to be satisfied; and upon this intolerable nonsense they are not ashamed to justify spoliation. * * Bishops are the active members of the Commission. They do not choose that their own patronage should be meddled with, and they know that the laity would not allow for a moment that their livings should be pulled to pieces by Bishops, and that if such a proposal were made, there would be more danger that the Bishop would be pulled to pieces than the living. The real distinction is between the weak and strong,-between those who have power to resist encroachment, and those who have not. This is the reason why we are selected for experiment, and so it is with all the Bill, from beginning to end. There is purple and fine linen in every line of it. Another strong objection to the dividing power of the Commission is this. According to the printed Bill brought forward last Session, if the living is not taken by some members of the body, it lapses to the Bishop. Suppose then the same person to be Bishop and Commissioner; he breaks the living into little pieces as a Commissioner, and after it is rejected, in its impoverished state, by the Chapter, he gives it away as Bishop of the diocese. The only answer that is given to such objections is the impeccability of Bishops, and upon this principle, the whole Bill has been constructed; and here is the great mistake about Bishops. They are upon the whole very good and worthy men, but they are not (as many ancient ladies suppose) wholly exempt from human infirmities. They have their malice, hatred, uncharitableness, persecution, and interests like other men, and an Administration, who did not think it more magnificent to laugh at the lower clergy than to protect them, should suffer no Ecclesiastical Bill to pass through Parliament, without seriously considering how its provisions may affect the happiness of poor clergymen, pushed into living tombs, and pining in solitude." We shall end this branch of the subject, having, we think, sufficiently laid bare the mean falsehoods and glaring injustice upon which the whole of this unnecessary, uncalled for, and unjust † transfer of property is proposed to be made, by a few words more from Mr. S. Smith's most able Letter. "There is a practice," he writes, among some Bishops, which may as well be mentioned here as any where else, but which I think cannot be too severely reprobated. They send for a clergyman, and insist upon his giving evidence respecting the character and conduct of his neighbour. Does he hunt? does he shoot? is he in debt? is he temperate? does he attend to his parish? &c. what is this but to destroy for all clergymen the very elements of social life,-to put an end to all confidence between man Now, and man, and to disseminate among gentlemen, who are bound to live in concord, every feeling of resentment, hatred, and suspicion? but the very essence of tyranny is to act as if the finer feelings, like the finer dishes, were delicacies only for the rich and great, and that little people have no taste for them and no right to them. A good and honest Bishop ought to suspect himself, and carefully to match his own heart. He is all of a sudden elevated from being a tutor, and dining at an early hour with his pupil, * Charles the Second issued a declaration, by which it was commanded, that in all the larger dioceses, for there was no question of the smaller, the Bishops should preach regularly and constantly, and should confer no ordinations, and exercise no jurisdiction, without the advice of Presbyters chosen by the diocese. The Quarterly Review (No. cxv. p. 192,) openly says, that in the Church Commission the heads of the Church are associated with men who care little for it.' So that after all the Reform of the Church is to be effected by those who have no interest in the well-being of the Church!—and Dr. Wordsworth says, (p. 77,) what imperious arguments for reconsideration, the conduct of a part of their colleagues, and the recent disclosures in the House of Commons have introduced, it is no part of my business to insist upon.' So much for the body and its head.-Secretosque pioshis dantem jura Catonem.' 'Considering (says Mr. H. Coleridge) the Church in its political relations as a means of civilization and an organ of the state, useful to sanctify civil obedience, it is specially desirable in every country where an aristocracy exists, that a large, perhaps a (and occasionally it is believed on cold meat) to be a Spiritual Lord. He is dressed in a magnificent dress, decorated with a title, flattered by chaplains, and surrounded by little people looking up for the things he has to give away, and this often happens to a man who has had no opportunities of seeing the world, whose parents were also in very humble life, and who has given up all his thoughts to the frogs of Aristophanes, and the Targum of Onkelos. How is it possible, that such a man should not lose his head? that he should not swell? that he should not be guilty of a thousand follies, and worry and teaze to death (before he recovers his common sense,) an hundred men as good, and as wise, and as able as himself." We pass on from these pic fraudes, the gentle and pleasing transfers of property, to another proposal as regards the Chapters, each of which is to consist of a Dean and four Prebendaries. "It is quite absurd to see how all the "cathedrals are to be trimmed to an exact Procrustes pattern,- quieta movere is the motto of the Commission-there is to be every where a Dean and four Residentiaries. But St. Paul's and Lincoln have at present only three Residentiaries and a Dean, who officiates in his turn as a Canon, a fourth must be added to each; why? - nobody wants more Prebendaries. St. Paul's and Lincoln go The Bishop of Exeter says, "As to the recommendation of the fixed number of four Canons to each chapter, I would say, that to prescribe on very well as they are. It is not for the lack of Prebendaries that the Church is unpopular, but for their idleness; but in their lust of reforming, the Commission cut and patch property as they would cut figures in pasteboard. This little piece of wanton change, however, gives to two of the Bishops, who are Commissioners, patronage of a thousand a year each." any certain number as that which will suit every Cathedral and every See, seems to be marvellously inartificial, and if I were major portion of the heads of the Church should be selected from the aristocracy. Even in a land of slaves, it will always be found, that the higher the rank of the slave master, the better the condition of the slave. God save me,' said a poor negro, 'from having blackee as massa.' 'God save me,' might the poor vicar say, 'from having a Bishop that has tutored and written and preached himself to a mitre.' No doubt it would be a very good thing if the Church was so constituted that the best and most experienced ministers could always be entrusted in the highest authority. But while the Church is a member of the state, we must be thankful that its emoluments are so well distributed as they are, and that there are always so many liberal gentlemen on the bench as to prevent the English clergy from degenerating into mere priests."—(v. Biograph. Borealis, p. 354). Of the correctness of this opinion we have no doubt. May it not be lost sight of; and may our Pelhams, Barringtons, and Bathursts, be replaced on the bench! "I know not why bishopricks (says Mr. Landor) should be given for mere classical attainments. Since, from the moment a scholar becomes a Bishop, his study of the classics and his earnestness in correcting them is over. The grant of episcopalities for Greek plays is like marrying for music. The marriage ring cramps the finger of enchantment. Adieu! frolicsome Rosini! adieu, graceful Mozart! adieu, divine Beethoven! When the minster throws opens its portals, the Greek surrenders its charms in favour of the Gothic. My Lord Bishop mounts his throne, and instead of strophe and antistrophe, hears the responses sung to the Ten Commandments. Thence forwards, What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba?"—Mr. Landor must have his joke: but before he repeats it, let him read the Works of the late Bishop of Salisbury, and of the present Bishop of Lincoln, and then consider whether Greek may not be useful to a Bishop. In every Cathedral, one stall is to be bestowed on an Archdeacon, and part of the income to go to other Archdeacons, so that an Archdeacon is to have less than a Canon; the more laborious and important office less than the comparatively easy one!!-Again, the Archdeacon of London, whose duties are few, (v. Charge, p. 27), is to receive 1300l. a year, and the Archdeacon of Cornwall, whose duties extend above a hundred miles in length, and whose expenses are greater, will have 1007. This, 574 not withheld by respect for those who establishment. It has other very impor- This reasoning the Bishop follows out in a very convincing manner; but we must pass on to another writer whose authority is derived both from his personal character, and the important situation he fills. Dr. Wordsworth says truly,* that "There can be no possible mistake greater than the mean and unworthy notion that all this affair is a matter merely between the Bishops and Deans and Chapters on one side, and his Majesty's I hold that Commissioners on another. the whole Church and State of England is most deeply concerned, and in this persuasion, knowing that the laity ought not to be blamed for being caught thus unprepared, I should most gladly hear that more time could be allowed us for inquiry and mutual communication,-for much more of ample exposition and detail,-for patient deliberation and temperate disputation and debate-ere it be too late." Dr. Wordsworth's purpose is to inquire into the question-of what kind will be the influence of this Commission on the Universities? beneficial, or the contrary. Do we recognise the handling and voice, the wakefulness and caution, the wisdom and love of a friend, or does it seem to be otherwise? The special points are:-1. The extensive defalcation proposed in the number of ecclesiastical dignities, and the altered condition of those that remain. 2. The proposed detachment of benefices with cure of souls from some of our headships and professorships to which they are now attached. 3. The proposed transfer of the principal part of the Church patronage, the property of Deans and Chapters and of the Minor Canons, from their own disposal to that of the Bishops. Dr. Wordsworth then shows how the new laws of the Commissioners will affect: 1. The heads of houses and the professors. 2. The tutors and other college officers. 3. The more independent members-and he shows how they will break up the connection which has subsisted ever since the Reformation between the Cathedrals and the Universities. After so very able exposition of the inconsistent and imperfect legislation of the Commission as regards the Universities, he adds, "Upon the whole, to draw to a close of this part of our subject, it appears pretty clearly, that according to the schemes of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, the heads of houses and the professors in our Universities, are not to be Deans,-not Prebendaries, not parochial incumbents. May we take the liberty of inquiring, what then are we to be? are we not to be clergymen? Will the recommendation in the next Report be that our appointments are to be handed over to the laity? Is the union which has so happily subsisted in England from The worst of it is, that Bishop says, is not intelligible to him: it is, however, to us. lities! * See Letters to a Friend on the Eccl. Commission and the Universities. 1837. By C. Wordsworth, D.D. novel provision goes, are to be put under a ban of exclusion and excommunication every where. And as before we have seen what is to become of our heads, and professors, and tutors elsewhere, so now, if anything further had been wanting, the present provision effectually completes the scheme. Heads, professors, college officers, tutors, private tutors, private students, none must escape, all must participate in their neighbours' fare, and have their share in the common deprivation and wrong. Let the Bishop know an angel in the University, it is of no avail. That is enough against every claim. It must be blotted The place is tabooed. out from the roll of patronage in the Church of England. A number of excel. lent men of the sister University have memoralized the Commissioners on this subject with equal modesty and truth. 'We beg leave, they say, respectfully to call your attention to the following considerations:-1. That by the above clause, all persons residing in the Universities for the sake of theological studies, or the duties of tuition, are virtually disabled from holding any such benefices as those above described. 2. That many of these persons look forward to obtaining some benefice with the cure of souls, as their chief, or only subsistance after leaving the University, and their studies have throughout a reference to that employment. 3. That it is likely to discourage the pursuit of theological learning, and to deter persons in holy orders, from engaging in tuition, which will tend to the great injury both of the Church and the Universities, if it be found that continued residence here is a hindrance to obtaining preferment afterwards." If we now draw to a close of this most afflicting subject, it is not for want of additional matter of importance equal to that which has been We cannot, however, conalready detailed-but that our space fails us. clude without one more extract from the last writer whom we quoted : and which puts the finishing stroke to this whole wretched picture of presumption, inconsistency, and rashness; of change without improvement, and destruction without excuse : "What (says the Master of Trinity) are we to think of that last and concluding circumstance to sum up and crown the whole, that the Bishops themselves are now become little better than stipendiaries and pensioners of the state? melancholy day! O, indeed unlooked for, and indeed fatal resolve! Could a Commission, acting under the sign-manual of a patriot King over a free people, ever entertain for a moment such a thought? and much more, ever sanction and recommend it? and could a British Parliament, King, Lords, and Commons, consent to it. Consent, that is, that they who are to lead them in the way to heaven, should he put in their temporal affairs into a state of servility and dependence, a condition of wardship, and nonage, and pupillage? Of the many measures tending rapidly to the downfall of the liberties of England, which within the last five or six years, amid nothing but pretences of a contrary character, have been introduced to a far more fearful degree than the country has witnessed since the days of James the Second; this I regard as one of the most dangerous and the most wanton and inexcusable. Our countrymen of every degree-a free people, jealous of their spiritual, and jealous of their temporal liberties, if they sufficiently knew what has been done, must rise up in mixed grief and indignation, and would not rest till they had wiped off this disgraceful stain from their Prelates, and much more disgraceful (and such they will feel it) from themselves. This they would, and this I trust they will do. For they are still the same people, of whom Burke, only a few short years ago, spake so truly and so nobly.— The English nation certainly never have suffered, and never will suffer, the fixed state of the Church to be converted into a pension, to depend on the treasury, and to be delayed, withheld, or perhaps extinguished by fiscal difficulties, which difficulties may sometimes be pretended for political purposes, and are in fact often brought on by the extravagance, negligence, and rapacity of politicians. The people of England think they have constitutional motives, as well as religious, against any project of turning their independent clergy into ecclesiastical pensioners of state. They tremble for their liberty from the influence of a clergy deThey tremble pendent on the crown. for the public tranquillity from the disorders of a factious clergy; if it were made to depend on any other than the crown. They, therefore, made their Church, like their king and their nobility, independent."* At present, however, the Bishops are stipendiaries under the * Burke on the French Revolution. Crown, or the ministry of the day; and I know not how we can wish for an increase of power to them of any kind, whether temporal or spiritual, while they so continue. Upon the whole, it is upon considerations such as these that I think the character and complexion of the English prelacy will henceforward be most seriously deteriorated by the measures which have been recommended and adopted by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners; and for this reason, besides all others, I trust that the patronage of the Deans and Chapters will never be transferred from them to be vested in the Bishops." In this wish of a temperate, learned, pious, and wise man; in this wish of one, himself advanced in years, as high in dignity; in this wish of the Master of the first college at one of our Universities, and himself the friend of the Archbishop of Canterbury; in this wish of one whose respect for the Bishops of the Church, can only yield to his earnest zeal for the welfare and his love of the constitution of the Church itself-we heartily and humbly join. The mischief that has been done must be borne for awhile; the pillars of the Church are shaken, its walls are rent, its lights put out, its glory obscured. *Αλλα τὰ μὲν προτετύχθαι ἑάσομεν, ἀχνύμενοι περ, We can now only hope, that all future evil may be arrested, if the past is not repaired. We would, however, before we dry our pen, say a word on an expression we find in Dr. Wordsworth's pamphlet, in which he seems to deride, or at least dislike, the term so generally used by the working clergy; and he asks, as did the Quarterly Reviewer before him, if the Bishops and others do not equally deserve the honour of that name. Now, in the first place, the term working clergy' is not contrasted with the episcopal situation alone, but with all ranks of their higher and more richly endowed brethren; Deans, Canons, &c. to whose emoluments is not attached the care of parishes. Granted that the Bishops have business enough on their hands, we still consider their labours of a very different kind from those of a poor parish priest in a large and populous district. The former gets through his official business with his secretaries, chaplains, and clerks. The other has to labour in his vocation alone amid purse-proud tradesmen, peevish and insolent Dissenters, wretched, starving paupers, filthy chambers, and infectious diseases. The first, when the business of the morning is over, may be seen taking his ride in the parks, attending the horticultural show, reading the pamphlets at the University Clubs, criticising perhaps Sir H. Halford's Latinity, dining with the Lord Mayor, or cutting jokes at the Duke of Sussex's philosophical soirées. other comes home to a sick wife, squalling children, a hungry larder, and at best the choice company (the only one he can afford to keep) of the village apothecary, or the attorney in whose debt he probably is. Educated like a noble, he is condemned to live with those "whose talk is of oxen." Fond of study, he has not wherewithal to purchase a book. His mind unenlightened, and his sentiments unimproved by travel, he is in general information far behind the rest of the world, and the members of the other professions; he is shut out alike from the past and the present. The same dull scene for ever before him; the same path of severe duty for ever to be trod; neither enlivened by conversation,-by book,-by travels,-by any liberal enjoyment, or intellectual See Dr. Wordsworth's Letters, p. 74. The |