the state of things which "this Church and Realm hath received," but something clean contrary thereto. He concluded by saying that they were now only at the beginning of a life-long struggle, and he besought them to pray to God that they might bear themselves bravely, humbly, patiently, and charitably in it. It was a struggle which they might not live to see the end of. Some people said it would end in Disestablishment. It might be so. He did not desire this end; but one thing he did desire, and that was that the Church of England should be "a free Church in a free land" (applause).

Captain Ballard (R.N.) briefly seconded the resolution, and said that by the close union of the Laity with the Clergy in the present struggle the Rights of the Church would be regained.

Rev. Edmund Field, in supporting the resolution, explained the true meaning of Canonical Obedience, and showed that it was Obedience to the Bishop when administering the Laws of the Church, and not when insisting on his own private fancies, or when trying to enforce Submission to the interpretation, or misinterpretation, put by mere Stateappointed Courts on the Church's Law. In his opposition to the Court of Final Appeal, and in his determination to contend for the destruction of its power over the Church, he was glad to find himself in company with that noble-hearted Metropolitan of South Africa, whose name would always be dear to Churchmen, Bishop Gray, who left it on record that "if the Church of England does not destroy the authority of the Privy Council, the Privy Council will destroy the Church of England." He might add another name, and that was the name of John Keble, who never varied for one moment in his determination to use all and every means to free the Church of England from the incubus of the Privy Council.

Rev. H. H. Hanbury also supported the Resolution, and expressed his full agreement with the President of the E. C. U. and Archdeacon Denison and others in the opinion, which Dr. Sanderson had so ably enforced, that it mattered not the least whether Lord Penzance's Court were or were not the true Court of Arches, so long as there lay an Appeal from his Court to an absolutely Secular Court, which the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council certainly was. He would venture to warn all present very specially against three dangers: (1) False Issues; (2) Bugbears; (3) Hard and personal language.

First against the false issue of "Ritualism." He for one would never admit that Ritual was of no consequence. On the contrary, it was of very great and precious value. But the question before them now was deeper far than that of any Ritual it was the question of the Right of the Church to regulate her own Spiritual concerns.

:

Secondly-the bugbear of Disestablishment. 'Though Disestablishment would, probably, some day come, he believed that it was yet a long way off: let them take care that it did not frighten them away from the vital points at issue.

Lastly-let them avoid hard words. No doubt many of their adversaries believed themselves to be in the right, and thought that they were "doing God service." Let them take example from the Guardian, which, with all its faults, always avoided hard language. Let them be patient with others, who might well be puzzled at such a crisis, and let them rest assured that in the end the Church would recover her freedom.

The Resolution was then put to the Meeting and carried unanimously.

The Chairman then proposed the following:"That the Brighton Branch of the E. C. U. desires to offer its hearty thanks to the Rev. Arthur Tooth for the patient firmness

with which he has resisted the unconstitutional interference of

a Court created solely by Act of Parliament, without the consent of the Church, and to express its entire sympathy with the principles upon which he has acted."

Rev. T. O. S. Davies seconded the Resolution, which was carried unanimously.

At the close of the Meeting a large number of persons expressed their desire to be enrolled in the E. C. U.

CAMBRIDGE BRANCH.

A warm and enthusiastic Meeting of the Cambridge Branch of the English Church Union was held in the Guildhall, Cambridge, on Monday Evening, March 12, the Rev. A. T. Chapman in the Chair.

The following Resolution was moved by the Secretary (James Dixon, Esq.), and seconded by Mr. J. H. Jenkins, and supported by Messrs. Spalding, Barratt, and Hannan :——

"This Branch, having fully sympathized with the Rev. ment, desires to express its joy at his release, and trusts that Arthur Tooth during his illegal prosecution and imprisonhe may shortly be restored to health and resume his duties in his parish, and if necessary continue his uncompromising opposition to the unconstitutional encroachments of the civil power on the Church."

The Rev. E. G. Wood proposed, and the Rev. Canon Churton seconded::

"That the word 'illegal' be left out."

The Amendment was agreed to, and the Resolution as thus amended was passed nem. con.

Mr. Jenkins, of S. John's College, then read a most able and interesting paper on "The Duty of the Laity at the present time towards the Church."

A vote of thanks was tendered by the meeting to Mr. Jenkins.

Time prevented the discussion of the question of Mr. Monk's Bill and the Congè d'élire, which was the next subject on the Agenda paper.

Some new Members were enrolled.

FORMATION OF A BRANCH AT CHISWICK. A Meeting of Communicants was held on Tuesday, Feb. 20, in the Sacristy of SS. Michael and All Angels', Chiswick, for the purpose of considering the advisability of forming a Branch of the E. C. U.

The Rev. Lawford W. T. Dale, Vicar of Chiswick, was in the Chair. The Rev. Maxwell M. Ben-Oliel proposed, and Mr. Elijah Cornish (late Churchwarden of S. Alban's, Holborn) seconded, the following Resolution, which was carried unanimously :

"That a Branch of the E. C. U. be formed in this neighbourhood, and that it be known as the 'Chiswick Branch of the E. C. U.””

A Provisional Committee consisting of ten persons with power to add to their number was then appointed.

Nineteen Members and Associates of the E. C. U. enrolled themselves in the new Branch at the close of the Meeting, and 21 persons signed Nomination Forms as Candidates for Election into E. C. U.

Fifteen more have joined since the meeting; so the Branch starts with 55 on its Roll, of whom 36 are new Members. The Provisional Committee met on March 6 for the purpose of electing Officers and Committee for the ensuing

year.

The following are the names of those who were elected :— Chairman, Rev. Lawford W. T. Dale; Vice-Chairman, A. De Courcy Syms, Esq.; Secretary, Rev. Maxwell M.

Ben-Oliel; Treasurer, T. G. Upton, Esq.; Committee, Revs. Daniel Radford and Henry Belcher, and Messrs. Elijah Cornish, H. D. Dale, J. W. Price, George Yarrow, Samuel Rawson, jun., and W. M. Dell.

FORMATION OF A BRANCH AT DOVER. On Thursday, March 1, the Rev. T. Outram Marshall preached a Sermon at Evensong, on behalf of the Union, in the Church of SS. Peter and Paul, Charlton.

At the conclusion of the Service a Meeting of Communi

cants was held in the Granville-street Schoolroom. W. C. Boodle, Esq., was voted to the Chair. The Chairman, in a very able and interesting Address, gave a history of the circumstances which led to the forma tion of the E. C. U., and showed the need there was for its existence now.

The Rev. T. Outram Marshall then made a statement as to the Work and Objects of E. C. U., and moved the following Resolution:

"That the English Church Union deserves the hearty support of Churchmen, and that it is desirable that a Local Branch should be formed for Dover and neighbourhood."

MORPETH BRANCH.

A Meeting of this Branch was held on Monday, Feb. 26, in the Guild Room, Morpeth, the Rev. the Hon. F. R. Grey in the Chair.

The Officers of the Branch were all re-elected, and, in addition, the Rev. R. Procter was elected Treasurer.

A Resolution protesting against the P.W.R.Act as unconstitutional, and expressing sympathy with the Vicar and congregation of S. James', Hatcham, was proposed by the Chairman, who stated at length the reasons why the P. W. R. Act was unconstitutional, and could not be acknowledged by the Church as having any authority in Spiritual matters. He said:

"As any Englishman may lawfully refuse to obey a Law made for the nation without the consent of Parliament, so any Churchman may lawfully refuse to obey a Law made for the Church touching things Spiritual without the consent of Convocation. The Convocation of the Church of England is the Church of England by Representation, just as Parliament is the State by Representation. No Laws can be made for the Church apart from Convocation without an invasion by the State of the Spiritual authority inherent in the Church. The P. W. R. Act was forced upon the Church against the plainly expressed wish of the Lower House of Convocation of each Province. The

"That the following be requested to serve as the Officers of the Dover Branch :- Chairman, W. C. Boodle, Esq.; Vice-Chairman, Rev. J. F. Baynham; Secretary and Treasurer, R. H. Jones, Esq., (J.P.)"

This was seconded by Mr. Charles Podevin and carried unanimously.

The Rev. J. F. Baynham then proposed, and Mr. Ernest Fielding seconded, the following Resolution, which was carried unanimously:

"That the following be asked to serve on the Committee of the Dover Branch in addition to the Officers, who are ex-officio Members: Rev. Turberville Evans, George Fielding, Esq., Mayor of Dover, Rev. J. L. Latham,* and Mr. Charles Podevin."

LUDLOW BRANCH.

At a General Meeting of the Ludlow Branch held on Monday, March 19th, the following Resolutions were adopted unanimously:

1. "That it is the duty of English Churchmen to endeavour to obtain for any Court claiming to determine questions of Ritual and Doctrine, or any Court of Final Appeal in Ecclesiastical matters, such sanction as shall remove all reasonable scruple to loyal obedience on the part of the Clergy and Laity to its jurisdiction and judgments.'

2. "That the intrusion of Bishop Beckles into the Dioceses of

the Scottish Bishops for the purpose of superintending certain schismatical congregations within their limits is a gross breach of Church discipline; and

"That this Meeting desires to co-operate with the President and Council if any steps are deemed necessary to put a stop to so great a scandal, and such an abuse of the Episcopal Office." 3. That this Meeting, fully aware that the President and Council are carefully watching the Bill introduced by Mr. Monk for the abolition of the Congè d'élire,' expresses a hope that they will not fail to take the opportunity of protesting against the introduction of measures of this kind into the House of Commons without previous reference to Convocation."

*Rev. J. L. Latham has written regretting his inability to serve on the Committee. The Committee have already met to prepare Rules for the Branch, and have suggested the addition of the following names to their body: Captain Sangster, and Revs. C. A. Wetherall, J. C. Edghill, and E. T. Churton.

bishop was not referred to the Lower Houses of Convocation till some time after its introduction; and when it was at last submitted to Convocation it was condemned. In the Lower House of the Province of York a motion proposed by the Dean of Carlisle, That this House records its general approval of His Grace's Bill,' was rejected, on a division, by 21 to 15. that of the Archbishop, but virtually a new Bill of Lord The Bill which eventually passed in Parliament was not Shaftesbury's; and this was never submitted to Convocation at all. It was, however, forced through Parliament. It is now the Law of the Land. But we deny that it is the Law of the Church. It is for his refusing to acknowledge the validity of this Act, as it affects the Church-not for his Ritual-that Mr. Tooth and his people are suffering. And it is for this, and not for his Ritual, but in spite of his Ritual, that I ask you to express your sympathy with Mr. Tooth and his aggrieved Parish."

The Resolution was seconded by the Rev. T. Finch, and carried unanimously.

The consideration of the question proposed by the President of the E. C. U. as to the advisability of raising a "Sustentation Fund" was deferred to another Meeting, as also that of a Resolution passed by the Exeter Branch. Two new Associates were nominated.

S. ASAPH BRANCH.

A Meeting of this Branch was held at Chester on Thurs

day, March 1, R. B. Hesketh, Esq., in the Chair.

The following Resolution was proposed by Rev. C. Gamlen, and seconded by F. Warren, Esq., and carried unanimously:

"That as no Annual Meeting of this Branch was held in 1876, the Officers and Committee elected at the Annual Meeting held on June 22, 1875, be considered as being still in Office, and have power to act accordingly."

The three Resolutions passed at Freemasons' Tavern were unanimously adopted by the Branch.

Mr. Stephen Golder, a Member of the Chester Branch, who was invited to speak to the Resolution, urged the necessity of great firmness, and expressed his astonishment that the Suspension of a Priest from his sacred duties by a Secular Court could be regarded by any Bishop without indignation. The Bishops had excited the utmost astonishment in the minds of the Laity by the way in which they had met the questions of the day.

FORMATION OF A BRANCH AT SOUTH
ACTON.

The Rev. T. Outram Marshall attended, by invitation, a Meeting of the " All Saints' Church Union, South Acton," on Monday, March 19, for the purpose of explaining the Objects and Work of the E. C. U.

The Meeting, which was a very large one, was held in the Schoolroom, the Rev. A. Hunter Dunn, Vicar of All Saints', in the Chair.

Mr. Marshall gave a full account of the work of the Union, and concluded by proposing the formation of a Branch for South Acton and neighbourhood.

This was seconded by G. Earle, jun., Esq., and carried unanimously.

The Rev. Dr. Maclear proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Marshall for his Address. This was seconded by Rev. R. Angel Smith and carried unanimously.

It was then resolved:

WESTMINSTER BRANCH.

The Eleventh Annual Meeting of this Branch was held on Thursday, Feb. 22, by the kind permission of the President and Council, in the Council Room, 35, Wellington-street, Strand, George Cowell, Esq., in the Chair.

The Secretary (Henry O. Fleuss, Esq.) read the Report of the Committee, which showed that the Branch numbered 125 Members and Associates on its Roll. The chief subject of discussion at the two Meetings held in the past year had been the question, "Ought Churchmen to appear before the

New Court?"

The Chairman then gave a short Address in reference to the progress of events since the last Annual Meeting. He said :

When we kept our last Anniversary we were sore at heart, inasmuch as the P. W. R. Act, against which the Church had in vain protested, had come into operation, the Judge had been appointed, the library at Lambeth had been fixed upon for the Court, and the avowed object of the Act, the work of stamping out Ritualism, was apparently about to be begun in earnest. Our feeling to-day is one of thankfulness to Almighty God and of congratulation amongst ourselves. We have seen this Court discredited at every turn and powerless to stem the tide of Catholic faith and life. We have heard the Judge make more than one attempt, with more of perseverance than of dignity, to demonstrate that his Court possesses an Ecclesiastical character and authority, regardless of the fact that he himself is appointed virtually at the dictation of the State, and that all the rules of his Court were made by the State. We have seen him, too, assuming Episcopal Authority, taking upon himself, as the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has before unconstitutionally taken upon itself, the power to Suspend a

Priest from the exercise of those powers which he received from God the Holy Ghost through the laying on of the hands of the Bishop and Presbytery. We have seen this same Judge commit to a common gaol a Priest who was bound by his Ordination Vow and his duty to God to disregard his monitions, inflicting this old fashioned, clumsy punishment, in clear and explicit words, for Mr. Tooth's contumacy. Although his prisoner stoutly refused to purge himself of his contempt, yet we see a few weeks later the same Judge, in order to justify the liberation of his prisoner, asserting, in contradiction to the plain words of the Sentence, that his imprisonment was not in punishment for the past, but only in to ensure obedience for the future. But this is not all, for we see the Judge requiring an affidavit that the Services at S. James', Hatcham, are conducted according to Law. Does Lord Penzance affect to be a lay Pope, with the accumulated powers of the whole Episcopal Bench? Does he claim to possess a right to see that the Services in any church are conducted in accordance with his idea of what is lawful? Does he ignore the fact that a Curate must be presented to him by three aggrieved parishioners before he can put forward a shadow of a claim to ask a question? Who has presented to him the Bishop's Curate at S. James', Hatcham, and, if no one has presented him, what can Lord Penzance have to do with the way in which that gentleman conducts the Services, unless it happens that he has so little faith in his own Court as to believe that Mr. Tooth is still the responsible Curate at S. James'? Now I think that anyone who has carefully watched the career of this new and unconstitutional Court must be convinced that it has utterly discredited itself, and has not only failed to make any perceptible beginning towards stamping out Ritualism, but has actually given such an impulse to the study and spread of Catholic principles that the result of the contest can be no longer doubtful. The powers, too, which the Judge claims to possess in common with the Privy Council are such as to destroy the Liberties of the Church, and to prochildren. I do not in the least suppose that it will be easy to voke and necessitate the unflinching resistance of all her faithful convince Lord Penzance that his Court is a failure, and it is not improbable that many faithful Priests will have to be suspended and perhaps deprived, and that many devoted congregations will have to suffer before the cry of justice will be able to bring about either the repeal of the Public Worship Regulation Act, or its conversion into something that is in accordance with the contract between the Church and the State. There is, however, no doubt of one thing. If this Act be not speedily repealed, or recast on constitutional lines, it will dissolve the alliance between Church and State.

God forbid that this should be necessary, but it is impossible for a contract to continue if the parties to it depart from their obligations. No doubt the Church made her submission to Henry VIII., but it was a conditional submission. Henry VIII., on his side, undertook to govern the Church by her Canons and by and through her Convocations. Freedom had been secured to the Church by Magna Charta, and Henry VIII. confirmed that freedom; but where is her freedom now? Our present Prayer Book was drawn up and sanctioned by Convocation, and subsequently passed through Parliament unaltered. This is the only constitutional course. Laws relating to Doctrine and Worship to be binding on our consciences must originate with Convocation. We have, no doubt, for a long period been careless of this necessity, but now that the State has presumed upon and in forcing upon the Church the Public Worship Regulation our past indifference, both in the decisions of the Privy Council Act, it is absolutely necessary that we should arouse ourselves from our long slumber. If we believe in the Divine origin and continuity of our Church, and desire to retain for her her ancient Liberties, we must årouse ourselves from our apathy and oppose by every constitutional means the encroachments of the Civil Power. It has been well said that the question has gone We do not, beyond Ritual and has become one of Jurisdiction. as the President well put it, support Mr. Tooth because of his Ritual, but in spite of his Ritual. We support him because it is absolutely necessary to take an attitude of firm resistance, for all history shows us that to submit under protest, as some would counsel us to do, is a suicidal policy; whilst the only way to

preserve our religious Rights and Liberties is to resist what is unconstitutional. Our Annual Meeting has been called together somewhat earlier this year, in order that it may before the meeting to be held on Tuesday, the 27th of February, express its opinion with regard to the series of Resolutions which proceed d after very mature deliberation from the unanimous voice of the Council, and were unanimously agreed to by the Meetings-the two crowded Meetings held simultaneously at the Freemasons' Tavern. I may add that these Resolutions have already been adopted by many District Unions and Branches from one end of England to the other, and you will be asked to adopt them as yours this evening. I have no doubt you have all read, if you did not hear, the very powerful and very lucid Address delivered by the President on the 16th of January. It puts very clearly before us the principles upon which we must take our stand, and, therefore, I commend it to your earnest study. Since it was delivered our hearts have been very full of the sufferings of Mr. Tooth, who preferred a cell in a common gaol to violating his conscience and breaking his Ordination Vow, "always so to minister the Doctrines and Sacraments and the Discipline of Christ as the Lord has commanded, and as this Church and Realm hath received the same, according to the commandments of God." We cannot be too thankful for the noble stand Mr. Tooth has made against the interference of the secular power in Spiritual matters. Mr. Tooth is fortunately no longer in prison; a panic amongst the Council of the Church Association has suddenly brought about his release; but his noble and self-denying stand and the results of it have been of so much importance to our cause that I shall ask you before going on to any other business to carry by acclamation a Resolution expressing our thanks to Mr. Tooth, together with our sympathy with him in his sufferings for conscience' sake, and I think we might add our congratulations on his release. In order that we may accompany our sympathy with something substantial our contributions to-night will be sent to the Hatcham Charities, with a copy of the Resolution.

The following were then elected as the Officers and Committee for the ensuing year :-Chairman, Mr. George Cowell; Vice-Chairmen, Rev. W. J. Richardson and Dr. Walter Phillimore; Secretary and Treasurer, Mr. Henry O. Fleuss; Committee, Revs. F. Ll. Bagshawe, R. Eyton, J. J. Elkington, and L. T. Lochée, and Messrs. Somers Clark (Jun.), J. Godwin, J. W. B. Riddell, and J. L. Rutley.

The three Resolutions agreed to at Freemasons' Tavern on Jan. 16 were then proposed, seconded, and supported by the following speakers:-Ll.-Col. E. W. Childers (R.A.), Rev. V. G. Borradaile, Mr. C. W. Wilshere, Dr. F. W. Parsons, Dr. A. E. Sansom, Mr. Thomas Layman, Mr. F. Bramley Baker, Captain Malet, and Mr. J. W. B. Riddell, and were all carried unanimously.

The following Resolution was then put and carried unanimously:

"That in the opinion of this Branch it is desirable that a 'Sustentation Fund' for Deprived Priests should be created, and specially placed under the control of the President and

Council of the Union."

FORMATION OF A WEST SHOREDITCH BRANCH.

A Meeting of Communicants was held on Thursday evening, February 28th, in the Girls' Schoolroom, Markstreet, Finsbury, the Rev. H. D. Nihill in the chair. There was a good attendance of persons interested in the E. C. U.

The Chairman, after a few introductory remarks, called upon the Rev. T. O. Marshall to address the meeting. Mr. Marshall explained the position of the E. C. U. at the present time, and urged the importance of giving it all support. He said that the Shoreditch Branch had long ceased to shew any signs of life, but that a yery useful and active Branch had been formed in one part of the area formerly covered by the

Shoreditch Branch. Members of E. C. U. in the Congregations of S. Stephen's, S. Augustine's, S. Columba's, and S. Chad's, and was known as the "Haggerston Branch." He would propose now that a new Branch should be formed under the name of the "West

This new Branch comprised the

Shoreditch Branch," which would take in all who belonged to the Congregation of SS. Michael and All Angels', and any others who might be willing to join them.

If this were carried out successfully, he would then make another effort to revive the old Shoreditch Branch; and he believed that the chances of success in this endeavour would be greater now, because the area left for the Shoreditch Branch would have become small enough to be fairly worked in connection with the two Churches of S. James', Curtain-road, and S. Leonard's, Shoreditch, the Incumbents of both which belonged to E. C. U., the Incumbent of the latter being the Chairman of the original Branch.

Mr. W. E. Jones seconded the proposal for the formation of a West Shoreditch Branch. On being put to the Meeting it was carried unanimously. The following were elected as the Officers of the Branch:-Chairman, Rev. H. D. Nihill; Vice-Chairman, Mr. C. J. Oliphant; Secretary and Treasurer, Mr. W. Ellis; Committee, Messrs. Dawkes, Plumb, Jones, Murrell, and Tranter.

Members and Associates were received.
At the close of the Meeting thirty-three Nominations of

"That this Branch of the E. C. U., while it distinctly and expressly acknowledges the authority of all Courts legally constituted in regard to all matters temporal, denies that the secular power has authority in matters purely Spiritual; And, further, this Branch affirms that as the Suspension of the Clergy from their sacred functions is a purely Spiritual act, the decisions of any Court professing to exercise such a power, but not acting as the real and bonâ fide voice of the Church, are Spiritually null and void."

In the course of an eloquent and impressive speech Mr Swan dwelt upon the gravity of the present crisis; denounced the Purchas Judgment as replete with injustice, falsehood, and absurdity; and urged that they should be careful to avoid confusing the question of more or less Ceremonial with the infinitely larger question of Lord Penzance's (so-called) "Arches Court," and his assumed power of Suspending Priests from the exercise of their Spiritual Functions. Mr. State were quite different now from what they were in the Swan clearly showed that the relations between Church and earlier period of the Reformation, and objected on this ground to the Bishop of Lincoln's view of the situation as set forth in his recent letter. It was commonly said that the P. W. R. Act only "simplified procedure." Lord Beaconsfield knew better, and openly boasted that it was intended to "put down Ritualism.”

The Secretary said that the time had come when Churchmen must consider seriously what course remained open to them in their present distress. No one could think of secession to Rome; but possibly some might think of Services in Oratories independent of the Bishops. It was difficult, however, to see how this would differ from the Wesleyan Movement. The proper course, he felt sure, was to seek in eve way to modify the existing relations between Church and State. As the Bishops had been mainly instrumental in bringing about the present state of things it would be a great gain t