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Lately published, Svo., pp. 530, price 16s.

THE VALIDITY OF THE HOLY ORDERS

THEN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

MAINTAINED AND VINDICATED BOTH THEOLOGICALLY
AND HISTORICALLY, WITH FOOT-NOTES, TABLES OF
CONSECRATIONS AND APPENDICES.

By the Rev. FREDERICK GEORGE LEE, D.C.L,
F.S.A., Vicar of All Saints', Lambeth.
London: J.T. HAYES, Lyall-place, Eaton-square.
PUBLISHING ARRANGEMENTS.-IMPORTANT TO AUTHORS'

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State

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UR PRINCIPLES AND POSITION. By Promoters of the Catholic Revival in the Church of England.

No. 1. Protestantism and the Prayer Book. 1s.
No. 2. Church and State. 1s. 6d.

No. 3. Confession and Absolution. 18.
London: THOMAS BOSWORTH, 198, High Holborn,
W.C.; removed from 215, Regent-street.

Now ready, Second Edition, 3s. 6d., post free,
HARMONIES for the GRE-

HE CHURCH RECORD. Edited by ORAIAN PSALM TONES. BY ARTHUR H.

the Rev. THOMAS SCOTT, M.A.

MOFFAT & COMPANY, LONDON & DUBLIN.

WORKS BY ALEXANDER VANCE.

The History and Pleasant Chronicle of Little
Jehan

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Vox Clamantis

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Price Twopence Monthly. Registered for Transmission

Abroad,

BROWN, of Brentwood.

Contains eight different Harmonies for each tone and each ending, amounting in all to nearly five hundred. London: THOMAS BOSWORTH, 198, High Holborn

This day, 16mo., cloth, gilt edges, 2s.; or free by post, 28. 2d.,

PUZZLE-MONKEYS: Acrostics in

Prose and Verse. By E. L. F. H.

I'm sometimes square, and sometimes round;
I'm oft in mischief to be found
My whole's a poser. May it be
Less puzzling to you than me.

London: THOMAS BOSWORTH, 198, High Holborn

This day, small 8vo., 38., nett, or by post, 3s. 3d.,

PLAIN WORDS. A Christian Mis- THE PARABLES OF CHRIST con

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spoken by our Blessed Lord. To those Priests who want to get at the main drift and burden of one of these discourses-either for a Sermon or a Bible Class-in a few minutes this little book will prove itself to be an invaluable boon. The salient points of each Parable are seized upon at once, and the commentary seldom extends over more than five or six pages. The reader is not burdened with useless matter, and what there is, is very much to the point. There is nothing either verbose or high-flown in the treatise; its very earnest simplicity must commend it to any houghtful mind.' Church Review

London: THOMAS BOSWORTH, 198, High Holborn, Removed from Regent-street.

WILL BE READY IN JUNE. Dedicated to His Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of London, and the Rev. B. Morgan Cowie, B.D., Vicar and Rector.

ME

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In hoc signo vinces,

EMORIALS OF S. LAWRENCE JEWRY: being some Account of the Church of S. Lawrence Jewry from the Earliest Time; including a List of Chantries copied from the originals; together with a Table of the Charities of the United Parishes of S. Lawrence Jewry and S. Mary Magdalen, Milk-street, compiled by THOMAS BREWER, Esq. (inserted by permission); and a Full Account of the

Services held in the Church from the time of the celebrated Mission Services, in September, 1867, until the end of the year 1869; and many Articles and Letters from the Newspapers upon the works of the Church. By ROBERT ALDERSON TURNER, Preceptor. Cloth lettered, about 400 pp., 5s. (including postage), to subscribers only.

Post-office orders should be made payable to Robert Alderson Turner, at the Lombard-street Office, E.C. All communications must be addressed to R. A. Turner, 9, Essex-villas, East Down-park, Lee, S.Ē.

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The WARDENSHIP, with the charge of both the Divinity and the Public School Departments, will be vacant in the Summer by the resignation of the Rev. Dr. Hannah. The Warden must be "a Clergyman of very high character and attainments," and a Graduate of either Oxford or Cambridge. Candidates are requested to apply by letter, marked "Trinity College," to the Honorary Secretary to the Council, William Smythe, Esq., of Methven, Methven Castle, near Perth. The residence is an excellent furnished house connected with the College. The election will take place on or before July 1.

TONY STRATFORD.-ST. PAUL'S

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Visitor. The LORD BISHOP of OXFORD.
Warden.-Rev. W. T, SANKEY, Vicar.

A PREPARATORY SCHOOL to the above was opened in JANUARY Last. Applications at present to be made to the Warden or Secretary of St. Paul's School, Stony Stratford.

W H. BAILEY & SON,

· 418, OXFORD STREET, LONDON, Beg to recommend their ELASTIC STOCKINGS, KNEE CAPS, &c., they are made of the best material, and warranted to wash.

Inventors of the IMPERCEPTIBLE TRUSS. Belts for the Support of the Back &c., &c.

SALMON, ODY, AND CO.,

PATENT TRUSS MAKERS

TO HIS LATE MAJESTY WILLIAM IV,
ESTABLISHED 1806.

292, STRAND, LONDON. (N.B.-Elastic Stockings, Ladies' Abdominal Belts, &c.)

EE &

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CHARTA

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The only Remedy for Damp in New or Old Walls. Decorated by First-class Art-Workmen, or Stencilled and Printed in every style, to suit the Palace, the Mansion, and the Cottage.

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OF STRENGTH.-The old and delicate always feel the sudden transition from cold to heat, and fearfully they tell upon them unless preventive measures be adopted to counteract them. Nothing effects this object so certainly and so readily as Holloway's Pills, which begin by strengthening the stomach, regulating the liver, and purifying the blood, and end by working a complete, lasting, and rapid cure. These admirable Pills exercise a most salutary influence over every organ of the human body. They dispel nervousness, weariness, and enervation; in a word Holloway's Pills wonderfully restore every function to its natural state of health and vigour. They never fail, directly or indirectly they adjust and invigorate the whole animal economy.

London: Printed by JOHN HIGGS BATTY, at 6, Rad Lion Court, Fleet Street, E.C.; and Published for the Proprietors by THOMAS BOSWORTH, 198. High Holborn, W.C.-June 8th, 1870.

The

Church Herald.

No. 35.-Vol. I.

CURATES.

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A friend of ours has been looking out for a Curate since Christmas, and has only secured one after six months' search and advertising; not that he had no applications, but that all the negociations failed. We had the curiosity to ask him to allow us to look at some of the applications, and to investigate the reason of the many failures and disappointments. The Curacy itself is on the whole a desirable one; it is for one of two parishes in a market town of about eight thousand inhabitants, of which about three thousand are attached to the parish in question: salary £120. The work is, of course, pretty hard; daily Matins and Evensong, Early Celebration on Sundays and Holy Days, besides the ordinary Sunday Services; the Vicar in every way an agreeable person, who takes the hardest part of the work himself. The following is the result of our enquiries: some thought the hours too early, 8 a.m. on Sundays, 8.15 on week days; others did not consider the lodgings good enough-others wanted a "bracing climate; " in the majority of cases the Curacy was declined under terms such as these:-" Not that I object myself, but my wife requires a better house," or "a more bracing climate," or something or other which it was not the power of the Vicar to provide.

These replies set us thinking. Here is a good Curacy, good salary, average work; not so much as to engross the whole time, nor so discouraging as one in a manufacturing or mining district, with Chartists or Infidels to deal with. How is it that nearly six months elapsed before the man fitted for such a Curacy could be found? We are driven, perforce, to the conclusion that it is through a dislike of hard work, and from a determination to live an easy life; for, as far as we can ascertain, there is no difficulty in finding Curates on less salary for country parishes, where Sunday duty is almost all that is expected, but where there is good society, croquet, evening parties, and a good house to live in. A few years ago we had our nerves shocked and our feelings roused by accounts of the misery of Curate life; of men overworked and underpaid; of men who gladly received cast off raiment to cover their nakedness, gifts in money and kind to keep the wolf from the door. We naturally ask, "Why need this be, when such good Curacies as £120 a year are going a-begging? What need of a Curates' Augumentation Fund, when Curates turn up their noses at this Curacy? Thirty years ago titles were seldom obtainable at more than £80 per annum; £100 was considered a good Curacy: the work, too, was harder, populations were larger, parishes were not then subdivided as they are now; besides, in manufacturing and mining districts there was a violent Chartist and Infidel spirit among the neglected people, which not only disheartened and repulsed the earnest Priest, but also was continually marring his work among the better-disposed. But in those days there was not the same difficulty in obtaining a Curate, even on a much smaller salary; there were no fastidiousnesses about lodgings, bracing climates, nor was the wife and her fancies a difficulty. In those days young men took a Curacy and remained in it, they did not go from Curacy to Curacy, dis

Price 1d.

appointed with each, and settled at none. They knew what they were doing, they knew there was hard work, and often hard fare and uncomfortable lodgings, but they endured it all cheerfully. There must be some reasons for this change, something entirely wrong in the training or habits of life, or in the motives for undertaking the office of the ministry, which it is as well to enquire into.

One reason no doubt is, that there is a far larger demand for Curates than there used to be; not only increase of popution, but increase of Churches and parishes requires more men to work them; and the endowments of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and of private donors, aided by the two Societies, have multiplied the need; but this is, in a great measure, counterbalanced by a very considerable increase in the average stipend; any Curate who really sets himself to his work can get £120 a year now, when £80 or £100 would have been deemed sufficient thirty years' ago. Another is that men, who enter the Ministry with the intention of devoting themselves to their office, are soon laid hold of, and appointed to real Missionary work in London, in some of our large towns, by Incumbents who are carrying on great and successful Missions. But by far the most general reason is, that men have neither the will nor the training for the work. College life is not what it used to be: thirty years ago there was discipline in the Colleges, now there is none: there was a certain amount of reading and study through which even the idlest men were compelled to go; now that is reduced to a minimum. Boating, cricket, athletic sports, are really the principal employment of the average Collegian, and however excellent these may be in their proper place, and they are of great use and value, it is wholly a mistake to make so much of them as is done now. They unsettle the mind, they destroy the habits of regular study, and what is far more, of mental discipline. When a man leaves College, he finds himself unfitted, as well as unwilling, to settle down into regular work; he cannot give up his amusements, they have become a second nature to him; to go into regular parish work, especially in towns, is irksome, he has no heart for it. word he has lost that self-discipline, or rather, has failed to acquire it, without which no really parish work can be done.

In a

Another cause is the now very common practice of Curates to marry early: they generally have some private means, or they often marry wives who are similarly endowed: they both naturally desire the comforts of the marriage life, the wife more often than the husband; and so under all these various circumstances the Curate has become a very fastidious and particular individual, and certainly in few cases shows himself deserving of all the pity and compassion lately heaped upon him.

THE CITY CHURCHES.

VERY recently it was our duty to record one more deliberate sacrifice to what some people euphemistically call "the Spirit of the Age," or, in plain English, the spirit of covetousness and sordid self-interest-namely, the demolition of another Church in the City of London. No doubt All Hal

lows, Staining, is a small parish; still more certain is it that the congregation worshipping there was very scanty; for there was nothing either in the building, or the Service, or the personal character of its late Rector, which would be at all likely to attract either parishioners or strangers within its walls. For the same reason there would be no difficulty in gaining the consent of the parishioners to the removal of a building wherein they never worshipped, and which they had come to regard merely as Mr. So and So's Church, and as such, a place to be altogether avoided if there were anything in the ministry, opinions, or personal habits of Mr. So and So, which they did not happen to like. Moreover, the site being in Mark-lane, would command a large sum in the market, and the endowment of the Benefice is ample-all of which marked it out as a spot most suitable for the work of the spoiler, which, if the truth must be told, has been terribly hampered by the unwillingness of the people to have their Churches pulled down. In one case the parishioners in vestry assembled flatly refused to allow it! In another instance, which accidentally came under our notice, as soon as the projected union of parishes and destruction of the Church began to be talked about, the inhabitants not only refused to listen to the proposal, but took in hand the restoration of their Church with right good will. A sum of money was subscribed sufficient handsomely to repair and decorate the fabric, so that it was impossible for the Destruction Commissioners to carry out their proposed scheme with any appearance of a decent excuse. Here, too, there was always a good congregation, regard being had to the population, although neither Service nor preaching were anything remarkable or different from the common run of Churches a dozen years ago. But the Rector resided among his people, visited them on week days, became personally known and liked, and was ready and willing to do his office whenever occasion might serve; if it were only to speak a few words to the workpeople in one warehouse, or assist the proprietor of another to establish Daily Prayer as a custom among his men before they began their work.

In short, we are convinced that if the City Clergy simply did their duty efficiently, if they attended to it as earnestly and systematically as their parishioners, who have offices and shops, attend to their business, we should hear no more of Churches being closed and destroyed for want of worshippers. And then, by degrees, people might be brought to understand that a Church is not like a lecture room or a theatre, maintained purely for the sake of the audience who come there to hear and see, but a Temple of God, built as much for His honour as for the welfare of man; that it is not a house of merchandise, to be pulled down when it does not pay, but a House of Prayer, to be sustained by the offerings of those who pray. It may then dawn dimly upon their minds that the Most High may be worshipped on the other days besides Sunday, and that the Holy Sacrifice of the Eucharist is none the less efficacious because two only or three may be gathered together in their Lord's name.

We know of course that it is commonly alleged that Churches and Clergy are greatly needed in other parts of the Metropolis, whilst the City has more than it requires, or in common phrase is overstocked with them. It may be admitted that this is a good ground for a revision of the duties and incomes of the City Clergy. It is flagrantly unjust for a Priest to receive a thousand or even two thousand pounds a year from a parish which he scarcely ever sees, satisfying his deadened conscience by paying a brother Clergyman one-tenth of his income for doing what little law and custom require of him, and offering imperfect ministrations to a miserable handful of people. These are points which men of the world see plainly enough. But we contend that the proper remedy is not to pull down Churches, but to rearrange the Services and Endowments. For instance, the Living of All Hallows,

Staining, would suffice to maintain two or three Clergy, and no one would object to a portion of it being assigned to some poor district on the outskirts of the city. Instead of demolishing the Churches and selling the sites, why not group together several parishes around one centre, providing a house and a sufficient staff of resident Clergy by whom the several Churches would be served, giving short and frequent Services at such hours on Sundays and week days as might be found most convenient in each? From the surplus income new Churches might be endowed, just as the present desecrative scheme proposes to do. We say proposes, for although one Church at least (St. Benet, Gracechurch-street) has long ago been pulled down, and an immense building raised upon its site, nobody can tell what has become of its revenue or where the Church is situated which was to be substituted for it; in fact, we believe it is still only a scheme upon paper. Other people ask what has become of the large income of All Hallows, vacant for the last two years; but nobody seems to know what is to be done with it.

The fact is that it is quite time this work of destruction was put an end to. Even in a business point of view it is a bad season for offering to sell land in the city, where, as every one there knows, large sites are still vacant and desolate, because it is too hazardous a speculation to build upon them, and countless warehouses and offices are without a tenant. And it is most unwise, to say the least of it, to give any countenance to the notion that a Church is like a place of common resort to be shut up or pulled down when it ceases to attract a remunerative audience. Especially is it injudicious thus to outrage the feelings of Christian people, by causelessly destroying the altars at which their forefathers have worshipped, and around which their remains have been laid to rest, at the very time that they are being asked to make fresh sacrifices and to give more liberally, so that new buildings may be erected and more Clergy provided to further the work of the Church of God in this huge, overgrown agglomeration of cities and towns which we call London.

REVISION.-No. VI. [CONCLUDED.]

DIFFICULT TEXTS.

In this busy world, where men do their religious duties with their loins girded and their staffs in their hands, very few, even among the more intellectual, have much time for studying the Bible critically. There is, moreover, a certain fashion even in the literature of Religion, and this is a branch of religious study which is not in vogue. But this not being a case where "ignorance is bliss," it will be excusable to touch upon the subject, even in the superficial manner, which alone is possible in the pages of an ephemeral publication. The treatment of Revision would be far from complete if we did not endeavour to show, that we can hardly open our Bibles anywhere, without discovering some text or texts which present formidable difficulties both to the learned and unlearned reader. In doing this, we shall not be careful to select passages of importance as affecting faith or morals. Every text which requires examination with a view to re-translation, whatever its immediate subject may be, possesses interest for those who believe in Inspiration of any extent or kind. He who has no desire to know what the writer of any single sentence of Holy Writ did actually write, and how it may be best translated, must differ so essentially from intelligent men in general, that we may well leave him to himself; not attempting to argue with him, until he has given us primâ facie reasons for respecting a very unenviable indifference.

In the first chapter of the first book of the Bible, we find

it written in our version, that the earth was "without form and void." The expression "without form," as a translation, does not seem felicitous; perhaps waste would be better. The same sense is given to both Hebrew words in lexicons. The Septuagint has invisible, other translators give inert; either of these two words in the original may be rendered desolation or emptiness: and there seems little reason for without form. In the same verse we have moved upon; here the notion of agitation is lost; probably hovered over would be better. Some have suggested brooded; but here the idea of motion disappears. But these are matters of taste, and it is not pretended that anything more is involved.

There are many passages in the first chapters of Genesis in which commentators propose corrections; but as they are of uncertain merit, they need not be mentioned. But in the eighth verse of the fourth chapter there is a general consent that some words have been lost. Talked with Abel his brother is not admissible; from several versions we find that the text once ran, "Cain said to Abel his brother, let us go out into the field," which makes the sense clear. Verse 23 is generally considered unintelligible, and good critics render, "I have slain a man on his wounding me, and a young man on his bruising me." This is introduced in contrast with the unprovoked act of Cain. In viii. 21 v. for should certainly be although; "although the imaginations of men's heart be evil from his youth." In chapter xxii. 1 v., "for tempt Abraham, we should substitute prove Abraham. In chapter xx. 14 v., the sense requires took a thousand pieces of silver to be inserted; this is found in the Samaritan and Septuagint. It is in pure instances of error like this, where intentional alteration seems improbable, that we most plainly see that the present text is in some passages corrupt, or at least that copies varied, even when the Septuagint translation was made.

Gen. xx. 16 v., is a difficult passage, and very obscure in our version. Many render thug, "Behold, it shall be to thee a veil for thine eyes, before all who are with thee, and with all other; and she was reproved." The story is this: Abimelech, on making reparation, gives a sum of money to Abraham, besides flocks and herds, and also permission to dwell where he liked, and he accompanies this with an admonition to Sarah, that she should use the veil of married women (for which he had given the purchase money), for the sake of modesty, in her intercourse with her own party and with strangers. We must not forget that the Authorised Version runs thus, "Behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other." Other interpretations, however, are given, most of them more intelligible than our translation. In the xi. chapter 2 v., from the east, should certainly be eastward, as in the margin. In chapter xxv. 18 v. we have, "He died in the presence of all his brethren." This can hardly be said with truth. Some render, It fell to him, namely, his territory; others he dwelt. In xlix. 24, "from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel," disturbs the sense; "By the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel," is the rendering preferred by many critics. A slight change in the vowel points gives this sense. The Syriac,

moreover, so translates.

It would be easy to quote more interesting passages, but those which first presented themselves have been chosen. It is impossible, in our limited space, to give any idea of the conflict of opinions on many of these passages; and the very perplexity arising from this shows the necessity for re-consideration, even though in many, or in most cases, no alteration should be made. But in order to give some idea, in a less desultory manner, of the variations from the common version adopted with seeming probability by commentators, a continuous passage may be exhibited. The benedictions of Jacob (chap. xlix.) will serve the purpose; and in these we venture to present some of the most remarkable variations :

2. Gather yourselves together and hear, ye sons of Jacob,
And listen unto Israel, your father.

3. Reuben, thou art my first born,

My strength, and the prime of my manhood,
Surpassing in dignity, surpassing in power.
4. (Yet) Unstable as water thou shalt not surpass,
Because thou wentest up unto thy father's bed,
Ascending my couch, thou didst defile it.

5. Simeon and Levi are brethren,

Weapons of violence are their swords;
6. Enter not, my soul, into their secrets,
Join not, mine honour, their assembly;
For in their anger they slew men,
And in their self-will they hamstrung oxen.
7. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce,
And their wrath, for it was cruel.

I will divide them in Jacob,

And scatter them in Israel.

8. Judah, thee shall thy brethren honour:
Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies,
Thy father's sons shall bow down to thee.
9. Judah is a lion's whelp;

Thou returnest, my son, from the prey

He stoopeth, he coucheth as a lion,

Or as a lioness. Who shall rouse him?
10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh come,

And him shall the nations obey.

11. He bindeth his ass unto the vine,

And his clothing in the blood of the grape; 12. His eyes are red with wine,

And his teeth white with milk.

13. Zebulun shall dwell by a haven of the seas,
He shall be a roadstead for ships,

And his coast shall reach unto Sidon.
14. Issacher is a strong ass,

Who lieth down among the folds;

15. For he seeth that his resting-place is good,
And that the land is pleasant,

So he bendeth his shoulder to the burden,
And becometh subject to tribute.
16. Dan shall judge his people,

As one of the chiefs of Israel.

17. Dan shall be a serpent by the way,
An horned viper by the path,

That biteth the heels of the horse,
And his rider falleth backward.

18. I have waited for thy salvation, O Jehovah.
19. Gad, a troop shall assail him,

Yet shall he repel their assault.
20. In Asher, his food shall be rich,

And he shall yield royal dainties. 21. Naphthali is a spreading oak.

He sendeth forth goodly branches.
22. Joseph is a fruitful stem,

A fruitful stem by the fountain.
His branches spread over the wall.
23. The archers have sorely grieved him,
They shot at him and hated him;
24. But his bow abode in strength,

His arms were supple and vigorous,

Through the power of the Mighty One of Jacob,
Through the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25. Through the God of thy father who helpeth thee,
And the Almighty who blesseth thee,
With blessings of the heaven from above,
The blessings of the deep that lieth below;
The blessings of the breast and of the womb.
26. The blessings of thy father prevail

Beyond the blessings of my forefathers,
Unto the limits of the everlasting mountains.
They shall be upon the head of Joseph,
On the crown of the chief among his brethren.

27. Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf;

In the mourning he devoureth the prey,
And at night he rendeth the spoil.

Alterations in this passage have been introduced sparingly, but they provide some evidence of the great variations which different commentators propose. Still in the authorised version of this passage there are no very strange expressions which offend the ear, such as these with which we are all familiar, "Why hop ye so, ye high hills?" (Psalm 68. Prayer Book Version) Or this, "Or ever your pots be made up with thorns, so let indignation vex him, even as a thing that is raw." (Psalm

66

58 8 v. Prayer Book version; the Authorised Version being also obscure.) Though after my skin worms destroy this body." Job xix. 26 v., worms being interpolated; but in fact it is only too easy to find infelicitous renderings.

Enough has been said at present to show how difficult it must be to maintain the sufficiency of our present version; possibly at some future time further evidence may be added. For the present we conclude with the deliberate opinion, that setting aside all possible corruptions, the translation of the text which we have is so often faulty, as to render at least a tentative revision a crying necessity for all those who desire to read the Bible. We also repeat the opinion that the state of the text is the first consideration, and that the whole work of revision, however vigorously it may be taken in hand, will require a very long time for its execution.

CLERICAL DISABILITIES ACT.

In a previous number of the CHURCH HERALD we commented upon the general bearing and principle (or rather absence of principle) of this proposed enactment. To complete the discussion of the subject all the essential clauses of the Bill are reprinted here, with a few annotations which may serve to show what would be the actual working and effect of this measure if it were unfortunately suffered to become part of the law of this country :

same.

:

A Bill for the relief of persons admitted to the office of Priest or Deacon in the Church of England and desiring to relinquish the WHEREAS it is expedient that relief be given in respect of civil disabilities and in certain other respects to persons who have been admitted to the office of Priest or Deacon in the Church or England and who desire to relinquish the same:

What are the "civil disabilities to which the Clergy are liable? This is the first and most relevant enquiry. So far as the framers of this Bill could discover, and we can add nothing to their research, these are few, imposed by two statutes only, and capable of being removed in almost as few lines. We may instance them as they apply to two Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge, the one a Priest and the other a Deacon, who have recently published their reasons for seeking to be relieved from Ministerial obligations, and have actually ceased to officiate as Clergymen. The "civil disabilities" under which these unfortunate gentlemen labour are as follows: (1) They can neither of them sit as members of the Commons' House of Parliament, and their election to it would be void. (41 George III. c. 63.) (2) However ardent they may be in the cause of local self-government they can neither attain to municipal dignity. Cambridge cannot hope to be governed by the Worshipful Mayor Clark, nor illumined by the wisdom and experience of Mr. Counsellor Taylor. Possibly these gentlemen are even now ignorant of this terrible grievance ! it has also been suggested to us that this provision was originally introduced into the Act (5 and 6 William IV. c. 76 sect. 28), to preserve the "respectability of the cloth," when these municipal offices ceased to be commonly filled by gentlemen of birth and education. This may be no more than a lawyer's joke, yet unquestionably the law is in an anomalous state. For although a Clergyman cannot be an alderman in the most insignificant country town, he may still be a Justice of the Peace, and as a county magistrate possess more extended functions, and far greater influence. The Rev. W. G. Clark cannot be M.P. even for a constituency of which most of the electors are in Holy Orders; but Mr. C. H. Spurgeon, who could not be made Mayor of Little Pedlington, may become a candidate for Lambeth at the next election, if he be so minded, and when elected would take his seat in the House as a matter of course.

Of the two grievances named one may be considered of some importance; the other is trivial. But is this all? Are

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these the disabilities about which so much ado is made? There are no more. These are all that have any legal existence. If there are other disqualifications which press upon "the Parson who has retired from business," they are such as the customs and opinion of society dictate; restraints imposed by what may be called either prejudice, or right feeling, according to the bias of the speaker. Can it be these which are hinted at in the "certain other respects of this preamble? An Act to better a man's social standing and repute would be a novelty, and no clause in the present one seems likely to effect such an object, but rather the reverse.

Be it therefore enacted:

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1. This Act may be cited as The Clerical Disabilities Act, 1870. 2. In this Act

The term "the Church of England" means the Church of England as by law established:

The term "Minister" means a Priest or a Deacon :

The terms "Preferment," "Bishop," and "Diocese " respectively have the same meaning as in the Act thirdly mentioned in the first schedule to this Act. (3rd and 4th Vict., c.. 86 s. 2).

The term "preferment" has a very wide meaning. It includes every sort of Ecclesiastical Office, from a Deanery down to a Curacy, Lectureship, Readership, or any office or place which requires the discharge of any spiritual duty.

3. If any person admitted (before or after the passing of this Act) to the office of Minister in the Church of England desires to relinquish the same, he may, after having resigned any and every preferment held by him, do the following things:

It is assumed that every Church preferment can, as a matter of course, be resigned. This is a common blunder. The holder may resign, but such resignation is worthless until accepted by his superior. Suppose the Bishop refuses to accept the resignation what would happen then? Amongst all the doubtful points of Ecclesiastical law this seems tolerably well determined, that a Bishop can no more be compelled to accept a resignation than to confer Holy Orders. Should the Bill pass, this power would at least enable him to put a check upon hasty and rash action on the part of any heedless young Priest or Deacon in his Diocese.

(1.) He may execute a deed of relinquishment of his office of Minister in the form given in the second schedule to this Act: (2.) He may cause the same to be inrolled in the High Court of Chancery:

(3.) He may deliver an office copy of the inrolment to the Bishop of the Diocese in which he last held a preferment, or if he has not held any perferment then to the Bishop of the Diocese in which he is resident, in either case stating his place of residence: (4.) He may give notice of his having so done to the Archbishop of the Province in which that Diocese is situate.

4. At the expiration of six months after an office copy of the inrol

ment of a deed of relinquishment has been so delivered to a Bishop, he or his successor in office shall, on the application of the person executing the deed, cause the deed to be recorded in the registry of the Diocese, and thereupon and thenceforth (but not sooner) the following consequences shall ensue with respect to the person executing the deed:

This six months is not meant, as might be supposed, to give an opportunity for better thoughts and wiser counsels to prevail, but is simply an interval within which legal proceedings may be taken against the relinquishing Clergyman. Should none have been instituted, at the end of this time the Bishop will have no choice but to give effect to the deed. Some Clergymen there may be who would willingly perform all this in order to qualify themselves for a seat in Parliament, but no sane mortal would do it in order to become an alderman or a mayor.

The fact is that this Act is not seriously intended to relieve actual disabilities, for the similar grievances of the Roman Clergy are left untouched, equally with the Dissenting teachers' one disqualification. It is no broad, liberal, and well considered effort of legislation, but a miserable makeshift, put forward as a sort of salve to the consciences of a few Clergymen who desire to enter into the ordinary occupations of laymen, and yet have not courage to take the plunge boldly, for fear of losing their own self esteem or the esteem of

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