some remarks upon Mr. Portal's "Manual of Prayer," remarks which we are sure our readers would not wish to be troubled with.

If any of our readers should think of visiting Tunbridge Wells during the season, they may like to know that at St. James's, a Church in the higher part of the town, there is a Daily Service, and on Sundays an Early Celebration of the Holy Communion, with a second at midday on the first and third in the month. On Saints' Days there is a mid-day Celebration. The choir is surpliced, and the Service is choral on Sunday evenings.

The annual Church-rate battle in the Parish of St. Saviour's, Southwark, took place last week. This year it has been somewhat intensified in consequence of a considerable increase in the rate, which is stated to be caused by various circumstances. In the first place, the Bishop of Winchester has written to the Churchwardens informing them that the Archdeacon has reported to him that on the occasion of his Visitation in May last he found the Church in various places in such a dilapidated condition that unless these dilapidations were speedily repaired the worst consequences would befall the building, and the Bishop therefore trusted that the parishioners would see to it that these repairs would at once be effected, and that they would not allow "the grand old fabric" to become a ruin. The carrying out of these repairs alone would have caused an increase in the rate, but since the fabric has received such injury from lightning during the storm two weeks ago as will take 500l. to repair it, what with the old dilapidations and the recent injuries the sum required amounts to 13547. 10s. That is independent of the ordinary charges falling upon the Church rate, which this year are estimated at 12117. 5s. 6d., so that the total amount chargeable upon the Church rate is 2565/. 15s. 6d. To meet that there is a sum in hand of 5691. 7s. 6d. which leaves the sum of 19967. Ss. to be provided for by rate. To cover that amount the wardens propose a rate of fourpence in the pound, but at a stormy meeting on Monday night that proposition was meet by an amendment that the rate should be one penny in the pound. The larger amount was, however, carried by a majority after much talk, but a poll having been demanded by the defeated party, that proceeding took place on Wednesday at the board-room in the Borough Market, when, after a strong and vigorous contest, which lasted from eight o'clock in the morning till four in the afternoon, the larger amount was confirmed by a majority of 243 against 228. The chairman accordingly declared the fourpenny rate to be carried.

On the 28th, ult. the Rev. C. H. Travers, was publicly admitted to the Living of St. Giles, Reading, by the Bishop of Oxford, the Patron. The Bishop arrived at the Vicarage about four o'clock, and was accompanied from thence to the Parish Church by the late Vicar (the Rev. T. B. Fosbery), the Vicar-elect, and the Churchwardens, where they were met by some of the Clergy of the other Churches, the Curates of St. Giles, and the choir of St. Giles, and proceeded into the Church, where a large congregation was assembled. The Bishop took his seat at the north side of the altar, the Vicar-elect occupying a seat without the altar-rail. After Evensong, the Rev. C. H. Travers advanced to the altar-rail, and standing before the Bishop, who was then seated in front of the altar, read the usual declarations and took the customary oaths of canonical obedience, &c. He then knelt down while the Bishop read the instrument of collation, and pronounced over the newly appointed Vicar the Benediction. A pause ensued for the purpose of silent devotion, and the hymn Veni Creator was sung. The Bishop then proceeded to the chancel-steps and delivered an earnest and appropriate address, setting forth the purposes of the solemn Service and ceremony which had been performed, and exhorting the congregation to hearty co-operation with their new pastor in the work of the Church of Christ. After the Service a large and influential meeting of the Parishoners, including the numerous staff of Churchworkers in the Parish, was held in St. Giles's Hall, when the Bishop, in a most impressive manner, pointed out to all present the object of such a gathering-its need, its gain, its strengthening influence on the Church's life; alluding to the work already accomplished by the new Vicar in another portion of the Diocese, and calling on the inhabitants of St. Giles's to help him, especially in the prospect of building a new Parish Church to replace the present dilapidated fabric. Several laymen, amongst whom was Mr. Hayman, father of the head master of Rugby, also spoke most warmly, and the Vicar wound up with a few remarks, in which he asked the hearty sympathy and earnest prayers of his new flock, that he might be faithful to the responsible charge committed to him, and be enabled to carry on the many good work inaugurated by his predecessors.

A Mr. Binley, who describes himself as the Rector of a large parish in the north of England, has made a curious statement in an Irish paper, to the effect that he was converted to Ritualism:-"I was called," says Mr. Binley, "to attend a young woman who had been a model parishioner. She instructed a Bible-class for me, and was much and deservedly respected. Her name was Jane M Fay. She had been some time complaining, and was now dying of that melancholy disease, decline. I endeavoured to console her as best as I could, telling her to come to Christ by faith, and that a firm confidence in the Saviour was sufficient to save her. It is not,' said she with animation, 'sufficient to save me, because it is not God's appointed means. You have starved my soul by your false teuching. I have learned, I trust not too late, that the

6

channels of Divine grace are the Sacraments of the Church, which you always have been studious to ridicule as Popish superstitions. Oh ! that I had my sins now blotted out by God's appointed means-the Sacrament of Penance; and I was nourished with the heavenly food, giving life eternal, without which God himself tells me I cannot have it. Oh! that I was anointed with the holy oil in the Sacrament of Extreme Unction to quiet now my soul and renew my confidence in a good God. Begone,' she continued, and be consoled with this reflection, that my only hope of salvation is in my ignorance, brought about by your teaching; may God forgive you. Go, and do not further torture me by telling me of a God of Mercy whose mercies and forgiveness you have held back from me.' I left; I could answer nothing, for her words seemed to be dictated by the Supreme Being. Her words, You have starved my soul,' made me tremble. I asked myself, did I; I could not answer 'No.' I begged of God light and then I got it. Jane M'Fay had spoken the truth-I found I had starved her soul by the modern teaching of the Church of England, and I became a Ritualist; and may the words of poor Jane M'Fay be heard when she said, May God forgive you;' and may my words be heard too, 'May God forgive and enlighten all men who would starve souls by the false teaching of the modern Church of England.'”

The Bishop of Chester has just consecrated a Church in the hamlet of Helsby, a township in the parish of Frodsham, Cheshire. The Bishop was met at the railway station by the Vicar, and conducted to the schoolroom, erected by the exertions of the late Vicar, the Rev. J. R. Hall, and hitherto licensed for Service. Here he was warmly greeted by a large number of neighbouring Clergy, met together to join in the Service of the day. It was full choral. The Bishop preached an earnest and practical Sermon. After Service the Bishop met the Clergy at luncheon in the schoolroom, where his work amongst his Clergy was gratefully acknowledged, and the same large room was afterwards thrice filled with the inhabitants of Helsby, who enjoyed an excellent tea, Evensong followed when Canon Barkley, Rural Dean, preached an admirable Sermon. The collections at both Services amounted to nearly 651. The windows in the apse are the work of Messrs. Hardman, and represent the Nativity, the Crucifixion, and Resurrection; whilst another to the west of the Priest's door is a Sacramental window, the subjeet being our Lord making Himself known to the Disciples at Emmaus. These are erected in memory of the late Edward Meyrick, of Windsor. Designs are already made for filling the rest of the windows, as they may be required for memorials : those on the south side with incidents of St. Peter's life in connection with our Lord; those on the north with events subsequent to His ascension. On the 20th. ult. a very joyous day was spent in the parish of Metheringham, Lincolnshire, on the occasion of the reopening after restoration of the Church of St. Wilfrid. The Holy Communion was celebrated at nine o'clock, the Bishop-Suffragan of Nottingham being present, the Vicar celebrant. The Nunc Dimittis was sung as a recessional. At eleven o'clock the procession was formed in the Vicarage grounds by the choir (surpliced for the first time), and about thirty Clergy. A processional cross and banners were carried by the choir, and a second cross was borne by the Rev. E. Lowe before the Vicar and his Bishop. The circuit was made through the town, singing Hymns Ancient and Modern, 384, 385, 386, on their way to the Church. An excellent Sermon was preached by Bishop Mackenzie, on Joshua iv. 6-"What mean ye by these stones?" Then a large party of friends was hospitably entertained at luncheon by the Vicar; and at three o'clock the Litany was sung, and the Bishop, sitting near the chancel-step, addressed some loving, fatherly words to the school on "the children crying in the Temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David." Then followed a public tea (while the little ones were being feasted in another place)-realising more than 15. for a new organ. The evening preacher was the Rev. R. Giles, Vicar of Horncastle. There were very pretty floral decorations, especially on the font, chancel, screen, and the new aisle-the sanctuary was bright with coloured walls and roof-the altar, decked with candles, cross, six vases of flowers, and new frontals and dossal.

A CATHOLIC EMIGRATION SCHEME.-The Rev. James Nugent, Roman Catholic Chaplain of the Liverpool Borough Gaol, whose efforts in the cause of practical philanthropy have already resulted in the establishment of a Refuge for Destitute Boys, which at present provides food, clothing, education, and profitable employment for 661 poor lads, and has rescued hundreds of others from a life of pauperism or crime, is projecting a plan for the emigration of the most unfortunate classes of the juvenile population to Canada and the States. Miss Rye and other devoted labourers in this field of benevolence cannot see their way to taking charge of or assisting any but Protestant persons, however destitute or deserving; and Mr. Nugent has determined upon a journey across the Atlantic with the object of establishing an organisation for the reception and employment of such children as those whose welfare he has especially at heart. At a gathering held in Liverpool on Tuesday he avowed himself anxious to pursue his undertaking without sectarian exclusiveness; but it is evident that his primary efforts must be in the interest of the young poor of the Roman Catholic community. A very large proportion of the population of Liverpool being Irish of the lowest class, the Catholic gaol Chaplain has been deeply impressed with the growing danger to society at large which arises from the rapid and unchecked increase of the criminal and vicious youth of both sexes. The

object of his mission must commend itself to all who consider the temptations to which destitute orphans, and homeless children are exposed, and the enormous injury and cost their wants of training causes to the better classes. It is to be hoped that, both here and in America, Father Nugent will find encouragement and substantial support, such as will enable him to carry his project to a practical and successful issue. As at present arranged, he will leave this country on the 18th inst. REFUSAL TO CONSECRATE.-A very beautiful new Church, designed by Mr. George Edmund Street, A.R.A., has been built at Thixendale-on-the-Wolds, East Riding, at the sole cost of Sir Tatton Sykes. The edifice has been ready for consecration for fully six months, but from certain causes disappointment has resulted on the two occasions fixed for the ceremony. It was first announced that the consecration would be performed on the 4th of April last, and every preparation was made, when on the previous Saturday only it was stated the Archbishop would not consecrate in consequence of some informality in the deed of conveyance. Rumour at that time said all was not quite right in the chancel. The ceremony was again fixed, but early last week it was intimated to the founder that unless the "superaltar" were altered the consecration could not be performed. To this it is understood Sir Tatton Sykes declined to accede, and there will be another postponement sine die. The super-altar is a shelf-like slab of red marble, supported at each end by jambs of Caen stone. The oaken communion table is partly overhung by this slab, which is walled into the base of an elaborately panelled reredos of Caen stone and Devonian marble, of which it is really a part. This, it is alleged, was shown in the drawings of the Church which were submitted to the Archbishop. In this difficulty the architect has been sent for, Sir Tatton Sykes refusing to permit any alteration without his sanction, and the Church

remains still useless.

THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY AND THE WAR.-The following has been addressed to the Bishop of London, as Dean of the Province, by the Archbishop of Canterbury :

"Addington Park, Croydon, August 5, 1870. "My dear Bishop of London,-I have consulted some of those who, with myself, have authority in the matter of advising the Queen to issue, in reference to the present war, a public form of prayer, which, according to usage, would be drawn up by myself, as Archbishop of Canterbury, and be sent forth with the sanction of Her Majesty's Privy Council.

"As at present advised, I find that the precedents are against the issuing of such a form while the United Kingdom and the rest of Her Majesty's dominions are mercifully preserved from any participation in the war. In common, however, with yourself and all others with whom I have conferred on the subject, I feel that in prospect of the miseries now threatening two great nations, with which our conntry is most intimately connected, the English people are bound to present their supplications to God for the restoration of peace.

I have, therefore, resolved to follow the ancient constitutional course in such matters, and to request you, as Dean of the Province of Canterbury, to communicate to our brethren, the Bishops of the Province, my earnest hope that they may be able to encourage their people to be instant in prayer to God during the prevalence of the present calamity which overshadows Europe. The usual public prayers of our Church are so worded as to embrace within our ordinary petitions an earnest supplication to be saved from the evils of such an emergency as the present; and I sincerely trust that everywhere throughout England our people will not fail thus generally in their public Services in Church, as well as more particularly in their family and private devotions, to pray God, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, to save Europe from the calamities which now hang over the civilised world.

"I return the form of prayer, which by mutual consultation you and I have agreed to recommend as a help to the private devotions of our people.-I am, my dear Bishop of London, your faithful brother and servant, "A. C. CANTUAR.

"O, Almighty God, King of all Kings, Whose power no creature is able to resist, to whom it belongeth justly to punish sinners, and to be merciful to them that truly repent, assuage, we beseech Thee, the horrors of this war, which Thou hast permitted to break forth in Europe; restrain the passions of the combatants; inspire the conquerors with mercy, and the vanquished with submission to Thy will; give patience to all who suffer; prepare for Thy summons those who are called to die, and set to this warfare bounds which it may not pass. We pray Thee, O God, speedily grant peace to the nations, and so overrule, in Thy good providence, the course of all events, that our present anxieties may end in the spread of righteousness, enlightenment, and true liberty, and thus Thy kingdom may at last be established upon earth. And this we pray through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour,

the Prince of Peace.-Amen.'

within the ten years during which I have ministered in this Diocese, I do not remember anything that has more deeply disturbed the Clergy of this Diocese than this act of Dean Stanley's and the manner in which it was treated in the Upper House of Convocation.

If your Lordship will say something to alay the distress of your memorialists, and of the many other Clergy of your Diocese, who feel deeply in this matter, but who for various reasons of their own have not signed this memorial, they will feel truly grateful to you.

As this is a matter of public interest, perhaps you will kindly allow me to make public, for the benefit of all interested herein, any answer you may see fit to send me.

I am, your Lordship's faithful servant in Christ, The Bishop of London.

66

RICHARD J. WEST.

To the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of London. We, the undersigned Priests of your Lordship's Diocese, beg respectfully to draw your Lordship's attention to the statement made in the public journals that at the first meeting of the New Testament Company for the revision of the Holy Scriptures, the whole Company, including Presbyterians, Baptists, and a Unitarian, partook of the Holy Communion in Westminster Abbey at the hands of the Dean, each of them having received a circular giving notice of the intended celebration. Now, inasmuch as the Rubric directs that there shall none be admitted to the Holy Communion until such time as he be confirmed, or be ready or desirous to be confirmed,' a great breach of discipline seems to have been perpetrated by the open violation of this Rubric, and a deep wrong to have been done to the Church and Her Divine Head by the admission to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper of one who denies the doctrine of Our Lord's divinity. We therefore earnestly pray that your Lordship will take such steps as seem best to you, to clear the Church in this Diocese from any complicity with this act of sacrilege.

"Robert Gregory, Canon of St. Paul's; H. P. Liddon, Canon of St. Paul's, and Ireland Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture in the University of Oxford; C. W. Furze, Vicar of Staines, and Rural Dean; Cyril Page, Vicar of Christ Church, Westminster; W. U. Richards, Vicar of All Saints', Margaret-street; G. C. White, Vicar of St. Barnabas, Pimlico; A. H. Machonochie, P.C. of St. Alban's, Holborn; J. Walker, P.C. of St. Saviour's Pimlico; J. G. Cowan, P.C. of St. John's, Hammersmith; J. C. Chambers, P.C. of St. Mary's, Soho; R. T. West, P.C. of St. Mary Magdalen, Paddington, Student of Christ Church; W. Denton, Vicar of St. Bartholomew; H. W. Burrows, P.C. of Christ Church, Albany-street; Henry D. Nihill, P.C. of St. Michael's, Shoreditch; B. M. Cowie, Vicar of St. Lawrence, Jewry; W. H. Lyall, Rector of St. Dionis, Backchurch, W. H. Clutterbuck, P.C. of St. Philip's, Clerkenwell; C. F. Lowder, Vicar of St. Peter's, London Docks; John Going, Vicar of St. Paul's, Walworth; Geo. Hervey, Vicar of St. Augustine's, Haggerstone; Richard C. Kirkpatrick P.C. of St. Augustine's, Kilburn; W. R. Sharp, Vicar of St. Chad's, Haggerston; Charles Gutch, P.C. of St. Cyprian's, Marylebone; Thos. Hugo, Rector of Hackney; W. Reyner Cosins, Vicar of Holy Trinity; G. E. Biber, Vicar of Roehampton; J. M. Ashley, Vicar of St. Peter's, Vere-street; N. N. Chope, P.C. of St. Augustine's, South Kensington; John Ross, Vicar of St. Mary's, Haggerston; Thos. Darling, Vicar of St. Michael Royal; G. Fyler Townsend, Vicar of St. Michael's, Burleigh-street; H. Sandham, Vicar of St. John's Wood Chapel; Arthur B. Cotton, Vicar of St. Paul's, Bow Common; H. Wadmore, Vicar of All Souls', Hampstead; Ed. Stuart, Vicar of St. Mary Stoke Newington; Oswald J. Cresswell, Rector of Hanwell; Magdalen, Munster-square; F. J. FitzWygram, Vicar St. James's, New Hampton; J. Medicos Rod well, Rector of St. Ethelburga's, Bishopsgate: C. J. Mayo, Vicar of St. Andrew's, Hillingdon; Č. J. LeGeyt, Vicar of St. Matthias' J. H. Thomas, Vicar of Hillingdon." In addition to the above there were numerous signatures of nonbeneficed Clergy.

In another five or six

THE HOSPICE OF THE GREAT ST. BERNARD.-The Vicar of Hurley Marlow, sends the Guardian an account of a visit he paid here Omitting the introductory details we quote those portions which we are sure will interest our readers :-" minutes we had mounted the door-steps, and found ourselves in a stonepaved, white-walled passage, having rather a sepulchral appearance, while an oil-lamp here and there kept out the darkness. Not a soul was moving, and we had some little difficulty in arousing anyone. At length a brother, clad in a black cloth cassock, with biretta on his head of the same material, appeared through an open-worked iron door in one of the passages. He wore a white band, or ribbon, round his neck, which extended in front and behind to his cincture, as a mark of his Augustine order. A frugal meal of bread, butter, and cheese was soon cheerfully supplied to us from the cupboards of the salle a manger by the monk, and we were then shown by the same worthy to our apartment for the night. The room was clean and comfortable, with two well-curtained beds in it, and an eider-down (?) quilt on each. Mass was sung next morning at six o'clock, and I got up to attend it. The Church, connected with the east end of the Hospice and opening out of it, is simply large and neatly arranged without, however, anything in it very remarkable in any way. There is an alms-box in which visitors usually deposit their money in acknowledgment of hospitality received,

-the monks making, of course, no charge. The Convent, as regards its structure, is a large, lofty, and massive building of stone-about 120 feet in length (without the Church) by about 60 feet in breadth-with a ground, second, and third floor, together with some attics. Long passages run from one end of the building to the other, from which the rooms and offices open out. The buildings are capable of lodging at least 300 poor, I believe. On Sunday, July 17th, about 100 were received there for the night. Opposite the Hospice is another building of a like character, but very much smaller: this is for the women travellers. The specimens of the St. Bernard dogs, now six in number, are noble beasts; these are taken out by the servants every morning in search for distressed travellers-in their passage from one side to another in search of work (they go chiefly from the Italian to the Swiss side in March and April, I believe, returning in November or December). The chief use of the dogs is to show the way, and this they do most wonderfully. At the east end of the Hospice, and a few yards from it, is a morgue or deadhouse, in which the bodies of travellers found dead in the snow are placed. About three were found last winter; none the winter before. I understood from the monk who attended on us that formerly these bodies were preserved somewhat (no doubt, to give longer time for identification by friends); from henceforth, however, this is to be discontiuued. I did not enter, since some bodies there were offensive. The monks cannot make a cemetery if they would, since the ground around the Convent is too rocky. When one of their Order dies in the Convent, he is interred underneath the Church, in a vault hewn in the rock, I suppose. The establishment consists at present of thirteen monks, but only five were then resident in the Convent the others being below, doing work for the Hospice in various ways. They are not at all old, the eldest being about forty, the others twenty-five or thirty; there are a few lay brethren and seven domestics. Each monk in the Hospice has a separate office appointed him. On the walls of the salle a manger' (kept for the use of visitors, and which, by the way, is really a most comfortable and handsome apartment) are arranged a number of prints and others pictures-some of them English-and, amongst the rest, the well-known engraving of St. Augustine and Monica; a piano is also in it, given by his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. There is a wellkept library, in which is exhibited a collection of coins and bronzes excavated from the sight of a Temple of Jupiter which once stood on the west side of the lake. Relics of some description are still being found occasionally now. Altogether the visit was very interesting, but I am free to confess that the fact of the Hospice of the Great St. Bernard having become such a regular 'lion' for tourists prevents one seeing the ordinary every-day Convent life of the monks in that natural state in which it may be witnessed in places less hackneyed' (if I may be allowed the use of the term) by tourists-the Holy Land, for example. Nothing, however, can be said too highly in praise of these excellent and devoted men, who spend their lives in offices of charity never turning a deaf ear to anyone that asketh-feeding the hungry and succouring those in distress-all of which are so eminently of the essence of a pure religion. A visit to the Convent will be quite repaid

to those who make it."

THE BISHOPS AND RITUALISM.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has addressed the following letter to the Chairman of the Portsmouth Branch of the Church Association, in answer to a memorial forwarded to his Grace, and signed by upwards of two thousand lay and Clerical members of the United Church of England and Ireland. The memorialists complain of the adoption by a party within the Church of doctrines and practices alien to the purity of the Reformed Faith, and express their "indignant sorrow and surprise at the supineness and apathy that have prevailed for so long a period on the part of their ecclesiastical rulers."

"Addington Park, Croydon, Aug. 3. "My dear Sir, I beg leave to acknowledge your letter of the 29th of July, and the accompanying address, originated, as you tell me, at a meeting of the Portsmouth Branch of the Church Association. "I entirely agree with the late Archbishop of Canterbury in his view of the dangerous and unscriptural character of such sentiments as are set forth in the extract from his Grace's letter which you have quoted, and I believe there is no Bishop on the Bench who does not share the feelings of the late Archbishop on this subject

"I am not surprised that many members of the Church of England should feel indignant at practices and doctrines which have in some places sprung up during the last 20 years, having a manifest tendency to assimilate the worship and teaching of our pure, scriptural, and Reformed Church to the system of the Church of Rome. But I cannot in any way agree with you in the belief that this evil is owing to supineness and apathy on the part of the Bishops. You must be well aware that the Beneficed Clergy of the Church of England are not, like the Priests of some portions of the Church of Rome, dependent for their position on the arbitrary will of their Bishops, nor, like some Dissenting Ministers, liable to be removed by a vote of their congregations, or of the heads of their community. I, for my part, whatever disadvantages may follow from this freedom of the Clergy, rejoice that it is secured to them, and that no Clergyman of the Church of England can be removed until he has had a fair and open trial before a competent tribunal, in which his

violation of the law of the Church has been legally proved. The advantage thus obtained necessitates a great amount of patient toleration of variety of opinion in our Clergy. It is seldom that a Clergyman expresses himself in such terms as to lay him open to a charge of so violating the law that he can be found guilty in court. There have been many trials during the last 20 years on the points to which you allude. The Church Association has, I understand, been connected with some of these appeals to the proper tribunals, and, therefore, as one of its officers, you probably know that, while nothing in such matters can be done without legal proof, such proof of unsound doctrine and practice is very difficult to obtain. Nor must we exaggerate the evil of which we have to complain, if such trials unavoidably consume a good deal of time and are expensive; for the interests of each individual Clergyman are necessarily as carefully watched as the allegations of their accusers by the Judges of our ecclesiastical courts.

"I agree with what I presume is your wish, that the points at issue might, as the Ritual Commission has suggested, be decided in some less expensive and more expeditious manner; and I have always expressed my readiness to assist in improving our legislation in this direction. But I cannot attribute blame to those who, while the Legislature has shown no disposition to intrust the Bishops with greater authority, have thought it their duty, however much their patience has been tried, always to act according to law, and not to seek some arbitrary mode of crushing those whose opinions they disapprove, when such power is not conferred upon them either by the Church or the law of the land.

"In the midst of the anxieties of a disquieted age and the rancour of parties, I look, in common with my brethren of the Episcopate, to the great Head of the Church to aid us, in his own good time, in our faithful endeavours to maintain His honour, and I feel sure that, by His blessing, the truly Scriptural character of our Reformed Church, as set forth in our Formularies, will at last be vindicated; and our Church, retaining its hold on the affections of this great people, will preserve its acknowledged position as the exponent of an enlightened Christianity, labouring to promote education, boldly rebuking vice, and standing forth as the bulwark at once against superstition and infidelity. "I remain, my dear Sir, your faithful servant, A. C. CANTUAR. Lieutenant-General H. C. Tate, Chairman of the Portsmouth Branch of the Church Association."

66

FATHER HYACINTHE ON THE INFALLIBILITY DOGMA.

Journal des Debats:-
The following letter from Father Hyacinthe has been published in the

"A very serious question is now presented to all Catholics. Ought they to adhere to the definition of the Infallibility of the Pope, or are Without doubt authority they free to withhold their submission to it? is the very character of our Church and the principle which governs our faith, but for that very reason it is important that we should distinguish between an apparent and a real authority, between a blind and a reasoning and reflecting submission-Rationabile obsequium vestrum. The question may, therefore, be thus defined. Is the authority of the Council of the Vatican lawful? or, in other words, does the present Council possess the essential characteristics of an Ecumenical Council? The first of these characters is liberty. Now, notwithstanding the secrecy in which it has been sought to envelope the internal working of the Council, as though it were of the nature of those of which the Gospel speaks, which possess an affinity with darkness, and which avoid the light from fear of being judged ut non arguuntur opera ejus, light has already been cast upon it, and will be still more vividly apparent concerning it. The repeated protests of so many illustrious Prelates representing the most important and most enlightened portions of Catholicity are known, as is also their recent letter, at once firm and respectful, in which, while maintaining their negative votes, they have explained their reasons for retiring from the dishonourable battle field. The world cannot be unaware of the absence of dignity, I may even say of serious consideration, with which the high interests of the Faith have been treated by a majority which would have not been tolerated in the ancient Councils, both on account of its factitious and illusory composition and its audacious oppression. Another condition, not less important than the œcumenity of a Council, is that it should be recognized as such by the Church. The Council, in fact, had no mission to impose new beliefs upon the faithful, but to maintain, and if needful to define, the ancient creeds. The Bishops are, above all others, witnesses of the traditional and historic faith of their respective Churches and of the Universal Church, and their sentence, as judges, limited in advance by the very nature of this testimony, can only be pronounced upon truths which have been accepted from the beginning, everwhere and always, as If, then, they revealed-quod semper quod ubique quod ab omnibus. should happen to overstep their powers, the Church would not recognize its faith in the arbitrary work which they had accomplished, and the Council would remain without authority. Such cases are not unexampled, and to cite only one history has recorded the names of Seleucias and Rimini, and the almost universal defection under which, to use the words of St. Jerome, the world groaned and was astonished to find itself Arian. The danger is no less at the present time, and if one of

the most important members of the Council (Monsignor Kenrick*) is to be believed, the Church has never known so great a peril. At such times it behoves even the humblest of Christians to uplift his voice in defence of his faith and the faith of all. For myself I feel myself inwardly compelled to fulfil the duty, and as the prophet said,-tu autem animam tuam liberavisti. I protest, therefore, against the pretended dogma of the Pope's Infallibility, as it is contained in the decree of the Council of Rome. It is because I am a Catholic, and wish to remain such, that I refuse to admit as binding upon the faith of the faithful a doctrine unknown to all ecclesiastical antiquity, which is disputed even now by numerous and eminent theologians, and which implies not a regular development but a radical change in the constitution of the Church and in the immutable rule of its faith. It is because I am a Christian and wish to remain such that I protest with all my soul against these almost Divine attributes to a man who is presented to our faith-I was about to say to our worship, as uniting in his person both the domination which is opposed to the spirit of that Gospel of which he is the Minister, and to the infallibility which is repugnant to the clay from which, like ourselves, he is formed. One of the most illustrious predecessors of Pius IX., St. Gregory the Great, rejected as a sign of anti-Christ the title of Universal Bishop which was offered to him.† What would he have said to the title of Infallible Pontiff? On the 27th of September last year I wrote the following line concerning the do not Council then about to assemble:-If apprehensions, which wish to share, should be realized-if the august assembly should have no more liberty in its deliberations than it has had in its preparations if, in one word, it should be deprived of the essential characteristics of an Ecumenical Council, I would call upon God and upon men to summon one really summoned by the Holy Ghost, not in a party spirit-one representing really the Universal Church, and not the silence of some and the oppression of others.' I again utter that cry. I ask for a truly free and Ecumenical Council. And, above all, now as always, I appeal to God. Man has been powerless to procure the triumph of truth and justice. May God arise and take His cause in hand and decide it! The Council, which should have been a work of light and peace, has deepened the darkness and unchained discord among the religious world. War replies to it as a terrible echo in the social world. War is one of God's scourges, but in inflicting a chastisement may it also prepare a remedy? In sweeping away the ancient edifice may it not prepare the ground upon which the Divine spouse of the Church shall construct the new Jerusalem? "FRERE HYACINTHE.

"Paris, July 30.”

* Rem Ecclesiæ in maximum ex quo orta sit discrimen adduxerint Concio Petri Ricardi Kenrick, Archiepiscopi S. Ludovici in Statibus fœderaris Americæ septentrionalis, in Concilio Vaticano habenda, at non habita Naples, p. 66.

+ Moi, je dis, sans la moindre hésitation, que quiconque s'appelle l'évêque universel ou désire ce titre, est, par son orgueil, le précurseur de l'Antichrist, parce qu'il prétend ainsi s'élever au-dessus des autres." Liv. VII. lettre 83, édit. Bénéd."

moment.

Notes, Literary, Archæological, &c.

The Maharajah of Rewah has given 2,000l. to the pundits of Benares, who composed a poetical garland of flowers for the Duke of Edinburgh, on His Royal Highness visiting the sacred city.

It is rumoured that Mr. Bryant, encouraged, we presume, by the success of his version of the "Iliad," is devoting himself to the task of translating the 'Odyssey.'

A new reprint of the "Account of the Surname of Baird" is ready for publication. It contains several letters and family papers that now appear in print for the first time.

The death in Vienna of Joseph Strauss, the composer of dance music, is announced; he was one of three sons of the celebrated Strauss. The

deceased composer has left about 300 original works, and more than 200 arrangements for the full orchestra, and different instruments.

The first portion of the eighth edition of Tischendorf's Greek Testament is just published, containing the Acts, the Epistle of St. James and St. Peter, and part of 1 St. John. It consists of 320 pages of closely but clearly printed matter.

Mr. G. Hodder has died of the effects of the injuries he received some weeks ago at Richmond. Mr. Hodder, who was educated at Christ's Hospital, was long and honourably known as a London journalist, and in April last he published an interesting volume called 'Memories of My Time,' which contained personal reminiscences of Jerrold, Thackeray, &c.

Revised estimates have been published for the following public Services:-Science and Art Department buildings, new building at South Kensington, 52,500l, increase, 28,5007.; auxiliary museum in the East of London, 5,000, increase, 2,0001.; total increase, 30,500. In aid of the expenditure of certain learned societies in Great Britain, 12,450., in addition, advances for the new Courts of Justice, buildings, 21,450, of which 16,0007, is intended for the erection of the building. Of course this will be repaid to the Treasury out of the surplus interest on money in the hands of the Court of Chancery. For the National Gallery enlargement, 44,000l. is asked, of which 20,000l. is for the acquisition of land, and 24,000/. for clearing the site acquired, and for new buildings.

At a moment when the Pope is putting himself on an equality with God, it may be of interest to know that in the year 1707 the French Academy offered a prize for a poem the subject of which was that the French Monarch was at least superior to humanity. The theme for the poet to illustrate was "That the King's wisdom renders him superior to all manner of events." "-Athenæum.

TEXT ON COINS.-Texts of Scripture have often been inscribed upon coins. When the greenbacks were first issued by the United States Mr. Chase, then Secretary of the Treasury, consulted, among others, the President of one of the Philadelphia banks in regard to placing some motto upon them-such, for example, as has since been impressed upon the five-cent pieces,-"In God we trust." After mentioning several Scriptural texts that had occurred to him, the Secretary asked our "the most appropriate banker's opinion. "Perhaps," was the reply, would be, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee!'" The project was abandoned.-Lippincott's Magazine.

The Times correspondent at Berlin remarks that the famous Projet de Traité was not only written by M. Benedetti, but written on the paper of the French Embassy here. This latter circumstance has been verified by ocular inspection on the part of our whole Corps Diplomatique, and deserves especial mention. If Benedetti really wrote from Count Bismark's dictation, did he bring his own paper with him for this purpose? Nobody will believe this; while, on the other hand, even M. Benedetti has not ventured to assert that Bismark paid him a visit on the occasion, and that the nice little piece of penmanship was executed in the French Hotel, the Ambassador serving in his own house as the amanuensis of the Premier.

MARRIAGES.

Aug. 4, at St. Michael's, Chester-square, the Hon. and Rev. F. G. Pelham to the Hon. Alice Glynu.

Aug. 4, at All Saints', Margaret-street, after banns, the Rev. E. W. Turner, M.A., of Carshalton, Surrey, to Elizabeth Anne Brasnell, only child of the Rev. H. G. Brasnell, formerly of Brastead, Kent.

Aug. 4, at St. Mary's, Grassendale, near Liverpool, Meyrick H. L. Beebee, M.A., Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, to Eliza Jane, eldest daughter of John Swainson, Esq., Grassendale.

DEATHS.

July 29, at The Cloisters, Windsor Castle, in the 40th year of her age, Eleonora Elizabeth, wife of the Rev. H. F. Limpus, Minor Canon of St. George's Chapel, and youngest daughter of the Rev. W. H. Vernon. M.A., Vicar of Leytonstone, Essex. July 31, at Barrogill Castle, the Right Hon. Louisa Georgina, Countess of Caithness.