably sung by the village choir, which, under the care of the respected Vicar, the Rev. W. Clarke, did justice to specimens of almost every school of Church Music. A vote of thanks to Mr. Mackeson was proposed by Bishop Jenner, who said that the lecture had furnished a direct negative to the assertion of the proverb that "two of a trade never agreed," for he most cordially approved of the views expressed by Mr. Mackeson on this most important subject. He (the Bishop) had been preaching, teaching, he might almost say, screeching, throughout that Diocese for many years to induce the people to estimate Church Music at its proper value, and he should rejoice if this lecture served to clench the nail he had so long been endeavouring to drive in. We learn that a solemn High Mass was celebrated in the Armenian Catholic Church at Pera by Monseigneur Hassoun, on the 17th of this month, the Armenian Patriarch, and Monseigneur Plyn, delegate of the Holy See. Twenty-four mitred Prelates of the Armenian Catholic and other Oriental Churches in communion with Rome, who are now assembled here in Synod and will proceed to the Ecumenical Council, took part in the Service. All appeared in gorgeous vestments. A throne was erected for the Empress, and smaller thrones for the Patriarch and the Papal Delegate, also tribunes for the niece of the Empress, the Duchess of Alba, the ladies in attendance, and the Ottoman dignitaries. The Church was most beautifully decorated, and crowded with spectators, and the whole scene presented a splended ecclesiastical pageant. At the conclusion of the Service the Empress Eugenie descended from the throne, and, prostrating herself at the foot of the altar, received the Patriarch's benediction. The Empress has presented to this Church a tapestry copy of Raphael's "Transfigurations," manufactured expressly at the Gobelins, and valued at £10,000.

The rebuilding of Croydon Church, so far as it was destroyed about three years since, is nearly finished. The seating of the Church is all oak. A window in the south aisle of the chancel is memorial in character, given by Mr. Blake, and there is another given by Mr. Robinson, both being by Messrs. Lavers, Barraud, and Westlake. The western window is the gift of Mr. R. A. Heath, and it is executed by French artists. The gas fittings are of brass of a costly character. The pulpit will be of oak on a stone base, but it is not yet erected. The reredos is of alabaster, and in three divisions, the subject on the first being the Nativity, the Crucifixion in the centre, and on the other division is the Ascension. The font is of alabaster, of octagonal shape, having on the four cardinal faces carvings representing the Baptism of Our Lord, the Blessing of Little Children, the Baptism of the Gaoler, and of the Centurion. The other faces are filled in with shields and monograms. This font has been subscribed for by ladies.

THE PROSECUTION OF THE REV. W. J. E. BENNETT.-This case was proceeded with in the Court of Arches yesterday. The promoter of the suit is Mr. T. B. Sheppard, and the defendant is the Rev. W. J. E. Bennett. The first proceedings taken in the matter were by the Bishop of London, who issued a Commission to inquire whether Mr. Bennett had published heretical doctrines in the London Diocese. The Commis

sioners reported it as their unanimous opinion that there was sufficient prima facie ground for instituting further proceedings. The letters of request set out the passages objected to-1. The real objective presence of our Blessed Lord in the Eucharist. 2. The sacrifice offered by the Priest; and 3, the adoration due to the presence of our Blessed Lord therein. Mr. Stephens and Dr. Tristram appeared for the promoter of the suit. Mr. Bennett was unrepresented by counsel. Sir R. Phillimore directed the Rev. gentleman to be called, and it was done, but he did not such of the articles as did not deal with the matters which had been answer. Mr. Stephens said he understood the court had an objection to before the Commissioners, and which had not been adverted to in the citation. After suggesting several verbal amendments (to which Sir R. Phillimore assented,) the learned gentleman proceeded to argue the general question. The case is likely to occupy some time.

STATISTICS REGARDING THE ROMAN COUNCIL.-The Patriarch and Bishops of the Maronite Chrstians have given notice of their early arrival at Rome to be present at the Council. The Correspondance de Rome publishes an interesting statistic on the composition of the Council, and of the Catholic hierarchy as it now stands. Patriarchs, Archbishops, and Bishops, resident The same in partibus

...

...

766

228

[ocr errors]
[merged small][ocr errors]

Of these 12 are Patriarchs, 75 Resident Archbishops of the Latin rite, 25 Resident Archbishops of other rites, 35 Archbishops in partibus Resident Latin Bishops Bishops resident of other rites Bishops in partibus ...

[ocr errors]

Total

147

609

45

...

[ocr errors]

193

994

[ocr errors]

3 Bishops are aged 95, Mgr. Bombini, of Cassano, Mgr. Goyeneche, of Lucia, and Mgr. Cavi, of Leghorn; 2 are aged 90; 20, from 80 to 85; 46, from 75 to 80; 79, from 70 to 75; 164, from 60 to 65; 133, from 55 to 60; 150, from 50 to 55; 82, from 45 to 50; 43, from 40 to 45; 24, from 38 to 40; 13, from 35 to 38; 7, from 30 to 35. These seven junior Bishops are-1, Mgr. Mellur, Bishop of Akrachald; 2. Melchisidekian, Bishop of Erzeroum, Armenia; 3, Ordonez, B shop of Riobamba; 4, De Lacerda, Bishop of St. Sebastian; 5, Ximenes, Bishop of Cerruel; 6, Maranza, Bishop of Tino and Micon; 7, Granada, Bishop of Troas. Of 123 Bishops resident and 105 Bishops in partibus, the ages are

unknown.

CHRIST CHURCH, EALING.-At Christ Church, Ealing, a Thanksgiving Service for the ingathering of the harvest was held on Wednesday, with a special Evensong. The choir entered the Church singing a processional hymn. The Church, although not profusely, was neatly and tastefully decorated with flowers and grain, and wore an appearance appropriate to the occasion. On either side of the great east window were the words " The Angels are the Reapers," and The Harvest is the end of the World," and ac oss the whole length of the cill were placed large bouquets of beautiful flowers. In the centre of the window was a cross about three feet long, upon which were hung black grapes and corn; while just below, and in front of the reredos, on a red ground, were other and more delicate bouquets of flowers. In front of the altar. and lying on the top altar step, were three small sheaves of wheat and oats. The open woodwork of the chancel stalls was also decorated with ferns, dahlias, and other flowers peculiar to this season, while from the chancel pillars on either side hung large festoons of creepers just showing their autumnal tints. The effect of these was very pretty. The front of the pulpit was decorated with a variety of the choicest flowers, and here and there were placed clusters of red berries and green leaves to give the appearance of ripe holly. In the centre panel was placed a cross made of flowers, variegated leaves, and white berries, all of which were artistically woven together. The font was highly decorated. Suspended over the top was a cross of flowers, very prettily worked with the petals of the geraniums, while around the stonework was a scroll, upon which were the words "Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness." Small bunches of corn were also worked into the scroll. Immediately after the Service the new clock, which has been fixed in the tower of the Church, was set in motion.

THE EARL OF DERBY.

After several weeks of extreme exhaustion, and more than a week of almost total insensibility, the Earl of Derby expired at about seven o'clock on Saturday morning. Edward Geoffrey Stanley was born the 29th of March, 1799, at Knowsley Park, in Lancashire. His father, Edward, Earl Derby, was the 13th of the family who bore the title. His mother was Charlotte Margaret, daughter of the Rev. Geoffrey Hornby. Educated at Eton, and at Christ Church, Oxford, he highly distinguished himself at both places of learning. In 1819, he obtained the Chancellor's Prize for Latin Verse, and in 1821, at the earliest moment after attaining the legal age, he entered the House of Commons as member for the borough of Stockbridge. In accordance with the hereditary politics of his family, he took his seat on the Opposition bench. His maiden speech, delivered on a purely local topic, elicited a warm eulogium from Sir James Mackintosh. His second speech was on

« PreviousContinue »