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DIVINITY SCHOOL
TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY

THE

BAMPTON LECTUKES FOE MDCCCLXI.

Luke iv. 18, 19.
Hviv/ia Kvpiov iw ifii, o»5 itvtKiv expi^s p.t tvayyiXioanQai jrrw^O'!.',
&,waara\ice /he [jaaaadai tovq ovvnrpifipBvovs rf/v KapSiav,"]
K.ripu%at aixp-aXoirois dftaiv Kai TvfXoig avdpXtvjiv, airoartXXai TtQpava-
psvovc; iv aiptaei, Kijpv%ai eviaurbv Kvpiov Sektov.

THE
MISSION AND EXTENSION
OP
THE CHURCH AT HOME,
CONSIDEEED
IN EIGHT LECTURES,
PREACHED BEFORE
THE UNIVERSITY OE OXEORD,
IN THE YEAR MDCCCLXI.
AT THE LECTURE FOUNDED BY
THE LATE REV. JOHN" BAMPTON, M.A.
CANON Or SALISBURY.

BY
JOHN SANDEORD, B.D.
i.\
ARCHDEACON OF COVENTRY.

LONDON:
LONGMAN, GEEEN, LONGMAN, AND EOBEETS.

LOND OK
PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODB AND CO,
NEW-STREET SQUARE

TO
THE MEMORY OF
EESKINE DOUGLAS SANDFOED,
LATE SHERIFF OF GALLOWAY, N.B.
AND OF
DANIEL KEYTE SANDFOED, D.C.L., KNIGHT,
FORMERLY PROFESSOR OF GREEK IN THE
UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW,
THESE LECTURES ARE INSCRIBED
IN FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE,
BY THEIR SURVIVING BROTHER.

EXTRACT

FROM
THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

or THE

REV. JOHN BAMPTON,
CANON OF SALISBURY.
 " I give and bequeath my Lands and Estates to
" the Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of the University
" of Oxford for ever, to have and to hold all and sin-
" gular the said Lands or Estates upon trust, and to the
" intents and purposes hereinafter mentioned ; that is to
" say, I will and appoint that the Vice-Chancellor of the
" University of Oxford for the time being shall take and
" receive all the rents, issues, and profits thereof, and
" (after all taxes, reparations, and necessary deductions
" made) that he pay all the remainder to the endowment
'•' of eight Divinity Lecture Sermons, to be established
" for ever in the said University, and to be performed in
" the manner following :
" I direct and appoint, that, upon the first Tuesday in
" Easter Term, a Lecturer be yearly chosen by the Heads
" of Colleges only, and by no others, in the room ad-
" joining to the Printing- House, between the hours of ten
" in the morning and two in the afternoon, to preach
" eight Divinity Lecture Sermons, the year following, at
" St. Mary's in Oxford, between the commencement of

Vlll EXTRACT FROM CANON BAMPTON 8 WILL.
" the last month in Lent Term, and the end of the third
" week in Act Term.
" Also I direct and appoint, that the eight Divinity
" Lecture Sermons shall be preached upon either of the
" following Subjects — to confirm and establish the Chris-
" tian Faith, and to confute all heretics and schismatics
" — upon the divine authority of the holy Scriptures —
" upon the authority of the writings of the primitive Fa-
" thers, as to the faith and practice of the primitive Church
" — upon the Divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
" Christ — upon the Divinity of the Holy Ghost — upon
" the Articles of the Christian Faith, as comprehended in
" the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds.
" Also I direct, that thirty copies of the eight Divinity
" Lecture Sermons shall be always printed, within two
" months after they are preached, and one copy shall be
" given to the Chancellor of the University, and one copy
" to the Head of every College, and one copy to the Mayor
" of the city of Oxford, and one copy to be put into the
" Bodleian Library ; and the expense of printing them
" shall be paid out of the revenue of the Land or Estates
" given for establishing the Divinity Lecture Sermons ;
" and the Preacher shall not be paid, nor be entitled to
" the revenue, before they are printed.
" Also I direct and appoint, that no person shall be
" qualified to preach the Divinity Lecture Sermons, un-
" less he hath taken the degree of Master of Arts at least,
" in one of the two Universities of Oxford or Cambridge ;
" and that the same person shall never preach the Divinity
" Lecture Sermons twice."

PREFACE.

The printing of these Lectures has been delayed by
illness, which for some months after they were de
livered, prevented their being prepared for the press.
Meanwhile popular interest in the questions of which
they treat is manifestly on the increase ; and the
writer believes that the views which they advocate
are daily gaining ground.
In his own case they are the result of many years'
reflection and experience. But they express the
convictions of multitudes in our day, who, uninflu
enced by prejudice, and untrammelled by party,
exercise an unbiassed judgment on matters in which
they are personally concerned, and on which they
claim an individual opinion.
No man can have watched the progress of the
Church in England — still less have been himself
actively engaged in its service, for nearly half a cen
tury — without appreciating the mighty changes
that during that time have taken place in its con
dition and its prospects.
Views, which fifty years ago were regarded with
distrust, are now accepted as established truths ;
reforms which were then denounced as Utopian, have

X PREFACE.
since been effected. Every year has seen prejudices
which were viewed as insurmountable, give way ; and
partitions that for long had separated brethren, taken
down. Men have learned to look one another in the
face, and have discovered that they are children of
the same God, and belong to the same household of
faith. Above all, the Christian laity are awakening at
once to their privileges and responsibilities, and be
ginning to take that share in the deliberations and
work of the Church, which more than anything else
indicates recovered life and is the earnest of pro
gressive improvement.
Who, then, that reads aright the signs of our times
can distrust God's presence at this moment with
His Church in this land ? Or who can doubt that
if it obeys His voice it shall prevail and prosper?
May He imprint on our hearts that Word, " he that
is not with me, is against me ; and he that gathereth
not with me, scattereth abroad ! "
To Him be glory in all the churches, both now
and for ever ! Amen.

SUMMARY.

XII SUMMARY.

LECTURE I.
(Delivered February lith, 1861.)
nature and office of the church.
Acts ii. 47.
" And the Lord added to the Church daily such as should be

'O St KvpwQ Trpoo-eriOei rove, awlonivovs nad' fifiipav rrj iKK\i)aiqu
Statement of the subject, page 1.
Its importance and appropriateness, 2. — Spirit in which it
ought to be treated, 3. — Moral and religious aspect of the
country, 6. — Indications of recovered life in the Church,
7. — Doctrine of toleration better understood, 9. — Desirable
ness of correct views on the nature of the Church itself, 11. —
General design of these Lectures, 12. — Nature of the Church,
13. — Its mission, 18. — Its credentials, 24.

LECTURE II.
(Delivered. March Wth, 1861.)
distinctive features of the english church.
1 Timothy hi. 15.
" That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in
the House of God, which is the Church of the living God, the
pillar and ground of the Truth."
Iya ticSjje 7rdi£ Set Iv o'ikw Beov avaoTpiajioQcu, rjrig eartv ekkXt/o-io
Btov Z&vTor;, crrvXog Kai edpalioiia rije. aXr/de'iag.
Position of our Church, 37 — Its Antiquity, 40. — Its Catholicity,
41 — Its love of Scripture, 45. — Its use of tradition, 48  Its
comprehensive spirit, 52. — Its Diocesan and Parochial System,
55. — Its connection with the State, 57.

SUMMARY. Xlll

LECTURE IH.
(Delivered April lith, 1861.)
HINDRANCES OF THE CHURCH.
Jeremiah xiii. 20, 21.
" Where is the floch that was given thee, thy beautiful flock ?
What wilt thou say when He shall punish thee ? "
Tests to which the Church is exposed, 65. — Religious condition
of our people, 67. — Commercial standard of morality, 69. —
Prevalence of dissent, 70. — Its political antagonism, 71. —
Differences amongst Churchmen, 72. — Spiritual destitution, 74.
— Causes of; 1. theParochial System in abeyance, 75. — 2. Want
of church accommodation, 76  3. Densest populations the
poorest, 80. — 4. Poverty of endowments, 81. — 5. Lower type
of Clergy, 82. 
LECTURE IV.
Delivered April 28th, 1861.
WANTS OF THE CHURCH.
Luke x. 2.
" Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but
the labourers are few : pray ye therefore the Lord of the
harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest."
"EXfytv ovv irpog avroig ' 6 fxev deptafiog iroXvg, ol Se tpyarat oXiyoi "
Se^dj]T£ ovv tov Kvpiov tov Qepio-fiov, oiriog £K/8aA?j ipyarag tig
tov OepiOficv avrov.
The work of the Church in a great measure of a missionary cha
racter, 86. — Need of increased spiritual agency, 92. — Sub
division of parishes, 94  Poverty of many of our populous
cures, 96. — Remedies for this ; 1. Relief afforded by Ecclesi
astical Commissioners, 98. — 2. Diocesan efforts, 98. — 3. Recog
nised responsibilities of property, 99. — 4. Use of the offertory,
101. — 5. More equitable assessment of benefices, 103. —
6. Increase of the Episcopate, 105. — 7. Lay agency, 112.

xiv SUMMARY.
LECTURE V.
(Delivered, May 5th, 1861.)
CLERICAL AGENCY.
2 Timothy h. 15.
" Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
'SiKovlaaov aeavTov SoKifiov irapaorrjaai rw Oey, kpyarr]V avtiralcyyv-
tov, SpOoTOfiovvra tov \6yov rfjg aXtjdeiag.
Clerical office and standard, 116 — Precautions taken by the
Church to exclude unfit persons, 117. — Need of clergy disci
pline, 120. — Of clerical training, 123 — Deficiencies complained
of, 124. — Diversity of gifts, 125. — Distinctive training re
quired. How far afforded by the Universities, 128. — Theolo
gical colleges; 1. as a substitute, 130. — 2. As auxiliary, 131.
— Objections to these, 131  What we ask of the Universities,
135. — More of practical training required, 137  Address to
candidates, 139.

LECTURE VI.
(Delivered May 12th, 1861.)
NATIONAL EDUCATION AS SUBSIDIARY TO THE CHURCH.
Proverbs n. 10, 11.
" When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is plea
sant unto thy soul ; discretion shall preserve thee, understanding
shall keep thee.''
The Church in favour of education, 143. — Church view of
education, 143. — Must be religious, 144. — Secular education
in America, 145.— Must be in the principles of the Church,
147. — National interest in the cause of education, 148 

SUMMARY. XV
Main obstructions in its way, 149. — What is chiefly wanted,
150  Moral and religious training, 151  Importance of
clerical supervision, 152. — Necessity of retaining hold on
the young, 152. — Sunday schools, 153. — Evening schools,
154  Middle schools, 155. — Injury to the Church from
neglect of these, 156. — Old educational Foundations, 157. —
Importance of Middle class education, 159. — Public schools,
160. — Work effected by Dr. Arnold, 161. — Lessons of cor
porate life to be imparted, 162. — Special office of the Univer
sities, 164. — Importance of this, 165  Undervalued by certain
classes, 166. — Faults of student life, 167. — Special dangers of
student life, 169. — More of intercommunion between the go
verning and undergraduate body required, 170. — Sermons
in college chapels, 171.

LECTURE VII.
(Delivered June 2nd, 1861.)
fabrics and services of the church.
1 Chronicles xxix. 1.
" For the Palace is not for man, but for the Lord God."
Neglected condition of our churches in a former age, 172. —
Source of this, 173. — Revival of church architecture, 174 
Design of Christian worship, 175. — Common rights of worship
pers, 177. — Evils of appropriation, 179  Need of temporary
fabrics, 180. — Example afforded by Jewish Church, 181 
Such fabrics supplemental and exceptional, 182  True prin
ciples cf religious worship, 182. — Contrast with foreign
churches, 183 — How to attract the poor and win the operative
classes, 184 — Liturgical revision, 186 — How far admissible,
187. — Principles on which it ought to be conducted, 188 
Are Dissenters to be won ? 190. — True means of attracting to
our services, 193.

XVI SUMMARY.
LECTURE VIII.
(Delivered June 9th, 1861.)
THE CHURCH, AS IT WAS, AS IT IS, AS IT MIGHT BE.
Acts ix. 6.
" Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do f "
KvpiE, ti fxe dtXtig 7roiij<7at ;
Recapitulation and concluding argument. Aim of these Lectures,
195. — State of the Church at the beginning of the present
century, 198. — Admitted defects, 199. — Real cause of these,
200. — True hope of the Church, 201. — The Church contrasted
with other religious systems, 202. — The Church expresses the
mind of our people, 205. — What is required of its teachers, 206.
— Importance of lay co-operation, 207. — Office of warden, 208.
— Lay co-operation in counsel required, 209. — Individual re
sponsibility, 210. — This often overlooked, 211. — Influence of
example, 214  Woman's mission, 216. — Conclusion, 219.

LECTURE I.

Acts ii. 47.
" And the Lord added to the Church daily such as should
be saved."
" 'O Se Kvpioe, itpoo'ETiBn rovg aio£oy.£VovQ cci0' rjfiipav rrj s/c/c\?j<7i£."
The Mission and Extension of the Church in Eng
land, with special reference to its present exigen
cies and resources, is the subject selected for these
Lectures. Various considerations render this one
of grave and critical importance. It embraces topics
and involves interests that more or less concern
every man amongst us, that affect almost every
relation of life, and underlie our whole social and
religious condition as a people.
And in our day it may be said more than any
other to force itself on the public attention, to en
gage thoughtful and earnest minds, and to furnish
occupation for the statesman and the philanthropist.
No theme would appear to excite more general and
lively interest, or to be more frequently in the mouths
of men in the day in which we live.
B i*

2 LECTURE I.
It therefore specially demands the consideration of
our Universities, to which are committed such weighty
trusts, and which possess such manifold means of
stimulating and directing national thought. And in
bringing it before you on this occasion, I not only
claim your indulgence, but ask your prayers that God
would give to me the " spirit of power, and of love,
and of a sound mind;" a and enable me to discharge
the duty I have undertaken, in a manner befitting
the importance of my Subject and worthy of the
Office which I hold.
In my treatment of the various topics which will
come before us, I may have to depart somewhat from
the course pursued by previous lecturers on this
Foundation. But this, I trust, will be justified by
the nature of the inquiries on which we are about
to enter. These will not be of the speculative and
recondite character of some which have instructed
and delighted an auditory in this place. On the
contrary, I shall have to deal with matters of a
strictly practical nature, which have come more
immediately under my own observation, and on
which I may be able to address you from familiar
acquaintance and personal experience.
But here it may be necessary to notice an objec
tion that meets me at the threshold.
It may be said that my subject, however interest
ing in itself, hardly falls within the scope of a Lec-
a 2 Timothy i. 7.

LECTURE I. 3
tureship designed for the elucidation and confirmation
of religious evidence.
It may be urged that there are reasons in the cir
cumstances and temper of our day why, more espe
cially on this occasion, the usual course should be
rigidly adhered to. Opinions, it may be said, have
been recently expressed, and are now unhappily cur
rent, involving assaults on the very foundations of
revealed truth; and that these it is the special pro
vince of this Lectureship to meet. It may even be
viewed as a providential provision against them.
Admitting this, — and the more readily, because,
as it appears to me, it is in the pulpits of our Univer
sities, and before learned audiences, rather than
when addressing a mixed congregation, — with the
pen rather than in oral debate — that questions, re
quiring calm investigation and the precision of the
practised theologian, should be handled (1) — it may
be inferred, that had any course of lectures addressed
to what may be deemed by some the more imme
diate necessities of academic thought been before
the electors, it would not have been my privilege to
address you to-day.
I am myself of opinion that what we most want in
times of religious perplexity are themes practical,
rather than polemic. To me it appears that, under
such circumstances, the clergy ought to address
themselves more than ever to the consciences and
the hearts of men ; and that the way for us all
to solve controversy and to stifle doubt, is to face the

4 LECTURE I.
realities of the Christian life and the difficulties and
necessities of the world around us, and each to
engage manfully and heartily in the duties which
devolve on himself.
Both Scripture and experience seem to teach that
the road even to transcendental truth, lies not in
theory, but in action, — not in speculation, but in obe
dience, — that the way to "grow in the knowledge
of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ," a is not so
much the exercise of the intellectual powers, — still
less the indulgence of the imagination, — but an
humble acquiescence in what is revealed, and a simple
compliance with what is commanded. The path of
personal holiness is the highway, of which we read
that the "wayfaring men, though fools, shall not
err therein ; " b and it is the declaration of Christ
Himself, " He that doeth the will of my Father
which is in Heaven, shall know of the doctrine
whether it be of God." c
I therefore trust that you will bear with me, if
I direct your attention, on the present occasion, to
topics of a more homely and practical character
than those which have recently engaged the aca
demic mind ; if I suggest questions like these —
Why am I here? What am I living for? What
does God require me to do? But if censured for
not speaking enough to the times, let the reply of
Archbishop Leighton suffice, " Suffer one poor brother
to preach for Eternity."
* 2 Peter iii. 18. *' Isaiah xxxv. 8. c John vii. 17.

LECTURE I. 5
My subject then, as I have stated, is the mission
and extension of Christ's Church in this land. I
desire to treat this in the following lectures, not con
troversially, or so as to expose and widen differences
which, wherever they exist amongst Christian men,
obstruct and mar the work of God, — but with that
breadth of view and in that spirit of charity, which
we believe to be the characteristics of our own
communion, and which are assuredly required of a
national Church.
To idolize our own Ecclesiastical system — to see
nothing but good in ourselves as churchmen, and
evil in those who differ from us — what can this
serve, but to confirm both them and us in error?
How inconsistent with a creed which professes to
"prove all things, and to hold fast that which is
good?"a How futile in an age, which takes nothing
on trust ; but tests all things, both secular and
sacred, by their obvious utility and practical results ?
How irreconcileable with the warnings of history,
the lessons of experience, the yearnings after what
is real and true — which we boast in as the special
signs of our times — if our simple desire be not to
learn the will of God, in order that we may do it !
And if the more we know of God's ways, the more
we learn to distrust our own, — if we see every day
how His cause is injured, and His designs are re
tarded by the unfaithfulness and incompetence of
human agents, — does it not become us as a Church,
a 1 Thessalonians v. 21.
v. 3

0 LECTURE I.
to renounce now, and for ever, the language of self-
gratulation — to cease " to measure ourselves by our
selves, or to compare ourselves among ourselves," a —
and to desire that " every high thought that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God be cast down,
and every thought be brought into captivity to the
obedience of Christ ? "b
That any right-minded man can contemplate the
moral and religious state of this country without
serious misgivings, is next to impossible. The
national standard and practice so often at variance
with Scripture — the multiform shapes of misbelief
and infidelity, which among us no longer seek the
shade, but court observation — the discontent and
socialism of large and banded masses of our operatives
— the flagrant and unblushing vice and intemperance
of our streets (2) — the inadequate influence exercised
by the Church over the bulk of the people — the
numerous separatists from its fold — added to which,
the attitude of hostility which many of these have
recently assumed; above all, the feuds and divisions
within the Church itself — what Christian man can
view these things without great heaviness and con
tinual sorrow of heart !
When to this we add the terrible amount of hea
thenism in our great cities and populous districts, 
for which the Church and Nation are clearly re
sponsible, inasmuch as multitudes are still unpro-
«¦ 2 Corinthians x. 12. t> 2 Ibid. x. 5.

LECTURE I. 7
vided with the means of grace — how monstrous
does anything like self-complacence appear! To
whose lips ought not the confession to rise, " 0 Lord,
righteousness belongeth unto Thee; but unto us
belongeth confusion of face ... to our kings, to our
princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned
against Thee"?a What becomes us but humble
penitence for the past, and hearty endeavours at
future amendment?
In saying this, I am, of course, not unmindful of
the efforts to roll away our reproach, which signalize
the Christianity of our age and country; nor of the
signs and pulsations of quickened life within our own
communion. Nor do I for a moment distrust the
vitality of our Church, nor its power, in the cause
and strength of God, to cope with and overcome
every conceivable amount and form of evil. To do
this would be to doubt God Himself ; to disbelieve
His tokens ; to regard neither the operation of His
hands, nor the times of refreshing that have come to
us from His presence.15 It were impossible for any
religious mind to contrast the present aspect of the
Church with what it bore some years ago — and this
within the memory of many of ourselves — without
both gratitude and encouragement (3).
Of the indications of recovered life which cha
racterise our age, perhaps the most hopeful is the
deepened and diffused interest on the subject of the
Church itself, in relation to its nature, its mission
a Daniel ix. 7, 8. b Psalm xviii. 8.
b 4

8 LECTURE I.
and its wants. And if the questions, to which this has
given birth, have not always tended to godly edifying
in the faith, but when pursued in an irreverent or
captious spirit have gendered strife; if even in the
case of some sincere and devout, but, as we must
believe, ill balanced minds, they have resulted in
defection, deplorable alike for the seceders and the
Church which, in the case of a distinguished few,
has been deprived of a light in which it had re
joiced — what else was to be expected in a time
of extraordinary religious resuscitation and reac
tion, like our own? It is our wisdom, while we
lament these things, to learn from them; to profit
by the rebuke they are meant to convey ; solemnly
to ponder in our hearts how far we may have been
ourselves responsible for them — how far greater
zeal, greater faithfulness, more of Christ's Spirit,
closer conformity to His example, would have pre
vented or would have healed them : — in short, not
to blame others, that we may exculpate ourselves ;
but freely and heartily to acknowledge our own sins
and shortcomings, and to ask grace to pardon and
help to amend.
I can conceive no other spirit in which a Christian
man ought to meet either the complaints of friends
or the taunts of enemies. Had it been uniformly
exhibited, what crimes and calamities by which the
cause of religion has been stained and obstructed, 
what strife and divisions — what tears and blood
would it have averted !

LECTURE I. 9
And this in no part of Christendom more than
in our own, where — whatever form of faith has
been in the ascendant — whether Roman Catholic,
or Protestant, Anglican, or Nonconformist — pleas
for intolerance and persecution have never been
wanting. Witness even by-gone attempts at pacification
between the Church and the Sects, — in which it is
difficult to say whether the domineering spirit of the
one or the narrow-mindedness and contumacy of the
other was most to be deplored. And though possibly
no allowable concessions might have satisfied litigious
demands, yet who can now doubt that a healing
and remedial course might have averted many of
the evils which have flowed from our subsequent
divisions ?
Is it sanguine to predict that both churchmen
and dissenters would manifest a better spirit in
the times in which we live, were a like occasion to
be given; that the doctrine of toleration is now
better understood (4) ; that we have learned at least
thus much from our religious disruptions and the
manifold and infinite griefs they cause?
For instance, is it credible that churchmen would
at this day treat remonstrants as the Prolocutor
Weston did, when, in the time of Mary, he said to
his opponents, "You have the Word, but we have
the sword?" Or as Bishop Sheldon, in the reign of
the second Charles, when he expressed his fear lest
Nonconformists might be satisfied with the scant

10 LECTURE I.
measure of concession then dealt out to them. Or
as, in a later age, a legal dignitary of this country,
who was regarded as a bulwark of the Church, —
though he supported it only as an establishment, —
when addressing a deputation of Dissenters, he
allowed himself, and with an oath, such words as
these : "If your own religion were established I
would support it; but when you were up, you kept
us down, — and now we are up, we will pay you
back" (5).
And though compromise on either side is neither
to be advocated nor desired — and comprehension,
however we may long for it, in punishment of our
sins may still be unattainable — yet a recent corre
spondence between a Colonial Bishop, — once a lec
turer on this Foundation, — and an eminent Non
conformist divine, is not without promise for the
future. It cannot be read without exciting admi
ration for both. It breathes throughout a manly,
healthy, genial tone. It indicates that the spirit in
which churchmen and separatists strove together
in the Hampton Court and Savoy Conferences, has
undergone a change (6).
So with the wider rent and sorer loss in the time
of Wesley. Admitting that all has not been lost to
the cause of a common Christianity, of which our
Church was then deprived ; yet who that reads the
history of those days, and knows what Wesleyan
Methodism has since effected for the quickening of
souls, and the revival and spread of religion in many

LECTURE I. 11
a benighted district of this country, but must mourn
that the followers of John Wesley had not adhered
to the example and admonition he bequeathed to
them, and raised no separate and rival altars ? Who
but must long for the return to our Church's bosom
of the zeal, and the piety, and the power, of which it
has been so long deprived (7)?
Never by a ,rigid adherence to non-essentials, when
these are found to separate Christian men, can the
cause of Christ be served. Never by an imperious
and rough refusal, when concessions are admissible,
can any Church retain waverers, or recover alienated
children, or promote the cause of truth, and peace,
and godliness, in the world.
And this renders it so important that we of the
present day should have clear and definite views,
and afford a true reflection of the Church itself
— that we should understand what, as a Divine
institution, it really is — that we should rightly
appreciate the work it has to effect in the world.
Above all, that we should exhibit its influence on
our own hearts and lives, and present it to others,
in its true and attractive features, as the Spouse of
Christ and the Shepherd of the souls for which
He died.
I therefore propose to consider in detail, in the
course of these Lectures, the office and qualifications
of the English Church as a National establishment,
and to state some of the main difficulties and ob
structions it has at present to contend with.

12 LECTURE I.
I shall point out what appear to be the chief
causes of its weakness and its failures; and shall
suggest some of the remedial measures and agencies
required. I shall be thus led to dwell upon the training
of our Clergy, and the functions of our Elemen
tary, and Middle, and Public Schools ; and also
upon the special work of our Universities.
I shall have to notice questions affecting the
Fabrics and religious Services of our Church, and
their better adaptation to the existing necessities and
future prospects of our people.
And I shall conclude with some practical remarks
on what seems to be more especially required of us,
as Citizens and Churchmen, in this momentous and
critical period of our history.
In the present Lecture I shall endeavour, within
the compass allowed me, to treat of the Nature,
Office, and Credentials of the Church, and its means
for effecting the mission in which it is engaged.
And first, as to the true nature of the Institution
designated in Holy Scripture as the Church.
That on this preliminary point — which to those
who take Scripture for their guide, might have been
presumed to be so plain — perplexities and contro
versies have existed, and now divide Christian men,
is notorious. And that anything advanced by my
self should meet with universal acceptance, is not
to be expected. Some, as has been remarked by
a great writer, will so narrow their definition, as if

LECTURE T. 13
their object was not to comprehend, but to exclude.
" They define, not by that which the Church essen
tially is, but by that wherein they imagine their own
more perfect than the rest are." Others, as we see
in every age, and never more than in our own, in
their desire to embrace, confound all differences, and
eliminate all lines of demarcation. In their hope of
comprehending those that are without, they are apt
to forget the terms under which they are themselves
concluded, and to pay too little regard to the con
scientious difficulties of their brethren. It may be
even said of them, that in many things they allow a
latitude to separatists, and display a sympathy to
wards them, which they refuse to churchmen.
Happily, however, on this preliminary, but cardinal
point, there is nothing in Scripture, that can be truly
represented as incompatible with the language of the
Anglican formularies and accredited standard of
doctrine. Both of these recognise the Church as the
Kingdom of God on earth; the general Assembly
of the first-born, whose names are written in Heavena ;
the whole Company of Christian people dispersed
throughout the world ; the mystical Body of the
Son of God, which is the blessed company of all faith
ful people" : or to quote words to which most of us
have subscribed as an article of faith, "A Congre
gation of faithful men in which the word of God is
preached, and the Sacraments be duly ministered,
» Hebrews xii. 23. b Communion Service.

14 LECTURE I.
according to Christ's ordinance in all those things
that of necessity are requisite to the same." a
Such, happily, are the terms, sufficiently compre
hensive, and yet sufficiently defined, employed in the
Formularies and Confession of the Church of Eng
land. We believe them to be sanctioned by the word of
God, and at the same time concurrent with the dictates
of charity and the demands of human nature. They
do not challenge controversy, but they meet prac
tical requirements. They imply a society, founded by
God Himself, to constitute His visible Kingdom upon
earth, involving a corporate life, with relations and
affections, and sympathies and duties, springing out
of this. They describe that living body of men,
called by God out of this world to exhibit what
humanity was, is, and will be, to the end. They
denote a brotherhood, into which we are born by
Baptism, and in which we are made, through the
Incarnation and Spirit of the Lord Jesus, as children
of God and heirs of Christ, partakers of the Divine
nature. And inasmuch, as God's blessing on the members
of this body collectively and individually, and the
growth and prevalence thereof in the world, depend
on the degree in which its various relations and
mutual interdependencies, and the correlative func
tions and obligations which emanate from these are
«¦ Article XIX.

LECTURE I. 15
felt and carried out ; the points, which I have enu
merated, seem to be those which it most concerns us
to insist on. In them we may find the solution
of inquiries which, to bring peace and contentment,
must be practically dealt with. They supply the
antidote to theories which perplex, even when they
do not lead to serious aberration. They suggest the
spirit, in which, as members of a body — of which our
blessed Lord is the Head, and the end is the salvation
of mankind — we are, one and all of us, to co-operate in
the work for which He gave Himself. And he who
considers them, not in a curious and litigious spirit —
not for the indulgence of his imagination, or from
vain and vague inquisitiveness — but with a simple
desire to learn, in order that he may do God's will,
will find them full of instruction in the practical and
every-day duties of life. He will be brought to see
his own individual share in this holy and blessed
fraternity, and the solemn and stringent obligations
it imposes. And haply, he may be led to inquire, as
The Apostle did, when his eyes were opened to see
our Lord Himself, and he learned His identity with
His members, — " Lord what wilt thou have me to
do?"a When thus considered, it seems full of promise that
the Nature of Christ's Church, as a corporate body,
is attracting such general attention; and that the
privileges and correlative duties of its members are
a Acts ix. 6.

16 LECTURE I.
becoming daily better understood. We may rejoice
that among intelligent persons the form of expression
which used to limit the Church to the Clergy is
nearly exploded. We may hope that few church
men would, in the present day, object to the definition
of Dr. Arnold — when, in allusion to the memorable
aphorism of the Abbe" Sieyes, he described the Laity
as "the Church minus the clergy" (8). We may hope
that still fewer will deny, that the aim and end of such
a corporation, as the Church, is to unite and frater
nise all ranks and conditions of men ; to make them
of one mind in the Lord; to promote among them
unity of sentiment and action ; to make them all,
male and female, clerical and lay, " Kings and
Priests unto God." a
To what, but the prevalence of correct views on
this cardinal and vital point, can we look for the
spread and eventual triumph of Christ's kingdom
upon earth ? To these our divisions, and the jealousies
and feuds which spring from them, are confessedly
the greatest hindrance. When men shall have mas
tered the truth, that as in Christ we are all members
one of another, we may hope that they will forego
what has so long kept them asunder. We shall no
longer "bite and devour one another, and be consumed
one of another." b " The envy of Ephraim shall
depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not
a Revelations i. 6 ; xx. 6 ; Peter ii. 5, 9.
b Galatians v. 15.

LECTURE I. 17
vex Ephraim."" We shall cease .to hear of the power
of the Church, as if it were something sacerdotal and
political, as separate from and adverse to the people, —
as if the people were not in fact the Church, and the
clergy but the servants of the people for Jesus' sake.
Let us, therefore, learn more and more to regard
the Church in its collective character ; to view it as
an aggregate of many members ; to remember that
" by one Spirit we are all called into one Body, and
have been all made to drink into one Spirit." b For
then we shall put on charity, which is the bond of
perfectness0; and the grace of God shall reign in our
hearts ; and Christ shall be all in all ; and it may be
said again, as of old, " Look, how these Christians
love one another." And though the care of the
individual soul must be the primary consideration
of each, let us bear in mind that it is not as isolated
units, but as members of a family, and as such as
incorporated with Christ Himself, that we approach
God, and address Him as our Father which is in
Heaven. The whole of the Christian Economy proclaims
this. The human nature of our Lord, the common
work He has achieved for us, the prayer which bears
His name, the new commandment which is the badge
of His discipleship, the sacraments by Himself
appointed, His promised presence with those who
meet together in His name and with His Church
a Isaiah xi. 13. b 1 Corinthians xii. 13. c Colossians iii. 14.
C

18 LECTURE I.
unto the end of the world — all teach this great
truth, — that our union with Christ incorporates us
with His members, identifies us with all whom He
is not ashamed to call His brethren.
And just in proportion as we enter into the import
and fulness of this our common church life, shall we
realise the blessings it implies. Then, and then only,
shall we be built together for an habitation of God
through the Spirit3, and have nourishment ministered
to us through our Head b, and grow up to Him in all
things, and make increase of the body, unto the edify
ing of itself in love.c Then shall we understand what
has hitherto withered the graces, and paralysed the
efforts, and dwarfed the growth of that Church
which was meant to bring us all, in the unity of the
faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto
a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the
fulness of Christ.d
It will further elucidate the nature of the Church,
if we consider for what it was called out of the
world, and endowed with the gifts and graces of the
Holy Spirit.
It was to open men's eyes, and to turn them from
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto
God, that they might receive forgiveness of sins, and
inheritance amongst them that are sanctified by faith
which is in Christ Jesus.6 It was to incorporate
a Ephesians ii. 22. i> Colossians ii. 19.
c Ephesians iv. 15, 16. a Ephesians iv. 13.
e Acts xxvi. 18.

LECTURE I. 19
them in one united and harmonious brotherhood,
in and under Christ. It was to make them, col
lectively and individually, partakers of the Divine
nature. To effect this, it was to impersonate the mind
and life of God, and thus to manifest that it comes
from God, and represents His nature and His will.
The standard and the pattern of the Church is hu
manity, in union with the Godhead, as revealed and
exhibited in Jesus Christ.
Now we know what our Lord's own mission was.
He Himself proclaimed it in the pregnant and thril
ling words with which He commenced His ministry
at Nazareth : — " The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because He hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to
the poor. He hath sent me to heal the broken
hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and
recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them
that are bruised.""
And this Christ did, in virtue of His humanity.
His ministry was founded upon homely and familiar
intercourse, and an intense personal sympathy with
man. It behoved Him, as we are told, to be made
like unto His brethren. And thus He became ame
nable to the conditions of human nature. He took
part with flesh and blood; He submitted to priva
tion and suffering ; He was touched with the feeling of
our infirmities ; He bare our sicknesses ; He was in
a Luke iv. 18.

20 LECTURE I.
all points tempted like as we are ; He was made sin
for us. a
Christ's ministry was also founded on sacrifice and
self-surrender. Though He were a son, yet learned
He obedience by what He suffered. He abdicated
what was His own. He became capable of loss
and detriment, for the good of others. Though
rich, for our sakes He became poor, that we through
his poverty might be made rich. He emptied Him
self, and took on Him the form of a servant. He
said, " Not My will, but Thine be done." He became
obedient unto death.b
And when He instituted His Church, it was upon
the principles He had Himself exemplified, and which
are, in fact, essential to its success. The Church
must needs be conformed to its Divine exemplar :
its essence must be sympathy: its life consists in
self-surrender. " For as the body is one and hath
many members, and all the members of that one body
being many are one body, so also is Christ." " The
members are to have the same care one of another.
And whether one member suffer, all the members
are to suffer with it, or one member be honoured, all
the members are to rejoice with it." c
This, therefore, is what the Church is to enforce
and to exhibit. It grew and multiplied at the first

a Hebrews ii. 14,17 ; iv. 15 ; Matthew viii. 17; 2 Cor. vi. 21.
*> Hebrews v. 8 ; Philippians ii. 7, 8 ; 2 Corinthians viii". 9 •
Luke xxii. 42. c i Corinthians xii. 12, 26.

LECTURE I. 21
because it did so. It enunciated and it illustrated
the law of brotherhood. It fraternized the mem
bers of the human family, on the broad ground
of common necessities and the common provision
made for all these in the Gospel.
Hence, as has been finely observed, at once the
opposition Christianity encountered, and its triumphs.
It was to the Greeks foolishness, and to the Jews
a stumbling block. a But it was light for the blind,
help for the helpless, hope for the despairing, succour
for the lost.
" It is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man, the things
which God hath prepared for them that love Him."b
To tell those who gloried in social and religious
exclusiveness, that God is no respecter of persons —
that access to His favour was as open to the
Samaritan and the Gentile, as to the Jew, — to the
publican and the adulteress and the thief, as to the
Pharisee, — to the illiterate, as to the philosopher, —
must have been offensive to those who rested on the
very distinctions which the Gospel thus summarily
and for ever abolished. The natural man received it
not  it was foolishness unto him — he could not
know it, because it is spiritually discerned.0 But
it coincided with the universal and irrepressible in
stincts of the human soul ; it enfranchised with
the liberty which makes men free ; it neutralised
a 1 Corinthians i. 23. b Ibid. ii. 9. c Ibid. ii. 14.
c 3

22 LECTURE I.
distinctions of race, and creed, and clime, and
speech, and outward condition, which served under
a different economy to dissocialise, and embitter,
and enslave. It proclaimed that there is " neither
Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision,
Barbarian, Scythian, bond, nor free, but Christ is all,
and in all,"" and on the ground of this, it required
men to put on " charity which is the bond of per-
fectness." b
And what man was in the first century, he is now;
his instincts, his needs, his cravings are still the
same. The edicts of men, the disparities of fortune,
the usages of society may stifle and repress, — but they
cannot extinguish these. And as man, when most
embruted, is still conscious of the image in which
he was created, — and when most enslaved, of his
equality with those who coerce him, — so even when
in a state of savage and soured isolation, he still
feels the yearnings and the aspirations which are
common to all men, and inherent in the nature he
inherits. These it is the office of the Church to satisfy.
And to do so, it has but to teach and to impersonate
the lessons of the Gospel. For this is to impart the
freedom and the fellowship for which men pine;
this, to restore what was lost in Adam, but has been
recovered in Jesus Christ. Our Lord's incarnation
embodied, and His personal mission taught this.
a Colossians iii. 11 ; Galatians iii 28. b Colossians iii. 14.

LECTURE I. 23
His lowly birth, His humble station, His partici
pation in the ills He came to relieve — in a word the
life-long sacrifice, of which His humanity was the
vehicle, may teach the Church the nature of the
work to which it is called, and the only manner in
which that work can be accomplished (9).
A like lesson is conveyed in Christ's Commission
to His Church, "As the Father hath sent me, so send
I you ; He that receiveth you, receiveth Me." a
For what do these words imply? That His
Apostles were to teach as He had taught, to walk as
He had walked, to minister as He had ministered.
He enjoined this literally, when He said " Heal the
sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out
devils : freely ye have received, freely give." b He pro
mised that the works He did, they should- do, and
greater, because He went unto the Father. c And to
enable them to do so, after His ascension He endued
them with power from on high, He baptized them
with the Holy Ghost and with fire, He wrought
with them, and confirmed their word with signs
following.4 And thus we read in the verses preceding my text,
"and many wonders and signs were done by the
apostles. And all that believed were together, and had
all things common; and sold their possessions, and
goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had
* John xx. 21 ; Matthew x. 40 ; John xiii. 20 ; xvii. 18.
b Matthew x. 8. c John xiv. 12.
d Acts i. 8 ; xiv. 3.
C 4

24 LECTURE I.
need. And they continuing daily with one accord in
the temple, and breaking bread from house to house,
did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of
heart, praising God and having favour with all the
people. And the Lord added to the Church daily
such as should be saved." a
Eighteen centuries have elapsed since these scenes
were enacted ; and the picture they present is pain
fully contrasted with what we see around us now.
When we contemplate the schisms and the deadness
of the Church in times succeeding, — with its divided
state and comparatively inoperative character in
the present day, — we are even tempted to distrust
its mission and Christ's continued presence with it, —
though this falling away is predicted in the very
record that narrates those early triumphs.
And yet we know that the Church's Credentials
are the same now, as in the day of primitive believers,
— that its commission is identical with that conferred
on the apostles, — that the presence of our Lord is as
much assured to us as it was to them, — and that our
safeguard against both despondency and presump
tion must be found in believing this, and acting on
this persuasion.
For how, it may be asked, was the Church origin
ally equipped for its mission ; and what are its present
organization and instruments, as a divine institution ?
They may be specified as the Christian ministry,
a Acts ii. 43—47.

LECTURE I. 25
the Sacraments, the Holy Scriptures, the Church's
Forms of Devotion embodying its Creeds, and its
Corporate Fellowship and Action.
These all emanate from our Lord Himself, or have
the sanction of His Holy Spirit. They were given
the Church to profit withal. They are the channels
through which the Holy Ghost ordinarily works.
We have them now. They owe their efficacy, not
to any counsel or work of man, but to the presence,
and the power, and the blessing of our Lord Himself.
To attempt to expound these various means of
grace, is not my province now. I shall not, for in
stance, be required to enforce the divine institution
of Holy Orders. It is admitted by all who take Scrip
ture for their guide, that " God gave apostles for the
perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry,
for the edifying of the body of Christ :" a and that, as
our Lord ordained twelve to be with Him, invested
them with a plenary commission, and breathed on
them the ordaining spirit, so He assured them of
His presence with their Office unto the end of the
world. b
It is unquestionably the doctrine of our Church,
that our Bishops are the successors of the Apostles ;
that our Priests are the representatives of those
on whom any of the Twelve laid holy hands ; that
our Deacons exercise an office equivalent to that pos
sessed by the earliest Seven. Our Church proclaims
* Ephesians iv. 11.
b Mark iii. 13 ; John xx. 21, 22, 23 ; Matthew xxviii. 20.

26 LECTURE I.
that the unworthiness of the agent does not invali
date the truth of God or annul His commission ; that
the message may be true, though he who delivers it
may not himself believe it ; that the blessings he dis
penses are real, though he may not himself partake
them." It teaches, in a word, that the treasure im
parted is of God, though conveyed in earthen vessels ;
and its announcement is now, as of old, " Believe on
the Lord your God; so shall ye be established ; believe
His prophets, so shall ye prosper." b
In like manner, with the Holy Sacraments. The
Church maintains that they are the means of mani
festing to us the mind and life of God, and making
us, through the incarnation, partakers of the divine
nature : that " they be certain sure witnesses, and ef
fectual signs of grace and God's good will towards us,
by the which He doth work invisibly in us, and doth
not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our
faith in Him " ° : that they are rounds of the ladder
reaching up to heaven, upon which the angels ascend
and descend, while the Lord stands above it.d
Baptism, we are taught, is the bath and grave of
sin, in which the soul is both cleansed and vivified,
and through the Holy Ghost participates in Christ's
atoning blood and resurrection power ; " whereby, as
by an instrument, they that receive it rightly are
grafted into the Church ; and the promises of the
a Article XVI. b 2 Chronicles xx. 20. <= Article XXV.
a Genesis xxviii. 12, 13.

LECTURE I. 27
forgiveness of sins, and of our adoption to be the
sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed
and sealed"" (10).
The Supper of the Lord, we are taught, is "a
sacrament of our redemption by Christ's death : in
somuch that to such as rightly, worthily, and with
faith, receive the same, the Bread which we break
is a partaking of the Body of Christ; and likewise
the Cup of Blessing is a partaking of the Blood of
Christ." b In it "we eat the flesh and drink the blood
of Christ, we dwell in Christ, and Christ in us."c
As churchmen we embrace without controversy this
great mystery of godliness ; we believe that it con
veys God to us, and incorporates us with Himself ;
that in it " our fellowship is with the Father and with
His Son Jesus Christ." We neither say with Nicode
mus, " How shall these things be? " d nor with them
of Capernaum, " Can this man give us His flesh to
eat?"e We do not question, when we should re
joice, — or cavil, when we should adore.
Controversies there have been, and probably ever
will be, in the present state, on mysteries so high
above the compass of our finite faculties. But the
significance with which the Sacraments symbolise
the leading truths of the Gospel, can hardly be
disputed. They proclaim our fall in Adam, our
recovery in Christ, our need of atonement and re
novation, and the altered relations towards both
a Article XXVII. b Article XXVIII. c Communion service.
a John iii. 9. c Ibid. vi. 52.

28 LECTURE I.
God aiid man into which we are introduced in virtue
of the incarnation; how we are transferred from a
state of nature to a state of grace, are born into
God's family, and incorporated with His Church,
have living union with our Lord and with all His
members. Thus far the teaching of Holy Scripture
is express. It tells us that " as many of us as have
been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ ; " that
" by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body ; "
that "we are saved by baptism," and " by the washing
of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost." a
It enables us to ask with the Apostle, and in words
which, with those who admit the authority of Scrip
ture, ought to settle this question for ever, — " the
cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the com
munion of the blood of Christ ? the bread which
we break, is it not the communion of the body of
Christ?"6 And on the ground of our sacramental
communion with our Lord, it establishes our fellow
ship with one another. "For we being many, are
one bread, and one body : for we are all partakers
of that one bread."0
And although the very means by Christ ordained
to unite us with Himself and with one another,
have proved a source of multiplied divisions; and
the Sacraments themselves, and the Scriptures which
describe them as the badge and bond of our union,
a Galatians iii. 27; 1 Corinthians xii. 13 ; 2 Peter iii. 21;
Titus iii. 5.
b 1 Corinthians x. 16. <= Ibid. 17.

LECTURE I. 29
have been tortured into subjects of contention — yet
to humble and docile spirits, conscious of their
needs, thirsting for acceptance and communion with
God, opening their mouths wide that they may be
filled with His fulness, how simple and how suitable,
how significant and how healing, are the mysteries
which are "hid from the wise and prudent, but re
vealed unto babes! "
Enough, assuredly, for us that the Sacraments im
part and maintain union with Christ and with His
people ; that the one is the consummation of the work
of which the other is the beginning ; that they both
secure the indwelling of the Holy Spirit; that they
cause the faithful recipient to grow and increase
with the increase of God; — and by the grace which
they convey qualify us at once for the duties of this
Hfe and for the scenes of a better. What have we to
do as believers in Revelation, but to accept what God
bestows, — to wash that we may be clean, to eat that
we may be satisfied !
Thus also, with Holy Scripture, of which the
Church is the keeper and expounder, — we believe
that it is the incorruptible seed of which we are born
again, — that it is given us by inspiration of God,
 that it is able to make us wise unto salvation,
through faith which is in Christ Jesus.a
The very existence of the sacred Volume is a
proof of the fidelity with which the Church has
a 1 Peter i. 23 ; 2 Timothy iii. 16.

30 LECTURE I.
discharged her trust. But History also attests the
reverence with which its canon was fixed, the care
with which its integrity has been preserved, the sub
mission with which its dictates have ever been
received by her. Whatever heresies have disturbed
the Church, whatever catastrophes have befallen the
world, the Word of God remains intact. The contro
versies and contentions of men, and their mutual
jealousies have but served to vindicate its inspiration,
and maintain its authority. We know it was the
standard universally acknowledged, and to which
every disputant appealed. And as long as it is held
whole and undefiled, and deferred to with unhesitat
ing reverence, the Church will be true to its mission,
and have the means of discharging it. The Oracles
of God will unlock to her the secrets of all hearts,
and furnish the weapons none can resist and the
arguments none can gainsay. Nor can we doubt
that the questions which present controversies have
stirred, will only render this armoury more available
and more serviceable.
Another means with which the Church is sup
plied for preserving and propagating truth, and
promoting Christian fellowship, are her Formu
laries of devotion. In them, she believes are depo
sited and perpetuated truths which are the only
sure and sound interpreters of Scripture. She re
gards them not merely as forms of prayer, but also
as confessions of faith. She knows that they em-
embody and embalm her creed ; that they show

LECTURE I. 31
what has been taught and believed by her in every
age from the beginning. And therefore apart from
their intrinsic value, — as the forms in which from
apostolic ages saints have worshipped God, and their
confessions, prayers, and praises, have come down
to us, — the Church esteems these formularies, as
witnessing to the doctrines and usages of days con
temporaneous with the Apostles, or immediately suc
ceeding them.
Thus the liturgies which bear the names of St.
John, St. James, St. Mark, whether or not the
veritable productions of those holy men, at least
attest the religious practices and the sacred truths
associated with their persons, and stamped with their
authority. They also establish by their variations
in form, though not in substance, the separate inde
pendence of the Churches in which they severally
prevailed. In all we find a substantial uniformity, a
common order, an identity of ideas, and expressions.
In this way they may be viewed as constituting an
important part of Christian evidence — as a sacred
repository of the truth. They are the breathings
of the Church's soul, — the utterances of its inner
most shrine. They convey to us, in the fulness
of confidence and love, and in forms concealed from
others, her secret communings with Him to whom all
hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom
no secrets are hid.
I would notice briefly, in conclusion, the corporate
Fellowship and Action which all these means are in-

32 LECTURE I.
tended to further, and on which the true life and
strength of the Church depend.
For how is the Church described in Scripture ? As
" a body fitly joined together, and compacted by that
which every joint supplieth, according to the effec
tual working in the measure of every part, making
increase unto the edifying of itself in love."La As " a
body into which all are baptized by the same Spirit
and made to drink into the same Spirit, — in which
all the members should have the same care one of
another, and should suffer and rejoice together, — in
which there should be no schism." As " a building
fitly framed together and growing unto an holy temple
in the Lord, in whom all are builded together for an
habitation of God through the Spirit." b As a so
ciety in which there should be "no divisions, but all
should be perfectly joined together in the same mind
and in the same judgment." While in the healthy
and harmonious action of this corporate life, each
member has to witness and to work for God.
As, then, in our social and civil relations, —
just as families thrive and states prosper in pro
portion as their mutual ties and interdependencies
are maintained, — so with the Household of faith.
When the multitude of them that believed were of
one heart and of one soul, great grace was upon
them. When they were all together, and of one
accord, nothing could withstand them. The ad-
a Ephesians iv. 16.
b 1 Corinthians i. 10 ; xii. 13, 25, 26 ; Ephesians ii. 21, 22.

LECTURE I. 33
versaries were confounded, the churches were multi
plied, the Lord added to the Church daily such as
should be saved.
When therefore men talk of Christianity as an
effete system; when they taunt us with its dwarfed
stature and its feeble growth, and the slight in
fluence it exercises in the world ; and we are ourselves
all too conscious of differences and divisions within
the Church, — can we doubt that the corrective of
this must be sought in the law of sympathy, which
is the law of life and the end and essence of the
religion of Christ ?
We have learned the use of combination in all
that affects the interests of this world. We ground
on it our schemes of profit and philanthropy. We
trust in it for the diffusion of knowledge, for the pro
motion of liberty, for the spread of civilisation. We
feel that to promote union and joint action amongst
men, is the surest way to further their welfare and
happiness. We commend whatever tends to draw
closer the ties of human brotherhood. Distinctions
which for centuries have kept those apart Avhom
God meant to be united, are now rejected as ignoble
and irrational. To reclaim free action, to abolish
caste, to remove civil and religious disabilities,
are the foremost objects of our day. It is only
when the unity of the Church, and the fellowship
of the Gospel, and the communion of Saints are
contended for, that the principle of brotherhood is
forgotten.

34 LECTURE I.
And thus with multitudes in our day the Church
is a mere abstraction. With others the tie to it is
but traditional, or conventional, or political. They
succeed to its membership as a matter of inhe
ritance ; they value it only as an Establishment;
they adopt its usages and formularies merely as
in accordance with their tastes, and suited to
their social position, and agreeable to their sense of
propriety. On such grounds as these they are
classified in its census, designated as its members,
to be seen in its solemn assemblies, and, perhaps,
periodically partake of its most sacred rite. But of
the real nature of the Church as a Divine institu
tion, and a corporate fellowship, and a living body, —
or of the duties which its membership imposes — they
entertain no distinct or adequate conception. They
have no loyal, earnest, clinging attachment to its
altars. They never think of it as a centre of unity
and a source of blessedness ; they never turn to it
amid the cares and distractions of this world as
a refuge and a home for their hearts. It has no
hold on their imaginations and no place in their
affections. What wonder that to labour for the Church, or to
make sacrifices for its sake constitutes no part of the
religion of these men! that its cause excites no
enthusiasm, and its wrongs arouse no resistance ; that
the Church "thus offers no compact front to assailants,
— while the apathy and supineness of its members
are often painfully contrasted Avith the opposite

LECTURE I. 35
qualities in Separatists ! It is not that such men are
incapable of attachment, or of self- surrender, or of
heroic efforts for what they value. But they have
been wont to view the Church as a thing external to
themselves — in which the clergy are chiefly inter
ested, and for which the clergy are mainly responsible
— and religion as a matter that concerns only a
man's own soul, and for which he is accountable
to God alone.
So with many in our day of far more promise, and
of far higher stamp of character, but who are im
patient of dogmatism in religion, weary of forms un
accompanied by the power of godliness, suspicious
of pretentious profession, and to whom polemics are
distasteful. To win such persons by theoines, or sway them
by authority, is clearly impracticable. We can only
influence them by the force of example.
They ask for what may commend itself to every
man's conscience in the sight of God ; for living and
practical exemplifications of truth ; for something
which they may taste, and touch, and handle ; — in a
word, for the spirit which quickened the world in
the first century of Christianity, and revived the
Church at the time of the Reformation. To rouse
the apathetic, to satisfy the inquirer, to convince
gainsayers, to evangelise those amongst us who are
without God and without hope in the world, to
make sound and living members of the Church, this
is what is wanted. jo 2

36 LECTURE I.
Therefore, if we would have our Church survive the
shock of these latter days, and "walk the waters as a
thing of life and beauty," winning to its bosom those
that are without, and sheltering all that are within,
we must realise our corporate life as churchmen, and
be ourselves an epistle of Christ, to be seen and read
of all men. In no other way can we hope to recom
mend and endear the Church. To gain acceptance
for its ministry, we must evince the blessings of
which it is the channel. To have its sacraments
esteemed, we must display their quickening and
sanctifying power. To maintain its standard of
Scripture, we must make this the rule of our own
lives. To vindicate our beautiful forms of devotion,
we must heartily and habitually join in them our
selves. Otherwise, men will say of us that we have a
name to live while we are dead ; that, like those of
old, we cry, " the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of
the Lord, the Temple of'the Lord are we,"a while we
deny the Lord of the Temple ; that like theirs, our
profession is a pretence and our hope a delusion.
a Jeremiah vii. 4.

LECTURE II.

1 Timothy in. 15.
" That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself
in the House of God, which is the Church of the living
God, the pillar and ground of the Truth."
tra elSrjg iriig Sei ev o'ikio deov avacrpiipeo'dai, ijrig Early e^KXrjaia deov
i,S>VTOg, trrvXog Kai eSpaiw/xa rrjg aXrjdeiag.
It is impossible to contemplate the English Church,
whether in reference to our own age and people,
or to the world at large, without admitting the great
ness and importance of its position. And every one
who has the true interests of religion at heart, must
desire to see it duly qualified for its mission, and
heartily engaged in discharging this.
Called out of Christendom to witness to the truth
of God, placed by Him as a city upon a hill, repre
senting the religious mind of a great nation, its
influence for good, if duly exercised, must be incal
culably great. By a strict adherence to the canon
of Scripture, by an exemplary standard of devotion,
by impersonating in word and act the mind and life
D 3

38 LECTURE II.
of God, it may shine as a light in the world, and
vindicate its divine original by arguments that none
can gainsay.
And in clays of doubt and debate like these, when
so many on every side of us are asking who shall
show us any good, — when all things seem in a transi
tion state, — when on the flow and reflux of popular
opinion men's minds are drifting hither and thither,
— we have reason to bless God for the landmarks and
safeguards which such an institution affords.
It is the glory of the English Church, though with
some a plea to disparage it, that it maintains the
mean between extremes. For what does this imply?
That it "tries the spirits whether they be of God," —
discriminates between the divine oracles and the tra
ditions and opinions of men, — " proves all things,
and holds fast that which is good."
It is this, in the words of an eloquent statesman,
that makes our national Church " a shelter and a
home, a signal of rallying to the combatant and a
refuge for the fallen." With no unseemly precipita
tion, in no compromising spirit, — but after full
deliberation, and with a clear apprehension of conse
quences, were its standard and formularies framed.
And with no faltering tongue does it pronounce
at the present time on subjects on which men's
minds were divided centuries ago, and are divided
now. Our Anglican reformers were men not only va
liant for the truth, but also of great practical

LECTURE II. 39
experience, of ripe scholarship, of vast and varied
erudition. They were mighty in the Scriptures :
they were also versed in primitive records, and pro
found in patristic theology. Above all, they were
men who, after they were illuminated, had endured a
great fight of afflictions ; had been proved by im
prisonment, and exile, and the spoiling of their
goods, and the edge of the sword, and the violence of
fire. Theirs were not days for captious doubts, or
reckless innovation ; but when the senses were
exercised to discern both good and evil, and men
wrote and spoke with their lives in their hands,
and all they valued on earth and in heaven at
stake. Our Reformers were no mere adventurers in
theology, neither were they actuated by a blind
animosity to Rome. They were only bent on vindi
cating the independence of their national Church, on
purging it from base accretions, on rescuing from
corruption or decay truths which had been obscured,
distorted, or denied. They but sought to precipitate
error, and leave pure and limpid the Gospel stream.
Surely it becomes us to speak of such men with
tenderness, to make allowance for their difficulties
and consequent short-comings, and to receive with
thankfulness and self-distrust the inheritance they
have transmitted.
The Church of England is a fact of history. It
stands before us to-day as the religious institution
of a great, and free, and understanding people. It
B 4

40 LECTURE II.
is in an important sense a type of our national cha
racter, and like our civil constitution, has been the
growth of ages. It has stood the test of adversity ;
for it has seen evil days, and suffered sore reverses.
But it has survived the storms that swept over it,
and has struck its roots wide and deep into our social
and political system, and it may be hoped into the
hearts of our people.
No one can dispute its antiquity. And whether
or not planted by St. Paul himself in his mission to
the utmost bounds of the West, we know, from the
coincidence of native records with foreign testimony,
that a society similarly organised, with like creed
and like polity, existed in these realms at a date
coeval with the age of the Apostles.
The vestiges of the early British Church are indeed
few and scanty. But we have evidence of its three
fold ministry, its monastic institutions, its version
of the Bible, and its ritual (10). While history
records that when afterwards incorporated with the
Church founded by Augustine, and indebted to that
great man for its revival, extension, and permanent
establishment, it maintained its struggles from time to
time, against the inordinate demands and gross cor
ruptions of the Romish Church. And when restored
to its independence at the Reformation, it purified its
doctrine and discipline according to the Word of
God and the primitive and apostolic practice.
We have already seen that the Church was de
signed for the restoration of men to the image and

LECTURE II. 41
favour of God ; that its mission is to gather and
incorporate them in one spiritual body, — of which
Christ Himself is the pattern and the head, — and to
make them partakers of the divine nature. It may
be reasonably inferred that the necessary conditions
of such an institution are Divine appointment, grace
in the Sacraments, succession in the Ministry, visi
bility and permanence in the Body.
Such are, consequently, the credentials of the Eng
lish Church, — which it maintains to have belonged
to it from the beginning, and to have been reasserted
and fully' recognised at the Reformation. It claims
to be primitive in its type, scriptural in its teaching,
and catholic in its spirit.
To discuss the validity of English Orders, the
efficacy of the sacraments administered amongst us,
the presence of our Lord in our ordinances and
assemblies, would carry me far beyond the space
allowed for these Lectures, and into ground which has
been previously and ably occupied by others. I must
therefore be content to assume that the commission
and inheritance of the early Church have been trans
mitted to ourselves, and to refer you to the testimony
of those who followed close on the footsteps of the
Apostles, and who enumerate and classify the three
orders retained in our communion as of divine or
apostolic institution and continuous succession.
And if I dwell for a moment upon the principles
avowed by the leaders of the Reformation in this
and other lands, and accredited in our own recog-

42 LECTURE II.
nised rule of faith, it is only in passing, and with a
view to my younger brethren present.
We find, then, Cranmer maintaining the divine
authority of priests and bishops, the superiority of
bishops, and their succession from the Apostles. We
notice in documents, put forth by authority, the gift
or grace of ministration in Christ's Church asserted
to be given of God to Christian men by the conse
cration and imposition of the bishop's hands, and to
be intended to continue to the end of the world.
We further find it declared in the Ordinal drawn
up in 1549, that from the Apostles' times there have
been three orders of ministers in Christ's Church —
bishops, priests, and deacons ; and that none were
admitted to them but by public prayer with imposi
tion of hands.
Lastly, in the Ordinal now is use, — and which is
expressly sanctioned and authorised, not only as part
of the Book of Common Prayer, but by the thirty-
sixth article, — we have episcopal ordination enjoined;
with a declaration that none shall be hereafter ac
counted or taken to be a lawful bishop, priest, or
deacon in our Church, who has not had episcopal
consecration or ordination.
On the general question of the need of a call and
separation to the ministry, other reformed Commu
nions are not at issue with ourselves. Luther con
demns the denial of this as an error invented by the
devil. The Confession of Augsburg speaks of the
ministry of the word and sacraments as divinely

LECTURE II. 43
instituted. The Helvetic Confession of the Zuinglians
declares the office of the ministry to be ancient, and
ordained of God, not of recent or of human ordina
tion. Calvin says that no one must be accounted a
minister of Christ except he be regularly called.
And even on the subject of Episcopacy, on which
these communions unhappily differ from us, it was
not willingly that they renounced it. On the con
trary, the Lutherans earnestly protested their desire
to retain episcopacy, and adhere to the canonical
government, if only the bishops would cease to ex
ercise cruelty upon the Churches.
The Calvinists, though in like manner rejecting
their bishops, who would have bound them to Rome,
declared that they were ready to submit to a lawful
hierarchy. Even John Knox may be instanced as a
witness for the distinction of bishops and presbyters ;
and Beza pronounced it insane to reject all epis
copacy, and prayed that the Church of England
might continue to enjoy for ever that singular bounty
of God (11).
I desire, however, not to be misunderstood on this
matter. It is one thing to unchurch those who
differ from us, and another to uphold our own posi
tion. For myself I subscribe to the language of our
great divine, uttered in reference to foreign reformed
Churches: — "This their defect and imperfection I
had rather lament than exagitate, — considering that
men oftentimes, without any fault of their own, may
be driven to want that kind of polity which is best,

44 LECTURE II.
and to content themselves with that which either the
irremediable error of former days or the necessity of
the present has forced upon them."
For ourselves, it behoves us to take heed lest we
be surpassed by those less endowed, in labours, and
eloquence, and personal holiness. We are witnesses
to the works of faith and the labours of love, and the
patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ and in the
sight of God our Father, which distinguish many
among them, and prove their election of God. We
recognise their talents and their virtues, their power
ful advocacy of the great truths of Christianity, and
the success with which their efforts are often crowned.
May we be able to surpass them in these respects,
and to say with truth, in the words of the Apostle,
"Are they ministers of Christ? I am more!"
We, indeed, believe our own doctrine and practice
to be more in accordance with Scripture and Apostolic
usage ; and that their tendency is to humble the soul,
to exorcise self, to promote an absolute and habitual
dependance upon God, and thus to subordinate the
man to the system and diminish his personal im
portance. We believe that the language of a heart
duly penetrated by the sense of a divine commission
and of delegated trusts, is " Woe is me, that I am a
man of unclean lips : " a " Not that we are sufficient
of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, our
sufficiency is of God : " b " We have this treasure in
a Isaiah vi. 5. b 2 Corinthians iii. 5.

LECTUKE II. 45
earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may
be of God, and not of us :"a " Unto me, who am less
than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that
I should preach the unsearchable riches of Christ." b
We feel, that the denial of self, the renunciation of
self, the going out of self, are the conditions of clerical
acceptance with both God and man. We admit, in
the fullest sense, that we ought not to boast of our
titles, but only to be what they imply ; and that to
rest in credentials which a man degrades, and a
ministry which he does not discharge, is of all in
fatuations the most deplorable, or of all impostures
the most contemptible.
Less liable to controversy or mistake is the feature
of the English Church, to which I now proceed — I
mean her reverential love of Scripture, and her im
plicit submission to it as a rule of faith and practice.
That she is a faithful witness and keeper of Holy Writ
is her strongest claim to the national allegiance, and
her firmest hold on the national mind. And no one
can be acquainted with the principles of our Church,
or have regularly worshipped in her courts, or been
conversant with her pious poor, without admitting
that she possesses this. Her constant and copious use
of Scripture in her public services, her invariable
appeals to it from the pulpit, her desire to have her
own pretensions tried and her doctrines tested by
this alone, the encouragement which she gives to all
1 2 Corinthians iv. 7. b Ephesians iii. 8.

46 LECTURE II.
her members to search the Scriptures for them
selves, sufficiently evince the implicit submission of
the Church of England to the written word of God.
An open Bible in their mother tongue is the inhe
ritance of all her people. Her public assemblies,
her judicial courts, her private dwellings, her vil
lage schools all attest this.
But we owe it to our Anglican reformers that it
is so. Time was, as we well know, when the Bible
was a sealed book in our land; when its blessed
truths were wrung out like drops of blood from
those who had the custody of it ; when it was
death to read its sacred pages without their per
mission ; when fragments of it were hung by them
in derision round the necks of their victims at the
scaffold. Our reformed Church has sown the Bible
broadcast amongst her people. She can say to one
and all, " that from childhood they have known the
Scriptures, which are able to make them wise unto
salvation through faith that is in Christ Jesus." She
can echo the memorable words of one of her noblest
confessors at the stake : " Good people, I have taught
you nothing but God's holy word, and those lessons
which I have taken out of God's blessed book; and
am prepared this day to seal it with my blood " (12).
Never, we may hope, will the candle these men
lighted be extinguished in our land, nor the rever
ence and the affection of our people for the Book
for whose sake they gave their bodies to be burnt,
abate or languish.

LECTURE II. 47
And in the supreme regard entertained in our
communion for the Word of God, we but follow in
the steps of the early Church.
We hold with Irenaaus, " that the Scriptures are
perfect, being spoken by the Word of God and His
Spirit," With Tertullian, we " reverence the fulness, and
adore the perfection of Scripture," and with him " fear
the woe which is destined for him who adds or takes
away." With Origen we maintain " that in the two Testa
ments every word that appertains to God may be
sought out and discussed, and from them all know
ledge of things may be understood."
With Athanasius we believe "that the holy and
divinely inspired Scriptures are of themselves suffi
cient to the enunciation of truth, in them alone is the
doctrine of salvation contained, and no man must
add or take therefrom."
With Basil "we receive those things which are
written ; the things which are not written we seek
not." With Ambrose we ask, " How can we use those
things which we find not in the Scriptures ? "
With Augustine we hold "that in those things
which are plainly laid down in Scripture, all things
are found, which embrace faith and morals " (13).
But then, as our Church maintains that Scripture
is perfect, and abundantly of itself sufficient for all
things, she also believes that, for the avoiding of

48 LECTURE II.
heresy, the line of interpretation must be directed
according to the rule of ecclesiastical and catholic
sense. And this mainly constitutes the difference
between our Church and the Sects.
The English Church claims for itself authority in
controversies of faith3 (14). In deciding these it takes
as its rule of truth the confession of the early and
undivided Church: it avails itself of the light of
primitive testimony and of general practice. And I
put it to men of understanding, — whether without
this it were possible to curb the wantonness of private
interpretation, or prevent the unstable wresting the
Scriptures to their own destruction. " It is the lust
of solitary pride," — I quote an illustrious statesman,
an alumnus and representative of this University, —
" which engenders speculations injurious to the faith,
and claims for its own fancies the deference which
it refuses to the collective voice."
But primitive tradition testifies to facts, and
carries us to the fountain head. It records what
Avas believed and practised in the earliest age of
Christianity, expounding primitive doctrine by pri
mitive practice. It settles the canon of Scripture,
and furnishes the proof that the sacred books were
written by those whose names they bear.
And, therefore, while our Church rejects tradition
as a distinct and independent authority, it welcomes
it as a help and guide to the true understanding of
a XXth Article of Religion.

LECTURE II. 49
the Bible. It rests on no human sanction ; it admits
no testimony to be superior or equal to the Scrip
ture. But it avails itself of the confession of the
early Church, as evidence of Avhat was early believed
and early taught, and demonstrating that its own
doctrine and usages are primitive and apostolical.
That such Avas the course sanctioned and approved
by our Reformers is notorious. Their controversy
with Rome was that that Church had departed from
primitive doctrine and usage, to which they desired
to submit themselves. Their own wish was to ap
proach, as near as they could, to the Church of the
Apostles, and of the ancient Catholic bishops and
fathers. They declared that they had ordered, not
their doctrines alone, but also the sacraments and
forms of public prayer by the pattern of primitive
rites and institutes.
" I protest," said Cranmer, " that it was never in
my mind to write, speak, or understand anything, but
what I have learned of the sacred Scriptures, and of
the Holy Catholic Church of Christ from the begin
ning ; and also according to the exposition of the most
holy and learned fathers and martyrs of the Church."
"I repair," said Ridley, "to the usages of the
primitive Church."
" We have approached," said Jewel, " as nearly as
we could, to the Church of the Apostles, and of the
ancient Catholic bishops and fathers."
The appeal was, in every case, from the corrup
tions of the Latin Church in the sixteenth century,
E

50 LECTURE II.
to the consent and practice of the Church Catholic
in its primitive purity (15).
In fine, the principle of interpretation adopted by
the English Church, is well laid down by Dr. Water-
land. " We allow," he says, " no doctrine as ne
cessary, which stands only on the fathers or on
tradition, oral or written. We admit none for such,
but what is contained in Scripture, and proved by
Scripture, rightly interpreted. And we know no
way more safe in necessaries, to preserve the right
interpretation, than to take the ancients along with
us. We think it a good method to secure our rule
of faith against impostures of all kinds ; Avhether of
enthusiasm, or false criticism, or conceited reason, or
oral tradition, or the assuming dictates of an infallible
chair. If we thus preserve the true sense of Scrip
ture, and upon that sense build our faith, we then
build upon Scripture only, — for the sense of Scripture
is Scripture."And then, if it be asked where the hermeneutical
tradition of the English Church may be found ? the
question was recently proposed to myself in a tone
of triumph within the walls of the Vatican  we
answer in the Book of Common Prayer. • You must
seek our Church's exposition of Scripture in its
Liturgy, by which its Articles are interpreted. You
will find its standard of doctrine, as well as its forms
of devotion, there (16).
And, therefore, over and above its value as a
vehicle of worship, we prize our Book of Common
Prayer, as an exponent of apostolical teaching and

LECTURE II. 51
practice. We send inquirers to its pages for the
confession of our faith. We present it as a solemn
and deliberate adoption of the doctrine and the rule
of the early Church. We say here you have the
sense and the judgment of our reformers on the
faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
Here is transmitted the form of sound words, which
our fathers had heard in faith and love which are in
Christ Jesus, — and which is now committed to our
keeping. "Public forms of liturgy," — I quote Bishop Jeremy
Taylor, — " are the great securities and basis to the
religion and piety of the people. This is all that
most men know of their religion, — and they cannot in
any way know it better than by those forms of
prayer which publish their faith and their devotion
to God and all the world." And " thus it is not,"
observes Professor Blunt, " to any impracticable
principle that our Church appeals, when she refers
her members to primitive tradition. She does not
bid them range for themselves over the wide field of
patristic theology, however advantageous it may be
to do so, for those who have leisure for the work.
But she bids them abide by the Prayer Book, a small
volume, a volume within the reach of all, within the
comprehension of all, with which she furnishes all ; a
standard of faith and practice, which has hitherto
kept the Church constantly true to itself, counter
acting from time to time its obliquity, whichever
way it might bear."

52 LECTURE II.
Allow me to continue for a moment in the words
of this great divine. " How reasonable it is, and
yet how impassioned ! How catholic, and yet how
true to the wants of every man's own heart ! How
hearty are its accents of self-abasement ! How
touching its cries for mercy ! How earnest its peti
tions ! How high and animating its notes of thanks
giving and praise ! How elastic it is ! How affect
ing in its simplicity, when it cheers our humble
village church ! How sublime in its majesty, when
it puts forth the fulness of its strength in our ca
thedrals ! How suited to all ranks and conditions of
men ! How grateful to the scholar ! How accept
able to the peasant ! What multitudes of hearts has
it lifted up to God ! What multitudes of souls has it
led to Paradise. Esto perpetuum ! "
That the Church should have a distinct and definite
creed and rule, is, of course, essential. " Hers is not,"
says an eloquent writer, " that sceptical neutrality,
which, amidst the multiplicity of opinions, considers
all as equally acceptable to God." On the contrary,
she knows that the foundations of Christian unity
must be laid in Christian truth.
Yet we believe that the spirit of our Church is
neither narrow nor sectarian : that it does not desire
to limit the terms of its communion, or fetter men's
consciences by restrictions sanctioned neither by
Scripture nor expediency. It would be irreconcilable
with its duty as a national institution to do so. Of
such the necessary conditions are, Truth, Compre-

LECTURE II. 53
hension, Charity. Its tests and formulas of doctrine
ought, therefore, to be feAv and simple, laying traps
for none, excluding none who do not perversely ex
clude themselves. Otherwise, the Church becomes a
sect. It separates itself from the sympathies of good,
and true, and thoughtful men. It precludes the re
turn of those who are without, and thwarts the aspi
rations and endeavours of those within. And at a
time when so many are yearning to see our Church, in
practice as well as theory, the spiritual mother of our
people, displaying a large and all-embracing charity,
dealing its blessings on every side, carrying its minis
trations to every door, enlisting under a common
banner all that love the Lord Jesus Christ in sin
cerity, exclusiveness on her part were not only un
christian, but suicidal (17).
Men of other communions, even the most large-
hearted and generous amongst them, are unconscious
or incredulous of this state of feeling. They give
the Church credit for neither the efficacy of its system
nor for the spirit by which it is pervaded. They look
rather to the bubbles on its surface than to the strong
deep current underneath. They know comparatively
little of the clerical mind.
" The Clergy," says an eminent Nonconformist,
" meet in Convocation to talk and do nothing ; they
protest against the slightest symptom of progress;
they proclaim that no steps can be taken for fifty
years to come ; they Avill not recognise the propriety of
altering in the least old forms ; they profess their utter
E 3

54 LECTURE II.
inability to make a new prayer." In contrasting
them Avith certain of their lay brethren, he designates
them as " muttering shadows, the ghosts of the past,
rather than living men of flesh and blood, with arms
and hands to do something " (18).
Churchmen — least of all those who are conversant
with our clergy, and know what is stirring in the
bosom of the Church itself — will not be greatly
moved by such allegations. They have full confidence
in their cause — they record with gratitude the
blessing which attends it — they believe that it will
wax stronger and stronger, while rival systems
will fail and collapse — and of its eventual triumph
they entertain no manner of doubt.
But what justifies their hope, — but the strength of
the foundation on which our Church reposes, and her
full and articulate admission that there is nothing
necessary for salvation but may be found in the
Scriptures? For this is the revelation of what all
hearts are in want, and all feeling after, — the real,
the infinite, the true. It is no mere enunciation of
dogmas, no congeries of spiritual abstractions, no dry
scheme of theology, — but the revelation of a living
Being in His boundless capacity to bless, and His
personal relation to ourselves. This it is, for which
all souls are thirsting, and all minds are groping after.
And this we hold that the teaching of our Church
embodies and imparts. Its Creeds we maintain are
confessions of God's name; its Sacraments symbols
and channels of communion with Him; its formu-

LECTURE II. 55
laries of devotion means and helps to approach Him.
In this way they are suited to simple minds and
earnest hearts, to children and peasants as well as
to scholars and philosophers. They are the food
of hungry souls, and the solace of Avearied spirits.
And though theologians may dispute about them,
and captious spirits carp at them, yet artless minds
and humble hearts in every age have found in them
the confession of their mouths unto salvation, and
the belief of their hearts unto righteousness.
That an institution, such as has been described, is
fitted for the work assigned it, will be generally ad
mitted ; nor can it be denied that there are special
advantages in the organization and machinery of the
English Church for the discharge of its all-important
duties. Of these, its Parochial and Diocesan system — the
theory of which, indeed, is nearly perfect — may be
considered the foremost.
It professes to subdivide the country into plots
of manageable area and population ; to locate in each
of these a man separated by his calling to offices of
love and mercy, fitted by education and previous
habits for intercourse with all ranks of society, and
bound by solemn obligations to whatever can adorn
and sanctify human nature ; to afford him access to
every man's door, and avenues to every man's heart ;
to supply him with the motives and the materials
for a work, the holiest, most blessed, and most bene
ficent that can be assigned to man (19). Moreover,
E 4

56 LECTURE II.
to provide in all our parishes an adequate supply of
lay officers for such purposes, connected with the
social order, fiscal arrangements, and general well-
being of their respective localities, as can be suitably
discharged by laymen.
Over these parochial subdivisions our Church
further professes to have placed chief pastors —
with an area proportionately adjusted — to whom
both sacred and secular agents shall be account
able; who may exercise over them a wise, fatherly,
and careful supervision, pervading their several dis
tricts, visiting each parish in succession, coming into
contact with all ranks and classes, familiarised and
endeared to all, lay and clerical, rich and poor,
young and old, by personal presence and apostolic
ministrations. The duties attached by our Church to the Epis
copal office, are set forth in the Form of consecration.
A bishop is to feed the flock, to preach the word,
to administer godly discipline, to be vigilant, sober,
given to hospitality, apt to teach, as a wise and
faithful servant to give to God's family their portion
in due season. He is to hold up the weak, to heal
the sick, to bind up the broken, to bring again the
outcasts, to seek the lost; to be to such as believe
a wholesome example, in word, in conversation, in
charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Such is the parochial and diocesan theory of our
Church. And were the functions it implies duly
and adequately discharged — were our Pastorate and

LECTURE II. 57
our Episcopate commensurate with the requirements
of the Church and the nation, it Avould be impossible
to exaggerate the blessings we might look for. Even
as a picture it is pleasant to contemplate, and it is
one which some amongst us may even live to see
accomplished. The last feature of the English Church, to which I
shall allude in this Lecture, is her connection with
the State.
This alliance, as is Avell known, has been long ob
jected to by separatists, and their scruples have been
shared, in recent days, even by some members of our
own communion. But by the majority of church
men the interdependence between Church and State
has been ever viewed as indispensable. They regard
it as the result of mutual obligations, as implying
trusts and duties inseparable from the constitution of
each, as not to be neglected by either with impunity.
The Church, it is urged, is bound to " pray for
all in authority," a "to uphold the powers that be,"b
" to be subject for conscience' sake," c to show an
example of reverence for law, to further all the ends
for which government is established.
The Church is to diffuse knowledge, to foster liberty,
to advocate legality, to cultivate social charity, to pro
mote in every way the moral and material interests
of man.The Church educates men to understand their
a 1 Timothy ii. 2. b 1 Titus iii. 1.
0 Romans xiii. 1 — 7.

58 LECTURE II.
position as subjects and as citizens. It teaches man
that civil and social duties spring from religion. It
witnesses in its formularies that God has appointed
powers — that law is from Him. The recognition of
its duty in this respect may be traced in its Litur
gies from the first ; and it has ever been the aim of
the Church to promote the temporal prosperity of
States. In like manner, it is maintained to be both the
duty and the interest of the State to foster and
uphold the Church. It is held that no common
wealth can throw off its responsibility to do so.
" That kings should be the nursing fathers of the
Church, and queens its nursing mothers ",a is con
tended to be both a law of God and an instinct
of religion.
The origin and nature of this alliance between
Church and State are, however, often misunderstood.
By not a few in our day it is viewed as a thing of
modern date, and a political contrivance — as a mere
conventional contract — as the offspring of state- craft
and priest-craft. Whereas it is, -in fact, as has been
already said, a necessity of our secular and religious
institutions, and even of the very nature we inherit.
It springs up wherever men learn their own weak
nesses and wants, and begin to feel after God ; and is
not a sudden and arbitrary compact, but a gradual and
spontaneous growth. It was embodied in the Jewish
a Isaiah xlix. 23.

LECTURE II. 59
Theocracy. It existed in the time of the Patriarchs.
It is implied when it is said of Abraham, who was in
his own person both priest and king, — " I know him,
that he will command his children, and his household
after him ; and they shall keep the way of the Lord,
and do justice and judgment." a
When Constantine established Christianity in the
fourth century, and his example was followed through
out Christendom, it Avas because by religion, " kings
reign and princes decree justice ; " because religion is
the fountain of authority and the guardian of property,
and the foundation of law; because right is the off
spring of religion, and right is might.
The Church has been opprobriously designated as
the creature of the State. Nor can it be denied
that occasionally it has furnished pleas for such a
taunt. But this has been when it has forgotten its
commission and betrayed its trusts, and sought in
the favour of princes and in legal enactments the
help that cometh only of the Lord ; and then found
to its confusion, when the reed on which it leaned
has broken and pierced it, that " Cursed is he that
trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and de-
parteth from the Lord." b
But the Church is the pillar and the ground of
the truth c, and therefore the strength of states, and
the prop of thrones, and the cheap defence of
nations, and the stability of the times. Of it, as of
a Genesis xviii. 19. b Jeremiah xvii. 5.
0 1 Timothy iii. 15.

60 LECTURE II.
ancient Israel, it may be said, " Blessed is he that
blesseth Thee, and cursed is he that curseth Thee." a
Without it institutions collapse and dynasties melt
away. It is the security of the very sects that dis
claim it, though they find their shelter beneath its
bulwarks, — and would assuredly discover, were it
overthrown, that its ruin involved their own.
Our fathers sought to associate religion with every
thing ; to hallow with it domestic tie, and civil con
tract, and secular arrangement, and national custom,
— and thus to preserve the essential relation between
spiritual and civil life, and to render, as far as might
be, law and religion identical (20).
The tendency of modern legislation has been too
often to reverse this. Our legislature has rightly
abolished tests which, to create civil disabilities, pro
faned a sacrament, and were practically an outrage
to religion. But unhappily it has proceeded to sup
plant Baptism by an act of registration, to degrade
Matrimony into a civil contract, to divorce ties
which the Church still proclaims to be indissoluble.
It even threatens to allow affinities which Scripture
seems to interdict and nature shrinks from. The
danger is, lest such attempts to denationalise the
Church should eventually desecrate the nation,
should introduce distrust and pollution into families,
and poison the sources of public and domestic purity
and happiness. a Numbers xxiv. 9.

LECTURE II . 61
That churchmen should provoke or precipitate
such a catastrophe by a single hour — that they should
not rather do all in their poAver to check, if they can
not avert what would ensue, were the alliance under
which states have thriven and waxed great, which has
secured them the favour of God and the allegiance of
true hearts, to be dissevered, — seems almost incredible.
And yet even some such in our day chafe at a connec
tion, which they consider to damage the interests and
cripple the action of religion. They represent the
Church as in fetters to the State, — and urge instances
of mal-administration in patronage, and apathy in
the correction of abuses and the suppression of dis
orders, as justifying their assertion. And they long
for the freedom and the elasticity from which they
conceive the Church to be at present debarred, and
which would in their eyes more than compensate for
what would be sacrificed by the severance of Church
and State.
But theory is not unfrequently at variance with
actual experience. And while we may hope that, as
religion spreads and deepens, and the resources of
our Church are more fully developed, causes of com
plaint may cease, yet an acquaintance with coun
tries where our ecclesiastical system is not esta
blished and no alliance with the State interferes
with the operation of the Church, may show us
that the remedy proposed might be Avorse than the
disease. The history of episcopacy in Scotland
and America conveys such warning. And the

62 LECTURE II.
domination of vestries, and the contention of synods,
and the feuds between bishops and presbyters, —
where there is no interposition on the part of Govern
ment — may render us both grateful for what we
enjoy and tolerant of what we cannot amend.
Better the ills we know than those we might en
counter ! The words of an American professor whom,
many years ago, when I was an undergraduate, I con
ducted over this University, — and to whom, when full
of admiration at what he saw and heard of our insti
tutions, I suggested possible imperfections, often
recur to my mind. " A man," he said, " must have
lived half his life without the blessings you seem to
undervalue, to know how to appreciate them. You
in England bask in the sunshine, till you learn to spy
motes in the sun."
It may be true that the benefits of the alliance
between the civil and the ecclesiastical power are
greatly in favour of the State. Yet who can deny the
advantages conferred by it on the Church? Such
are its secure possession of endowments, its sole and
undisturbed occupancy of our parish churches, the
influential social position of its clergy, its chief
direction of the national education, access for its
ministrations to rich and poor, opportunities and
facilities of every kind for the discharge of its sacred
mission. To deny or undervalue these advantages
would be irrational, while to sacrifice them would be
both criminal and suicidal. Nor can any one fairly
dispute that a state, which sanctions and protects

LECTURE II. 63
such interests as these, has both a claim on the
loyalty of churchmen, and a right to demand an
account of their stewardship, and to see that the
trusts committed to them be faithfully and efficiently
discharged. Admitting that there are flaws in our present
ecclesiastical system, — grievances which call for re
dress, deficiencies to be supplied, occasional incom
petence and unfaithfulness in administration, contra
dictions between ecclesiastical and civil law, — yet
these are all capable of remedy. And for this it is
the duty of churchmen to contend.
Only let the spirit in which we do so be one of
reverence for the structure which the piety and
wisdom of former generations has established. The
interests at stake are sacred and precious beyond all
others. They ought to be approached, not with
sectarian and selfish aims, not for the indulgence of
party strife, not to carp or cavil; but with humility
and self-distrust, and a fear of touching with un
hallowed hands the ark of God.
Let us be humble ; let us be reverent. Let us bear
in mind that the conditions of progressive improve
ment, in Church as in State, are, a value for what
we already possess, a recognition of God's hand in
bestowing it, gratitude for what we owe to those
who have bequeathed to us such a goodly inheritance,
and a determination — as far as in us lies— to transmit
it unimpaired to our children's children.

LECTUEE IIL

Jeremiah xiii. 20, 21.
" Where is the Flock that was given thee, thy beautiful Flock ?
WJiat wilt thou say when He shall punish thee ? "
In my last Lecture I spoke of certain prominent and
distinctive features of the English Church, which
denote its fitness for its mission, and entitle it to the
national adherence and support.
I showed that it was primitive in its model, scrip
tural in its teaching, and by its principles and
organization qualified to be the religious teacher of
an intelligent and practical people.
It will, probably, besides be admitted that our
Church was never more alive than at present to its
trusts, or more efficient in the discharge of these;
that there has been of late a great and general
revival of religious light and life within its borders;
that its clergy as a body are zealous and exemplary,
and its lay members increasingly awake to their pri
vileges and their duties; and that in consequence
the services of the Church are better performed and

LECTURE III. 65
better attended, and its ordinances more generally
valued than in a previous generation.
Still it is not, as has been already observed, by
measuring ourselves by ourselves, that we can be
justified — least of all in a day when privileges of
every kind are understood to imply duties, and all
systems are canvassed and tested. Nor can any one,
who has at heart the true interests and real welfare
of the Church, object to its being submitted to the
ordeal to which all other institutions are exposed.
Granting, it will be said, that the Church as by
law established is all you describe it, — granting its
divine commission, its continuous succession, its
scriptural standard, the excellency of its parochial
and diocesan system, and its preponderating in
fluence from its alliance with the State : — granting,
moreover, its present resuscitation in inward hfe and
practical efficiency, — the question is as to the results?
The Church professes to be the religious institu
tion of the nation, the teacher and shepherd of the
people, the guardian of public morality and religion,
the authorised exponent of doctrine. Both its pre
tensions and its means are great. It has exclusive
privileges, and large endowments, and a well ad
justed and extensive organization. And its trusts
and responsibilities are commensurate. What is the
result? Has it accomplished its mission and done
its work? Is it faithful? Is it efficient? Can it
show seals of its apostleship? Has it a hold on the
affections of the nation? Do men avail themselves

66 LECTURE III.
of its ministrations and rejoice in them? Do we see
its fruits in a moral, a religious, and a united people ?
That diocesan and parochial system with which you
have girdled the country, has it proved a zone of life,
and light, and blessing?
Now to deny failures or defects that may be justly
urged against the Church can answer no purpose
whatever, and is unworthy of honest and godly men.
A churchman's only solicitude should be to ascertain
in what these blemishes originate, how they may be
removed, whether they are incidental or inherent,
whether our system itself is faulty, or is only not
carried out.
In the present and succeeding Lecture I shall
endeavour to answer this inquiry.
That, as a people, we have been largely endowed
and eminently blessed in our civil and religious con
dition, we, as Englishmen, are ever ready to avow.
Our sense of national superiority is notorious. And
our assumption on account of it has proved not
less offensive to others than injurious to ourselves.
It has subjected us to charges of insular pride ;
and has exasperated foreigners to charge us with all
possible and impossible enormities — with an utter
want of religion, with a neglect of social and do
mestic obligations, with an indifference to the wel
fare of our humbler classes at home, and of our
Colonial dependencies. It has done us more serious
disservice ; for it has blinded us to our national de
ficiencies and national delinquencies, and has thus

LECTURE III. 67
retarded our national improvement. In the contem
plation of our material and political advantages, Ave
ask what nation is so great? in the sense of our
spiritual inheritance, who has God so nigh? Our
intelligence, our industry, our prowess, our progress
in physical science and temporal prosperity, our
religious independence and scriptural purity are en
graven on the heart of the nation, and too often
flaunted in the face of the world.
And yet it must be admitted that there exists
amongst us at this moment an amount of practical
heathenism, perhaps unexampled in any other nation
of Christendom; and that masses of our population
are sunk in the grossest ignorance and sensualism,
and live and die without God, and without hope.
Six millions in England are calculated never to enter
a place of worship or make any profession of reli
gion (21). The National Church has little hold on
the operative classes. Of the middle order of the com
munity in our large cities many are disaffected to the
Establishment. And as to the bulk of the humbler
classes of our people, it would be easy to furnish in
stances from amongst them of as profound an igno-
rnace of God, and of a moral degradation as gross
and intensified, as ever existed in Pagan Rome, or
could be found to-day in Central Africa (22).
Neither can it be denied that, as a necessary con
sequence, monstrous forms of misbelief and fanaticism
are rife amongst us ; that infidel and anarchical prin
ciples prevail extensively ; that licentious publications
J? '2

68 LECTURE III.
freely circulate amongst our people ; that disaffection
to our institutions spreads and deepens ; that pohtical
privileges are coveted and clamoured for by many
with a view to revolution. And all who have inves
tigated our social condition know that, however it
may strike superficial observers, there smoulders
beneath the surface a mass of lawlessness and irre-
ligion which may explode at any moment and rend
society in pieces (23).
Even in what is patent, as disclosed in our parlia
mentary discussions, and in the current literature of
the day, — and for which we need not search, with our
parochial clergy, and City missionaries, and Bible
women, in the purlieus and slums of the metropolis,
or in our prisons and convict establishments, — but in
what meets every eye, and is of almost daily occur
rence, — we have abundant cause for humiliation, as
a people to whom God has given much, and from
whom He requires the more.
Again, it must be admitted, that in many of the
qualities which used to reflect honour upon English
men, and Avere esteemed national characteristics, there
has been a lamentable and flagrant deterioration. The
high conscientiousness, the sterling integrity, the can
dour in commercial transactions, — " how is the gold
become dim ! how is the most fine gold changed ! " a
The word of the British tradesman was once like
the Bible ; his bond was as good as gold ; a false
» Lamentations of Jeremiah iv. 1.

LECTURE III. G9
weight and an unjust balance were his abomination.
The adulterations, the artifices, the impostures, by
which mercantile wealth is now sometimes attained,
the forgeries and betrayals of trust which impair
credit and destroy confidence, were never heard of,
— or if they did occur, excited wonder and conster
nation. And the meretricious glitter and inflated
but unreal pretensions so prevalent in our day, are
a miserable substitute for the moderate but just
gains, and the unsullied conscience, and the simple
habits, and the rugged independence of a by-gone
generation (24).
That to counterbalance all this there is much of
religious life and practical godliness amongst us,
has been freely admitted. There is also in the
present day a far greater regard to conventional
propriety than in a former age ; and the intem
perance, profaneness, and indelicacy which then
prevailed, are out of date. Religion, also, is more
countenanced by the upper classes ; while a high
standard of principle and practice no longer causes
surprise and ridicule, or bars a man's entrance into
the highest circles of society, or imperils his profes
sional prospects (25).
And did the Christianity of our land present a
compact front — were we at peace amongst ourselves,
 we might appeal to our mutual love and united
action as a proof that God is with us.
But, unhappily, in religion we are in this country,
as a house divided against itself. Our rival sects
F 3

70 LECTURE III.
are innumerable. We count our denominations by
hundreds. And of all the hindrances which the
Church encounters in its mission, our religious
divisions are the sorest. They disorganise its forces ;
they impede and neutralise its efforts. They cause
the inquirer to stumble, and the enemy to blas
pheme. And though it has been alleged by some
that Separation is no evil, that it even fosters a
wholesome emulation — and a spurious charity goes
so far as to demand that we should not pray
against it, that the word " schism " should be ex
punged from our Liturgy (26), — are not "variances,"
and " emulations," enumerated in the Bible among
the works of the flesh? And the unity which so many
in our day deem both unattainable and undesirable,
is it not the subject of the apostle's exhortation, and
even of the prayers of the Son of God?
Still it is asserted, that Dissent has become rooted
in our land. It is designated by a recent writer
as a national institution (27). We are even told
that numerically it rivals the Establishment ; while
recent events have disclosed both its political
power, and its sectarian animosity. Its demand is
not now for toleration, but for ascendance. It
has its political league, and its parliamentary
tactics, and its confederation of sects, and its
agency active, unscrupulous, and ubiquitous. Its
language may be somewhat ambiguous, but its
objects are no longer disguised. In its present
vocabulary, right of private judgment means resist-

LECTURE III. 71
ance to authority; freedom of conscience, dictation
to the consciences of others; Hberation of religion,
the subversion of the National Church and the con
fiscation of ecclesiastical property.
The question at issue is avowed to be one of
supremacy, and the sacred mission of dissenting
ministers to be to shatter the National Church, and
to give the dust of it to the four Avinds of heaven.
The English Church is declared to be a great
national evil, an obstacle to the progress of truth
and godliness in the land ; to destroy more souls than
it saves; and its end, we are told, is most devoutly
to be wished by every lover of God and man (28).
And unless we are content to see our property alien
ated, our educational endowments secularised, and
our consecrated buildings and enclosures shared with
teachers Avhose doctrines differ from our own, we
must be prepared for the struggle that is surely
impending. It is in no spirit of unkindness that these words
are spoken, or with the slightest desire to disparage
the efforts of others. There are names of dissenting
teachers and philanthropists that will be had in honour
while the world lasts. And the services rendered by
Nonconformists to the cause of science, liberty, and
practical godliness cannot be disputed for a moment.
Neither is it at present a question how far dis
sent may have been in some instances justified, or
even unavoidable. It is no more my intention to
impugn the excellence of individual Separatists
F 4

72 LECTURE III.
than to defend short-comings and inconsistencies in
Churchmen. The question is simply as to the character and
tendency of dissent as a system, or rather as to the
obstructions which the Church of the nation in our
day encounters in its mission. And this preparatory
to the consideration of plans for their removal or
abatement. Of these obstructions Dissent is amongst the
foremost. It impedes the conscientious and earnest-
minded pastor. It undermines his influence and
counteracts his ministrations every day. It furnishes
a rallying point for the disaffected and the self-willed
in all our parishes. It is a snare to both pastor and
people, — tempting the one to conceal or compromise
his Church's creed, to lower its standard and ignore
its rule, — exposing him to charges of unfaithfulness
if conciliatory, and of bigotry if rigid; — while it
tends to beget in parishioners an indifference to truth.
And though it must be met, like all other hindrances,
in the spirit of the Gospel, it is not less to be de
plored. It has wrought, and is working vast and
extensive evil, and imperilling to a fearful extent the
faith, the loyalty, and the moral and religious life
of our people. Multitudes amongst us feel and de
plore this, though they may be unwilling openly to
avow it.
Another, though it may be hoped a decreasing
hindrance in the way of the Church, is the want of
unity amongst its members. Now, amongst brethren

LECTURE III. 73
disunion is an evil, just in proportion as unity is a
blessing. And though to a certain extent there
must be discrepancies of opinion, when men's minds
are so differently constituted, — and the spirit and
platform of our Church recognise and admit these, —
yet amongst men bound by the same confessions
and the same formularies, and amenable to the same
rule, and serving at the same altars, variance is both
unreasonable and scandalous. It was to preclude
this that our standard was framed — to exclude con
troversy, to prevent strife, to insure compliance with
the apostoHc precept, that " aU should speak the
same thing," and " walk by the same rule," and "be
perfectly joined together in the same mind and the
same judgment." a And therefore nothing can justify
the jealousies, the party names, the separate interests,
which embroil and divide churchmen. Those parti
coloured banners under which silly men and women
range themselves, — those criminations Avhich they
bandy to and fro — their jubilations at the preference
and preponderance of their own clique, — the readiness
with which they receive and propagate reports inju
rious to those who differ from them, — impede religion,
and degrade the Church. They foster hatred, vari
ance, emulations, wrath, strife, envyings, and such
like, which exclude from the kingdom of Heaven6;
and the temporary ascendance and the party triumphs
thus obtained are at the price of what true hearts
a Philippians iii. 16 ; 1 Corinthians i. 10.
b Galatians v. JO.

74 LECTURE III.
chiefly prize — truth, unity, and concord. Need I add
that while the worst tempers of the world are
cherished in the bosom of the Church, and "the
spirit that is in us lusteth unto envy," a — and the aim
is not so much to hush, and to hide divisions, as to
inflame, and to intensify, and to expose them, — the
blessing of God cannot rest upon us, or the cause of
religion prosper in our land?
But I come now to hindrances of a different kind,
which impair and imperil our Church and preclude
its action and extension. And since for these we
are all more or less responsible, — inasmuch as they
clearly admit of correction, — with these in an age of
enterprise and action we are specially caHed to grapple.
It is, of course, easy to account for miscarriages ; as it
is to suggest correctives that do not depend upon our
selves. And thus the doctrines of the Church, and
the polity of the Church, and its connection with the
State are blamed ; and men seek in the reform of our
Liturgy, and the abolition of reHgious restrictions,
and the disruption of our existing institutions, for
remedies that are really to be found in the healthy
action and full development of our system as it is.
In respect, then, of the Spiritual Destitution which
prevails so extensively amongst us, which we aU
admit to be a calamity and a scandal, and which has
reached in our day to such an appalling extent, as to
concentrate public attention, and to constrain the
a James iv. 5.

LECTURE III. 75
notice of the legislature, and to stir to their depths
aU earnest and benevolent minds — the question is
not so much, Is the Church responsible for this ? but
rather, Is this the consequence of its system, charge
able on its system? Is it not notoriously and in
evitably the result of setting that system at nought ?
The theory of our parochial scheme is a church
and a clergyman for eA^ery thousand of our people.
In town parishes two or three thousands may be fairly
intrusted to a single pastor. But the testimony of
our most experienced and painstaking clergy is, that
no man, whatever be his physical energy and pas
toral gifts, can effectively minister to a greater
number. A population of three thousand is con
sidered to justify a grant from our Clergy aid
Societies. When, therefore, in not one, but in multiplied
instances, — and this too in scenes of commercial en
terprise, where the population increases annually by
thousands, — we find not two or three, nor even ten or
twenty, but even thirty and forty thousand assigned
to a single incumbent, — in one instance seventy-eight
thousand so apportioned, with church accommoda
tion for about fourteen hundred, and of this only
two hundred sittings free ; — to suppose that under
such circumstances the Church can do its work, — or
to charge the failure on its system, — is irrational.
It is an accredited fact that in our Metropolis we
have a parish Avith a population of forty thousand,
with only one church in a corner of the district,

76 LECTURE III.
and on one side of it ten thousand souls without
church, chapel, or school of the Church of England,
and not a single room capable of holding twenty
persons: — that in the very centre of the civilisa
tion, the enterprise, the wealth and power, as weU
as of the government of this great empire, there is
less spiritual provision than in any other county in
England: — that aUowing to each clergyman the
care of two thousand persons, there is required for
that part of the metropolis which is within the Dio
cese of London, an increase of at least five hundred
and twenty-seven clergymen (29).
Nor if we extend our inquiry to the Provinces, is
the aspect of things much improved.
Thus, in Liverpool, we find a parish containing
sixteen thousand persons, Avith only one clergyman
in charge, with no church accommodation whatever
for the poor, and an average attendance at public
worship of only two hundred persons of any kind.
Another parish of twenty-five thousand souls, with
but one church, not a farthing of endowment, and
the seats for the poor so situated that their occu
piers can neither see nor hear. A third with a popu
lation of twenty thousand souls, with accommodation
in church for only one hundred and thirty-three of
the poor. We are told, that in the midst of a dense
population, there are in that city, churches originaHy
built exclusively for the rich, of which the proprie
tors have migrated to other parts, and carried away
the keys of their pews Avith them.

LECTURE III. 77
In another of the hives of teeming life and thriving
commercial speculation, — where hecatombs of souls
are yearly sacrificed on the altar of Mammon, — we
have one parish, containing thirty-four thousand
persons, with only two clergymen, and church ac
commodation for from tAvo hundred to four hundred
of the poor; and another, containing nearly thirteen
thousand souls, with no free seats at all.
While at Bradford in Yorkshire, where the spiritual
destitution of our land seems to have reached its
culminating point, we had, tiH very recently, a popu
lation connected Avith the parish church, amounting
to seventy-eight thousand, with only fourteen hun
dred sittings for aU classes, and of these, at the very
outside, only two hundred free, and of course in the
worst parts of the church (30).
But even such statements as these furnish a very
inadequate picture of the spiritual destitution of this
country. Nor does a mere recital of numbers ever
produce any commensurate effect upon the mind.
You can only realise the state of things by a contrast,
such as was once put before myself by a preacher in
the town of Birmingham. " The city of Worcester,"
he said, " has a population of about thirty-two thou
sand, with a supply of twelve churches besides the
cathedral, and at least twenty parochial clergy. I
have an equal population to this, increasing annually
at a ratio of two thousand, committed to myself and
two curates."
Now picture to yourselves this city of Oxford — with

78 LECTURE III.
its present spiritual provision of seventeen parishes
and a suitable staff of clergy — reduced to one church
and one clergyman ; and even then you wiU have a
very faint idea of what prevaHs elsewhere in many a
district of the same extent ; for there are spiritual
resources here, extra-parochial, of which those who
ply the looms and forges which minister to our
national wealth and comfort, when without the or
dinary means of grace, are devoid.
But there is another feature of the case to be
further considered in the course of these Lectures,
but which I cannot pass even now without remark.
I mean the scanty and miserable accommodation
for the poorer classes in many of our churches. To
me this has ever seemed one of the greatest blots
on our national Christianity. It openly contravenes
the law of God; it is in express violation of the
law of our land ; and it militates against our claim
to be a National Church.
Yet it is in evidence, and indeed notorious, that
in many of our parish churches no provision is made
for the poor: that in others they are thrust into
corners, out of sight and hearing, where they feel
outraged and degraded, — and are most forcibly re
minded of their poverty, just where the distinctions
of this earth should cease, and are forbidden by the
Word of God. That even in churches built by
public grants for the accommodation of the poor, and
in which a large proportion of the seats is reserved
by express stipulation for them, they are deprived

LECTURE III. 79
of their right. Seats marked " free " are in some
instances as much dealt with as private property, as
the pews Avith doors paying rent. It is in evidence
on the testimony of one who held the office of arch
deacon, that in a church in which, by act of parlia
ment, one third of the sittings Avas reserved for the
poor, the warden, on being asked to point them out,
said at last, "I have one free sitting to one pew."
It Avas a little bracket in the passage. " But," said
he, " the poor never come here ; it serves me to
put my hat upon."
In the rectory district of Marylebone in London
containing thirty-three thousand persons, there are
free sittings for about five hundred in a church built
for the accommodation of two thousand five hundred
persons ; the rest are let for pew-rents : the other few
free sittings in this parish are in proprietary chapels,
and may be withdrawn at any moment.
Again, in St. George's, Hanover Square, with a
population in the season of twenty- five thousand, there
are open free seats for three hundred persons, in the
passages or against the walls. The other sittings are
let for rents amounting to nearly one thousand pounds
a year. In another church in London it Avas elicited
by the Bishop of Exeter, that the free sittings,
which are in the roof, out of sight of the minister
in both the pulpit and the reading-desk, must be
reached by an ascent of nearly one hundred steps.
" Are the lame and halt," inquired the Bishop, " ex-

80 LECTURE III.
pected to climb those three hundred steps to get to
their free sittings?" "I have never seen more than
one person in those places," replied the rector,
" though there may have been others out of sight."
In the face of these facts is it a matter of surprise,
if our parish churches are deserted by the humbler
classes; if miUions frequent no place of worship,
least of aH those of the Estabhshment — if in conse
quence vice, infidelity, and crime abound ; and where
the name of God is known at aU, it is only to be
blasphemed? A circumstance which aggravates the difficulties
of the Church is this, — that for the most part the
densest populations are the poorest, and the habita
tions of the wealthy are severed from those of the
poor. Operatives are congregated by the necessities
of trade in masses ; while the wealthy migrate to
suburban villas, or to more fashionable quarters ; and
the seats which were appropriated to them, as I ob
served before, are shut against the poor. Churches,
built for the accommodation of the rich, we find
hemmed in by those who are classified by one
witness, as " the respectable poor, the struggling poor,
the destitute poor, the immoral poor, and the vicious
and dangerous poor." The rich employer spends
his wealth elsewhere. And thus, where there is
most destitution, there is least relief. Every want
is best supplied where aid is least required; and
every want is worst supplied Avhere necessities are
most abundant and most urgent (31).

LECTURE III. 81
Another hindrance to the mission of the Church —
and that of terrible magnitude — is the poverty of
many of our most laborious incumbencies. It may
even be stated, as the rule, that the clergy are worst
remunerated where their duties are most onerous.
The cry, tiU \Tery recently, has been for buildings,
Avhen the primary consideration should have been
endowment. And public and private charity has
been lavished upon churches, while the clergymen
who serve them have been left to starve.
The evH in every way of such a system is tre
mendous. You place a man, with onerous and
anxious duties, and with crippled means, in the
midst of a dense, and impoverished, and disaffected
population. You overtask his physical and mental
energies. You throw him into hourly contact Avith
distress, which he can by no possibility reHeve.
You deprive him of the influence which the exercise
of a wise benevolence would procure him. You
demand from him superhuman exertions, when his
spirit is broken and his rest disturbed by his own
domestic anxieties. You drive one incumbent to eke
out his livelihood by tuition, and another by secular
employment. You extort such confessions as these :
" My clerical income is so wretched that I am not
able to devote my whole time, as I ought to do, to my
Church and district:" "My endowment is only 80/.,
and being a family man, I am obliged to educate my
children myself."
As one consequence, we have a lower type of man
G

82 LECTURE III.
and feebler ministrations, where ability and energy
are most required. Ordinarily our best and ablest
men are not found in the most important and pro
minent pastoral positions. Our town parishes are
often inadequately served. And just where com
manding qualities are most called for — in the centres
of inteUigence and civilisation — our Church is often
the worst represented; while generaUy there are com
plaints, — and these loud and increasing, — that the
homilies of the clergy faU below both the require
ments and the literature of our age, and that the
press, and not the pulpit, is the instructor of our
people. Noble exceptions there doubtless are ; — and men of
lofty inteUect, and a zeal truly apostolic, may be
found labouring on a pittance in the most important,
as well as in the poorest and most degraded districts.
Yet it is the complaint of one, perhaps the most
qualified of any man in England to speak on such a
subject, — I mean the present Dean of Chichester, 
that the best educated of our clergy are not commonly
found in the great manufacturing towns, where their
influence is most required: "where we have a com
mercial aristocracy, fuU of enterprise and inteUect,
whose minds, from constant exercise, are vigorous
and acute; men of literature and science,  who if
they are to find in the clergy their associates and
friends, — must find in them companions, not only their
superiors in theological science, but at least their
equals in every department of human learning " (32).

LECTURE III. 83
And then men talk of the inefficiency of the clergy,
of their lack of eloquence and learning, of the failure
of the parochial system, of the degeneracy of the
Church, — even of Christianity itself as effete, and of
the Gospel as having lost its power, — when in fact the
action of the Church is suspended, and the agencies
of reHgion are either crippled or withheld. And
this in the face of what is now happily established,
— that wherever, with a reliance upon God, the
suitable agencies are employed, the Church recovers
its influence, and the cause of vital Christianity
revives. Meanwhile, in a day in which, perhaps, more than
in any other, abUity is required in the Christian
ministry, there is a danger of our being deprived of
this. The ablest of our educated classes who used to
feed the ministry of our Church, confessedly, are
being drafted into secular professions. My own ex
perience, as an examining chaplain, is, that though
the average attainments of candidates for holy orders
are improving, there are far fewer instances amongst
them, than there used to be, of the highest class
of mind. This, of course, may be partially accounted
for, by the subsiding of impulses to which the re
vival of principles, now no longer novel, some years
ago gave birth, — by the unsettlement of youthful
minds on points of Christian doctrine, — by the not
unnatural repugnance of young men of high intel
lectual calibre and social refinement, to serve under
those who are deficient in both these particulars, or
G 2

84 LECTURE III.
to encounter the not unfrequent discourtesies and
ignorant intolerance of a vestry, or, it even may be,
the violence of a mob (33). But I attribute it
mainly to the poverty of so many of our cures, con
trasted with the inducements held out by the com
petitive system in other services ; and to the tendency
of modern legislation to diminish and impoverish
the dignities which used to be the legitimate objects of
clerical ambition, — and which, if not always worthily
bestowed, acted in the main as a stimulus to learn
ing, and were often the reward of eminent service.
Whatever be the cause, the fact is undeniable ; and
it justifies the prayer of an eloquent divine, "that
the curse may never light upon England, which
has been too often evidenced elsewhere, of seeing her
clergy sink loAver and lower in the scale of education
and social position. Against such degradation we
ought ever to protest ; not, God forbid ! from a spirit
of pride or self-assertion, but because we knoAv that
if that degradation should ever be consummated, the
Church will have lost its hold upon the respect and
upon the affection of her people " (34).
Another obstacle to the efficient action and exten
sion of our Church, — on which I shall not enter at
present, — is the inadequacy of our present Episcopate
to the demands of our dioceses; so that an office —
which is the very key- stone of our system — is in
great measure neutralised, — and with the bulk of our
people is neither felt nor appreciated, as it might be.
To do justice to this subject on the present occa-

LECTURE III. 85
sion is, however, impossible. And I therefore pur
pose to consider it in my next Lecture, in which I
shall suggest some remedies for the spiritual destitu
tion to which I have now drawn your attention.
Let me only in conclusion remind you, that as the
apathy, and lethargy, and supercilious indifference of
so-called churchmen are at the root of this destitution
— for if the Church were but for one day what she
ought to be, it would be remedied before nightfall —
so are they the main obstruction to improvement. It
will be for each of you to ask himself to-day — How
far am I personally impHcated in this charge? For
it may be, though you are unconscious of it, that the
blood of your brother's soul is lying at your door.

G 3

LECTURE IV.

Luke x. 2.
" Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but
the labourers are few : pray ye therefore the Lord of the
harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his
harvest."
"EXEyEV ovv irphg avroiig " 6 fxev Oepio-iiug iroXvg, oi ce epyarai
oXiyoi ' SeijdriTe ovv tov Kvplov tov OepiafioV; 6Vw£ £K/3aXjj ipyarag
zlg toi' depittfibv avrov.
Much of the work which devolves upon the Church
of England at the present day is of a missionary
character. Recent inquiries, — for which Ave are mainly
indebted to a learned and venerable Prelate, — have
disclosed, that there are multitudes in the metropolis,
and other populous districts of this land, especially
in the mining and manufacturing districts, des
titute of spiritual instruction and the means of
divine worship, and without even the semblance of
religion (35).
To talk of such persons, though within the limits
of a territorial Christianity, as either churchmen or
Christians, would be an abuse of terms. Some of

LECTURE IV. 87
them may have been baptized in their infancy, and
are thus, nominally, within the pale of the Church.
Many of them have never even assumed the badge of
Christianity; for a recent act of the legislature
removed the only motive with numbers to seek for
their children the initiatory ordinance of the Church.
And, practically, both classes are as much without
the lessons and influence of religion, as if Christ had
never visited the earth. They may live within the
sound of the church beUs ; or they may be even with
out this audible witness for God. But in either case
they never enter a place of worship ; the message of
the Gospel never falls on their ears; nor have they
ever looked into the pages of the Bible. No clergy
man is ever seen amongst them. The Sunday brings
to them no reminder of a better world, it may be,
not even a remission of their week day toil, or only
opportunity for sloth and vicious indulgence. With
multitudes in this country, it has been thus ever since
they were born : it is their normal religious condition :
and they pass through the world and out of it, like
the beasts that perish.
With others the case in a nominaUy Christian
land is stiU more pitiable. They have lapsed into
practical heathenism through the absence of the moral
checks, and the religious lessons, and the pastoral
supervision, which they once enjoyed. When the
means of grace were within their reach, and religious
instruction was afforded, — when the House of God
was nigh at hand, and the Pastor knocked at their
G 4

88 LECTURE IV.
door, — they may have both employed and valued their
religious opportunities. They recall former days
with the feeling so exquisitely described by our Lord
in the parable of the Prodigal Son. And just as the
pent-in alley, and the dingy tenement, and the murky
atmosphere, and the noise and the stench of the city
are contrasted with the pure air, and the open sky,
and the green sward, and the loving and healthy
companionship of their village home, — so in their
better moments their mis-spent Sundays, and their
neglected Bibles, and their estrangement from God
and goodness, evoke a sigh for the privileges from
which they are debarred, and the duties which they
have abandoned.
It is in evidence in the Report on Spiritual Desti
tution, to which I alluded in my last Lecture, that
many who now never enter a church, and have thrown
off even the forms of religion, were church-goers and
even communicants, when first lured from their pro
vincial homes by the hope of larger gains which a
city affords. They came from pious households ; they
brought with them commendatory letters from their
former pastors; for a time they persevered in the
religious practices to which they had been used.
But they had no place in church, no visit from an
appointed pastor, no one to look after them, or drop
a word in season, no good example before their eyes.
No man cared for their souls. It is the oft-told tale ;
but the saddest tale of all. A few efforts more or
less; a struggle more or less protracted; and then

LECTURE IV. 89
such persons subside into the common way ; they go
with the multitude ; they swim Avith the stream ; they
are engulfed in the tide which in our great cities is
yearly sweeping souls to destruction.
What the moral and reHgious condition of a popu
lation thus neglected must be, it is easy to conceive.
Without schools, without churches, without pastoral
visitation, without the ordinances of religion, without
the motives or the checks which with ourselves are
too often found insufficient to counteract the evil
around us and within us, — what can we expect from
these untutored and uncared-for multitudes? What
but a state, — as we are told, — not merely of vice
and ir religion, but of infidelity ; not merely a denial
of the Christian revelation, but the grossest and
darkest heathenism, — an absence of any idea of the
existence of a God. Thus it is stated by the chap
lain of one of our gaols, that he found thirty-five per
cent, of the male, and thirty-nine per cent, of the
female prisoners to whom he had to minister, utterly
ignorant of our Saviour's name. While it is the
testimony of another credible Avitness, that the whole
code of morality, and the only knowledge of right
and wrong amongst such persons, is comprised in
what the policeman allows or forbids. And this state
of things intensifying and propagating itself every
day, deepening and spreading in the lower orders of
society — the bad habits which are contracted in one
part being through the migratory nature of our
people carried to another, or again the good habits

90 LECTURE IV.
acquired in one part lost in another ; the good ever
on the decline, the bad ever on the increase (36).
My brethren, we bewail the ungodliness and inveigh
against the vices of our people; we are shocked by
the depravity and the crime, the drunkenness and the
brutality, which courts of justice bring to light.
What should Ave be, ourselves — the very best amongst
us — were we as untaught, as undisciplined, as uncared
for, as exposed to the privations and the snares,
which the pressure of want and the contagion of
example, and the instincts of our lower nature,
and the absence of counteracting influences involve?
With us the violation of the Lord's day is a scandal :
our poorer brethren are solicited to it by bribes, and
coerced by authority. "They were tempted," depones
a witness, speaking of operatives in Government works,
"to violate their consciences for money: they have
burst into tears in my presence, and said they feared
being dismissed if they did not accept the reward of
double pay for working on the Sunday" (37).
I confess, when I consider the spiritual disad
vantages of such persons, their feeble lights, their
slender inducements to a religious profession or a
godly life, the positive hindrances in their way,
added to their many and fierce temptations, my
wonder is that they are no worse. Without religious
instruction, or pious example, — without even the
restraints Avhich with us society imposes, — with minds
beclouded and thoughts engrossed by the necessities
of their being, what can we expect from them?

LECTURE IV. 91
But the question is, how is this destitution to be
met? Our population has outgroAvn the existing
machinery of the Church, and is annually on the
increase. All the efforts of recent days, — great and
truly noble as they have been, — fall short of our
requirements. For we have to overtake the over
growth of former years ; and to provide for that which
the mining, manufacturing, and commercial enter
prise of our country caUs yearly into being. Grant
ing that much has been effected by recent acts of
legislation, by greater elasticity in the Church's
ministrations, by the removal of restrictions which
have cramped and paralysed religious efforts : grant
ing that a greater number of churches have been
erected within the last few years than during the
whole previous century : stiU the evil is on the
increase; and the need of the means of grace is
every year more and more in excess of the supply.
Take, as an example, the diocese of London, in
which during the last four years twenty-nine new
churches have been consecrated, — so as to meet the
wants of at most ninety thousand persons, — yet the
probable increase of the population in that diocese is
stated as a hundred and forty thousand (38).
AU this is undeniable ; and is forced on our atten
tion by debates in Parliament, by visitation charges,
by representations from both the pulpit and the press.
It is also proved by statistics. The only question is,
how are we to arrest an evU, which not only militates
against our character as a religious people, and

92 LECTURE IV.
imperils our social security, but also involves the
destruction from day to day of multitudes of souls ?
What we have to do is to evangelise those who are
at once sunk in irreligion, and soured by neglect ; to
reach them with offers to which they are indifferent,
and win them to services to which they are disin
clined. We have both to supply the means, and to
create the demand.
We want therefore —
First, An increased spiritual agency — men more
than buildings.
Secondly, Enlarged facilities for public worship —
the synagogue more than the temple.
In the present Lecture I shaU treat of the former
of these requirements.
By all who have reflected on the subject, the
Church's primary want is felt to be an increase of its
pastoral staff. Men are wanted of earnest minds and
simple habits, with a missionary spirit and missionary
gifts, to go amongst the people and labour amongst
them, as the first preachers of the Gospel did. We
place our trust less than we once did, on the material
machinery of religion. We admit the need of a
living agency to search out and draw the hitherto
reckless and profane; men more than buildings;
the missionary first, then the missionary station;
the permanent erection, when attention has been
excited and interest created, and there is at least
the nucleus of a future congregation.
But the crying Avant is the living agent. We

LECTURE IV. 93
want evangelists and pastors for the redundant
and yearly increasing swarms of our people. We
Avant that house -visiting which begets church-fre
quenting. We want to bring the English Church
in its daUy ministrations, into a close, familiar, and
pervading contact with all classes of our country
men. We want the interchange of mind, the in
tercommunion of spirit, the reciprocation of mutual
kindness between the spiritual agent and the people,
which constitute the charm of the pastoral relation,
and the secret of ministerial success. And without
this to claim to be the Church of the country is
a pretension, the hoUowness of which circumstances
are forcing upon us more and more every day.
To plant a large church in the midst of a dense
and semi-pagan population, and to locate there one
or two clergymen, and to assign them a district
of six thousand, ten thousand, twenty thousand,
— it may be even forty thousand souls, — and
to suppose that in this way we can effect the work
of the Church is mere fatuity (39). Under such
circumstances, the public services of the sanctuary
may be perfunctorily performed — the prayers may
be read, and sermons preached — the young may
be christened, and couples married, and the dead
buried, and the sick and aged cursorily visited;
 but even with the most heartfelt devotion in the
pastor, how many an aching conscience must there
be unprobed — how many a mind diseased never
ministered to — how many a scene of squalid

94 LECTURE IV.
misery, and of domestic anguish and bereavement
and distress, which the foot of the minister of peace
never penetrates, and where his voice is never heard !
How many a sufferer on the bed of sickness — how
many a dark and troubled spirit, perhaps pining for
counsel, — or if not so, only the more to be pitied —
must take its flight into eternity, without the teach
ings, or the consolations, or the ministries of mercy,
which the Church was founded, and which it is its
bounden duty to afford !
And unless we at least offer these, — to designate
ourselves the Church of the nation, and the spiritual
mother of its people, — and to resent papal aggression,
— and to fret at sectarian intrusion, — and to wonder at
the up-growth and spread of Mormonism, and infi
delity, and anarchical opinions, or any monstrous
outbreak of folly, or of crime, which may be generated
by the ignorance or credulity of man, — is a pretension
which cannot deceive our own selves, or impose for a
moment on an observant, understanding, and reflect
ing people.
Now the remedy which naturally suggests itself
is the subdivision of districts which have become
unmanageable. Where a population multiplies an
nually by thousands, — and many such the manufac
turing, mining, and commercial enterprise of our
country has created, — such a measure seems essential.
We have had our population doubled within the present
century : it is increasing at the rate of two hundred
thousands a year. We have villages suddenly trans-

LECTURE IV. 95
formed into populous towns ; and districts containing
great masses of people, where a feAv years ago there
may have been only green fields, or a few scattered
habitations. The natural suggestion in such cases is, that new
parishes should be created. And incumbents for
the most part have evinced a laudable willingness
to facilitate such arrangement, even when involving
sacrifices to themselves. But experience shows the
need of caution in such readjustment. To multiply
districts, of which the inhabitants are described as
" very poor, rapidly increasing, and declining in
respectability ; " and where there is no adequate pro
vision for a clergyman, is a measure of very question
able expediency. And the matter of Endowment
has become in our day one of pressing and primary
importance. I touched upon this point in my last Lecture. It
is impossible to contemplate the very slender and
disproportionate income of many of our most popu
lous and important cures without emotion. The
disclosures on this subject, which recent parliamentary
inquiries have led to, are most painful and affecting ;
and unless a remedy be supplied, and that speedily,
the result must be most disastrous to the religious
condition of this country. For in directing atten
tion to this subject I have in view not so much the
interests of the clergy, as the all-important work to
which they have been called.
Of the ten thousand four hundred and thirty-nine

96 LECTURE IV.
livings in this country, in 1839, there were nearly
three hundred stated as under 50/., and nearly two
thousand under 100/. a year. And thus there are
not a few clergymen in this country with cures,
either among the poor who need their aid, or the
purse-proud who resent poverty as a crime, whose
professional income is less than that of the mechanic,
or menial servant ; and who, in consequence, are often
Avithout daily necessaries, and decent clothing. And
this in an age distinguished for its wealth, and in
Avhich, in every other department, industry and talent
command ample remuneration; and whose advance
in civilisation demands that its religious instructors
should be at once scholars and gentlemen.
I know the specious but fallacious argument with
which this statement may be met. We are reminded
of the large existing revenues of the Church, of the
plethora of wealth under which it labours, of the
disproportionate emoluments with which some clerical
services are compensated, — and are told that if our
resources were more equally distributed, there would
be no excessive incomes, to furnish a contrast and
create a scandal, but still a sufficiency for all who do
the Church's work.
Now it has been shown repeatedly, and recently by
the present Bishop of London in his place in Parlia
ment, that were any such redistribution of clerical
revenue resorted to, — besides its being at variance
Avith the practice in all other professions, and the
general rule by which the tenure of property is
regulated, — the result would be both disappointing

LECTURE IV. 97
and pernicious. For it Avould reduce aU our clergy
to one dead level, depriving the body of its legiti
mate incentives, and affording an adequate income
to none.
On the general question it seems enough for the
ministers of religion to stand on the express Avarrant
of Scripture — "that the labourer is worthy of his
hire;"a that you should "not muzzle the ox which
treadeth out the corn;"b "that they which minister
about holy things should live of the things of the
temple, and they which wait at the altar be partakers
of the altar. For even so hath the Lord ordained,
that they which preach the Gospel should live of the
Gospel." c
But I would put it to men of inteUigence and
generous nature, whether if they expect to have
clergy with the education of scholars, and the habits,
much more the principles of gentlemen, they must
not afford them the means to maintain a respectable
position in society — whether if allowed to marry,
the clergy should not have provision to bring up
and to educate their children — whether if they are
to be alert and diligent, — with clear heads, and
hearts enlarged in the day-time, — they must not
be aUowed their night's rest unbroken by the
gnawings of care, and the pressure of pecuniary
anxiety — whether in a rich and luxurious age Hke
this, when talent finds a ready market, and every
a Luke x. 7. b 1 Corinthians ix. 9. c Ibid. 13, 14.
H

98 LECTURE IV.
profession has its recompense,— the clergy ought
to be the dependent ministers of independent conr
gregations. I urge this more, because the poverty of the pastor
and the opulence of his flock are not unfrequently
painfully contrasted ; and it is in rich and thriving
communities that the disproportion between the ser
vices and the emoluments of the clergy is at times
most observable. While persons of wealth may be
found who, instead of emulating the pious munifi
cence of former generations, would be even willing
to exonerate themselves of personal charge at the
expence of existing Endowments.
It ought, therefore, to be distinctly understood, that
to meet the present spiritual destitution of the
country in a manner at all commensurate with the
exigencies of religion and the requirements of our
parochial system, we need an increase of at least two
thousand three hundred clergymen; and that to
supply even a moderate provision for these, an annual
sum of more than half a million is demanded.
A prospective relief is, indeed, now held out by the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners. But this is both par
tial and slow in operation. And the grants proposed
depend on equivalent benefactions being made to
meet them (40).
On a like principle efforts are being organized at
this time in several of our dioceses, in which Lich
field and Oxford are the foremost (41). And in
days in which the responsibilities of wealth and the

LECTURE IV. 99
Christian duty of almsgiving are becoming better
understood, it may be hoped that the appeal of re
ligion wUl not be made in vain.
I speak in the presence of some who, as owners or
heirs, have a large stake in the property and wealth
of this country. And it is my duty on this occa
sion to remind them of the very weighty and solemn
obligations which worldly possessions of every kind
entaU. By none, who have the fear of God before
their eyes, can these be viewed as otherwise than as
a talent, for which they must account. To say, May
I not do as I will with my own? is to arrogate the
prerogative of God, and in the mouth of a creature is
impiety. Man can never be other than a steward of
the gifts of God.
Moreover there are instances in which responsi
bilities are twofold, and to a man's own are super
added those of his ancestors. Such is especially the
case with those who have succeeded to lands or other
revenues once dedicated to sacred purposes, and
charged with reHgious services — who are, for instance,
lay impropriators of tithes, or lay inheritors of church
lands  the very designation of whose manors or
mansions recalls the act of spoliation, by which these
passed from the possession of the Church into se
cular hands.
It cannot be denied, that of all human posses
sions such inheritance is most to be regarded as a
stewardship for which the owner is accountable to
both God and man ; and of Avhich one day a strict
H 2

100 LECTURE IV.
account will be required. Nor should it be forgotten,
among the consequences which the confiscation of
ecclesiastical revenue in the sixteenth century — on
whatever principles it may be justified — most as
suredly entailed, — that it reduced the provision for
religion in this country to little more than its amount
at the time of the Conquest. It also crippled the
resources of the Church to a far greater extent than
can be measured by the actual amount of spoliation ;
for it undermined the security of endowments, and
served to check the pious impulses of churchmen,
by discouraging the dedication of property henceforth
to religious and charitable purposes.
In this way it was the cause of much of the spiri
tual destitution under which we labour. It serves in
a measure to explain how in spite of our accumulated
wealth, and national prosperity, and the splendid
acts of individual munificence which characterize our
age (42), we of the present day have to grapple
with arrears of ignorance, and irreligion, and de-.
pravity, which have been on the increase for the last
three centuries, — and are increasing stiU.
The responsibUities, however, of which I speak, are
of course very far from the only ones to be considered
in reference to our existing spiritual necessities.
Neither are territorial possessions, or wealth in
herited from others, in any wise the only or the
main trusts of this nature to be accounted for. An
equal, if not weightier responsibility surely rests
on those, who if in one sense the producers of our

LECTURE IV. 101
national wealth and material greatness, are pro-
portionably the principal causes of our redundant
population. Manufacture and commerce, equally
with landed estates and funded wealth, have their
grave responsibilities in this respect. And the man
who creates a population for purposes of trade, is as
much, as the landowner, under an obligation to provide
for the spiritual interests of those whom he employs.
It behoves aU to whom God has given much to
lay these things to heart — if from no higher mo
tives — for the security of their own possessions,
and the maintenance of their social position. " For
there is that scattereth and yet increaseth, — and there
is that withholdeth more than is meet, and it tendeth
unto poverty." a And not till it is universally felt
that privileges imply duties, and that possessions are
merely a trust, shaU we cease to blush for the spiri
tual destitution and to tremble for the future of our
Fatherland. It is, of course, the office of the preacher to
urge such considerations from the pulpit. But the
Church, by means of her Offertory, statedly enforces
them. She reminds her worshippers that they are
only "stewards of the manifold grace of God," —
that " all things come of Him," and must be rendered
to Him again. And AvhUe she admonishes them " not
to trust in uncertain riches," nor to " withhold more
than is meet," — but to be "rich in good Avorks,"
" ready to distribute," " willing to communicate," —
a Proverbs xi. 24.
h 3

102 LECTURE IV.
she affords a frequent opportunity for the liberality to
which she invites. By her, charity is presented both
with motives and occasion of exercise ; pious impulses
are not aUowed to languish or to die for want of an
object; and what might otherwise evaporate in mere
emotion, is fostered by her care into a habit of bene
volence. She thus places Almsgiving on its true
foundation as a Scriptural duty, obligatory on every
Christian, and essential to our admission into heaven.
She urges it, not as a rare and isolated act, but as a
constant service of self-denial, in which we are to
provide for the wants of others, as methodically as for
our own. For such is surely the Christian duty ; —
not the contribution bestowed a few times a year, —
and which must be pleaded for in sermons and on
platforms, and canvassed for as a matter of personal
favour, — and which is often only a tribute to the
popularity or the ability of the advocate ; — but the
continuous flow of habitual Almsgiving, which recog
nizes God as the proprietor of all, and is an item of
systematic expenditure (43).
There is, however, another way in which the cause
of Church Extension might be materially promoted
by the Clergy, and which, while dealing with this
topic, I feel constrained to bring forward. It was
urged by me thirty years ago when pleading the
cause of a clergy charity in a northern diocese ; and
was powerfuUy advocated by an influential member
of the Lower House at the last meeting of the Con
vocation of the Province of Canterbury. I mean, by

LECTURE IV. 103
a more equitable assessment of clerical income than
that according to which it is now rated in the king's
books. It cannot be disputed that the present valuation, by
Avhich the payments of the clergy to Queen Anne's
Bounty are regulated, bears no sort of proportion to
actual value. The assessment was originally made in
the reign of Henry the Eighth : it has never since been
revised : it is not one fourth of the present nett value
on average : in the case of some of our larger benefices
it is considerably less. Under any circumstances such
a valuation is clearly inequitable. But in the present
exigencies of the Church, — while we have three hun
dred of our incumbencies under fifty pounds, and
nearly two thousand under one hundred pounds a
year, — and whUe the disproportion between the opu
lence of some of our benefices to Avhich light duties
are attached, and the poverty of many of our populous
and laborious cures, is the subject of regret to the
Church's friends and of unfriendly comments to its
assailants, — it is doubly open to objection. And
many feel that, for the credit of the clergy, as well
as for the interests of the Church, what is denied
by none to be a fictitious valuation ought to be
readjusted, and the annual payment to Queen Anne's
Bounty to bear a lond fide proportion to the actual
income (44).
Such a measure, as it seems to me, might be
pleaded for on many grounds, " and would be pro
ductive of good in every way. For it would aug-
H 4

104 LECTURE IV.
ment the means of benefiting our poorer livings —
it would show the disinterestedness of the more
wealthy members of the clerical body — it would
enlist the sympathies, and stimulate the benefactions
of laymen. And however it may have been viewed
when suggested thirty years ago, I have no fear that
it will now be either misconstrued or resented. On
the contrary, I believe that never were the clergy of
this country, as a body, more ready for acts of disin
terestedness and self-sacrifice than they now are.
Every benevolent undertaking, every list of charity,
every effort for the spiritual or material welfare of
our people proves this. It is admitted that the
cause of national education is mainly beholden to the
efforts and the contributions of our parochial clergy.
It can be shown that their benefactions to purposes
of charity are immeasurably greater in proportion,
than those of the laity. And were any well-con
sidered plan for the revision and adaptation of the
fund of which I speak, to the actual value of our
livings and the altered circumstances of our Church,
to be recommended by competent authority, the
acquiescence of the clergy in such readjustment can
hardly be doubted. .
Thus far I have been speaking of the exigencies of
our Church in respect of the agency and endowment
of its parochial Clergy. And yet in the judgment of
many — and these amongst the most thoughtful and
zealous members of our communion — the most press
ing want of our Church, at this time, is an increase of

LECTURE IV. 105
its Episcopate. And this is sought for, not with a
view to aggrandize the clerical body, — but to
quicken, and invigorate, and increase the Church's
agencies, by means of that which contains in itself the
nucleus and elements of aU other subsidiary efforts.
I believe I am expressing a widely prevalent and
deeply rooted conviction amongst churchmen, when
I say this. The Church of England is an Episcopal
body. It attaches great value to episcopal functions.
It receives its orders and confirmation, at the hands
of Bishops. It looks to them to take the lead in all
Church matters, and to be foremost in whatever
affects the honour of God and the welfare of society.
And it may be safely asserted that the more their
ministrations are multipHed, the more highly are they
valued. We have names in our hierarchy of former
days which wiU vie with any in Christendom ; and
many of our existing prelates are men of apostolic
type and exemplary devotion, and are greatly loved
and honoured for their works' sake.
But the more that as a Church we value the episco
pal office, the more we must desire to have it under
stood and appreciated, and brought into frequent and
homely contact with all ranks and conditions of our
people. To many of these, it may be feared, the episcopal
office is a mere abstraction. Nor can it weU be other
wise. We have for the nineteenth century, machinery
which was deemed wholly inadequate three hundred
years ago; since which time the population of the

106 LECTURE IV.
country and the clerical body%ave been more than
quadrupled. Three of our modern dioceses contain
a greater number of persons than aU of them did at
the Reformation. Many of them taken singly are of
greater area and population than all the seven dioceses
that were committed to the charge of Timothy, and
Titus, and Polycarp, and Ignatius, and other apostolic
men, by St. Paul and St. John. One of them includes
two million souls : in several the episcopal residence
is situated at the extremity of a different county
from that which contains the cathedral ; one prelate
has more than a thousand clergy to overlook. And
yet the increase of our Episcopate, since the sixteenth
century, has been but one (45).
Under such circumstances it is impossible for our
existing bishops, whatever be their zeal or their
abilities, to meet fully either the demands of the age or
the requirements of their office. It cannot be viewed
as disrespect, if we say that the thing is too heavy for
them, they cannot perform it.
And thus it comes to pass, that there are clergy
amongst us who have never spoken to a bishop, —
and parishes that have never seen a bishop since
Christianity was estabHshed, — and thousands of our
people whose only conception of a bishop has been
taken from the columns of a scurrilous newspaper :
while numbers of our middle, and even higher, classes
have no acquaintance whatever with the person or
Avith the office of him who is their chief pastor and
father in God.

LECTURE IV. 107
I venture on this subject to quote the sentiments
of one of more authority than myself.
" I am of opinion," writes the present bishop of
Lincoln, " that the erection of new sees, and the
subdivision of dioceses, is a measure urgently needed.
My own is a district, which it is impossible to
superintend with due attention to the circumstances,
wants, and condition of each parish and its pastor ;
and a bishop who should wish to preach in every
church in his diocese, and should devote one Sunday
to each parish, would require more than fifteen years to
make the circuit. The result of this disproportionate
size of a diocese to the powers of any one man is,
that there cannot be confidential and intimate com
munication between the bishop and his clergy ; that
many of the most deserving clergy are unappreciated
and unknown ; that confirmations are less frequent
than they ought to be; and that the bishop, instead
of being looked on by the laity as their chief pastor,
is known only as a state officer, — rarely seen by any,
by many never, — who has to perform certain func
tions at distant intervals " (46).
Such is the testimony of one — not the least zealous
and exemplary of those who now exercise the episco
pal office amongst us. And the impression it leaves
is surely this, — that were prelates who feel thus to
be multipHed, — were they placed where the eyes and
hearts of men could rest upon them, — the Church of
this land would not be so divided, and so crippled as
it now is ; the cause of Church Extension Avould not

108 LECTURE IV.
languish as it does ; nor would the evils which dis-
grace and imperil our common Christianity exist to
the fearful extent they now do.
Nay more, the Episcopal office itself would not be
so often misunderstood and undervalued. What
lately took place in one of our great commercial
cities, — when it was asked at a public meeting, " Did
you ever see a bishop ? " and the answer was a groan, —
could not have occurred. Nor could it have been re
marked by a great writer on our constitution, with
any semblance of truth, — that " all the bishops of
England might be swept away to-morrow, without
the people ever knoAving the change."
I need not dwell upon this subject, because an able
and exhaustive writer has recently expressed — what
I believe to be a growing and deepening conviction, — ¦
that to cope with the evils of the day and meet the
existing exigencies of the Church, what we chiefly
need is an increase of the episcopal element (47).
The pleas for such a measure may be succinctly
stated. To combat unbelief, to satisfy inquiry, to solve
religious doubt, we want a personal appHcation to
individuals of the spiritual gifts for which chief
pastors ought to be distinguished.
To make an adequate impression on the ungodli
ness and demoralization of our large toAvns, we want
the agency appointed by Christ and His Apostles for
the evangelization of the world.
To administer with the frequency and the unction

LECTURE IV. 109
demanded, a rite Avhich aU pastoral experience attests
to be more than any other fraught with spiritual
blessings to both pastor and people — and which,
under altered circumstances might, by the favour of
God, change the entire religious aspect of this coun
try — I mean Confirmation — we Avant an increase
of our Episcopate.
To encourage, stimulate, and direct the clergy ; to
exercise a salutary and heahng influence on the laity,
by consulting their wishes, eliciting their sympathies,
and exciting their zeal — and both for their own sake
and that of the Church at large, securing their hearty
cooperation in duties that devolve equally on all the
members of Christ's body — we want frequent and
familiar intercourse between them and their chief
pastors. And to secure this, an augmentation of the
Episcopal body is demanded.
Such increase was projected three centuries ago, by
leading minds at the Reformation; and was asked
for by the nonconformist divines, and promised by
Charles II. , at the Restoration (48). A measure for
effecting it has also been recently recommended by a
Royal Commission (49). While the concurrence with
which this proposal is regarded by the members of
the Church is established by the fact, that petitions
in its favour have been signed by six thousand of
the clergy, and by many of the most distinguished
and influential of our laity (50).
Prelates of an humbler type, less dependent for
their station upon outward rank than on the sacred-

110 LECTURE IV.
ness of their office,- — and who would command respect
by their learning, — and win affection by their apo
stolic labours, the innocency of their lives, and their
exemplary devotion and self-denial, — is what is asked
for. They need not be Peers of Parliament ; they
could not dispense the same hospitahty and extensive
charity exacted from our existing Episcopate. But
what they lost in worldly pretensions they would
gain in actual influence. They would fanuliarize
the people with their office, — would render it with
all their ranks a living reality and a household word,
— would remove the reproach that the English Church
is for the benefit, not of the working or of the middle
class, but of the noble and the well-to-do. And the
very fact that their office was less an object of worldly
ambition and cupidity, would render it less likely to
be bestowed from a regard to political and family
connection. Such an Episcopate, it might be confidently ex
pected, would be a source of great and manifold
blessings to the national Church ; would breathe fresh
life into its system, unlock sympathies now dormant
in many a heart, develop agencies and resources now
withheld. It would do for us at home, what it has
already effected for our Church in the Colonies, — where
it is matter of experience that wherever a bishopric
has been founded, the numbers and efficiency of the
clergy have been increased, schools and churches
and benevolent institutions have been multiplied, and
subsidiary agencies and helps of all kinds have been
called into existence (51).

LECTURE IV. HI
In proof of this we may refer to the diocese of
Ripon, in which upwards of half a million sterling
has been received for Church purposes within sixteen
years from the foundation of that see. The erection
of Manchester into a bishopric has led to similar
results. And " it may be accepted as an axiom of
ecclesiastical economics, that in order to increase the
number and efficiency of the parochial clergy, and to
reHeve their temporal distress, the wisest plan is to
provide an adequate number of bishops."
Thus it was urged by the late Dr. Arnold, that
" In order to any efficient and comprehensive Church
system, the first thing necessary is to divide the
actual dioceses. Every large town," he observes,
" should necessarily be the seat of a bishop : the
addition of such an element into the society of a
commercial or manufacturing place would be itself a
great advantage." On which Canon Wordsworth
remarks : "There is scarcely any large district or
populous town in England which does not possess
some noble ancient church, distinguished by archi
tectural beauty, which might soon become a cathedral.
If the inhabitants of a district or town are desirous
of such a result, — and if the desire is right, — let
them be enabled to attain it. It would infuse new
life into ancient municipalities ; it would impart new
dignity to the country, and give fresh vigour to those
sacred and generous principles and feelings, Avhich
unite Christians and Englishmen, in the spiritual
and social bonds of piety, loyalty, and peace" (52).
Hitherto I have spoken exclusively of Clerical

112

LECTURE IV.

agency. But that aU should be workers together
Avith God, and witnesses for Him, without distinc
tion of caUing or of sex, — and that Lay agency is
both recognised in the Christian economy, and has
been found of infinite value in the promulgation of
the Gospel and the extension of the Church, will be
readily admitted. Scripture abounds in testimonies
in its favour. Apostles, as we know, both invoked
and employed it. By them even women were hailed
as " servants of the Church," as " helpers in Christ
Jesus;" as "labouring," nay as "labouring much, in
the Lord." a And the history of Christian effort in
every age, and throughout the world, teems with
notices of services rendered to the cause of God by
those, who have never been separated to the ministry
or bound by clerical vows.
To visit and relieve the sick ; to circulate and read
Holy Scripture ; to search out cases requiring pastoral
attention; to invite attendance at public ordinances;
to act as pioneers and helpers of the clergy ; — all
these are offices clearly within the province of lay
members of the Church; and in which they may
render valuable assistance, without in any way over
stepping their own sphere, or trenching on the clerical
office. But when the lay agency is a paid one, there may
be a question as to the desirableness of employing
it. Practically, good and wise men amongst us are
a Romans xvi. 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 12.

LECTURE IV. 113
found to entertain different opinions on the subject
(53). And in any case, while its admissibleness, as
auxiliary and supplemental to clerical functions, may
be pleaded for, — to urge it as preferable to these
is hardly consistent Avith the principles of church
men, or Avith reverence for a divinely instituted
order. There is, however, an argument in favour of en
listing laymen as Evangelists in the cause of the
EngHsh Church, even if their services are not gra
tuitously rendered, which in the consideration of
this subject must not be overlooked.
It wiH have force with many — and these persons
not disposed to sacrifice principle to expediency —
by whom it has long been felt that our Church has
suffered much, and in many ways, from rigidity of
system ; and that she needs both elasticity and ex
pansion. I mean, that lay agency affords occasion for the
exercise of gifts which might otherwise not only
be lost to the Church, but even employed against
it. There is many a man who has had no re
gular training for the ministry, whom circum
stances debar from taking Holy Orders, who has
nevertheless an incontrollable impulse to labour
in the Christian vineyard. Rome has at all times
known how to use such men in subordination to
her system (54). Dissent affords them ample scope
and encouragement. The English Church, hitherto,
has neglected, if not wholly discouraged such candi-

114 LECTURE IV.
dates for employment. And in her present circum
stances, with the many, and loud, and pressing claims
on her attention; with a clerical agency confessedly
numericaUy insufficient to cope with the difficulties
and compass the work before her, — to continue to
do so, would, in the judgment of many, be to prefer
ecclesiastical routine to the interests of souls.
Moreover, it seems to be sufficiently established,
that certain objections which have been urged against
the agency pleaded for have no existence in reality.
Thus experience proves that the lay agent does not,
as was by some anticipated, develop into the dissenting
preacher (55). On the contrary it would appear that
he is generally helpful and subordinate, — that he
carries out instructions with zeal, and exactitude,
and docility, — that he renders to the parochial
clergyman much useful service, by informing him
where his ministrations are most needed, and ob
taining for him entrances before inaccessible. The
testimony of many of our most experienced and
zealous parochial clergy goes to prove aU this.
No agency, however, whether clerical or lay, can
be vicarious, — it exonerates no man from personal
efforts in the cause of God. As baptized members
of Christ's body the Church, we have all of us trusts,
as we have privileges in common. " The foot can
not say, because I am not the hand, I am not of the
body, — nor the ear, because I am not the eye, I
am not of the body." It is only by the cordial
and concurrent efforts of both clergy and laity,

LECTURE IV. 115
that the cause of the Church can be maintained,
and the work of Christ can be done.
I shaU resume this topic on a future occasion.
In my next Lecture I purpose to consider a subject
of general and increasing interest at the present day
— the requirements of the Christian ministry, and the
special training of the Clergy.

LECTURE V.

2 Timothy ii. 15.
" Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth."
'SnrovZaaov aeavrov SoKt/xov irapaorfjaai tu> Bea, epya.Tr)v aveTraio-fcvv-
tov, opBoTOfxovvTa tov Xoyov ttjq aXrjBiiag.
It will be admitted, that of the Chnrch's agencies
the most important is that of its ordained ministers.
The nature of their office, and the relations into
which it brings them with all sorts and conditions of
men, necessarily afford the clergy means and occa
sions of usefulness peculiar to themselves. It is,
therefore, hardly possible to over-rate the influence
for good or evil, which they must exercise on the re
Hgious life of a community : and " like priest, like
people," has passed into a proverb.
It will likewise probably be admitted, that at no
period were the character and qualifications of the
clergy of more moment than the present, — when pre
scriptive and traditionary claims of every kind are

LECTURE V. 117
comparatively lightly regarded — and the deference
once accorded to station must be in great measure
earned by personal qualities. Few will dispute the
observation of an eminent statesman, that " it is by
influence, and by influence only, that our clergy can
be reaUy powerful in these days " (56).
The Church is, therefore, bound to do its utmost to
maintain a high clerical standard, and to adopt all
possible precautions against the intrusion of unfit
persons into Holy Orders. A sufficient period of pro
bation, an inquiry into antecedents, a scrutiny, as far
as may be, into the motives and qualifications of can
didates for her ministry, — such are steps which no
Church with common wisdom or decency could
neglect: — and it may therefore be presumed they
are not overlooked by our own.
Now it would be difficult to suggest a greater wari
ness, than is prescribed, if not always exercised, by
the EngHsh Church in this particular.
She requires every candidate,
To make a written application to the bishop six
months before the time of ordination, stating his age,
coUege, academical degree, and the usual place of his
residence; together with the names of any persons
of respectabUity, to whom he is best known ; and to
whom the bishop may apply, if he thinks fit, for
further information concerning him.
To be furnished with a title, and ordinarily a
nomination to a particular cure.
To present letters testimonial from his college;
i 3

118 LECTURE V.
and, in case of his having quitted the University, a
certificate from three beneficed clergymen, counter
signed by their respective bishops, to the effect that
they have known and observed his conduct and
are satisfied that he has lived piously, soberly and
honestly, and is sound in the faith ; — and that
they believe him in their consciences to be, as to his
moral conduct, a person worthy to be admitted to
sacred orders.
Further, a notice must be published in the church
of the parish where the candidate usually resides,
that he intends to offer himself for ordination ; and
if any one knows any just cause or impediment
why he ought not so to be ordained, he is, then and
there, to declare the same, or to signify it forthwith
to the bishop.
Lastly, candidates are subjected to an examination,
of some days' duration, in their scholastic and theolo
gical attainments, and reHgious principles and creed,
— varying, of course, in strictness, according to the
requirements of individual bishops and chaplains, but
generally in our day sufficient — and from which
they are not unfrequently turned back.
That, notwithstanding these precautions, unfit
candidates do present themselves, and even at times
gain admittance into the orders of our Church,
cannot however be denied. Without personal piety,
without religious earnestness, without any aptitude
or liking for sacred functions — even with a con
scious distaste for these — it may be with loose habits,

LECTURE V. 119
and a damaged reputation, — persons sometimes in
trude themselves into our ministry.
Such is, indeed, a matter of painful and public
notoriety. It has draAvn the attention, and called
forth the remonstrances of the laity; and lately
elicited a protest which was brought before Convo
cation, and received due attention from the prelates
of our Church (57). Antecedently to this, it sug
gested a caution recorded in one of the reports of
the Lower House, as to the granting of testimonials
(58). And it must be added, that the exposure of
some recent cases of clerical delinquency has given
point and emphasis to both remonstrance and sug
gestion. The subject is universally felt to be one,
which affects more nearly than any other the honour
of the sacred order, the interests of reHgion, and the
cause of God throughout the land.
It wiU, I beHeve, be gratefully acknowledged by
both bishops and examining chaplains, that in re
spect of testimonials, the Universities for the most
part exercise due caution. And it is to be regretted
that the example of these learned bodies is not suffi
ciently foUowed by others, to whom on these occasions
an appeal is made. Certainly it is impossible to over
rate the responsibility incurred by those, who on
false or insufficient grounds, furnish testimonials for
Holy Orders; or who, if cognizant of charges against
candidates, do not report these in the proper quarters.
But a system is not to blame, hoAvever it may suffer,
because its prescribed rules and regulations are
I 4

120 LECTURE V.
neglected. The necessary precautions have been
taken by the Church. It has delegated trusts which,
if duly discharged, would guard its ministry; has
vested a solemn charge in its bishops and examining
chaplains; has exacted pledges from its candidates,
which cannot without impiety be disregarded; has
lodged a power of protest in lay hands. Even in the
Ordination Service which separates her future pas
tors to their mission, before the imposition of hands
the Church makes a solemn pause, and addresses" a
forcible appeal to her congregation (59).
I would ask, what more could be exacted in the way
of precaution ? And though it is impossible for any
of us to read the heart, and none can detect unworthy
motives or moral unfitness in those who wear a mask,
— yet if, in every case, the trusts reposed by the
Church were duly discharged — if parents, and tutors,
and college authorities, and the parish clergy, and
the Christian laity were, severaUy, to fulfil, as in
the sight of God, what is required of them — who
can doubt that the Church would be preserved from
many an incapable and many an unworthy pastor?
Else, why appeals made too late, — and that by
persons who, it may be, have neglected their own
duty in the matter; and then, after ordination, write
to bishops and examining chaplains, and whisper
charges, — about which, when appealed to by the
Church, they were mute (60) !
A point, in which our Church is more vulnerable,
is that of Clergy Discipline.

LECTURE V. 121
Every day more clearly establishes the fact, that
we need, not only protection against unworthy candi
dates, but also more stringent and ready remedy for
misconduct in ordained persons.
Instances, indeed, of immorality, or systematic neg
lect of duty, or gross incapacity on the part of the
clergy, are now, Ave may hope, rarely to be heard
of. The sons of Nimrod and of Jehu, we may trust,
have also run their course. But where clerical delin
quencies do occur, they inflict the deadliest wound
upon reHgion. They bring contempt on the sacred
office. They damage the Church in a parish for
a generation. They alienate an entire neighbour
hood. They make sad the hearts of the righteous,
and strengthen the hands of the wicked."
What must it be to reside where the parochial
clergyman is not a pattern, but a warning to his
flock ; to attend the services and hear the sermons of
a man, whose own conduct is an outrage on public
decency ; even to have religion lowered in the eyes of
one's cMldren and dependants, by the performances
of an ignorant, uncouth, or careless clergyman !
To talk of the duty of parishioners, when the
pastoral office is thus disgraced; or to resent their
forsaking the parish church, or even seceding from
our communion, is to very little purpose in these
days. And for the sake of the Church, and the cause
of religion, a speedy and effectual remedy for such
scandals is devoutly to be wished for.
a Ezekiel xiii. 22.

122 LECTURE V.
That there ought to be prompt and easy means of
dealing with misconduct in a clergyman cannot be
disputed. Existing methods are found both cum
brous and expensive, and to afford facilities for de
feating justice, and perpetuating scandal. So that
cases of gross immorality have been left unpunished,
and criminous clergy been allowed to retain their
cures for years, to the almost irreparable injury of
religion, by reason of the inadequate provisions of
the law and the difficulty and cost of prosecuting
offenders to conviction.
Under such circumstances, it is unfair to blame
authorities. The doctrine of the Church is indeed
plain and peremptory. It declares that "it apper
tained to the discipline of the Church that enquiry
be made of evil ministers, and that they be accused
by those that have knowledge of their offences ; and
finally being found guilty, by just judgment be de
posed." a
But is it to be expected that parishioners wiU
impeach, or churchwardens present, or bishops call
offenders to account, — when the result may only be a
ruinous expense to themselves, and the evasion of
the culprit, through the deficiencies of the law (61)?
But the subject which more especially requires our
consideration in this place is not the discipline, but
the Education and Training of our clergy.
It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of the
a Article XXVI.

LECTURE V. 123
duties which await candidates for our ministry. To
them wUl be committed our schools, and our pulpits,
and the pastoral care of our people. They are to
be the expounders of doctrine, and the guides of
conscience in aU on which it most concerns men to
be instructed — on the wiU and commands of God
— on matters of faith, and conduct — on the condi
tions of pardon, and peace, and eternal life — themes
worthy the tongues of angels. They are to be am
bassadors of God, ministers of Christ, shepherds of
the flock, stewards of the mysteries of God.
That such a commission should have been en
trusted, in any day, to incompetent hands, might
have been thought impossible. We might have as
sumed, that the most promising of our families, the
ablest of our universities, would have been reserved
for it. And if in a former generation the taunt of
the historian — that the least gifted, and the least
capable, were assigned to the cure of souls, was justi
fied — what wonder that the reHgious life of the
nation had sunk so low? For to commit the sacred
office to unworthy hands can, humanly speaking,
lead to no other result.
As, therefore, our Church would retain its hold on
the national mind, and maintain the cause of God
amongst us, its clergy must be duly qualified for
their mission. They must be conversant with the
themes they undertake to handle, and apt to teach
others also. Meagre attainments, a bad address,
want of rhetorical power, are not compatible with

124 LECTURE V.
their position as public instructors in days like
these. The laity complain of the bad elocution of many
of our younger clergy, of their inexperience in pas
toral duties, of their mediocrity in the pulpit, of their
want of breadth of view, and grasp of mind, — of
their inability to catechise a class in the national
school, or to take a part in parochial details, or to
address an audience with the freedom and force
which might be expected from a well-educated gentle
man, much more from "a scribe instructed unto the
kingdom of heaven." They aUege that our newly-
ordained curates, for the most part, are mere novices
in the sick room, and in domiciHary visitation ; and
are neither so ripe in attainment, nor so ready in
utterance, as the licentiates of dissenting bodies.
They allege, moreover, that in the current litera
ture of the day, — even in the newspapers, — religious
topics are handled with a vigour and an ability,
rarely to be met with in the discourses of the clergy.
Now it must be admitted by all, who take a prac
tical view of the subject, that the standard proposed
to the clergy of this country is not only a high one,
but demands qualifications almost incompatible.
They are required to be diligent in pastoral duties,
and at the same time furnished for public ministra
tions; "they are to serve tables," and yet to "give
attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine." a
a 1 Timothy iv. 13.

LECTURE V. 125
They are to " meditate upon these things, and to give
themselves Avholly to them; that their profiting may
appear to all ; " a yet withal to be prompt and diligent
in practical details.
Other communions recognize in those who minis
ter a diversity of gifts, and admit of a division of
labour. And this on the principle laid down by the
Apostles, " that having gifts differing according to the
grace that is given," " as every man hath received
the gift, he should minister as of the ability that God
giveth." b Thus Rome selects her instruments with
regard to their different qualifications ; and assigns to
each his appropriate work (62). Amongst dissenters
oratorical gifts are beHeved to be chiefly prized ; and
ministerial energy to be mainly employed in the
pulpit. But with us every man in orders — what
ever his capacity — whether priest or deacon — is ex
pected to be student, pastor, preacher; to occupy
the pulpit, to work the parish, to drill the school,
to manage the accounts, to superintend the charities,
to take the lead in every beneficent and scientific
institution; and to bear a prominent part in the
social intercourse of life.
It avaUs little to cavil at such requirements ; still
less to take umbrage at strictures which, if sometimes
unreasonable, cannot harm us, if we learn from them
a more excellent way (63). Our wisdom is to see that,
as far as may be, our acquirements and practice as
a 1 Timothy iv. 15. b Romans xii. 6 ; 1 Peter iv. 10, 11.

126 LECTURE V.
clergymen, keep pace with the spirit and standard of
our age.
And this pleads forcibly for some formative process,
some distinct preparatory training for Holy Orders,
such as is insisted on in every other walk of life.
Professional training is required in aU to Avhom
secular interests are committed. We trust neither
our persons nor our property to the ignorant or the
inexperienced. We do not consider it enough that
practitioners should have good natural abilities, and'
have received a superior general education : in them
we require special preparatory study, and profes
sional practical knowledge.
Who can deny that a like system is demanded
in the education of our clergy — that candidates for
the ministry require, not only a definite course of
study, but also a special practical training ?
Persons may differ as to the amount of theological
learning to be exacted of aspirants to our ministry.
Yet, probably, all will agree, that they ought to be
versed in Holy Scripture, and capable of expounding
it, — that they ought to know something of ecclesiasti
cal history, of modern as well as ancient controver
sial theology, of the mind of their own Church — as
it may be learned from the Prayer Book — of the
writings of our great divines, — of the principles of
composition and elocution, in order to be able to
discharge the duties of both the pulpit and the read
ing desk with propriety (64). Further, that they
ought also to know something of the manner of life,

LECTURE V. 127
the modes of thought and expression, even the pre
judices and prepossessions of those amongst whom
they are to minister. Above all, — that to qualify
them for the cure of souls, they ought to be them
selves under religious influence ; and thus to under
stand the ailments and necessities of the inner man,
and the remedy provided for these in the Gospel.
For thus, and thus only, can any man minister to
minds diseased, or speak a word in season to them
that are weary, or lift up the hands that hang down,
and strengthen the feeble knees.
We are, as a Church, without any such special sys
tematic training for the clerical office ; and in this re
spect are unfavourably contrasted with almost every
other reHgious body.
The Church of Rome has its Propaganda, and nu
merous seminaries for educating its clergy in every
part of its obedience. The Protestant communions
of Germany, Switzerland, and Scotland are similarly
provided. So is the reformed Episcopal Church of
America. Amongst the dissenting denominations in
our own country also there is regular and systematic
preparation for their ministry. Can it then be a matter
of surprise, if many of the most practical, experienced,
and pious members of the English Church feel and
deplore its deficiency in this respect, — and ask for
the future pastors of its people that course of study
and special training, which the theological students
of all other religious communities enjoy ?
It wiU be said, you have already in the Univer-

128 LECTURE V.
sities, which are the great feeders of our Church, the
schools of theology you ask for.
Now of all men, we the clergy are least disposed
to undervalue these time-honoured seats of learning ;
or to speak of them without affection, and the rea
diest avowal of what we owe them. They are con
nected with many of our fondest recollections —
with the studies, and the friendships, it may be, the
laurels of our youth — above all with what has given
direction and tone to our future Hfe. We are said
to cling to them with a regard only too tenacious and
exclusive. And the elder amongst us thankfuUy ac
knowledge that since our day, new chairs have been
endowed, and ampler and better provision made for
the special study of theology.
In any observations, therefore, which fall from me
on the subject before us, I may be expected to speak
with the utmost respect of our Universities. I know
that the training of our clergy has already met with
grave and thoughtful consideration in this place, and
still occupies its leading minds. I have also read
with the attention it demands, the recorded judgment
of some whom I address, as given in the Appendix
to the Report of the Capitular Commission (65).
StiU it is a matter of complaint, that candidates
from our Universities are found, not unfrequently,
inadequately furnished for the Christian ministry;
that they know little of theology as a science ; are.
but imperfectly acquainted with the history, and
doctrines of their own Church ; and are at times even

LECTURE V. 129
deficient in the knowledge of Holy Scripture. Nor
am I speaking from hearsay, but from personal
experience, and as having occupied during the last
seven years the office of examining chaplain for an
important and extensive diocese.
Noav there are certain preliminary points in con
nection with this subject, on which all thoughtful
persons are, probably, agreed.
And first, that the education of our clergy should
be as enlarged as possible in its nature and objects;
that any attempt to isolate or narrow it would be as
injurious to themselves, as it would to the interests
of society and the cause of religion. The policy of
another Church may require the seclusion of her
future ministers in seminaries altogether ecclesias
tical. But nothing could be more detrimental to our
own. It would generate the exclusiveness, the nar
row-mindedness, the uncharitableness, which even
under present circumstances are too frequently com
plained of.
AU men of judgment wiU admit that the associa
tion of our future clergy with the laity in our
pubHc schools and Universities, is the best possible
thing for both. It makes them know, and value
one another. It prevents future jealousies and
misunderstandings, — which, wherever they exist,
work such mischief in our parishes, — but which are
not likely to occur betwixt those, who have been on a
former footing of equality and mixed up in the
friendships and wholesome rivalries of school and
K

130 LECTURE V.
college life. And at a time when all Avise and
large-hearted men are endeavouring, as far as may
be, consistently Avith the arrangements of Providence
and the welfare of society, to fuse and weld men
together, any attempt to isolate the future pastors
of the country from those amongst whom they
are to minister, would be as absurd, as it would
be disastrous if effected. If in the estimation of
some, our Universities are even now too exclusively
clerical ; what would an education confined to candi
dates for holy orders be? We shall, probably, one
and aU endorse the judgment of a distinguished
member of this University, — that " the exclusive study
of divinity, apart from other Hterary pursuits, and
the isolation of clerical students from the laity, would
be the most grave innovations on the English prac
tice ; and the results might be very different from
anything desired or designed" (66).
As far, therefore, as Theological Colleges are pro
posed as a substitute for our Universities, there can
be, it may be hoped, but one opinion amongst us.
Pleas for them may be found in the spiritual neces
sities of our day, in the aUeged expensiveness of a re
gular academic education, in the facility, thus afforded,
for the admission of an humbler and less highly
educated class of men into holy orders for the supply
of our ill-paid and populous cures ; though I have
endeavoured to show that such are not the men best
fitted for this special sphere of labour. And it must
be acknowledged that some of these institutions are

LECTURE V. 131
ably conducted, and workAvell; and that their students
are at times superior in their acquaintance with
certain text books of theology, to the average candi
dates from our Universities.
Still in moral and mental culture, in range of study
and breadth of view, in the principles and tone of feel
ing which we beHeve to be essential to the ministry of
our Church, they fall immeasurably below our Uni
versities. Nor can anything be conceived more inju
rious to the position and usefulness of the National
Church, than that any large portion of its clergy
should have been debarred from the advantages
afforded in our great seats of learning.
But it is on institutions supplemental, and repre
sented as ancillary to our usual academic course, —
that the question turns. And the fact that such
have been recommended, after careful deliberation,
by a Royal Commission, — and have the countenance
of some of our most distinguished prelates, and of
leading members, lay and clerical, of our communion,
— is a proof how strongly the want they are intended
to supply, is felt (67).
Objections against them are, hoAvever, urged, —
which coming from men of great experience and
sagacity, and of large personal acquaintance with the
subject on which they speak, are entitled to grave
attention. It is represented, that theological colleges, distinct
from the Universities, will generate and foster party
spirit — will create different and adverse schools of
K 2

132 LECTURE V.
theology — wiU become dangerous instruments of
undue episcopal influence — wiU draw sharper the
line of separation between the clergy and the laity;
and will multiply and widen divisions which are, even
now, the plague spots and scandal of the Church.
It is further contended, that such institutions wiU
expose our clergy to the warping and contracting
influence of individual, and probably inferior minds ;
and will result in a want of unity of purpose and
uniformity of teaching, and in a narrowed spirit, and
lower tone of theology.
At the same time we are told, that in the Universi
ties we have a security against all this, — in the wider
association, the more free exercise of opinion, the
greater collision of mind; above all, in the higher
tone of instruction enjoyed there. It is argued, that
the appointment of the Professors by the Crown, or
by independent suffrages, is a preservative against
unsound views, and the predominating, and perhaps
prejudicial influence of an individual mind.
It may, however, be replied, that the institutions
now existing as supplemental to the Universities, are
not found in practice to justify the apprehensions
entertained of them, — that they are not marked by
a contracted spirit, or a debased school of theology 
or by sectional prejudices and animosities. On the
contrary, that those, who have been trained in them,
have both when under examination acquitted them
selves to the entire satisfaction of bishops and exa
mining chaplains, and have afterwards approved

LECTURE V. 133
themselves amongst the most zealous, exemplary,
and large-hearted of our parochial clergy.
It may even be aUeged, that the danger to our
youth from the preponderating influence of indivi
duals, from the fascination of personal character and
abilities, from the spirit of party, exist in a much
greater degree in the Universities themselves — that
the rival theological schools, which are apprehended
in different dioceses, are found already concentrated
in our ancient seats of learning — that some of their
most eminent professors have been suspected by the
university authorities, debarred from the university
pulpit, placed under episcopal interdict — that it has
been fresh from our Universities that some of those,
who have disturbed our parishes and created in the
country at large a reaction against the Church, have
proceeded. FinaUy, that in consequence of the views
indoctrinated and the influence exercised here of
late, there has been an unsettling of the youthful
mind, which has deterred many of our most pro
mising youths from taking holy orders, and has caused
throughout the Church both alarm and distrust.
For myself, I do not participate in such fears; but
beHeve, in the words of a high authority, "that for
dispassionate, impartial and comprehensive views of
the doctrine and discipline of our Church, there is no
school of theology comparable to that which may be
found in our Universities " (68). I believe that what
is illusory in the teaching of some of note in this
place wiU be corrected by future study and expe-
K 3

134 LECTURE V.
rience ; while the independence of thought, the love
of truth, the large-hearted charity, the personal
holiness inculcated, wiU bear fruit when the erro
neous views, and the misunderstandings they have
caused, shaU have passed away.
Still, admitting that for all, but exceptional cases,
our Universities offer great and special adArantages
for clerical education — admitting that a system of
theological instruction cannot be too much under
public notice, or too unreservedly subjected to the
free play of public discussion and competent criticism
— admitting that the two Universities, comprising
numbers of highly educated men of all shades of opi
nion, in pursuit of all kinds of knowledge, and living
together in familiar intercourse, possess advantages
Avhich a Provincial theological college necessarily can
not have : — further deprecating, in the fullest sense,
whatever might have a tendency to lower the tone,
or contract the range of theological instruction, — to
isolate the clergy, — or foster party-spirit, — or impair
the relations in which the pastors of the Church have
hitherto been connected with the mass of our people
— what we ask of the Universities, — with their rare
advantages, their large endowments, their chartered
privileges, is — to render all these more available to
the service of religion.
To discountenance the efforts of others, and supply
no sufficient substitute — to refuse a remedy for
notorious and admitted wants, when it is in their
hands to give — it is not thus that our Universities

LECTURE V. 135
will deal with the Avants of the Church and the
requirements of the age, — when we turn to them in
a great necessity.
To offer, myself, any definite scheme of clerical
training, were hardly within my province. Enough
for me, to have given utterance in this place to what
I beHeve is felt by many of the Church's warmest
friends, on a question which so nearly concerns her
vital interests. In doing so, I have but echoed the
sentiments of many, who bear rule in this and the
sister University, and of some of our most distin
guished prelates.
It is for those, who are in authority, to adopt the
measures which they may deem the most expedient.
A preacher can but deliver what he has learned, from
contact with the world — from perhaps his own defi
ciencies and miscarriages — is demanded of those,
who, in days like these, would discharge their ministry
amongst our people with efficiency and acceptance.
The question, as it affects the Universities, it must
be admitted, is not without difficulties. There are,
of course, objections to the prolongation of the usual
academic course, from considerations of the further
time and cost which this would involve. There are
also cases, in which a longer connection with the
University, on the part of a candidate for holy
orders, might be undesirable. But it has been sug
gested, that the attention of those intended for the
ministry, — after they have passed their final classical
examination, — might be confined to theology and
K 4

136 LECTURE V.
cognate studies ; that attendance on the lectures of
our divinity professors might be made compulsory;
that clerical candidates might be stimulated by the
prospect of academic distinction in their special
department. Further, that in connection with the
studies of this place means should be provided for
practical training in pastoral work.
What we, — who know the Church's needs, but
bear no rule in this place, — ask of our Universities,
is to furnish us with candidates, as far as may be,
quaHfied for their future calling. We ask for " work
men that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth," " scribes instructed unto the
kingdom of God." Above all, for men whose hearts
God Himself has touched, — who have the anointing
and the seal of the Holy Ghost ; — who whether they
minister in our churches, or labour in our parishes,
or teach in our schools, will speak out of the abun
dance of their own hearts, and of the abiHty which
God has given ; who can say with the apostle, " That
which we have seen and heard, declare we unto
you ; " a whose words will be not merely " that which
man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost
teacheth." b
Give us such men, — and you will be enhancing the
claims which our Universities already possess on the
love and gratitude of churchmen, and be helping
the Church in its weakest point, and at its sorest need.
a 1 John i. 3. b 1 Corinthians ii. 13.

LECTURE V. 137
You wiU be providing a seed to serve God, when
the present generation has passed away ; and enabling
the old amongst us to depart in peace, believing that
we have seen the salvation of God.
I have already aUuded in this lecture to the theo
logical coUeges which have been established in some
of our dioceses ; and of which I retain the favourable
opinion I expressed some years ago, in a sermon
deHvered at Cuddesden, at the request of the Bishop
of Oxford (69).
I am, however, myself mainly in favour of a course
of teaching and training supplemental to the Uni
versities, and of a more practical character than can
be obtained in the institutions just alluded to ; such
as may be furnished in a well-ordered parish, under
the supervision of an incumbent of adequate ability
and experience. And my judgment is confirmed by
an opinion recently expressed by a select committee
of the House of Lords, appointed to report on the
means of divine worship in populous districts (70).
It has always appeared to me, that the insight into
pastoral work — the practice in the schools — the
domiciHary visitation — the acquaintance with paro
chial machinery — the contact with the middle and
poorer classes — the points, in fact, in which our
younger clergy are generally, and under existing cir
cumstances, necessarily so deficient, — would be
better attained in this, than in any other way.
I had for some years such a system in opera
tion, in a parish of my own; and I shall always

138 LECTURE V.
look back to it with pleasure. Candidates for holy
orders, when graduates of the University, in such
a relation, are rather a help, than a hindrance, to
a clergyman. The daily service of the Church,
the common course of study, the interchange of
thought on subjects of mutual interest, the joint
supervision of the poor, are not more profitable to
those who are thus initiated into pastoral life, than
to their instructor.
It, therefore, seems to me, that the distribution of
such groups of clerical students throughout a diocese,
would prove of signal benefit to the English Church ;
and supply its ministry with just the class of pastors,
that the exigencies of the country and the character
of our people caU for.
I have dwelt the longer on this subject, because
it is of deep and national importance, and appears
to affect more nearly than any other the interests of
religion in this land. On the clergy, under God, the
character, and efficiency, and future of the English
Church mainly depend. It is they who are to uphold
the cause of vital godliness amongst us ; and to main
tain the principles of evangelic truth, and apostolic
order, and scriptural moderation, which have hitherto
endeared the Church of our forefathers to the English
people. Reasons enough, why our future pastors
should be duly trained for their mission, — and not
sent forth to the cure of souls, raAV, ignorant, in
every Avay unfurnished for their work.
A period should, surely, in every case be interposed

LECTURE V. 139
between the academic degree and holy orders, — dur
ing which candidates may sit down and count the
cost, and look their future duties in the face ; in
which they may apply themselves expressly to the
study of theology ; and take counsel with wise and
pious men ; and learn from the lessons and examples
of fathers in the ministry, what manner of men they
ought themselves to be, as Christian pastors, — before
they bind on them irrevocable vows, and embark on
duties in which both their own salvation, and that of
others wiU be involved.
There are, doubtless, some present here to-day, who
are designed for the Christian ministry, — and ere long
wiU be caHed on to declare before God and the con
gregation, that they are inwardly moved by the
Holy Ghost to undertake it.
I would not say a word, on this occasion, to discou
rage any sincere candidate for holy orders. Rather
would I invite and stimulate my younger brethren
— especially those amongst them on Avhom God has
bestowed his choicest gifts of intellect and speech,
and who are fired with a desire to benefit mankind —
to offer themselves for what 1 in my heart believe to
be the noblest and happiest of earthly callings. I
would repeat to them the words which I once heard
addressed by Bishop Corrie to a band of youthful
missionaries, on the occasion of his last visit to this
country — before he returned to lay his bones in the
scene of his life-long labours in the East — "If you
give yourselves heartily to this work, and trust in God,

140 LECTURE V.
and do your best, and live to old age as I have done,
you wUl never say, I repent."
Only when I have tried to elicit an opinion on the
training of our clergy, it has been said to me, and
that by elder members of this University — What you
propose may be all very well for candidates who have
led careless and idle lives at college.
Young men, I have exercised my ministry in the
Church of England nearly forty years. It is long
since, as an under graduate, I sat in those galleries,
and attended the lectures of a divinity professor, and
faced for the first time, as one "separated to the
Gospel," the actual conditions of clerical life. I have,
perhaps, no right to expect from you who are yet
inexperienced, and whose pulse beats high, to feel in
this matter exactly as I do. There is much in every
path of life that can be learned only by personal
experience. But I know what it is to have been ordained, and
to have undertaken clerical vows ; to have said,
when the Lord of the Vineyard came to hire labourers,
and the Captain of the Host to enlist soldiers, Here am
I, send me — I have nearly finished the course which
you are on the eve of commencing. I can look back
from the end to the beginning.
And I would affectionately beseech you, for Christ's
sake, for the Church's sake, for the sake of those
amongst whom you may be called hereafter to mi
nister ; for the support, and consolation, and salvation
of your own souls, when trials, and troubles, and

LECTURE V. 141
sickness and bereavement come, and you are in deep
waters, and the floods threaten to swallow you up, —
to look the vows and the work that are before you,
in the face ; and to be sure at least of this, — that you
are sincere, and in earnest, and yourselves converted
men, before you take holy orders.
Ponder, I would say, the quahfications required of
one who is to be a Minister of the Sanctuary, an Am
bassador of God, a servant and Apostle of the Lord
Jesus. And do not encourage, either in yourselves
or others, the monstrous and ruinous delusion that
an under graduate may lead an idle, reckless, self-
indulgent Hfe at the University, — and then without
impiety offer himself for holy orders, and imagine,
because he has been ordained, that he is at once
made fit for the cure of souls.
The time of preparation is short enough for any
man, the most diligent and self-restrained. The
realities of Christian Hfe will surely prove on what
foundation each man buUds.
May yours, my younger brethren, be laid in per
sonal religion, in the discipHne of your own spirits,
in the subjugation of your own passions, in the heart
felt, experimental knowledge of Him whom you are to
preach to others, — and whose cause you can never
promote, but as you are called and led by Him, and
offer Him the sacrifice of your spirits, souls, and
bodies, which are His.

LECTURE VI.

Peoveebs II. 10, 11.
" When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is
pleasant unto thy soul; discretion shall preserve thee,
understanding shall keep thee."
In my last Lecture I spoke of an improved system
of clerical training, as essential to the efficiency of
the English Church, and to the retention of its hold
on an intelligent and educated people.
I grounded my arguments on the requirements of
the Christian ministry, and on the special demands
made on this in the present day. I urged, that the
clergy could never adequately discharge their sacred
trust, or answer the legitimate expectations of those
of whom they are the teachers, unless their own
qualifications of every kind kept pace with the spirit
and exigencies of their age.
I further stated, that to the Universities the Church
and the country looked to supply the necessary train
ing ; and enforced this as amongst the noblest services
which they could render to religion.

LECTURE VI. 143
In the present Lecture I propose to consider Avhat
is often treated as an ecclesiastical, and even as a
clerical, rather than as a national question — I mean
the Education of our people.
To prove that the Church of England is in favour
of this, and heartily engaged in it, can hardly be
required of me. Whatever may have been the defi
ciencies of churchmen in this respect before the
Reformation, to accuse them in the present day
of indifference or obstructiveness in the cause of
mental enlightenment and progress, is not only an
injustice, but an anachronism. Our Church owes its
own liberties and ascendency to the enfranchisement
of the national mind. It has nothing to fear, and
everything to gain, from the increase and diffusion of
knowledge. And it is the desire of every one of its
intelHgent members to impart the blessings of educa
tion to the greatest possible number of their country
men, and to the greatest possible extent. There is,
probably, not one of us who would deny, that the
education of our people is the first of duties; and
that to train an immortal spirit is to make, or mar the
noblest work of God.
By Education, however, as Churchmen we do not
mean mere mental cultivation, or physical training,
or any specific adaptation of teaching to a future
calling in Hfe. We mean by it the leavening the
mind and the heart with truth, with principle, Avith
law — the enthroning God in the soul of the nation,
and in the soul of the individual man — the making

144 LECTURE VI.
the wiU of God, as revealed in His Holy Word, the
rule of every man's conduct, and the principle of
every man's life (71).
With Churchmen the basis of all education is the
Bible. This I maintained in a former lecture to be
the foundation of our system, and of the claims of the
Church itself to the confidence and affection of our
countrymen.3. It may be safely affirmed that no
other religious body displays such love and reverence
for Holy Writ; or makes such copious use of it in its
service ; or takes such pains to impregnate with it
the hearts of its people.
We therefore deem ourselves bound to see that the
education of our people is a religious one : and conse
quently mere secular teaching — the separation of
religion from other branches of instruction — the ex
clusion, on any pretext whatever, of the Scriptures,
or of the clergy, or of the Church formularies from
our schools, cannot be entertained. For the Church to
adopt a neutral attitude, or an ambiguous utterance
on such a point, would be in the face of its most
solemn obligations, and in neglect of all experience.
The result of such an experiment, wherever it has
been tried, has proved to be destructive of both
religion and morality.
" Dissever reHgion from education, and you make
men clever devils," was the saying of the great Duke
of Wellington ; while Washington's dying injunction
a Lecture II.

LECTURE VI. 145
to his countrymen Was, "never allow education to be
divorced from religion."
On this point the history of secular education in
America, as set forth in the late able and forcible
charge of the Archdeacon of Middlesex, is con
clusive (72). On the testimony of both churchmen
and dissenters in that country, the Archdeacon de
monstrates that the system prevailing, there — to quote
the report of a committee appointed in Philadelphia
to inquire into the subject — "has been not only
injurious to the character of the rising generation,
but a benevolent fraud on the public bounty."
Thus a preacher before the Synod of the German
reformed church at Baltimore — whose sermon was
published at the request of that body — observes,
" the patrons of this system forget that educated
mind without reHgion is educated vice."
Thus a speaker at an aggregate meeting held at
NeAV York in 1855 — which included Presidents and
Professors of colleges, and Directors of county and
city high schools from different parts of the Union —
insisted " that a great change must be adopted in the
educational system of America ; for that from the
midst of its schools depravity is. growing up, and
the State must be shaken to ruins under the present
training of its youth. " There is not," he maintained,
"one in ten of its teachers, to whom the moral
training of a child could be entrusted."
Another speaker declared " that he knew of thirteen
young men, who came from one school, — and every
L

146 LECTURE VI.
one of them had rushed headlong to destruction." A
teacher had made to him the foUowing declaration :
"I think I must somewhat change my system of
teaching, and give a little more moral instruction,
for already two of my scholars have been hung for
murder." A learned professor on the same occasion main
tained " the necessity of daily religious culture in a
school." " Separating religion from the daily work of
a child, and confining it to the Church," he said, " is
like taking all the salt that should be mingled with
our daily food, and eating it alone before breakfast.
If religion could not be taught in schools without
sectarianism, then let sectarianism be taught." He
added, " I would much prefer my children to be
instructed in sectarianism than be sent to schools
where there is an indifference to religion."
Lastly, the retiring President of the Educational
Association concluded his address upon the improve
ments which the American system requires, with
these significant words : — "I have reserved the
most important thing for the last, that which must •
be at the bottom of our whole system, religious edu
cation. The reHgious man is everything, the intel
lectual man without religion is nothing" (73).
In short, the concurrent testimony of churchmen
and dissenters from the other side of the Atlantic 
and it borrows a dismal significance from what
is now passing there — is to this effect — "Hear
the conclusion of the whole matter, and the sum of

LECTURE VI. 147
what we need and ask. Give us Christian schools,
schools Avhich have a God, a Saviour, a Holy Spirit,
a Bible, a hymn-book, a catechism and prayer, a
pastor and a pious school teacher — a school between
the family and the Church, — a school which will
carry forward the education of children in the same
spirit in which it was commenced by pious parents
— a school that wiU be a nursery to the Church, —
a school so entirely under the control of the Church,
that it may carry out the spirit of its great com
mission, in reference to its own children — "Feed
my lambs."
Such we believe to be the education approved and
adopted amongst ourselves ; — and we can never,
as a Church, abandon this without a surrender of our
duty and a falsification of our trust.
Moreover, it seems essential that the teaching of
our schools should be in accordance with our own
formularies and confessions of faith ; and thus that
the Prayer-book should be taught, as well as the
Bible. CaU it sectional, or sectarian, or denomina
tional, or what you will ; — in no other way can you
expound doctrine, or explain the Scriptures. Per
sons talk of essential and non-essential tenets in
religion. But who is to pronounce what is essential
or non-essential ; — what we are to teach, or to leave
untaught ; — what are the positive truths of Chris
tianity ; — what we are to eliminate? Is it to end in
•adopting the rule proposed by one of the earliest and
most forward advocates of exclusively secular in-
J. 2

148 LECTURE VI.
struction : " Let any teacher who shaU utter a single
word either for or against religion, be liable to
immediate dismissal " ?
How far we are to impose on the chUdren of
dissenters the use of formularies which in their case
are inapplicable, is quite a different matter (74). AU
that is contended for is, that the children of the
Church should be taught in its elementary schools
the distinctive doctrines of the Church, should learn
its Catechism, and have this and its Liturgy ex
plained. It is undeniable that this is not merely a
matter of principle but also one of finance. " The
moment," says Archdeacon Sinclair, "that reHgious
teaching is restricted or abolished, the zeal of edu
cationalists wiU grow cold, and subscriptions will die
away." It is a gratifying proof of the interest at present
felt by our country in the cause of elementary edu
cation, — that its annual expenditure on this behalf
amounts to two miUions. It is also encouraging to
know that the percentage of children under educa
tion, which, at the beginning of the present century
was one in seventeen, has now increased to one in
seven, — in rural districts to nineteen in twenty. It
is further satisfactory to be assured that the Church,
as in duty bound, has been ever foremost in this
work, — although the contributions of the clergy have
been, in proportion, largely in excess of those of
even our wealthiest laymen (75).
We gather aU this from the recent valuable re-

LECTURE VI. 149
port of Her Majesty's Commissioners on Education.
We are also informed, that the general system of in
spection which is stiU on the increase — the in
troduction of a superior class of teachers — the
judicious and salutary stimulants supplied in various
ways by Government — the sympathy and help
rendered by influential persons of both sexes in the
support and management of schools, have all acted
beneficiaUy. But the main obstructions which we have to con
tend with in National Education are still the same.
Amongst the commonest and most prominent are,
the brief period spent by the chUdren of the work
ing classes in our schools — their broken and inter
mittent attendance — the early age at which for the
most part they are withdrawn — and the bad example
in many instances afforded them at home.
We must receive as authenticated facts, that the
great majority of the children leave our schools
at eleven years of age — in populous districts, four-
fifths of them before they are ten, the general
average being three-fourths at that age — that only
about a fourth of those nominally under education
pass half the year at school, — that of those edu
cated in church schools a great majority are lost
sight of when they leave school — that when brought
again into contact with the parochial clergyman, at
the time of confirmation, they are found to be in
any thing but a satisfactory condition as to mental
culture, or to morals (76). L 3

150 LECTURE VI.
And the conclusions which, in the view of those by
whom they have been most carefuUy considered, these
facts establish, are : —
First, the necessity of making the very most of the
period which the children of the operative class pass
at school (77).
Secondly, the importance of retaining a hold over
them after the school course has ceased.
I. What is needed above all things in our schools
is a teaching and a training, which will endear the
doctrines, the services, and the ties of the Church to
the children of our people. We want a hearty, genial,
loving system; we want to interest the minds, and
gain the affections of the young. The teaching the
Catechism by rote — the hard, dry enunciation of
dogmas — the employing religion as a mere exercise
of intellect — all these, if not absolutely pernicious,
are of comparatively small avail in the training of
a spirit (78).
What we really want, is to have truths instiUed
and imbibed as living reaHties, and influential rules
of life. We want the meaning of our services, their
adaptation to the wants of the inner man, the deep
personal interest which they ought to have for each,
to be understood and to be felt by the young.
To use the Bible as a task book for teaching letters
or lessons in reading and dictation — and the Prayer-
book as an exercise of memory — and the House of
God as a place of confinement on the Lord's day ; 
in other words, to associate the doctrines and the ser-

LECTURE VI. 151
vices of religion with what is irksome and repulsive
to the young, to make the day of rest one of extra
drudgery to them, and to Compel attendance on what
they neither relish nor understand, is surely not the
way to rear a pious and church-loving population (79).
But to make both Scripture and Service-book
inteUigible and attractive to children ; to cause our
doctrine " to drop as the rain, and our speech to
distU as the dew, as the smaU rain upon the tender
herb, and as the showers upon the grass "a — to de
posit truths in the intellect, and implant principles
in the hearts of the young — this is to educate. For
this is to make God Himself, and His truth, and
His law, and His service, and His people dear to
them. And if we have hope for the future of both the
Church and the country, it is because we believe
that such is the education which is gaining ground,
and wiU soon be universally adopted in our elemen
tary schools. Because we believe pastors and teachers
are learning more and more the nature of their holy
work, — and what they must themselves be to dis
charge it; how truthful, and earnest, and sympa
thising, and exemplary — if they would really feed
Christ's lambs, and train souls for eternity (80).
And here there is a point which demands the special
attention of those who are preparing for Holy Orders.
It is this — that the interest, or absence of interest,
a Deuteronomy xxxii. 2.
L 4

152 LECTURE VI.
manifested by the parochial clergyman in a school
may, we are assured by our inspectors, be seen at
once in the whole mental, and moral, and religious
tone of the children.
It is, therefore, the more to be regretted that the
management of a school, and the faculty of either
communicating information to children, or eliciting
what they know, are matters in which, as has been
already observed,3, our younger clergy are for the
most part extremely deficient. Very few of them
know how to interest the young : and fewer take the
necessary pains to acquire the power of doing so.
And yet teaching is a science ; it does not come by
intuition. And in days in which so many of our
schools have trained masters — who do understand
what teaching is — it is more than ever necessary that
the clergy, with a view to their own usefulness and
credit, should be " apt to teach." It were therefore
well, that a practical acquaintance with the system
pursued in our training coHeges should be pressed
upon candidates for Holy Orders, as an essential
branch of education.
II. Another, and important subject for the con
sideration of the Church is, how to retain its hold
upon its youthful members at a most critical and
perilous period of their lives — when the discipline
of the daily school has ceased.
I question whether there is a parochial clergyman
a Lecture V.

LECTURE VI. 153
in the land who does not find, that the most imprac
ticable subject he has to deal with is a youth of the
working classes, when emerging from boyhood into
manhood, who mistakes rudeness for independence,
and vice for manliness, — and regards the schoolmaster
and the clergyman as his natural enemies (81). Who
is not tempted to say of him, what St. James does
of the tongue, " that every kind of beasts and of
birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is
tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind : a but " this
one " can no man tame?" Like the " deaf adder he
stoppeth his ears" — like the "wild ass's colt he
escapeth clean away."
The difficulty is to overcome his shyness, to gain
his confidence, to discover how to interest and attach
him. Hitherto the Sunday school has been the only
way of reaching him. And most . of us know how
dull, flat, and unprofitable — as generaUy conducted —
this has been. What was urged by Dr. Hessey on this
subject, in his closing lecture, is fresh in the memory
of most of us. We do not deal wisely, he observes,
with the children of the higher classes on a Sunday ; —
much less so with those of our poorer brethren (82).
And every man of sense must admit, that if school
on the Lord's Day is to be rendered really serviceable
to the Church, and to attract rather than to repel the
working classes, there must be more of life, and
interest, and novelty infused in it — more of sympathy
a 1 James, iii. 7.

154 LECTURE VI.
and of companionship, and less of restraint and of
task- work (83).
By many it is now thought, that our main hope
for the children of our poorer classes lies in Evening
Schools. And the Educational Commissioners in their
recent Report caU attention to these, and urge the
importance of giving to them more perfect organisa
tion and wider extension (84).
A new and deeply interesting field of labour is
thus opened up to churchmen. May hands and
hearts be found to till it ! To supply these we look
to our younger clergy and to our gentry who
have leisure and abiHty for the work. Zeal, and
courage, and physical energy, are all wanted here :
yet no nobler enterprise was ever set before man. It
is to civilise with a view to christianise those who
have been neglected, till they have become em-
bruted — and are then pronounced irreclaimable.
Ours, happily, are days in which examples to sti
mulate and instruct are never wanting — in which
the first in rank and station are often found to be
the foremost in the work of God — in which even
women, despite the shrinking delicacy of their sex.
have assayed and performed tasks from which man
hood hitherto had shrunk (85). And this is the
lesson they have taught us — that the dullest minds
can be enlightened, and the' rudest natures changed,
— that no heart is inaccessible to kindness, and that
nothing is impossible to them that believe.
And yet the humblest class of our countrymen is

LECTURE VI. 155
not the only one that has claims of this nature on
the Church. On the contrary, there are perhaps none
to whose education its attention requires more to be
directed, than to that portion of our Middle class, on
which, more than any other, the vrelfare of the bulk
of our population depends.
It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of
this section of our countrymen. It consists of the
chief employers of labour, the principal oAvners of our
cheaper tenements, the persons who are in close and
constant contact with our labourers and artisans.
They are the men who fill our municipal and paro
chial offices, who control our vestries, who return our
representatives to Parliament; who thus have more
influence than any others, in promoting or preventing
improvement. As guardians of our poor, as wardens
of our churches, as mixed up officially in many ways
with the clergy, they ought to be the stay and life of
the EngHsh Church. But in numerous instances
they are the men who uphold and feed dissent.
The reason is, they are just the class to whose
education the Church for long has paid the least at
tention. It educates the poor ; it educates the aristo
cracy ; it does not educate the class of which I speak.
And therefore in all that really constitutes education
— in moral culture, in knowledge of Scripture, in reli
gious training, in depth and breadth of view, in sense
of duty — they are, it may be feared, as far as the
Church is concerned, the most neglected part of
the community. And in the conviction of many

156 LECTURE VI.
more conversant with the subject than myself, their
education is the most unsatisfactory of all. Cer
tain branches of instruction, mainly prized by the
trading community, it of course imparts. But in other
respects it is pronounced by competent authority to
be inferior to that which may be obtained in many of
our national schools (86). . It is utterly wanting in
the elements which distinguish our public schools.
Its reHgious teaching and training are radically de
fective. While on matters affecting the principles
and interests of the National Church, it is more
wanting than in any other particular.
And hence the defects by which the class of which
I speak, is commonly characterised — its inadequate
information and prejudice on religious subjects — its
vulgar worship of wealth as wealth — its depreciated
standard of commercial morality — its self-sufficiency
in judging of important questions, and yet the
facility with which it is duped by shaUow preten
sions, and religious and political impostures — its
want of power to appreciate depth of thought and
real superiority in a teacher — while it is caught by
sham and glitter, by a loud voice, and an imposing
manner, and a fluent tongue.
There are, doubtless, private schools for the middle
class, which are well and ably conducted. But it is
to be feared, that the most pretentious and the least
efficient are generally most in vogue (87). And the
fact that these schools are in many instances the specu
lations of persons utterly unfit to be entrusted with

LECTURE VI. 157
the education of youth, and mere educational ad
venturers, is undeniable. Added to which, they are
Avithout the guarantee afforded by the inspection of
either the Government or the Church.
The matter, it wUl be admitted, is one of very
great importance, and affecting in many ways the
social and religious interests of this country. And
happily it is beginning to attract general attention.
Some good Middle schools have been already founded ;
and in these, at a moderate expense, the best educa
tion is afforded, and gratifying reports as to their
acceptance and success are received (88).
I cannot quit this portion of my subject, without
adverting to the little benefit conferred by many
of the old Educational Foundations on the class, for
whose use they were primarily intended. The decay
and practical inutility into which many of these
have faUen is, indeed, alike deplorable and dis
graceful. Thus it is in evidence, that many of our Endowed
Schools are utterly ineffective for the purposes of
education : that they are characterised by general
dulness and want of life: that they are almost
without exception, more or less abused: that they
are obstacles to advance and improvement in educa
tion. A weU known Dean, when under examina
tion before a Parliamentary Commission, described
the endowed schools with which he was acquainted,
"as generally speaking, unmitigated evils." A Bishop
under similar circumstances, declared " that they are

158 LECTURE VI.
the curse of his diocese." An Inspector of Schools
represents the masters " as too frequently appointed
with no regard to their qualifications for the duties
they have to render, and as, in every sense of the
term, unfitted for the situations which they hold, — as
in some instances, the halt, the maimed, the drunken,
the idiotic" (89).
Even when not so abused, many of the Endowed
Schools in England have been diverted altogether
from their original intention, and rendered lucrative
to the few, rather than beneficial to the community
at large. They have not been made, as they should
have been, good Middle schools ; they have effected
next to nothing for the education of our yeomanry
and tradesmen ; they have not leavened, as they
might have done, the commercial mind of the country.
And it has been with many a matter of regret, and
been used by others as an argument against the
principle of educational endowments, — that founda
tions with such important trusts and such large
capabilities should, through neglect and mal-admi-
nistration, have generally proved so inefficient, and
productive of so little good.
It must, of course, be admitted, that there are not
Avanting honourable exceptions ; and that some of our
endowed schools have proved in every day semina
ries of sound and useful learning. And it is gratify
ing to know that efforts are at present being made in
many places to resuscitate and restore them to their
original and proper use, — in which endeavour it is

LECTURE VI. 159
to be hoped the Charity Commissioners will render
their valuable assistance, — as the Universities, as far
as in them lies, seem disposed to do (90).
But I would urge on any of my younger brethren
who may be disposed for a time to undertake the
duties of tuition — whether the revival of these old
foundations might not be an object having claims
upon themselves.
That the work of education is one to which those
who have an aptitude for it may legitimately con
secrate their gifts, will be denied by no one. Yet
it behoves men to look to their motives for selecting
this particular field of labour. It undoubtedly has
baits for the ambitious and the worldly. It offers
a more easy and direct path than parochial services
to the highest dignities of the Church, and is much
more lucrative than the cure of souls. To a cul
tivated mind it is also more attractive than ministra
tions amongst the poor and illiterate. And therefore
in our marts of commerce, and crowded districts,
and remote rural hamlets, the clergy are crying out
that help is not to be had from our Universities,
 that the best educated, and the best bred of our
youth shrink from spheres where they are most
wanted, and prefer lighter and more profitable work.
I would, therefore, ask of any who are disposed to
exercise their gifts in teaching — whether to educate
the lower rank of our middle class; to raise the
intellectual, moral, and religious tone of our agri
cultural and trading community; to make of our

160 LECTURE VI.
future tradesmen and farmers, — intelligent, thought
ful, and God-serving men, and attached members of
the English Church, — would not be a work most
worthy of their efforts? For, surely, there is none
more called for, — or in which young men of ability
and Christian principle could do more good. And
knowing, as I do, the spirit which prevails at this
time in our great pubHc schools, and the exer
tions which so many who come from them are
making to benefit aU classes of the community, — I
cannot believe that labourers will long be wanting
in the field to which I point.
I have aUuded to our Public Schools ; and it is not
possible to reflect upon the work in which these
institutions are engaged, without admitting the
mighty influence they must exercise, in a future
generation, on the life of the Church, and on the life
of the Country.
With some, the question of public or private edu
cation may be still an open one. And when we
remember the neglect of Scripture and of moral and
religious training, and the cruel and vicious prac
tices, by which public schools in a former generation
were disgraced, — we cannot wonder if parents hesi
tate to trust their children to an ordeal, of which
they themselves retain such painful recollections.
Happily, these things are in great measure of the
past. And if it be true that even now young men
come up from public schools to the Universities, ill
grounded in the Bible, ignorant and careless about

LECTURE VI. 161
religion, without any knowledge or sense of their
duties as churchmen or as Christians, — Ave may hope
that' such instances are rare ; and must regret that
they are possible. And knowing the antecedents of
the men who now conduct our best public schools,
and the character of their teaching, we cannot doubt
that there is a work going on, and a seed growing
up under their direction, which wiU be the blessing
and the safeguard of our land, when we are in our
graves. These men tell us, that the aim. in education ought
to be to inspire dUigence, heartiness, and self-control ;
to implant a sense of duty; to teach practically the
great lesson of corporate life. They proclaim that
with a view to this the main object of the master
ought to be, to enforce Christian principle, and make
the word of God the standard of opinion and the
rule of conduct (91).
It was thus that a great man, who passed from
this earth too soon for his friends — but not too soon
for the accomplishment of the work which God had
given him to do — earned for himself the glorious
designation of the Apostle of Christianity to our
public schools. His endeavour was to set God
always before a boy ; to enthrone the word and will
of God in a boy's soul ; to make these in every case
his standards of right and wrong. They were the
lever with which he himself sought to sway the
world. His own love of truth, his abhorrence of
what was false, and base, and cruel — his resistance
M

162 LECTURE VI.
to what he thought evil in any shape, sprang from
this. To do your duty ; to do it heartily ; to do it cheer
fully ; to do it as well as it could be done — whether
it was great or small ; above aU, to do it as to God
Himself — such was the school teaching of Dr. Arnold.
His aim was to make the boy what the man should
be ; to make him, whatever his station or his calling,
true, and earnest, and generous, and straightforward
— a lover of God, a lover of man, a lover of duty, a
lover of work.
And this is the Avay in which Dr. Arnold's teaching
should be tested — not so much by a few celebrities,
more or less, which it produced — but by the ordi
nary type of man it reared - — by the number of hard
working practical men whom it taught to do their
duty, whether in public or in private life — as school
masters, as parochial clergymen, as missionaries, in
the senate, at the bar, in the counting-house, in the
trench, in the battle-field (92).
Who can doubt that there are lessons to be taught
and learned in the iro'hig of a public school better than
any where else? If, for instance, the hope of the
Church lies, as is often said, in the next generation,
¦ — hoAV important it must be that boys should under
stand what the Church really is— what its corporate
life consists in — what its privileges and its duties are.
And this, not that they may learn party Avords, and
be versed in party questions, and carry church ter
minology even into their sports, and become narrow-

LECTURE VI. 163
minded, and disputatious, and pragmatical ; but that
they should know how true, and how pure, and how
exemplary a churchman, as a member of Christ's
body, should be.
And where so easy to teach this, as where every
thing in school-life symbolises and foreshadows it;
where the relations and interdependencies, and the
responsibiUties and duties which spring out of
these, are aU full of a corporate being; where the
very designation by which schoolboys are distin
guished implies that, as feUows, they are aU mem
bers one of another? How easy to convey, that
as school-life is a common life, so is Church-life a
common Hfe, — that as the condition of the school,
and the success of the school depend on each
member reaHsing his own work, and doing it; as
each owes a duty to the other ; so is it in that
great commonwealth, the Church, — of which every
boy in the school is a living member, and the school
itself is a component and a Hving part !
To quote the words of one who speaks from
experience, " Who ought to have a higher sense of
duty, who ought to have a more living spirit within
him, who ought better to understand the ties that
bind men together, — than those who in the higher
forms of a public school have learned, what delegated
trusts and mutual obligations are ; and what influ
ence, for good or iU, every one may exercise on his
brother man?"
At school a boy feels and acts, does this, and

164 LECTURE VI.
leaves that undone, — because he is part and parcel of
a body, — and the corporate sense may be said to per
vade his being. The old become young again, when
they describe how at any period of life, in any
climate, after however long an interval, "to have been
at the same school, and under the influence of -the
same traditions, to have studied in the same class
room, and knelt in the same chapel, is a link which
binds together old and young, great and humble;
which makes strangers at once familiar, by common
topics and the same associations. So that WeUesley,
the stately and puissant governor of miUions, and
Metcalfe, the lad unknown, but just commencing his
course from Eton, meet first on the banks of the
Hooghly, and feel themselves the sons of the same
mother " (93).
And in a degree this applies to our Universities.
Yet the lessons and influences are different. And
one conversant with both school and college life
lately described from this pulpit, the marked and
critical transition from one to the other ; how a youth
is suddenly thrown on his own resources; and in
respect of loneliness, in respect of his real inner life,
his real self, he finds himself, as it were, on passing
from school to college, his own master and alone (94).
And in this, doubtless, lie both the dangers and
the benefits with which the Universities are fraught.
The discipline which at school is gregarious, is
here individual. The influences of companionship,
of example, and, to a great extent, of suasion are
relaxed. All, in fact, that the tAvo first decades of

LECTURE VI. 165
a man's life are meant to serve, is noAV to be tested,
and digested, and inwrought into the moral and
mental being. • Principles are to be proved ; powers
to be ascertained ; the man must walk alone. The
independence for which, perhaps, he pined, is come,
And in most cases it wUl be acknowledged, as the
writer just aUuded to observes, that it is very different
from what had been looked for.
Now it is for aU who wish weU to our Universities
— more especiaUy for coUege authorities, and under
graduates — to bear this in mind : for on it the course
of the academic Hfe, and the making or the marring
of the individual turn. Self-training, self-discipline,
seH-improvement, the education and formation of the
man, the fitting him for the conflicts and the business of
life, and for its final awards, — this will be admitted to
be properly and specially the work of the Universities.
They are the great schools of the nation. We
have been told to-day to pray for them, as seminaries
of sound learning and religious education. They
were recently described by an eminent man reared
here, as among the greater lights and glories of
Christendom. The Country looks to them for its
leading minds, for its great characters — for its
scholars, its statesmen, its divines — for the ornaments
of its senate and of its learned professions — for its ex
amples in pubHc and in private life — for the type of
the accompHshed Christian gentleman. And unless
it sends forth such, its system is denounced, and its
education declared to be a failure.
M 3

166 LECTURE VI.
It is to be feared, that by not a few belonging
to both the leading and commercial classes of
this country, the teaching and discipline of our
Universities are distrusted. The one is viewed as
almost exclusively classical, and as such unsuited to
persons intended for the more stirring professions, and
the actual business of life (95). The other is beHeved
to be lax and ineffective. And if the descriptions
of youthful idleness and dissipation, which have
recently appeared in certain popular periodicals, are
accepted as genuine pictures of student-fife, we cannot
wonder that any one should hesitate to trust those
in whose welfare he is interested, in such scenes of
contamination. Are these things, it may be asked,
permitted in England's seats of learning, and
sanctuaries of religion ? Is such the training of the
future statesmen, and gentry, and clergymen of
England — of the men who are to form the mind and
influence the destiny of the next generation ?
It may, indeed, be replied, that such representa
tions, where not altogether false, are grossly over
drawn. They are certainly not our own recollections
of coUege life. And we have reason to believe that
since our day, the moral and religious tone of the
Universities, instead of deteriorating, has sensibly
improved; while the system of education, far from
being of the exclusive nature supposed, has been of
late both popularised and extended in its course of
study (96).
Still it would appear that our Universities are not,

LECTURE VI. 167
as formerly, frequented by the younger members of
our aristocratic families, — and are wholly neglected
by our commercial classes. And though no institution
should be judged by occasional excesses, — which the
most vigilant authority may fail whoUy to suppress,
— yet unquestionably, whenever they do occur, they
not only damage the Universities, but through them
the great religious body with which these are so
closely connected, — and whose cause is by many
identified Avith theirs.
The actual faults of student life, however, confes
sedly are, its frequently aimless and desultory habits,
its Avant of motives, and its waste of time. The words
lately heard within these waUs, and the stirring appeal
grounded on them, indicate the true and prolific
source of mischief here. " Why stand ye here all the
day idle ?" (97) Why the vapid, self-indulgent, ob
jectless life, too often witnessed at the university —
the lounging in chamber and quadrangle — the
vacuity .and dreariness of what ought to be the most
golden of life's golden seasons — a time all too short
for the seeds to be sown, and the foundations to be
laid in it — which must be to so many the turn
ing point of their existence? Why the confession
which I lately overheard from an under graduate
— ' that he did not know why he was sent to the
university ? '
Not know why you were sent to the school which
Alfred founded, where Wickliffe taught, which trained
a Canning, and a Peel, and a Dalhousie, — and where
M 4

168

LECTURE VI.

so many of the good and great now Hving, laid the
foundations of their usefulness and eminence !
You were sent to the University to develope your
faculties, to form your mind, to cultivate your heart,
to fit you for the battle and the work of Hfe, to
acquire the spirit of appHcation and the power of
saying no. So that whether your future station be
a high or an humble one — whether you have to earn
your livelihood, or only to inherit it — you may learn
to live, not for yourself, but for others, — for others
that you may Hve for yourself : — that, this Hfe ended,
you may inherit life everlasting.
It has been truly said, that failures in early educa
tion are as often caused by a bad home as by a bad
school. And so doubtless with academic Hfe. If
men are sent to college for the mere sake of society ;
if no check is put on their extravagance; if the
parental example can be pleaded in excuse — why
blame the University?
It is when a father has himself improved. the ad
vantages offered here — when his own review of
college-Hfe is not of misspent hours, and wasted
talents, and frivolous and vicious habits, — when he
found the university himself, and can paint it to his
son, as a school of learning, as a sanctuary of reHgion,
as the seed plot of intellectual feats, as the nursery of
the intellect and the heart, — that as he has sown, he
may look to reap.
And if there be exceptions to this law,  and the
example, and the pleadings, and the sacrifices and

LECTURE VI. 169
privations of home, at times yield no fruit, — let us
hope that such instances are rare — and that, as in
former days — there are now not a few students in this
university with whom, next to the desire of pleasing
God, home example and home affection are the
mightiest incentives to diligence and virtue.
To one looking from without, a special danger of
academic life seems to be, to isolate men, to limit
their attention to their own thoughts and pursuits, —
and thus to render them unpractical, and tempt them
to deal with matters even of deep religious interest
as subjects of barren speculation, rather than as calls
to strenuous personal exertion.
This wiU also account for that want of intercourse
between the junior members of the university and
those to whom they should be looking for direction,
which is with many a subject of complaint. Be it
admitted, that the special work of the Universities
is self- education ; that men are to learn here to
converse with themselves, to analyse for themselves
the motives and the end of Hfe, to decide upon their
future course.
StUl it is in learning this, that they want help. It
was so with ourselves when we were under-graduates.
We longed for some one to take an interest in us, to
speak a word in season, to lead us by the hand, to
exercise an influence over us, half brotherly, half
paternal. And all who desire the welfare of our Uni
versities must feel, that were the relation between the
governing and the under-graduate body more unre-

170 LECTURE VI.
served and more cordial — were the advice, and
sympathy, and encouragement afforded, which the
one requires, and the other, perhaps, longs to give, —
the connection would be much more healthy, and
mutually profitable. Half the estrangement that
mars, and at times embitters it, is the result of mis-
understanding: and this, in the great majority of
cases, is caused by shyness. A look or word of
sympathy, a passing smile, even a reproof adminis
tered in love, may be all that is required to establish
the mutual confidence Avhich would be the happiness
of both tutor and pupil.
It is this that has been of late days the making
of our Public Schools: — and the attachment of so
many of our young men to the place of their early
education and to their former teachers, is one of the
most hopeful and exhilarating features of the age.
But it is the result of the frank, hearty, genial relation
between the master and the boy that prevails there.
May I be permitted, in conclusion, to say a word on
another influence which has wrought so much of late
for our public schools; which is felt so powerfully
from week to week within these walls ; which might,
with the blessing of God, effect so much in every
college chapel? — I mean the influence of the pulpit.
Ought it, I would ask, to be possible for any
member of the coUegiate body to pass his whole
academic course, or even a single term, without
listening to the exhortations of a preacher ?
It will, of course, be replied, — there are the sermons

LECTURE VI. 171
every Sunday at St. Mary's. Nor can the value of
the religious instructions there imparted be easily
overrated. But then, unhappily, as is well known,
numbers of the under-graduates habitually absent
themselves from the University sermons : and it seems
impossible to enforce their attendance. Under these
circumstances, I would ask with all humility,
Avhether it would not be weU to send the message to
those who wiH not seek it; and to afford, at least
occasionaUy, to every under-graduate, in his own
coUege chapel, the all-important lessons which other-
Avise would never reach him ?
Such privilege has been long afforded in the
chapel of the college to which I myself belong. And
even now, after an interval of many years, I can
recaU instructions delivered there, of which I hope the
impressions may never pass away. " The lips of the
wise disperse knowledge, and a word spoken in due
season, how good it is !"a
Why should not every student in this University
enjoy Hke advantages, and be able hereafter to bear
like testimony? There are few such opportunities
of sowing seed unto life eternal, as every college
chapel might afford. a Proverbs xv. 7, 23.

LECTURE VII

1 Cheootcles xxix. 1.
" For the Palace is not for man, but for the Lord God."
The religious life of a community may be not
unfairly tested by the characteristics and accessaries
of its worship. Mean and dilapidated buUdings,
a neglected ritual, slovenly and unfrequent services,
inadequate spiritual provision and church accom
modation, are unmistakable signs of a lethargic state
of religion. The more so, — when contrasted with
lavish expenditure and material progress in all that
affects the interests of this Avorld.
No one denies that the condition of our parish
churches, in the early part of the present century,
was most discreditable to us as a people. We need
not revert to days when our Liturgy was aboHshed,
and our sacred buildings were profaned, — when
"they hewed down their carved wood- work with
¦axes and hammers," and defaced their ornaments,
and desecrated fonts, and altar tables, and tabernacle
work: — when not only their furniture was prosti-

LECTURE VII. 173
tuted to the commonest of domestic purposes, — but
consecrated buildings themselves were converted
into dweUing-houses, and even receptacles for cattle.
I aUude to mutUations and disfigurements, in
which the age immediately preceding our own
indulged; in which some of the elder amongst us
may have borne a part, — and with which all present
have been more or less familiar. "If there can be
anything," says Archdeacon Hare, "meaner, more
graceless, more spiritless, than the theology of the
last century, it is its churches; which were thus
aptly fitted for the doctrines proclaimed in them.
And not content with its own inability to produce
anything excellent, it was restlessly busy in spoiling
what it had inherited from its ancestors. One can
hardly enter an old church without being saddened
and shamed at seeing how it has been disfigured by
repairs and alterations, dictated by the parsimonious
ignorance of the 18th century" (98).
Those were days when they filled our churches to
the door and to the ceiling with pews and galleries,
and blocked up, or modernised the tracery of their
windows; and shrouded roof, and monument, and
arch, and column in whitewash ; when — worst of
all — they relegated the poor to distant, and dark,
and damp, and draughty corners, if they did not
drive them out of church altogether.
That these things had their source in forgetfulness
of God, can hardly be disputed. Men could not
have disfigured, and desecrated, and neglected our

174 LECTURE VII.
sacred fabrics ; or been guilty of the encroachments
and exclusiveness, of which so many of these furnish
evidence, had they possessed any true idea of worship,
or any real awe of God.
The revival of religion necessarily changed all
this. It imparted reverence, and therefore respect
for holy things and holy places. It recalled how
"God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of His
Saints, and to be had in reverence of all those who
are round about him."a
It also taught that God is " no respecter of persons" b
- — that the soul of Lazarus is as precious in His
sight as the soul of Dives.
The recovery of Christian art, the restoration and
multiplication of churches, increased facUities for
public worship, greater accommodation for the poor,
the vindication of equal rights in the House of God,
an abatement of the pride, and selfishness, and
exclusiveness, which mar worship, and mock God, —
all foUowed as a matter of course — though not
immediately, nor simultaneously.
When Wesley sounded the note which woke the
English Church from its death sleep ; when Whitfield
reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment
to come; when the fathers of the great modern
religious movement stirred everywhere the national
mind in the beginning of the present century, — these
men took comparatively little thought of the Church's
a Psalm lxxxix. 7. b Acts x. 34.

LECTURE VII. 175
material structures and outward forms. For they
were the pioneers of a religious revival, — and had to
resuscitate dry bones, and to breathe life into an
effete and almost extinct theology, and to impart
elementary lessons in religion.
But the effect of their preaching was, as might
have been anticipated. Both Church and nation
awoke to a sense of their responsibilities. Parlia
ment gave a miUion, and afterwards half a miUion,
for the erection of churches : private benefactions
flowed in the same channel. More sacred buildings
were erected in this country in the course of a
few years than during the whole preceding century.
And though from ignorance of the true principles
of church-construction and even of the nature of
Christian worship, great architectural enormities
were committed, and much public money wasted,
the effort in itself was a noble one, and as such
doubtless acceptable to God (99).
Only men had to learn that we go to church to
pray, — that preaching is not the sole, or even the
chief end in view, — that praying is the end of preach
ing, — that a building is designated a church, because
it is the House of God ; and that the want of comeliness
and decency therein, the making the comfort of the
Avorshipper the primary consideration, the encroach
ment on common rights, and especially on those of
the poor, were wholly inconsistent with the proper
ends in view. Above all, that the jealousies, and
feuds, and animosities, — by which our churches have

176 LECTURE VII.
been so often profaned, — ignore the very end for
which we erect and frequent them. They needed to
call to mind the words of Jacob, "How dreadful is
this place:"3 to remember how Moses put off the
shoes from his feetb, how Joshua feU upon his face,
how Daniel retained no strength c, how St. John was
as one dead, in the felt presence of God.d
That men professing godliness should have tolerated
— far more that they should have perpetrated what
we have witnessed, and still witness in many of our
churches — wiU, we may hope, with another .genera
tion be a matter of amazement. For that such things
Avill soon be of the past can hardly be questioned.
And in my further remarks upon the fabrics of
our Church, I shall point out what appears to me
essential for rendering them available for the pur
poses of reHgious worship and of Church extension.
I. First, that we should realise ourselves, and teach
others, what churches reaUy are — why we are to
frequent them — how we ought to use them — how,
unless they promote in worshippers reverence, and
awe of God, and lowliness of mind, and brotherly
charity, — and cause them "to esteem others better
than themselves," and " in honour to prefer one an
other," they altogether fail in their design.
II. Consequently, that we should ourselves respect,
and seek to recover in our churches rights, which are

- Genesis xxviii. 17. b Exodus iii. 15.
° Daniel x. 8. d Revelation i. 17.

LECTURE VII. 177
the inheritance of all, — which are common to all, —
and which ought to be shared by all.
What we, in this matter, as a Church, mainly re
quire,-— is to vindicate in God's House the common
rights of worshippers, more especiaUy the rights of
the poor.
"We cannot abstain" — I quote the report of the
Lords' Committee in 1858 — " we cannot abstain
from expressing an earnest hope, that some plan may
be devised by which every church in the land may
be made, what it ought to be, a common sanctuary in
which the rich and poor meet together" (100).
On this point there ought to be no difference
amongst reHgious men. The Word of God proclaims,
that if " in our assemblies we say to the rich man in
gay clothing, Sit in a good place, and say to the poor,
Stand thou here, or sit here under my footstool, we
have respect of persons, and are partial in ourselves,
and have become judges of evil thoughts." a
The law of the land declares, that our parish
churches are inalienable and common ; that they are
for the use freely, and in common, of all the people.
It imposes rates, and enforces them upon this distinct
understanding (101).
And if, unhappUy, in this particular the practice in
this country has long been at variance with both the
Bible and the statute book, aU who are practically
acquainted with the subject — and know the offences,
a St. James ii. 2, 3, 4.
N

178 LECTURE VII.
and the jealousies, and the feuds, and the litigations,
and the deceptions to which it leads — are aware that
it has tended, more than anything else, to secularise
and denationalise the Church, to estrange and
exclude worshippers, to neutralise clerical efforts, and
to impede and frustrate the Gospel (102).
There, therefore, seems no room for compromise.
To reclaim and attach to the Church the great body
of our countrymen, we require freedom and equaHty
in worship. What we ask is not free seats, but free
churches. We want the area of the House of God
unincumbered and unappropriated: for nothing
short of this will satisfy either the demands of Chris
tianity or the necessities of the Church. Every
other scheme is defective, and open to abuse ; and is
habitually abused. It even leads to imposture: — as
when the spiritual destitution of a neighbourhood is
set forth, and subscriptions are raised for the pur
poses of church extension; and grants are secured
from charitable societies, on the express condition
that ample accommodation is provided for the poor;
and the seats so obtained, are described as free and
unappropriated for ever, — and then allotted to per
sons of the middle and upper classes, who perhaps
seldom use them (103).
We are indeed told, that different ranks wiU not
sit together in the House of God; that even opera
tives prefer paying a smaU rent to secure a sitting
for themselves (104); that freedom and equaHty of
worship are unsuited to our ritual, and to the tastes

LECTURE VII. 179
and habits of Englishmen. And on pleas like these,
we are required to sanction what God forbids, and
what is in direct violation of the common rights of
Christian men.
And yet, is it not hypocrisy to profess to build
churches for common use, and then to appropriate
them to a class ; to bemoan the ungodliness of the poor,
and then to deny them the means of religious instruc
tion ; to prate about the Gospel, and then to exclude
those who have most need of it ; to make our boast of
Scripture, and profess to believe every tittle of it to
be the word of God, and then to ignore some of its
plainest precepts ?
To perpetuate this abuse on any plea, is to neutra
lise our parochial system, and to abrogate our claim
to be a National Church, — nay, to make religion itself
appear in the eyes of many an imposture.
As respects our Fabrics, therefore, the first prac
tical step in Church Extension is to utUise existing
accommodation. We can do this, only by reclaiming
our parish churches for the common use of the
parishioners; and by sweeping away the partitions
which mar their architecture, and diminish their ac
commodation, and destroy their character as Houses
of God, and places of Common Prayer.
We have no alternative but to abolish private
ownership in what is legally pubHc property ; and to
restore to the people of this land their indefeasible
privileges as Christians, their inalienable rights
as citizens. All appropriation in parish churches, —
N 2

180 LECTURE VII.
whether by faculty, or purchase, or prescription, — is
indefensible; and ought not to be tolerated in a free
land, or by a Christian people. We cannot humanise
the masses ; we cannot preach Christ's gospel to the
poor; we cannot discharge our functions as clergy
men ; we cannot maintain our Church as a National
Communion, if private and exclusive claims are
allowed in parish churches.
But besides this — to meet the immediate demands
for church accommodation in this country, we have
great need of Temporary Fabrics, — which may be of
moderate dimensions and modest in their architec
tural character.
Buildings of this description were recently recom
mended in the Report of the Lower House of Convo
cation on Home Missions; have been sanctioned by
several of our church-building societies (105); and
are already in use in different parts of the country.
They may be erected at a very moderate cost ; and
are especially suited to the sudden up-growth, and
shifting character of our population.
One designed by an eminent architect for a former
parish of my own, has been for some years in use
as a School on the week-days, and a Chapel on the
Sunday ; and has been adopted as a model by several
of our colonial bishops (106). Similar structures,
though of a more temporary character, wiU be shortly
erected in out-lying parts of the diocese to which I
belong, — of an ecclesiastical type, but at a cost of
only £1 a kneeling, — and so contrived as to admit

LECTURE VII. 181
of being moved to a different site, at a comparatively
trifling expense (107).
As Missionary Stations, such structures are invalu
able ; and were first suggested to myself by the late
Dr. Arnold (108), — not as substitutes for more perma
nent erections, but for the purpose of gathering in a
congregation, preparatory to a more suitable and per
manent building. Had they been generaUy adopted
years ago, they would have averted much of the
spiritual destitution under which we are at present
suffering; and they offer a prompt and easy remedy
for it now (109).
Suffer me to remind you that in this respect an
example was set us by the Jewish Church, more than
two thousand years ago. The law of Ezra covered
Palestine with synagogues. Comparatively few of
his countrymen could statedly attend the Services of
the Temple. But aU had the means of religious
worship and instruction provided at their own doors.
Wherever a congregation of ten persons of years of
discretion could be gathered together, there might
the ordinances of religion and the means of grace
be enjoyed. It is computed that in Jerusalem
there were nearly five hundred such supplemental
places of reHgious resort. Every trade and fraternity
amongst the Jews had its own. While in the later
days of the old dispensation, in districts inhabited
by the disciples of Moses, — in scattered hamlets, on
mountain brows, by river sides, on the sea shore, in
upper chambers, on housetops, — the synagogue, or
H 3

182 LECTURE VII.
the proseuche, or the private oratory, afforded to
sojourner and to traveller, the means of social or of
solitary prayer (HO).
In advocating, however, cheap and unadorned
structures for religious worship, I speak of them only
as supplemental and exceptional — as temporary ex
pedients, necessitated, and therefore justified by the
present pressing and appalling exigencies of our
spiritual condition. To adopt them as a substitute
for permanent churches — and that in a rich and
luxurious age like ours, — were not to foUow the
example of him, who if he extemporised the Syna
gogue, also restored the Temple. Neither ought it to
be questioned, that places of worship to be frequented
even by the poorest, ought to be, as far as possible, in
form and material worthy of the purpose to which they
are devoted. On the other hand, that buildings in
which the humblest classes are exclusively to worship
— ragged churches, and poor men's churches — are es
sentially wrong in principle. They are at variance
with the spirit of the Gospel : they also imperU our
social security. " England," observes an able writer,
"is one vast mass of superficial splendour, covering a
body of festering misery and discontent. Side by
side appears in fearful and unnatural contrast, the
greatest amount of opulence and the most appaUing
amount of misery."
Now, one main object of religious worship is, to
sink for a while the outward distinctions of this world
and its glaring contrasts, to humble the rich and

LECTURE VII. 183
exalt the brother of low degree. And while we have
redundant wealth and extremest poverty, the palace
and the hovel, Dives and Lazarus, in close and ter
rible proximity, — we have need of at least one place on
earth, in which both rich and poor may contemplate
what the one perhaps is tempted to idolise, and the
other to envy, in connection with something higher
and better than this world : — in which the one may
forget his grandeur, and the other his destitution;
and both may anticipate the state, "where the wicked
cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest —
where the prisoners rest together, and hear not the
voice of the oppressor ; and the small and great are
there ; and the servant is free from his master ; where
light is given to him that is in misery, and life unto
the bitter in soul." a
It is a painful and perilous contrast which Foreign
lands present to our own in this particular. Go to
Italy, or Germany, or the Netherlands, or France, — •
and compare the usage of these countries with what
obtains at home. In foreign lands you pass at once
from dirty streets and the haunts of poverty into
stately and magnificent churches, — where the glories
of art, and the achievements of decorative skill, and
all that is most highly esteemed amongst men, com
bine to " beautify the sanctuary of the Lord, and to
make the place of his feet glorious ; " b and where with
out distinction of age, or sex, or rank, or personal ac-
a Job iii. 17—20. b Isaiah lx. 13.
N 4

184 LECTURE VII.
commodation, all, like one family, and with one voice,
on their knees, worship God (HI). Is it unreasonable,
if we ask that here at home, in a land consecrated to
freedom, and distinguished by a pure andreformed faith,
" rich and poor may meet together in the presence of
Him who is the maker of them all," a and our churches
may supply what may elevate the poor man's mind and
recreate his spirit, and be to him palace, refuge, home ?
In one sense the poor have more need and more
appreciation of what is beautiful and true in church
architecture, than the rich who are satiated with
grandeur in every form. To a poor man, especiaUy
in cities, a church may present the only type, and
convey the only idea of the beautiful. To him a
beautiful church may be everything. And the more
the House of God, and the worship of God lift him
out of himself, and the vulgar and depressing atmo
sphere in which he commonly dAvells, — the more
they wUl have attractions for his heart. The
discomfort in which he ordinarily lives, his habitual
and oppressive sense of confinement, render a vast
and dignified building — such as our cathedrals and
larger churches, into which pews have not intruded
— to him indescribably attractive. Thus we see
how the people swarm to the churches abroad, how
they congregate in our own cathedrals, — how they
appreciate the space, and the freedom, and the
majesty, and the music, which such large and noble
a Proverbs xxii. 2.

LECTURE VII. 185
edifices afford them. The narrow, cramped, free
seat would have no attraction for the operative
classes abroad ; nor have they for such men amongst
ourselves. And aU schemes for comprehending the masses
within the Church, which stop short of putting them
on a perfect equality with richer Christians when
within waUs consecrated to religion, must fail. They
are not Christian-like. They fall short of that great
principle which the lowly rank of our blessed Lord,
while on earth, plainly inculcated. They fall short
of aU apostoHc spirit and teaching.
The only way to win the operative classes, and to
elevate the poor, is to place them, at least in the House
of God, on a level with yourselves. You have out
raged and debased them, — and this in Protestant
England, — by excluding them in many of our great
towns from this freedom and equality of worship.
You shrink from coming into close and familiar con
tact, even in the House of God, with those whose
manners and habits would be equal to your own, if
refined by real Christianity. The only really revolt
ing person is one who has been debased by evil pas
sions, and sordid habits, and grovelling after wealth ;
and such is more frequently to be met with in a class,
which in this country is daily forcing itself into power
and importance, — and then tramples on the rank
from which it has emerged, and would monopolise
our churches to the exclusion of the poor.
But when we have recovered our churches for the

186 LECTURE VII.
people, the next thing will be to fiU them. To do this
we must render our Services interesting and attrac
tive, and remove stumbling blocks out of the way.
And this, we are told, can only be effected by
alterations, or at least modifications in the doctrine,
and discipline, and devotional formularies of our
Church — in other words by a Revision of the Liturgy.
Nor are the arguments by which this is contended
for, to be contemptuously or summarily disposed of,
— but on the contrary are such as require the most
earnest and careful consideration on the part of
churchmen. For first, we have dissent in its rapid growth, and
numerical strength, and political antagonism, — of
which the bare existence in any shape may well be a
source of distress and disquietude to churchmen.
Secondly, we have the fact that of those ministering
in the Church itself, numbers reconcile themselves
to conformity by putting a forced and non-natural
construction upon the language of its Offices ; while
by a great majority of the clergy most of its canons
and some of its rubrics are systematically disregarded.
To which must be added, that not a few of our
young men of high intellectual promise, and lofty
spiritual aspirations, are said to be deterred from
taking Holy Orders by inabUity to accept portions of
the Church's teaching.
Lastly, we are assured that by the laity in general
portions of our Liturgy are neither relished nor ac
cepted.

LECTURE VII. 187
Now unquestionably it is the duty of a Church,
more especiaUy of one established and professedly
national, from principles of equity and policy, and
with a view to comprehension, to conciliate to the
utmost admissible extent, consistently with principle
and truth. The basis of a National Church ought
as was lately urged in the House of Lords, to be as
broad as possible (112). And as our Church puts
the Bible into the hands of all its members without
note or comment, it especiaUy becomes her to deal
tenderly with the individual conscience. It can
never be her true policy to eject or exclude, where
she can possibly retain.
Few, in our day, it may be hoped, will be found to
justify the narrow and reactionary policy of the
dominant Church party on the occasion of the last re
vision of our Liturgy. On the contrary, probably
most of us, deplore the intolerance which, for the sake
of an enforced uniformity, then ejected from their
cures two thousand of the Church's most gifted and
exemplary pastors. And after an interval of two
centuries some may be found ready to concede, and
even to prefer, not a little of what was then roughly
and contemptuously refused (113).
Certainly no calm and practical man-will deny, that
our Liturgy admits of improvement ; that it is within
the province of the Church to effect this ; that for the
work of revision, there are divines as competent in
the reign of Queen Victoria, as there were in that
of Charles the Second or of James the First.

188 LECTURE VII.
It is expressly declared in the preface to the Prayer-
book, "to be but reasonable, that upon weighty and
important considerations, according to the various
exigency of times and occasions, such changes and
alterations should be made therein, as to those that
are in place of authority should from time to time seem
either necessary or expedient." With, however, this
proviso, " that it is the wisdom of the Church to
keep the mean between the two extremes, of too much
stiffness in refusing, and of too much easiness in ad
mitting of any variation."
Probably few of us are not prepared to endorse
this. We shall admit it to be one thing to stifle in
quiry, or to force tender consciences, — and another
thing to encourage an undefined agitation, and
indulge a restless love for change: one thing to
relax unnecessary barriers, to alter ambiguous or
obsolete expressions, to efiminate whatever may
perplex or encumber, to rearrange or abbreviate
what we still believe to be both scriptural in its
tenets and unrivaUed in its structure, — with a view
of bringing our Liturgy more into harmony with
present habits and prevailing wishes ; — and another,
and altogether different thing, under the guise of
liturgical revision, to aim at a revolution in our
services, and a radical change in the doctrine and
discipline of our Church. The one we may admit
to be a question of expediency, while we feel bound
to reject the other at once as an absolute sacrifice of
principle.

LECTURE VII. 189
Now, on some points it would seem that there is
little difference of opinion in our day, among thought
ful and moderate churchmen. All are probably
agreed, that the Calendar of lessons and of Saints'
days is susceptible of improvement — that the
Psalter and Table of Lessons might be so arranged as
to provide, without repetition, for a third service on
the Sunday — that without in any way discrediting
the Athanasian Creed, as one of the Church's noblest
confessions of faith, there are objections to using
it in mixed congregations, — that the Rubrics and
Canons require careful revision.
It may even be thought that certain words in
the Order for the Burial of the dead, by which some
consciences are wounded, might be modified without
impairing that glorious and consolatory Service
(114), — whUe in the Office of Matrimony there are
portions which might with propriety be omitted.
By some whom I address, even such modifications
might possibly be deprecated, — while there are others
who believe, that to promote unity in creed and
community in worship, our Formulas of faith and
Forms of devotion require to be still further sim
plified and abbreviated.
By none, however, can it "be denied that were all
possible liberty and latitude allowed, and a royal
commission appointed, and licence given to Convoca
tion to deliberate, and the Legislature appealed to,
to-morrow, — it could not be to initiate a new system,
but only to deal with one that is established ; not to

190 LECTURE VII.
compose a neAV Liturgy, but to treat of doctrines and
devotions which have come down to us from remote
antiquity, — which have been sealed with the testimony
of our confessors and the blood of our martyrs, —
which are the accredited and accepted deposit of the
national faith, — which most of ourselves have over
and over again subscribed, — and which are inter
woven with the language, and the habits, and the
affections of our people.
It may also be questioned, how far any practicable
changes in our Liturgy Avould reconcile the great
body of Dissenters ; whereas, on the other hand, the
palpable danger of alienating, and even driving from
our communion many of its most valuable members
stares us in the face. To conciliate dissenters by
the sacrifice of churchmen — to incur a certain loss
in hope of a contingent gain — could be justified on
no principles of justice or expediency; whUe by
altering our doctrines, — besides other and insur
mountable objections, — we should reaUy exclude, on
the plea of comprehending, and narrow what is now
catholic and wide.
We are further assured by an eminent Con-
gregationalist minister, — whose sympathies with
the Church have even subjected him to suspicion,
— that " attempts to resuscitate schemes of com
prehension, plans for the coalition of different bodies,
wiH be in vain. That the divisions into sec
tions of the Christian Church, the existence of dis
tinct Protestant evangelical denominations, must be

LECTURE VII. 191
accepted as a great fact. That sectional divisions
on the ground of forms and modes of administration
and discipline, are most likely inseparable from the
condition of the Church in the present world. That
if it were possible for aU Protestant evangelical deno
minations to be fused together in one Church to-day,
and as such to have a fresh start, it Avould be split
into innumerable divisions to-morrow. That it is
too late for any particular Church to seek to absorb
aH others into itself — you might as well discuss the
restoration of the Heptarchy" (115).
On the other hand, it is contended by a writer
of our own communion, — that the difficulty lies with
the dissenting ministers, — that these, if questioned
as to the grounds of separation, would probably
bring forward ecclesiastical, rather than theological
or liturgical objections — the sole headship of Christ,
the voluntary principle, the parity of Christian
ministers, the independence of Church and State.
But that on the minds of dissenting laymen, ques
tions about the ideal constitution of a Church,
abstract theories of Church government, have little
hold ; that certain definite objections to a few phrases
in the Prayer-book, probably, weigh more with them
than aU the Ecclesiastical theories in the world.
These, — which he considers the practical gravamina
of dissent, — he urges us to remove ; and promises that
if we do so, though the visionary dissenters, the
ecclesiastical doctrinaires, the political agitators,
might not conform,— yet that the religious dissidents,

192 LECTURE VII.
the calm, the moderate, the sensible men, would
mostly join the Church. Above all, that though in
our own day we may not see the full effect of Avise
liturgical concessions, yet that the children of the
present generation of dissenters would be won (116).
Whichever of these views is the correct one, — it will
be admitted that the duty of the Church is the same,—
and this is to do what is right, because it is right ;
to alter and amend whatever needs to be altered and
amended, — not with a view of attracting others, —
but from a desire to be in harmony with truth. Not
but that the Church, as a national communion, is
bound to give no avoidable offence, and to consult, as
far as may be, the interests and wishes of every
portion of the community.
Irrespective of what we owe to those without, our
present position would appear to be in some respects
neither a creditable nor a safe one. We have a rule
of Discipline which is not in accordance with general
practice, Canons which have faUen into desuetude,
and Rubrics which are not generally observed and
in some cases are self-contradictory, — which not
unfrequently are an occasion of offence if carried
out, and a burden to scrupulous consciences where
they are neglected.
It may be difficult to amend these things, — nor
may the present be exactly the time to attempt it.
But to deny, or to ignore them is impossible; and
inasmuch as they are a source of weakness, and a
cause of offence, they cannot but be regretted.

LECTURE VII. 193
But the means of attracting to our Services, and
attaching to our Communion, we have already. No
need of extensive alterations to secure acceptance
for a Liturgy, which men of all times and all
religious bodies — Dissenters as weU as Churchmen
— have pronounced unrivalled amongst human com
positions, — and which those who separate from our
communion confess they can seldom join in without
being moved to tears (117).
Some of the changes which under peculiar circum
stances, and for special occasions, are required, may
be made at once by permission of the Ordinary ; and
when tried are found to work well both in town and
country congregations. A trifling modification, a
partial re-arrangement wiU effect Avhat is desired.
We need no royal Commission, no canon of Con
vocation, no enactment of the Legislature for this
purpose (118).
Are our Services too long, at hours inconvenient to
a portion of our flocks, not sufficiently varied in their
character ? We have but to separate Offices originally
distinct — though now blended together — to adapt
the time of service to the convenience of worship
pers, — to curtail our own sermons. I was once in
formed by a clergyman that he found our Liturgy
wearisome, only when he was debarred the pleasing
exercitation of preaching : it was one in which he
himself copiously indulged. Were the laity con
sulted, they would probably tell us that the tedium

194 LECTURE VII.
complained of is to be traced rather to the pulpit than
to the reading-desk.
What we really want, is not so much to alter our
Services, as to do them justice ; to imbibe the spirit
of them ; to administer them with propriety and
unction; to reflect them in our sermons and our
lives. The true corrective of error is earnest truth ; and
by action, rather than by either controversy or
concession, must the Church do her work and win
her way, — "by pureness, by knowledge, by long-
suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love
unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God,
by the armour of righteousness, on the right hand
and the left." a
What we need is more of energy, more of homeH-
ness, more of sympathy with every rank, and age,
and condition of life — good music, stirring hymns,
congregational psalmody, earnest preaching, hearty
prayer — far more than changes in the constitution
of our Church, or alterations in its Prayer-book.
We want to be able to say with truth, and to make
it felt,— that we are journeying to the place of which
the Lord said, " I will give it you : Come thou with
us and we will do thee good: for the Lord hath
spoken good concerning Israel." b

a 2 Corinthians vi. 6. t> Numb. x. 29.

LECTURE VIII.

Acts ix. 6.
" Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? "
Kvpie, ti fj.e deXeig iroirjaai ;
In bringing these Lectures to a close, it may be
advisable shortly to recapitulate the main points
which I have advanced.
I drew attention to the nature, office, and mission
of the Church, as God's kingdom upon earth, founded
and furnished to impersonate the mind and life of
God, and thus to manifest to the world that it comes
from Him.a
I maintained that the Church recognises as its
standard and pattern, humanity as revealed in Jesus
Christ: — that it is founded, not on force, not on
prescription, but on Christ's sovereignty and divine
appointment.15 I showed that its instruments were, the Ministry,
a Lecture I. b Ibid.
o 2

196 LECTURE VIII.
the Sacraments, the Scriptures, the Church's Forms
of devotion embodying its Creeds, and corporate
Fellowship and Action. a
I further maintained, that the religious body in
this country, designated the Church, answers to
these conditions, and is by principles and organisa
tion qualified for the office assigned it.b
I pointed out its difficulties and obstructions, its
shortcomings and failures c ; and drew attention to
its need of increased agencies and resources, and
further development and improvement, and more
cordial, energetic, and combined efforts on the part
of its members. d
I have wished to exaggerate nothing, to extenuate
nothing, to keep back nothing ; but to admit blemishes
and deficiencies, candidly and explicitly ; and to put
forth remedies, as they have been suggested to my
own mind during a varied pastoral experience of
many years.
My aim has been to stir churchmen to inquire
what can be done to supply the needs, to remove the
defects, to increase the efficiency, to promote the
welfare of the body with which they are themselves
incorporated, — in whose trusts and privileges they
participate, — whose interests they are bound to foster
and to further. *
Such questions may be overlooked, — they may be
stifled, — they may be evaded; — or, when taken
a Lecture I. i> Lecture II.
c Lectures III. IV. a Lectures IV. V. VI. VII.

LECTURE VIII. 197
up they may be dealt with as a man's own affairs
when they get into disorder. Many will not look
at them at all — some begin, but get bewildered
and disheartened, and close the inquiry. Others
look difficulties in the face, determine to know the
worst, and set themselves resolutely and earnestly to
retrieve. To not a few in our day the condition and pro
spects of the English Church have caused only dis
quietude and despondence. Such persons have
bemoaned its shortcomings, but never tried to redress
them. Or they have forsaken the communion
whese vows were upon them, and which they were
bound to stand by till the last. Or they have even
taken up a railing proverb, and joined the assault
against it.
Others have been chiefly concerned to know what
is expected of the Church; what it is pledged to;
where its weakness Hes; where it may have erred;
how it may amend.
There has been a long breathing time allowed to
the Church of England. It has had warnings many
and portentous, both from without and from within.
Our prelates were told by a leading statesman thirty
years ago, to put their house in order. There has
been no want of stir in the opposite camp. Assaults
have been made on both the constitution and the
standards of the Church. State protection has been
diminished, and in some instances withdrawn. It
is a staff that often fails in time of need. Woe to
o 3

198 LECTURE VIII.
the Church whose dependance is on acts of uni
formity, and biUs of pains and penalties, and political
and religious tests ; rather than on the truth of its
own principles, and the attachment of its own mem
bers, and the strength of its inner life, and the help
that cometh of the Lord !
Under these circumstances, some, as I have said,
have gone to sleep, some have forsaken our camp,
some have gone over to the enemy; some, taking
counsel of God, and of their own true hearts, have
set themselves to look to their own foundations, to
strengthen their own outposts, to poHsh their own
weapons, to do their own work.
If there is one lesson more than another that
these men have been taught by recent events, — or
Avhich they have learned on their knees, and in their
own personal conflicts, — and which has been thus
inwrought into their hearts, — it is belief in the
principles of the English Church, and reliance on the
blessing that is sure to attend on the honest, earnest,
genial, and courageous discharge of its mission.
We know its faults, we know its wants, we know
its weaknesses, — we know where it has faltered, and
where it has failed ; we know where it requires help,
and where it needs amendment.
When we review the past, the wonder ought not to
be, that the English Church has a great work still
to do and much ground to recover, — that there are
numerous dissidents from its fold,— that there are
multitudes ostensibly belonging to it, baptized with its

LECTURE VIII. 199
baptism, called by its name, — whose spiritual condition
is a scandal and a snare to it. If it had not been
a true branch of Christ's Church, and planted on the
Rock of Ages, it must have come to an end long ago.
When we recaU its somnolency, its unfaithfulness, its
repose on an arm of flesh — Avhat has been called the
dreariness of political Anglicanism — how, for long,
its dignities, and emoluments, and the trusts these
involved, were bestowed — how its cures were served
— how its parochial offices were filled — what was the
condition of its fabrics, and the manner in which
its services were performed, — we must feel that but
for its Liturgy, and its seminal principles of life, and
the truths of which it is the depository, — and above
all, the infinite forbearance of God, — its light must
have been quenched, and its candlestick removed out
of its place.
But then, to invalidate its claims as a Church,
you have to prove that its system is to blame ; that
its principles are erroneous ; that it fails, when the
conditions of success are complied with.
There is no question about the lethargy, and the
nepotism, and the shortcomings, and the wrong
doings of so-caUed churchmen in days gone by, — any
more than there is about their imperfections and
faUures now. But these are attributable to a
neglect of the true principles and actual mission
of our Church. They occurred because its rule
was disobeyed, and its observances were neglected,
and its truths were kept back, and its offices were
o 4

200 LECTURE VIII.
improperly filled — because what it enjoined was set
at nought, and what it forbade was done. Had its
spirit been understood, and its requirements complied
with, the religious life of those who belonged to it
would have been altogether different. We should
have had devotion in the reading-desk, and light in
the pulpit, and exemplary holiness in the parish.
To establish the Church of England in the heart of
the nation — to recover those who have forsaken its
fold — you must embody its principles, exhibit its
doctrines, and exemplify its teaching.
It asks for greater freedom, and for fuller develop
ment — to have its parochial and diocesan system
carried out — to have its offices properly fiUed, and
its ordinances duly administered. It needs more
bishops, more clergy, more abundant and more
efficient ministrations, more co-operation on the part
of its members, more systematic religious training,
more places of worship. It needs to have its property
secured, and rightly dispensed. It needs to have the
means of manifesting itself to every man's conscience,
and carrying its message to every man's door.
The national Church cannot adequately discharge
its mission, — but is misrepresented and misunder
stood — if it is cramped, and crippled, and badly
served; if it is shorn of its strength; if you deal
with it as the Philistines did with Samson.
Give it greater liberty, and greater scope ; give it
a due supply of the weapons of its spiritual armoury.
Let its apostles, and its teachers, and its helps, and

LECTURE VIII. 201
its governments, and its administrations, be such as
are enjoined in Scripture, and are proportioned to
the exigencies of the day. Give it rulers and
pastors according to God's heart. And then see if
it wiU not approve itself as the Spouse of Christ,
and the spiritual mother of your people.
The main ground of hope in any Church, of course,
is, that it is a kingdom planted by God Himself —
organised, and furnished, and sustained by Him —
and entitled to our homage, and our trust, and our
energetic personal help, because it is not a human,
but a divine institution.
The experience of eighteen hundred years may
surely teach us this, — and that no permanent blessing
waits on efforts unauthorised by God, which are
necessarUy desultory, disjointed, and spasmodic. "If
a counsel or a work be of man, it will come to
nought ; but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it ;
lest haply ye may be found to fight against God.""
For whatever originates in man, — and depends mainly
on the zeal, and ability, and eloquence, and adminis
trative powers of a merely human agency, — neces
sarily contains in it the elements of dissolution.
How  it may be asked — has Romanism stood
its ground for so many centuries, and held its sway
over so large a portion of Christendom, in spite of
its manifold corruptions, and transparent impostures ?
And how, though the marks of decrepitude and the
a Acts v. 38, 39.

202 LECTURE VIII.
tokens of decay are upon it, does it seem still to
renew its youth, and recruit its strength? Is it not
because it is a branch of Christ's Church, though a
recreant, and a faUen one?
And why is it, that forms of Protestant noncon
formity never permanently thrive : that the society
which boasted of a Watts and a Doddridge, and
other eminent names, has in so many instances
decayed and died out, or become Unitarian? — but
that the very principle in which dissent originates,
involves its disruption and extinction.
Again, why is it that the successive assaults that
have been made on the Church of England seem only
to rectify, and consolidate it? — but because these
show where it has failed, — and thus serve to resus
citate some dormant grace or latent principle, and
cause it to bring forth from its spiritual armoury and
furbish some weapons that have been allowed to rust.
Who can question that it was the want of religious
earnestness, of evangelical truth, of spirituality in its
ministers and members, of sympathy with pious minds,
which some years ago constituted the weakness of the
Church, and the strength of its assaUants? — Or that it
was in greater danger from sectarian efforts then, than
now when dissent is arrayed against it as a party
and political combination?
No sooner did the doctrines which had been
unheeded in the Church's Prayer-book, reappear in
its pulpits, and its ministry Avas characterised by
the spirit of its formularies, — than the strength of

LECTURE VIII. 203
the Church returned, its hopes revived, its houses of
prayer were filled with devout and attentive worship
pers; and the interest, and the trust, and the attach
ment of its members were restored.
Again, when it had lost sight of its characteristics
as a Church ; and its orders, and its sacraments, and
its discipline were neither understood nor valued, —
the danger which menaced it from an opposite di
rection apprised it of its error. It reverted to its
principles, it recovered its equilibrium, it proved its
foundations — and in the strength of these it stood.
The men that went out from it, distrusted its
orthodoxy, questioned its vitality, predicted its de
cline. Where is it, and where are they ? They are
gone, their place knoweth them no more; — but the
vacancy they created is supplied. Are they happier,
more estabfished, more useful, more in favour with
God and man, than they were of old? Is the prayer
that we breathe for them not this, — that they may
" remember the kindness of their youth, the love of
their espousals,"3, and see their error, and return: —
and the word that we send after them not this, "What
iniquity have ye found in me, that ye are gone far
from me, and have Avalked after vanity, and have
become vain?"b
And so, doubtless, it Avill be with the danger which
more immediately menaces us now — and which
seems to some, to be the most insidious and deadly
a Jeremiah ii. 2. b Ibid. ii. 5.

204 LECTURE VIII.
of all. It is but the return of the pendulum, the
reflux of the sweU, — or the spray upon the reef,
that warns that peril is nigh. For all error is but
an exaggeration or perversion of truth, and, as a
great writer observes, " the first step in resisting
error is to understand the truth at which it aims."
" No mere negation, — but the full liberation of the
truth, which lies at the root of error, can eradicate
error" (119).
As members of the English Church we maintain the
truth to lie between bondage and licentiousness —
between superstition and rationalism — between a
blind and ignorant acquiescence in what we have
never investigated, implying a surrender of judg
ment and an abdication of conscience, on the one
hand — and a defiance of authority, and a rejection
of truth, on the other.
And because we believe that our Church holds
this even balance, and preserves this golden mean, —
and that in her case, as I have said, whatever
stimulates inquiry, only leads to self-correction, re
calls some principle that has been overlooked, revives
some light that has burned dim, — our persuasion is,
" that no weapon formed against her shall prosper,
and that every tongue that shaU rise in judgment,
she shall condemn."3
Next to our confidence in the principles of the
Church itself, is our reliance on the sound sense and
a Isaiah liv. 17.

LECTURE VIII. 205
right judgment of the English people. We believe
our national church to be the expression of the
preferences, and the exponent of the mind of our
countrymen : that it commends itself to their judg
ment, and is in harmony with their spirit.
The EngUsh are a real, a practical, and a homely
race. They mislike pretence, they suspect extrava
gance, they have no sympathy with transcendental
spirituaHsms or with mooning mysticisms, — they are
averse to both superstition and fanaticism. They
approve the sound and scriptural principles, the
sober and masculine piety of their national Church.
They rely on the great, grand, enduring principles,
on which it reposes, — and which it is its business
to proclaim and embody.
It is only when they think that they have cause to
suspect the piety, or the soundness, or the good faith,
or the good sense of their religious teachers, that they
are estranged. The history of every religious excite
ment, of every disruption and secession that has
tried and torn the Church since the Reformation,
seems to proclaim this.
Manliness, faithfulness, discretion, consistency of
life and doctrine, strict attention to practical duty,
are the qualities which the English people prize in
their spiritual guides. It therefore behoves all who
love the Church, and seek its peace, and its exten
sion — and would have it rooted and established in
the hearts of our people — in their teaching, in their
mode of celebrating worship, in the arrangement of

206 LECTURE VIII.
their churches, in their personal conduct and de
meanour, — even in their dress, — to give no offence
in anything, that the ministry be not blamed. And
all who understand the temper of our countrymen
must pray, that the Church's doctrine, and its dis
cipline, and its ritual, may be such as to secure re
spect, and inspire confidence, — and that the desire
and aim of aU its members may ever be to heal sores,
and compose differences, and promote peace, and
unity, and goodwill, and practical godliness, in every
parish, and in every dwelling.
Experience shows that wherever the Church is
fairly represented, — that is, wherever its doctrines
are faithfully proclaimed, and its principles truly
carried out, and its clergy and laity heartily com
bine, — a blessing rests upon its efforts, and it grows
at once in favour with both God and man. Interest
is awakened, religious life revives, the fruits of the
Spirit flourish and abound. The very aspect of
external nature undergoes a change. " They build
the old wastes, they raise up the former desolations,
the desolations of many generations." a " For as the
earth bringeth forth her bud, and the garden causeth
the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the
Lord God causeth righteousness and praise to spring
forth." b The Spirit of the Lord is upon our Church,
and His words are in her mouth, and it may be said
of her, — "Arise, shine; for the light is come, and
the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee."0
a Isaiah lxi. 4. b Ibid. lxi. 11. « Ibid. Ix. 1.

LECTURE VIII. 207
In the Lectures now drawing to a close, my aim
throughout has been to enforce at once the corporate
life, and the individual trusts and accountableness of
churchmen. I exposed, at the commencement, the
mistaken and pernicious opinion which restricts the
Church to the Clergy, — and which in proportion as it
has prevailed has impaired the reHgious life of our
communion. For its tendency is to discourage on
the part of the laity, that co-operation in counsel and
practical effort, without which no religious body can
thrive. It has caused them in many instances to
resign altogether to the clergy the practical labours
of reHgion; and thus excluded them from functions
which belong to them as members of the household of
faith. And yet a pious layman, if he be so minded,
may in his sphere do as much for the conserva
tion and extension of the Church, as the most
energetic and exemplary of clergymen. And there
is an increasing conviction, that the Church needs
the aid of its lay members, in some more definite
position and practical share in the administration
of its affairs, than they have been hitherto called
to. Other religious bodies have known how to
avail themselves of lay co-operation : — and amongst
them the laity exercise an important voice and
agency. In saying this, I am, of course, not unmindful of
the services rendered by the laity in an office assigned
to them in the constitution of our Church, to which
distinct and important duties are attached — I mean

208 LECTURE VIII.
the office of Churchwarden. Nor can it be doubted
that were this always filled, as happily in these days
it often is, by men who appreciate its importance,
and heartily and conscientiously discharge its duties,
an abundant blessing would rest upon their labours.
Were all our wardens men of devout and earnest
minds, and as they should be, regular communicants ;
did they always zealously and inteUigently co-operate
with the clergy in works of charity, and second their
efforts for discountenancing vice and immorality in
their respective parishes ; it is impossible to over-rate
the good which might result, from a firm yet con
ciliating discharge of their office. And a very
solemn responsibility rests with those who appoint to,
or who accept it on light or unworthy grounds, and
without a due sense of its trusts. To intrude a
careless or irreligious man into the clerical office is
felt to be an outrage: how is it that the same
standard is not applied to one hardly less sacred
in its character and duties ? To minister about holy
things, to be the guardian of God's house, to have
the custody of its goods, to keep order during divine
service, to seat the parishioners, to assist at the
administration of the Lords' Supper, to protect the
rights of the poor and the interests of morality, to
make presentments at Visitations, — what sacred, and
Avhat solemn trusts are these ! For one indifferent to
religion, -or hostile "to- the Church to und^take them,
is nothing less than impiety. 'Afiid though such
cases in these days, Ave may hope, are comparatively

LECTURE VIII. 209
rare, yet they ought to be impossible. And so they
Avould, were the nature of the appointment duly con
sidered, and persons always elected to it for their
moral worth and reHgious fitness, and their approved
attachment to the Church.
But besides this, there are numerous points on
which the judgment and feelings of the lay members
of the Church ought to be consulted, on which they
are at present debarred from any legitimate means of
expressing these. The character, the usefulness, the
continuance of the Church as a national establish
ment, are imperiHed again and again on matters affect
ing the details of public worship and the ministrations
of the clergy, where its lay members have no voice,
and are viewed as intermeddlers if they interfere.
From how much that has not only disturbed the
peace of parishes, but agitated the pubHc mind, and
prejudiced the cause of the Church, would it have been
preserved, had our pious and leading laymen pos
sessed some legitimate method of remonstrance !
In saying this, I am not proposing any organic
change in the constitution of our Synods. These
are essentially a clerical convocation. To intro
duce the lay element would be to change their
character. Even to open up the question, it is
thought, might endanger their existence: for no
change, it is obvious, could be made without the
sanction of the Legislature ; and many, at the present
time, would object to appeal to this.
But the fusion of the laity with the clergy in
p

210 LECTURE VIII.
Diocesan, and Archidiaconal, and Ruri-decanal
Conferences is an altogether different question. It
has been tried with the happiest effects in our
Colonial Church, and in some of our Dioceses at
home; and its general adoption has been recom
mended by a committee of Convocation, and has the
sanction of some of our most exemplary prelates.
No man can deny the great and manifold blessings
which might result to the EngHsh Church, were the
sympathies, counsels, and personal efforts of the laity
more enlisted and exercised in its behalf (120).
But if the hope of the Church lies — as it truly does
— in its corporate feUowship and action, it is only by
the recognition and discharge of individual duty that
this can be attained. The question for every one of
its members to consider, is suggested in the words of
my text ; and the answer in every case would be — to
do your duty in that state of life in which God's
Providence has placed you.
Men dream away life, thinking what they would
do, if they were what they are not. A man says, if
I were a prelate, if I were a statesman, if I were a
great landed proprietor, if I were the head of a col
lege, if I were in this or that position, — if I had this
man's intellect, or that "man's purse, or that man's
gift of speech — if I were anything but just what I
am — what a work I would achieve ! I would resusci
tate the Church, I would reorganise the State, I would
reform theUniversities, I would regenerate society ! —
And while he is thus constructing theories, and build
ing castles in the air, his own duties are forgotten.

LECTURE VIII. 211
Neglect of present work, waste of passing mo
ments, want of resolution to face the drudgery and
overcome the temptations of daily life, — it is this
that renders the existence of so many men barren
and unprofitable.
And hence the unavailing regret, when men would
give the world to live over again. ' If,' they wiU say,
' I had practised more self-denial in my youth — if I
had studied more when I had time and opportunity —
If I had not contracted those debts, and wasted those
golden occasions — if I had resolved from the very
first to discharge the duties that devolved on me
from day to day! Oh! for ten years back again,
with the added experience of age!' — Such are their
lamentations over the irreparable past.
"Lord, what wilt thou have me to-do?" Men
not unfrequently ask this question only to exonerate
and exculpate themselves. But the true answer
of one who knows life, would be in almost every
case, — What might you not do? the youngest, the
least gifted, the most isolated, the most obscure—
whatever your position, or your faculties, or your sex.
May we not learn what might be done, from what
is neglected? Ask coUege authorities, — ask men of
practical experience, — ask those who know the needs
of the Church, and the needs of the nation, —
what our religious, and educational, and social, and
political requirements are.
They tell us of the unprofitable lives many of
our young men lead, of their frightful waste of time,
p 2

212 LECTURE VIII.
of their recoil from duty, of their want of manliness
to prepare themselves for the duties of future life
— that they do not study, do not improve their
minds — that they neglect lectures — absent them
selves from religious services — take no hearty,
honest interest in anything.
Yet these young men are the hope of England, — the
owners of its property, the inheritors of its titles,
the future occupiers of its most important positions !
The authorities of this place will even teU us of some
who mean to be clergymen — or, as they say, to go
into the Church — as if they were not in the Church
already — and no doubt intending to be pattern men
when they have taken orders — who meantime neglect
what they will have hereafter to inculcate and press
on others — who are not even regular at chapel — who
absent themselves from the Lord's table — as though
ordination were to operate as a charm, and of itself
change the whole tone and habit of Hfe !
In like manner we hear of men with a large stake
in the country — the representatives of great families,
inheritors of noble names — who from descent, and
revenue, and position, ought to take a lead, to guide
opinion, to be the foremost promoters of improvement,
— and like some — of whom it has been said, that if
they had been born in the humblest condition they
would have raised themselves to the highest — make
Avhat they inherit but a starting-point, and eclipse the
fame of their ancestry by their own, — who are per
sonally without either credit or influence. They

LECTURE VIII. 213
neglect their estates, their tenants, their dependants.
They leave everything in the hands of agents,—
whereas such trusts as theirs can be delegated to no
man. They waste time, and health, and substance
in frivolous and vicious indulgences, — and of all this
the report comes back to scandalise the neighbour
hoods of which they ought to be the patterns and
the boast. They do nothing for education, nothing
for Church extension, nothing for ,the improvement
of those for whom they are responsible; and then
resent the interference of better men who endeavour
to effect what they have neglected.
Need we wonder at the prevalence of ignorance,
and discontent, and crime, — at the separation of the
classes — at the increasing cry for social and sanitary
reforms? — Or need we be surprised if our institu
tions are undervalued, and should the cause of those
who would destroy them make way ?
" Can any man amongst us," observes a leading
journafist, " say he has no work, when if he goes into
the nearest mews, or back lane, he will find multi
tudes of stray sheep, whom no pastor ever sought
out, with whose hearts no man of God ever com
muned?" (121.)
Contrast districts where humanising and sanc
tifying influences are withheld, with others where
they are in operation. Can we not all tell of
clergymen who have reformed parishes, of em
ployers who have elevated the condition of a com
munity, of laymen Avho have changed the cha-
F 3

214 LECTURE VIII.
racter of a district, of noblemen who have infused
life into a county, of ladies who have planted
Churches, of bishops who have regenerated dioceses,
of statesmen who have saved an empire, of sove
reigns who furnish an example to the world? (122)
And simply because all these realised God's claim
upon themselves — and sought the help of His Holy
Spirit to fill the post His providence assigned.
Are not these things for examples? Are they not
to show us Avhat might be done? How every waste
place might be redeemed, and every rude nature
'reclaimed. How England might be christianised,
and the world evangelised, and humanity redeemed,
and God glorified, and earth and heaven break forth
into jubilate, — if each one amongst us would put
forth his own strength, and do his own work !
TeU not those who have had experience of life,
that any one is too humble, too obscure, too meanly
gifted, to exercise influence for good or evil on a
fellow-creature. Is not Example contagious ? Is it not all-powerful ?
Has it not wrought many a time with ourselves in
what we have done, or what we have foreborne — in
exciting us to good, or encouraging us in evil. And
may not this teach us how efficacious it must be with
others ; how every act of a man's life, every word that
falls from him, every stroke of his pen provokes
imitation, — and may involve the happiness or the
misery of a feUow-creature?
Believe me, there is not one of you, my younger

LECTURE VIII. 215
brethren, whose indolence, whose self-indulgence,
whose waste of time, whose extravagance, may not
spread infection; — not one of you, whose diligence,
whose manliness, whose self-control, may not infuse
life, and vigour, and principle into a brother's soul.
The hopes of the country, the hopes of the Church
rest on you. You wUl colour for good or for evil the
future of both. Think how many, whose names are
now on every tongue, whose praise is in all the
Churches, — to whom nations turn in every emer
gency, or whom they mourn as prematurely taken
away, — were, a few years ago, like yourselves, stu
dents at a university (123). It may be for some of
you to furnish the example, to guide the councils, to
promote the religious welfare, to influence the destiny
of the land that gave you birth. You may, every
one of you, be the pattern of a neighbourhood, of a
parish, of a home. WUl you disappoint these hopes,
and neglect these trusts, and waste the inestimable
boon of Hfe, — tUlyou come to wish that you never
had been born? Or wUl you henceforth give your
selves, in the strength of God's Holy Spirit, to fill the
position, and to do the work which He has assigned to
you? And now may I be permitted to direct a special
appeal to some present to-day, not often addressed
from a university pulpit.a
" Tell me," said a lady, to one of her own sex on
a This Lecture was delivered on the Sunday in Commemora
tion Week. r 4

216 LECTURE VIII.
her death-bed, " what word of instruction you will
leave behind you for the world you are quitting?"
— " That my sex has its mission — that there are
thousands of women in England, now wasting life in
listlessness or frivolity, who might be happy and use
ful, if they would only be like those of whom we read
in Holy Scripture, as servants of the Church, helpers
in Christ, labourers in the Lord. If they would
humbly and unostentatiously — without in the least
stepping out of their own sphere, or neglecting
domestic duty— do something to teach the ignorant,
to console the afflicted, to reHeve the sick, to succour
the distressed, to raise the fallen, to help the helpless
to help themselves."
It may indeed be asked, has not the name of
woman been associated with such ministries in every
age, and throughout the world ? Where has sickness,
or pain, or 'privation, or calamity been ever found,
where she has not relieved it? Do we not owe to
her the noblest impulses of life? What would the
Gracchi have been without Cornelia? What son
amongst us has not mainly owed what is good in him
to a mother?
And yet, till of late, services of which other com
munions have long known how to avail themselves,
amongst us have been almost exclusively confined to
private life, or to the cottages of the poor. It was
not so in apostolic and primitive times, — nor is it
now with continental Christianity. Woman had of old
her recognised office in the Church. The Deaconess

LECTURE VIII. 217
was an accredited order in early times (124). Rome
has its Sisters of Charity, as have Protestant Com
munions in France and Germany. Half a century
ago, Sou they wrote, " There is Avork enough for
us aU — it is of women I am now speaking, who feel
in themselves the strength of heroic virtue, and aspire
to its rewards, and shrink from no scenes into which
its exercise would carry them. Such women you have
among you : "there are such, and there ever will be
such in every generation. Why have you then no
Beguines, no Sisters of Charity? Why, in the most
needful, the most merciful form that charity can
take, have you not yet followed the example of the
French and the Netherlanders ? No Vincent de
Paul has been heard in your pulpits, no Louise le
Gras has appeared amongst the daughters of Great
Britain. Piety has found its way into your prisons ;
your hospitals are imploring it in vain; — and oh!
what a want is that, — and how different would be
the moral effect which these medical schools produce
upon the pupils educated there, if this lamentable
deficiency were supplied. I know not whether they,
or the patients, suffer most from its absence. Many
are the lives that might be saved by it, many are the
deathbeds to which it would administer a consolation
that is now too often wanted, and many are the
young hearts which would be preserved by its puri
fying and ennobling presence, from an infection
wqrse than that which affects the life alone. A
school of medicine ought to be a school of humanity :

218 LECTURE VIII.
when it is not so, the profession which of aU others
ought most to soften the heart, tends sureliest to
corrupt and harden it." He adds, " that this blessed
spirit of charity might not only reform our hospitals
by its presence, but lessen the pressure upon them,
by seeking out the sick, and attending them in their
oAvn habitations." And he concludes in words which
were prophetic, — " the Protestants were formerly
reproached for making no exertions to spread the
Gospel among heathen nations. That reproach has
been done away. Thirty years hence, this other
may also be effaced, and England have its B^guines
and Sisters of Charity. It is grievously in need of
them. There is nothing Romish, nothing supersti
tious, nothing fanatical, in such associations ; nothing
but what is righteous and holy, nothing but what
properly belongs to that religious service which the
Apostle James, the brother of our Lord, has told us
is pure and undefiled before God and the Father.
They Avho shaU see such societies instituted and
flourishing here, may have a better hope that it may
please the Almighty to continue his manifold mercies
to this island, notwithstanding the errors which en
danger, and the offences which cry to heaven " (125).
The answer has since been given from the battle
fields of the Crimea, and the slopes of Scutari.
Elizabeth Fry had unlocked to her sex the cells of
Newgate. Florence Nightingale opened to them
our hospitals and our fever-wards; Mrs. Chishoku,
the holds of our emigrant ships ; Miss Carpenter our

LECTURE VIII. 219
reformatories. A Avoman has found for us the
"Missing Link." A woman has given us "Light
upon the Line." A woman has taught Christian
ladies "Ploughing and Sowing" in the Wolds of
Yorkshire. A woman has taught them " what Life
is, and what to do with it." Prisons, asylums,
penitentiaries, ragged schools, the garrets and
cellars of our great cities — all know now the soft
step, the gentle hand, the soothing voice of her, who
once ministered to our Lord Himself, and succoured
His Apostles, — and of whom it has been truly said,
that " if religion were everywhere else exploded, it
would retain its hold in the heart of woman." In
words written long ago by one who ante-dated much
of the charitable effort of the present day by both
precept and example, "Happy if she can shed a
ray of comfort on the bed of sickness, or relieve
an erring child of sin, or direct a wanderer to that
open door from which no suppliant is ever turned
away" (126).
One word, and I bring these Lectures to a close.
My subject has necessarily led me to speak chiefly of
the Church's active life. It indeed best became me
to handle topics with which I am myself familiar.
But am I, therefore, unmindful of the labours of
men of more sedentary lives and recondite pursuits
— of the services which students and scholars have
rendered to Biblical criticism and exegetical theo
logy, Ecclesiastical history and Christian science —
of the erudition which has established the text,

220 LECTURE VIII.
and explained the meaning of Scripture, exploded
error, supplied links to evidence, reconciled the
deductions of philosophy with the truths of inspi
ration, — and thus furnished weapons for others to
Avield, and bulwarks beneath which tempted souls
may find a shelter?
Am I unmindful of what the Church of England
owes to those who preside, and those who teach in
these ancient seats of learning — the men who
train the future scholars, and statesmen, and divines,
and gentry of this country, — whose lessons in the
pulpit or the lecture-room not only store the minds
and stir the hearts of youth in this and kindred insti
tutions, — but of Avhich the sound is gone out into all
lands : and their words unto the ends of the world ?"
Am I unmindful of the work done for God and
for His Church by men with no vows of ordi
nation upon them, — whose example and active
co-operation afford such help and stimulus to the
ministers of religion, — or whose writings are re
deeming the literature of our day, and strengthen
ing, and refreshing, and bettering the hearts and
souls of thousands ?
Every age, and every sphere of life has its proper
gift of God. Every one of us may do the Avork, and
advance the cause for which our blessed master gave
Himself -.—clergymen and laymen, male and female,
those of us whose sun is going down, and those on
Avhom a long course of usefulness is opening.
a Psalm xix. 4.

LECTURE VIII. 221
May the language of one and all be : " We offer
and present unto Thee, 0 Lord, ourselves, our
souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy and lively
sacrifice unto Thee." Then, whether our path be
through sunshine or through shade — whether we
share the prizes of this life, — or only lay the founda
tions on which others shaU build, and sow the har
vest, which others shaU reap, — our labour shall not
be in vain in the Lord. And when we all meet
again — as we shall never do, till the graves are
rent, and the books are opened, and the names are
rehearsed, and the crowns are distributed at the last,
— it will be seen — that no effort in Christ's cause
has been forgotten, nor has any labourer in His
vineyard missed his reward.

NOTES

225

NOTES. LECTURE I.
Note (1), page 3.
Since these Lectures were delivered, suitable replies to the
work more especially alluded to, have appeared from the pens
of writers of reputation and ability. It is to be hoped that the
antidote will circulate as widely, and be imbibed as eagerly
as the poison.
In confirmation of the opinion expressed by myself at
page 3, 1 transcribe with pleasure the following extract from
a distinguished and lamented writer : — " Read a work on the
1 Evidences of Christianity,' and it may become highly pro
bable that Christianity, &c. &c, are true. That is an opinion.
Feel God : do His will, till the absolute Imperative within
you speaks as with a living voice — Thou shalt, and thou
ehalt not ; and then you do not think, you know that there is
a God. That is a conviction and a belief. Have we never
seen how a child, simple, and near to God, cuts asunder a
web of sophistry with a single direct question ? How, before
its steady look and simple argument, some fashionable utterer
of a conventional falsehood has been abashed ? How a be
lieving Christian scatters the forces of scepticism, as a morning
ray, touching the mist on the mountain side, makes it vanish
into thin air ? And there are few more glorious moments of
our humanity than those in which faith does battle against
intellectual proof: when, for example, after reading a sceptical
book, or hearing a cold-blooded materialist's demonstration,
Q

226 NOTES.
in which God, the soul, and life to come, are proved impossible
— up rises the heart in all the giant might of its immortality
to do battle with the understanding, and with the simple
argument ' I feel them, in my best and highest moments, to
be true,' annihilates the sophistries of logic. — " Obedience
the Organ of Spiritual Knowledge." — A Sermon by the late
Rev. F. W. Robertson. Note (2), page 6.
The scandal here alluded to is urged with much force in
the address of a Ruri-decanal Board, which appeared some
months ago in a leading Church journal. It constitutes, in
fact, one of the greatest blots in our present police regulations.
In no foreign city are such scenes to be witnessed, as every
night disgrace the principal thoroughfares of London. To
whatever extent vice may prevail in other countries, it does
not there obtrude itself as with us.
Note (3), page 7.
The following testimony, borne by Bishop Selwyn, is ex
tracted from his sermons preached before the University of
Cambridge during his recent visit to this country : — " In the
course of a long journey in almost every part of England, I
seem to have observed in the great majority of the clergy a
desire to give up controversial bitterness, and to devote
themselves with earnestness to the great work that lies before
them. It has pleased God to awaken a zeal among us, which
our elder brethren in the ministry speak of with astonishment,
when they compare it with the indifference of former times.
A great and visible change has taken place in the thirteen
years since I left England. It is now a very rare thing to
see a careless clergyman, a neglected parish, or a desecrated
church. The multiplication of schools may well be made a
subj ect of special thanksgiving to Almighty God. The teaching
of our public schools and universities has risen to a far more
religious character. Even our cathedral system, the last to

LECTURE I. 227
feel the impulse of the spirit of the times, has put forth signs
of life, while many were predicting its extinction." — The
Work of Christ in the World, Sermon I. p. 7.
Note (4), page 9.
The Declarations of Charles II. for liberty of conscience,
were invariably opposed. The non-conformists were as
adverse, as the Church, to toleration : they declined accepting
it for themselves, when coupled with the condition that the
Roman Catholics should share in it. " Toleration," observes
the late Dr. Cardwell, " in any extensive application of it,
was a thing impossible. The presbyterians were as un
willing to accept it now at the hands of the conformists,
as they had resolutely withheld it from others, when they
themselves were in a condition to bestow it: and if the
Independents came forward in its support, they only created
a tempest of bitterness and scorn, by invoking the recollec
tion of that period of confusion, when their principles had
prevailed, the only period when it was ever known that
toleration had been carried into practice." — History of Con
ferences on the Book of Common Prayer, by E. Cardwell, D.D.,
p. 268. Note (5), page 10.
The state churchmanship alluded to is well described by
Mr. Maurice in the following passage: — " Such was the new
tone which the character and patronage of George IIL, and
the dread of French disorganization, rendered popular.
One cannot call it a very elevated tone. So long as the war
lasted, it was mixed with much that was generous and
patriotic in the upper classes of laymen ; the portion of the
clergy who shared in it became active magistrates, careful
of their domestic and relative duties, zealous in defence of
that which seemed to them old and English. With these
useful dispositions were connected a tendency to maintain
customs and practices, simply because they did exist, and
could allege some moderate prescription in their favour ; an
« 2

228 NOTES.
acquiescence in the maxims of society, even when they
eeemed to be at variance with the higher morality ; a great
impatience of enthusiasm and mysticism, and all that cannot
be at once brought under the rules of existing convention, or
obvious expediency ; a suspicion of any great efforts of
active virtue and self-sacrifice ; a feeling that the Church is
bound to sympathise with the aristocracy, and to overlook
its sins, for the sake of preserving good order among the
people ; a strong sense of the service which subjects owe to
their rulers, without any corresponding sense of the service
which rulers owe to their subjects ; an inclination to assert
the privileges of clergymen, chiefly by treating it as a rude
ness that any infidel notions should be broached in their
presence ; great anxiety for a State encouragement of reli
gion on the ground that otherwise it was not likely to thrive,
or to enlist fashion and opinion of the world on its side ; a
vehement dislike of dissenters, as disturbing the quietness
and regularity of society, and as introducing something of
vulgarity into religion ; a certain anger and restlessness at
the discovery of any new doubts respecting the English
Church or Christianity, which could not at once be removed
by an application of the arguments used on behalf of esta
blishments in Paley's Moral Philosophy, and of the Gospel in
his Evidences." — Maurice's Kingdom of Christ, vol.ii. p. 498.
Note (6), page 10.
The correspondence alluded to will be found in a work
entitled " Lights and Shadows of Church Life in Australia,
including Thoughts on some things at Home," by T. Binney.
London, 1860. Note (7), page 11.
That John Wesley had no intention to create a schism is
proved by words written by him in 1789, shortly before his
death. " I never " says he " had any design of separating
from the Church. I have no such design now. I do not
believe the Methodists in general design it, when I am no

LECTURE I. 229
more seen. I do, and will do, all that is in my power to
prevent such an event. I declare once more, that I live and
die, a member of the Church of England; and that none who
regard my judgment or advice will ever separate from it."
This passage bears date December 1789, and is signed, John
Wesley. A like protestation may be found in the Arminian
Magazine 1790. " Two young men sowed the word of God,
not only in the Churches, but literally by the highway-side.
They were members of the Church of England, and had no
design of separating from it, and they advised all that were
in it to continue therein, although they joined the Methodist
Society ; for this did not imply leaving their former congre
gation, but only leaving their sins. As long as the Metho
dists keep to this plan, they cannot separate from the Church,
and this is our peculiar glory. It is new upon the earth.
Revolve all the history of the Church'from the earliest ages,
and you will find that whenever there was a great work of
God in any particular city or nation, the subjects of that work
soon said to their neighbours, ' Stand by yourselves, for we
are holier than you.' But with the Methodists it is quite
otherwise; they are not a sect or party. They do not
separate from the religious community to which they at first
belonged. They are still members of the Church, such as
they desire to live and die. I believe one reason why God
is pleased to continue my life so long, is, to confirm them in
their present purpose not to separate from the Church." See
" the opinions of the Rev. John "Wesley with regard to con
tinuing in the Communion of the Church," Netherton, Truro.
These extracts are made from a speech delivered in the
Lower House of Convocation of the Province of Canter
bury on Saturday, March 2, 1861, and entitled Prayer for
Unity, by the Rev. F. C. Massingberd, M. A. ; and no one
who heard that speech will forget the spirit in which it was
delivered, or the impression which it produced. Mr. Mas
singberd quotes some words contained in a representation
drawn up by a considerable number of the members of
Convocation, and which show sufficiently the desire for unity
q 3

230 NOTES.
entertained by them. " In the earnest hope and trust that
all the deliberations of the Synod may tend, under God's
blessing, to the removal of mutual misunderstandings, and
thereby to the healing of differences and the promotion of
peace and charity, and may prepare the way for gathering to
the bosom of the Church those who are not now of her
communion, they proceed to submit to your Grace and your
Lordship, in detail, certain principal points, &c."
Note (8), page 16.
See the Life and Correspondence of Thomas Arnold, D.D.,
by Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, M.A., 3rd edit. p. 222. Dr. Ar
nold's view of the nature of the Church, which he describes
as " a society for the purpose of making men like Christ, —
earth like heaven, — the kingdoms of the world the kingdom
of Christ," is thus stated in a letter to his friend Dr. Hawkins,
Provost of Oriel, dated November, 1830. "In one sense, and
that a very important one, all Christians belong to one society ;
but then it is more like Cicero's sense of ' Societas,' than
what we mean by a society. There is a ' societas generis
humani,' and a ' societas hominum Christianorum ; ' but there
is not one { respublica,' or ' civitas ' of either, but a great
many." — Life of Dr. Arnold, 2nd edit. vol. i. p. 271.
Note (9), page 23.
This subject is treated with his usual truthfulness and
power by the Rev. F. W. Robertson in a volume of sermons
delivered by him at Trinity Chapel, Brighton. See second
series, containing amongst other able discourses, sermons with
the following titles — " Christ the Son ; " " Christ's estimate
of sin;" "The sanctification of Christ;" "The Good
Shepherd ; " " The restoration of the erring."
Note (10), page 27.
The effects of Baptism when rightly administered and re
ceived is thus described by Dr. Heurtley in his volume of

LECTURE I. 231
BamptonLectureg on Justification, delivered in 1 845. " From
that moment, he, who before was spoken of as a subject of
Satan's kingdom, as dead in trespasses and sins, as having no
part or lot in Christ, is regarded as regenerate, and grafted
into the body of Christ's Church, as washed from all his guilt
and sanctified by the indwelling of God's Spirit, who has
now vouchsafed to take up His abode in Him." The follow
ing passage from Bede, quoted by Jer. Taylor, " Works,"
vol. ii. p. 243, is given in a note in the same work : —
" The catechumen descends into the font a sinner, he arises
purified ; he goes down the son of death, he comes up the
son of the resurrection ; he enters in the son of folly and
prevarication, he returns the son of reconciliation ; he stoops
down the child of wrath, and ascends the heir of mercy ; he
was the child of the devil, and now he is the servant and the
son of God."

NOTES

LECTURE II.
Note (10), page 40.
See an article on " the Churches of the British Confession,"
in the October number of the Christian Remembrancer, 1861,
in which this subject is discussed with much learning and
perspicacity. Note (11), page 43.-
The Rev. E. Harold Browne, in his " Exposition of the
Thirty-nine Articles, Historical and Doctrinal," supplies
the authorities for these statements. See Article 23rd,
section 1st, p. 556, &c. &c.
Note (12), page 46.
" But, of the many beautiful histories in which Fox
abounds, none is more beautiful than that of Rowland Taylor,
Rector of Hadley. We will not enter," says Professor
Blunt, " into all the details of this thrice-told tale of sorrow ;
— his pastoral faithfulness — his successful teaching, so that
his parish was remarkable for its knowledge of the word of
God ; — his efforts to introduce to each other rich and poor,
by taking with him in his visits to the latter some of the
more wealthy cloth makers, that they might become ac
quainted with their neighbours' wants, and thus be made to
minister to their relief; — his bold defiance of the Roman

LECTURE II. 233
Catholic priest whom he found in possession of his church,
surrounded by armed men, and saying mass ; — his reply to
John Hull, the old servant who accompanied him to London
when he was summoned there before Gardiner, and who fain
would have persuaded him to fly; — his frank and fearless
carriage before his judges ; — his mirth at the ludicrous ap
prehensions he inspired into Bonner's chaplain, who cautioned
the bishop when performing the ceremony of degradation
not to strike him on the breast with his crosier staff, seeing
that he would sure strike again ; — his charge to his little
boy, when he supped with him in prison, before his removal
to Hadley, not to forsake his mother, when she waxed old,
but to see that she lacked nothing, for which God would
bless him, and give him long life on earth and prosperity ; —
his coming forth by night to set out upon his last journey ;
his wife, daughter, and an orphan foster-child, watching all
night in St. Botolph's church-porch, to catch a sight of him
as he passed ; — their cries when they heard his company ap
proach, it being very dark ; his touching farewell to them,
and his wife's promise to meet him again at Hadley; —
his taking his boy before him on the horse on which he rode,
John Hull lifting him up in his arms ; — his blessing the
child, and delivering him again to John Hull, saying,
' Farewell ! John Hull, the faithfulest servant that ever
man had ; ' the pleasantries, partaking, indeed, of the homely
simplicity of the times, with which he occasionally beguiled
the way ; — the joy he expressed on hearing that he was to
pass through Hadley, and see at once before he died the
flock whom, God knew, he had most heartily loved, and truly
taught ; — his encounter with the poor man, who waited for
him at the foot of the bridge with five small children, crying,
' God help and succour thee ! as thou hast many a time
succoured me and mine ; ' — his inquiry, when he came to the
last of the alms-houses, after the blind man and woman that
dwelt there ; and his throwing his glove through the window
for them, with what money in it he had left ; — his calling
one Soyce to him out of the crowd on Aldham Common, to

234 NOTES.
pull off his boots and take them for his labour, seeing that ' he
had long looked for them ; ' — these and other incidents of the
same story, combine so many touches of tenderness with so
much firmness of purpose, — so many domestic charities with so
much heroism, — such cheerfulness with such disaster, that if
there is any character calculated to call forth all the sym
pathies of our nature, it is that of Rowland Taylor. God's
blessing is still generally seen on the third and fourth gene
ration of them that love Him ; and if Rowland could have
beheld the illustrious descendant which Providence was pre
paring for him in Jeremy Taylor, the antagonist of the
Church of Rome, able after his own heart's content, — the
first and best advocate of toleration, the greatest promoter of
practical piety that has ever, perhaps, lived amongst us, —
he might humbly have imagined that God had not forgotten
this His gracious dispensation in his own case ; and had
approved his martyrdom, by raising from his ashes a spirit
more than worthy of his name." — Blunt on " The Refor
mation," 20th edition, p. 274.
Note (13), page 47.
See Jer. Taylor, "Dissuasive from Popery," part II.
lib. ii. c. 47, lib. iii. 2, 1; Tertull. adv. Hermogenem;
Origen, Homil. v., in Levit.; Athan. ex Festali Epistola,
xxxix., Tom. ii. p. 39, Edit. Colon. ; Basil, Horn. xxix.
adv. Calumniantes S. Trin. ; Ambros. Offic. lib. i. c. 23 ;
August. De Doctrina Christ, lib. ii. c. 9.

Note (14), page 48.
We are indebted to Queen Elizabeth herself for the
authority thus assigned to the Church in Article XX.
Note (15), page 50.
See " England and Rome," or " A Discussion on the

LECTURE II. 235
principal Doctrines and Passages of History in common
debate between the Members of the two Communions," by
W. E. Scudamore, M.A. Rector of Ditchingham, Letter 1.
sect. 4 ; also Harold Browne's "Exposition of the Thirty-nine
Articles," Art. vi. p. 178.
Note (16), page 50.
" In the interpretation of the Articles, our best guides
must be, first, their own natural, literal, grammatical meaning;
next to this, a knowledge of the controversies which had
prevailed in the Church and made such Articles necessary ;
then, the other authorised formularies of the Church ; after
them, writings and known opinions of such men as Cranmer,
Ridley, and Parker, who drew them up ; then the doctrines
of the primitive Church, which they profess to follow ; and
lastly, the general sentiments of the distinguished English
divines, who have been content to subscribe the Articles, and
have professed their agreement with them for now 300 years.
These are our best guides for their interpretation. Their
authority is derivable from Scripture alone." — Introduction
to Harold Browne's " Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles,"
p. 10. Note (17), page 53.
The remarks of the Rev. F. D. Maurice on this subject in
his important work entitled " The Kingdom of Christ," and
elsewhere in his writings, demand the gravest attention of
Churchmen, especially of the clergy.
Our Church, as is well known, requires of its lay members
no confession of their faith, except that contained in the
Apostles' Creed. Note (18), page 54.
"Church Life in Australia," &c. &c, by T. Binney,
Preliminary chapter—" The two Pictures," p. 27.

236 NOTES.
Note (19), page 55.
I quote with pleasure the following passage from the late
S. T. Coleridge on " The Constitution of the Church and
State :" — " Amongst the numerous blessings of the English
Constitution, the introduction of an Established Church
makes an especial claim on the gratitude of scholars and
philosophers ; in England, at least, where the principles of
Protestantism have conspired with the freedom of the
government to double all its salutary powers by the removal
of its abuses. That the maxims of a pure morality, and the
sublime truths of the divine unity and attributes, which a
Plato found hard to learn and more difficult to reveal, —
should have become the almost hereditary property of
childhood and poverty, of the hovel and the workshop ; that
even to the unlettered, they sound as common-place ; — this
is a phenomenon which must withhold all but minds of the
most vulgar cast from undervaluing the services even of the
pulpit and the reading desk. Yet he who should confine
the efficiency of an Established Church to these, can hardly
be placed in a much higher rank of intellect. That to
every parish throughout the kingdom there is transplanted a
germ of civilization ; that in the remotest villages there is a
nucleus round which the capabilities of the place may
crystallise and brighten ; this unobtrusive, continuous agency
of a Protestant Church Establishment, — this it is, which the
patriot, and the philanthropist, who would fain unite the
love of peace with the faith and progressive amelioration of
mankind, cannot estimate at too high a price — 'it cannot
be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or
the sapphire. No mention shall be made of coral or of
pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.' — The
clergyman is with his parishioners and among them ; he is
neither in the cloistered cell, nor in the wilderness, but a
neighbour and family man, whose education and rank admit
him to the mansion of the rich landowner, while his duties
make him the frequent visitor of the farmhouse and the

LECTURE II. 237
cottage. He is, or he may become, connected with the
families of his parish or its vicinity by marriage. And among
the instances of the blindness, or at best of the short-sighted
ness, which it is the nature of cupidity to inflict, I know
few more striking than clamours against church property."
—Pp.79, 80. Note (20), page 60.
The view on this subject maintained by a great living
statesman is thus given in the report of a speech delivered
by the Right Honourable B. Disraeli at the annual meeting of
Oxford Diocesan Societies in 1861. "I should grieve," he says,
" to see this great Church of England, the centre of light, and
learning, and liberty, sink into a position, relative to the
nation, similar to that now filled by the Episcopal Church
of Scotland, or possibly even subside into a fastidious, not
to say finical, congregation. I hold that the connection
between Church and State is one which is to be upheld and
vindicated on principles entirely in unison with the spirit of
the age, with the circumstances with which we have to deal,
and with the soundest principles of political philosophy.
The most powerful principle which governs man is the
religious principle. It is eternal and indestructible, for it
takes its origin in the nature of human intelligence, which
will never be content till it penetrates the origin of things
and ascertain its relations to the Creator — a knowledge to
which all who are here present well know that, unaided
and alone, the human intelligence can never attain. A
wise Government, then, would seek to include such an
element in its means of influencing man ; otherwise it would
leave in society a principle stronger than itself, which in due
season may assert its supremacy, and even, perhaps, in a
destructive manner. A wise Government, allying itself
with religion, would as it were, consecrate society and
sanctify the State.
" But how is this to be done ? It is the problem of modern
politics which has always most embarrassed statesmen. No

238 NOTES.
solution of the difficulty can be found in salaried priesthoods
and in complicated concordats. But by the side of the
State of England there has gradually arisen a majestic
corporation — wealthy, powerful, independent — with the
sanctity of a long tradition, yet sympathising with authority,
and full of conciliation, even deference, to the civil power.
Broadly and deeply planted in the land, mixed up with
all our manners and customs, one of the main guarantees of
our local government, and therefore one of the prime secu
rities of our common liberties, the Church of England is
part of our history, part of our life, part of England itself.
" It is said sometimes that the Church of England is
hostile to religious liberty. As well might it be said that
the monarchy of England is adverse to political freedom.
Both are institutions which insure liberty by securing order.
It is said sometimes that the Church in this country has
proved unequal to its mission, and has failed to secure the
spiritual culture of the population. It is perfectly true
that within the last fifty years there has been a vast and
irregular increase of our population, with which the ma
chinery of the Church has been inadequate to cope. But
the machinery of the Church in that respect was incomplete
only ; it was not obsolete. It is said that the Church has
lost the great towns ; unhappily, the Church has never found
the great towns. They are her future, and it will be in the
great towns that the greatest triumphs of the Church will be
achieved, for the greater the population and the higher the
education of the people, the more they will require a refined
worship, a learned theology, an independent priesthood, and
a sanctuary hallowed by the associations of historic ages.
" Here, then, is a common ground on which, dismissing all
unsubstantial and illusory feelings of perplexity, distrust, and
discontent, all sections and parties of Churchmen may unite
and act together in maintaining the religious settlement of
this realm."

239

NOTES

LECTURE III.
Note (21), page 67.
So stated in the Report of the Registrar General to the
Viscount Palmerston, then her Majesty's Secretary of State
for the Home Department, intitled " Census of Great
Britain, 1851 ; Religious Worship, England and Wales."
Objections have been made to the manner in which this
conclusion was arrived at, vide " Prayer for Unity," a speech
delivered by Rev. F. C. Massingberd. But the habitual
neglect of worship by multitudes in this country cannot be
disputed. In the Rev. Dr. Hume's evidence before the
Lords' Committee on Church Rates, p. 134, he says, " In
Southwark there are 68 per cent, who attend no place of
worship ; in Sheffield there are 62 ; in Oldham 61^ ; in Lam
beth 60|; in Gateshead 60; in Preston 59; in Brighton 54;
Tower Hamlets 53^, Finsbury 53, Salford 52, South Shields
52; Manchester 51£ ; Bolton 51^; Stoke 51 J; Westminster
50 ; Coventry 50. I have taken 34 of the great towns of Eng
land, embracing a population of 3,993,467 ; — and 2,197,388,
or 52^ per cent, of the population of those towns attend no
place of worship whatever. The population is growing very
rapidly in our large towns, and religion ought to grow with
at least equal rapidity, but it is not doing so. In 1851
we had 9,000,000 in towns of 10,000 people and upwards,
and only 8,000,000 in smaller towns, in villages, and in
rural districts ; and at the close of the present century, I

240 NOTES.
believe that 70 per cent, of the gross population will be
seated in large towns. Therefore, if our large towns are
left to themselves practical heathenism must inevitably soon
outgrow Christianity." — Report. P. 134.
Note (22), page 67.
The united Committee for providing special religious
services for the working classes, especially in the Eastern
and Southern parts of the metropolis, give as one of these
reasons for opening theatres for the purpose, " the deplorable
spiritual condition of the working classes in London, as
shewn by the estimate that only about two in every hundred
of the working men are found to attend any place of
worship." — Circular dated Sept. 17, 1859, and signed by Lord
Shaftesbury and others.
Again in a sermon preached before the University of Oxford
on the feast of Epiphany 1860, by the Rev. R. Gregory, M. A.
one of the Incumbents of Lambeth, entitled " What is the
Spiritual Condition of our Metropolis?" we read as follows:
" What is the spiritual state of the inhabitants of our poor Lon
don parishes ? They are in a state of practical heathenism ;
religious observances of every kind are neglected ; the form
and the spirit have alike fled, there is little avowed unbelief,
but nearly universal indifference ; it is no question of Church
or Dissent, or of religious opinions by which we are assailed
(though differences have helped to produce the result over
which we mourn), but whether there shall be any religion or
none ! An immense majority of the people — certainly not
less than four out of every five — never enter any place of wor
ship from year's end to year's end ; and very few indeed of
those who neglect worship, I have reason to know, ever kneel
down to say a prayer, or, so far as we can judge, have any real
sense of awe of a higher Power. They live like the brutes, a
mere animal life ; their thoughts are bounded by what has re
lation to this world ; they rarely commit great crimes ; they
make no profession of unbelief: but the only creed in which
they really believe, and by which they act, is, ' Let us eat

LECTURE III. 241
and drink, for tomorrow we die.' ' The poorer the place, the
fewer the people who enter any place of worship.' "

Note (23), page 68.
I quote the following from an able article on " Spiritual
Destitution " in the Quarterly Review of April 1861 : — " It
is a fact well known to the police, and not to the police
only, but to every man who has had an opportunity of
observing the state into which the masses are falling, that
there never was a time when the temper of the lower orders
in this country was less satisfactory than it is now. There
are whole streets within easy walk of Charing Cross — there
are miles and miles of lanes and alleys on either side of the
river below London Bridge — where the people live literally
without God in the world ; where there seems to be no know
ledge of the difference between moral right and moral wrong ;
no belief whatever in a future state, or of man's responsibility
to any other authority than that of the law, if it can catch
him. We could name entire quarters in which it seems to be
a custom that men and women should live in promiscuous
concubinage — where the most frightful debauchery goes on
night and day in the lowest public houses — where the very
shopkeepers make a profession of atheism, and encourage
their poor customers to do the same. Nor are other, and, to
the mere politician, more alarming signs of the times want
ing. Socialism, in one form or another, is making prodigious
progress among our work people generally. It has its
teachers, who know exactly how to adapt their language to
the feelings and capacities of those to whom they are sent ;
and they are indefatigable in their endeavours to make
converts. To the rude, the old doctrine of indiscriminate
confiscation is preached ; to the more thoughtful, a different
view of the case is presented. In private rooms, in the
dwellings of journeymen and mechanics, small social meet
ings take place, which attract no attention from without, but
within which dangerous and enticing themes are continually
R

242 NOTES.
broached and enlarged upon. ... Of this we are quite sure,
that no merely fiscal arrangements, however excellent in
themselves, will touch the root of an evil so insidious and
so full of peril to society. They may suffice to keep the
surface of things smooth till times of trouble come ; but woe
to the nation which in time of trouble has nofrbeen taught
to look higher than to the decrees of earthly sovereigns or
the enactments of earthly legislatures."

Note (24), page 69.
Numerous instances confirmatory of the above remark
will at once occur to the reader's mind: — and these unhap
pily not confined to the trading and commercial classes, but
compromising persons whose position in society used to be
regarded as a guarantee for honour and integrity. Never
perhaps has the auri sacra fames more predominated than in
the present generation ; while the dishonest speculations and
disgraceful bankruptcies which have tarnished so many
hitherto unblemished reputations, and spread ruin far and
wide, are a terrible confirmation of the Scripture, "The
love of money is the root of all evil."

Note (25), page 69.
" Now I think it is undeniable that the signs of an
awakened feeling to the importance of religion, and to its
paramount claims to attention, prevail extensively among all
ranks of our fellow countrymen, and especially among the
intelligent orders of society in the middle and higher classes.
Many unchristian usages have gone into desuetude ; many
habits, at which our forefathers would not have blushed, have
been laid aside ; decencies are more respected, inconsistencies
are less tolerated ; many are less ashamed to declare them
selves on the Lord's side and to confess Christ openly."  A
Charge delivered to the candidates for Holy Orders at an

LECTURE III. 243
ordination at Farnham Castle on December 17th, 1859, by
Charles Richard Bishop of Winchester.
Note (26), page 70.
See " Liturgical Purity our rightful Inheritance," by John
C. Fisher, M.A. of the Middle Temple, p. 496; a work of
much research and ability, and of equal candour, — and of
which it is justly observed by one who, it may be presumed,
in the main agrees with its writer, that, "when a man has
made himself master of it, he will probably find out what

Note (27), page 70.
In the work quoted above, p. 437, the words are, " a recog
nised and established institution." See also, " The Liturgy
and Dissenters," by the Rev. Isaac Taylor, written in a fair
and earnest spirit. Mr. Taylor, however, takes his statistics
from the attendance at public worship on the Census Sunday,
March 30, 1851, which is generally, admitted to have
afforded a very fallacious test.
" It cannot," observes the Archdeacon of London in his
recent Charge, 1861, — "it cannot be too much known and
considered, that if all the non-conformist worshippers, in
cluding Roman Catholics and Jews, but excluding Methodists,
were united together, they would be but a small portion of
the people, not more than one-fifth the population of Eng
land and Wales. I found this statement on the calculations
made by Dr. Hume of Liverpool, which were grounded
upon the data furnished by the official Report upon the
Census of 1851, and laid before the House of Lords' Com
mittee in the last year. I have very recently made inquiry
of him, whether he has had any reason to doubt the accuracy
of his calculations, and find that, having been in controversy
with various opponents, he has maintained his ground."
Mr. Taylor expresses a hope that the religious census of
1861 would give a domiciliary, as well as a congregational
R 2

244 NOTES.
return ; — but this was objected to by the dissent
ing bodies in this country. "The Dissenters," says Mr.
Taylor (p. 6.), "are already dangerously numerous and
powerful. They are conscious of their strength, and are
prepared to use it." Note (28), page 71.
In " The Nonconformist's Text-book," by Mr. Miall, from
which the following passages are extracts, we have an index
to the animus of political Dissent. " The Clergy are men who
of necessity, are inimical to all reform, abettors of every
abuse ; united, organised, and therefore formidable opponents
of every progressive improvement." (p. 72.) " They have been
invariably the deadliest foes of liberty civil and religious."
(p. 74). " The education of the people owes nothing to them.
The point-blank unscriptural, or rather anti-scriptural,
character of this national Church is no less a marked charac
teristic of it, than its pitiful vacancy of all significance. As
nothing more stupidly unmeaning can be conceived, so nothing
more flatly contradictory of Christianity can be devised.
One is amazed at the blindness of men who could ever have
mistaken this thing for a Christian Church." (p. 246.)
But for a full exposition of the dangers with which our
Church is threatened, and of the plans for its overthrow
which have been deliberately formed, and are openly avowed,
the reader is referred to an address delivered to the clergy
of the archdeaconry of London, at the annual visitation,
May 23, 1861, by W. H. Hale, M.A. Archdeacon of
London. It is entitled " Designs and Constitution of the'
Society for the Liberation of Religion from State Patronage
and Control."
In this able and vigorous address, written under the
deepest sense of dangers, political and religious, with which
the State, as well as the Church, appears to be threatened,
the Archdeacon states, " that he has tried to express his
opinion in terms, as free from offence as they can possibly be,

LECTURE III. 245
when truths are to be spoken and facts mentioned in opposi
tion to other men's sentiments or interests."
As indicative of the sentiments thus alluded to, take a
passage quoted by the Archdeacon from the Report of the
Conference of the Liberation Society. " After all, the
Church of England is a political structure, an ecclesiastical
corporation based upon Acts of Parliament ; and it will be
through the medium of the legislature that it will be over
thrown. The benumbing, deluding, destructive influence it
exerts on society, in its arrogant pretensions as the repre
sentative of the Christian religion, may be more or less
counteracted by the exertions and influence of voluntary
Christian societies. But for these, the Establishment would
long before this have been developed in all its terrible pro
portions, and indeed, the whole nation would at this hour
have been prostrate at the feet of a ruthless and besotted
superstition, as in the case of the kingdoms of western
Europe, and in the powers cursed by the domination of the
Greek Church." Note (29), page 76.
See " Report from the Select Committee of the House of
Lords appointed to inquire into the deficiency of means of
spiritual instruction and places of divine worship in the
metropolis, and other populous districts of England and
Wales, &c. &c. July 1858." — " Before quitting the metropolis
generally, it is right to state, that according to a return of
the Bishop of London's secretary, the churches in that
diocese having a population of more than 5000, are 163,
being one Church, on the average, for 11,000 of the whole
population, 1,768,656; the number of clergymen is 373, one,
on the average, to 4800. Bearing in mind that 2,000 are
as many as can be tolerably well visited by a single clergy
man, it appears that the number ought to be at least 900 ;
that there is, therefore, a want of not fewer than 527 more
parochial clergymen in that portion of the metropolis which
is within the diocese of London. But adding to it those
k 3

246 NOTES.
portions which are in the counties of Surrey and Kent, the
deficiency can hardly be estimated at less than 600."
(p. vii.) Note (30), page 77.
Since the spiritual destitution existing at Bradford was
brought prominently before the notice of the public, in the
evidence given before the Committee of the House of Lords,
noble and truly Christian efforts have been made to redress
the frightful state of things then existing. From information
kindly supplied by the esteemed Vicar of Bradford, the Rev.
Dr. Burnett, it appears that a society has been formed for
the erection and endowment of ten new churches, of which
three have been already consecrated, a fourth is almost ready
for consecration, and the fifth and sixth have been begun.
One of these churches is erected at the sole expense of
Francis Sharp Powell, Esq., of Horton Hall, at a cost of
10,0007. Note (31), page 80.
See the luminous and important evidence of Dr. Hume, of
Liverpool, as given before a Select Committee of the House
of Lords, appointed to inquire into the question of Church
rates, in 1860. Note (32), page 82.
See a sermon preached at the annual meeting of the
Church Extension Society for the archdeaconry of Coventry,
by Walter Farquhar Hook, D.D., then Vicar of Leeds, 1857,
from which the following is an extract.
" It is a misfortune, but a fact, that the best educated of our
clergy are not to be found where they are most required ; and
consequently while the upper classes in our rural districts are
almost universally churchmen, we find in our towns the influ
ential opponents of the Gospel, those who deny the funda-

LECTURE III. 247
mental truths which relate to the divinity, the incarnation, and
the atonement of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
the scheme of salvation and the doctrines of grace. The cause
of the evil is obvious. From a variety of circumstances, —
our town livings, with few exceptions, are the worst endowed
livings in the Church. The more highly educated of our
clergy, therefore, remain at the universities until they retire
to country parishes, where their work might be as effectually
done by men of inferior mental ability and power. And
this being the evil complained of, instead of applying a
remedy, we are actually increasing it by the formation of
our Peel districts. By the formation of Peel districts we
are creating an additional number of pauper benefices, and
by so doing we are retarding the extension of the Church
among the upper, the middle, and the more influential
classes of society. We are sending forth into our towns a
class of clergy not sufficiently educated to meet the exigen
cies of the times.
" What the real remedy should be, this is not the place to
determine : but in addressing a Society for Church Extension,
it may be permitted even here to remark that the evil would
he met, if every Peel district were regarded as a missionary
station and a temporary appointment."
See also a letter from W. F. Hook, D.D., to the Right
Rev. the Lord Bishop of Ripon, printed in the appendix to
"Minutes of Evidence given before the Select Committee of
the House of Lords," already referred to (p. 592), on which
it is observed in the Report, " This leads to the consideration
of the great importance of providing generally, so far as may
be practicable, for the better endowment of livings in large
towns, in order that there may be a greater inducement to
clergymen of ability and experience to accept the charge of
populations so circumstanced." Note (33), page 84.
I refer particularly to the disgraceful scenes recently en
acted at St. George's in the East, London, about which there
R 4

248 NOTES.
can be but one opinion entertained by unprejudiced and
Christian men. It was well observed by a venerable and
distinguished member of the House of Lords, Lord Brougham,
when the subject was referred to in Parliament, " That
however persons might differ about the questions in dispute,
such outrages should have been at once put down by the
strong hand of the law."Note (34), page 84.
See a sermon entitled " the Church's duties and the
Church's opportunities," preached in the nave of Wells
Cathedral on Thursday, October 4, 1860, at the annual
meeting of the Diocesan Societies, by Charles John Vaughan,
D.D., vicar of Doncaster, &c.

249

NOTES

LECTURE IV.
Note (35), page 86.
It is impossible rightly to estimate in our own day the
service rendered to the cause of Christianity in this country by
the "Inquiry into the deficiency of means of spiritual instruc
tion and places of divine worship," called for by the Bishop of
Exeter, and the valuable Report in which it resulted. To
the indomitable perseverance and profound sagacity exhibited
by the venerable Prelate who acted as chairman of the
committee by which the inquiry was conducted, our present
meed of admiration may indeed be rendered. But the
value of such an effort in the cause of God can be fully
appreciated only by those who in future generations shall
reap the fruits thereof. Note (36), page 90.
Evidence of the Rev. John E. Kemp, Rector of St.
James's, London, as given in Minutes of Evidence taken
before Select Committee, p. 258, a. 393.
Note (37), page 90.
See Evidence of the Rev. W. Ackworth: Minutes, 104 —
113. This case is especially alluded to in the Report, p.
xv., and is commented upon with great force by the Rev.
Edward Hawkins D.D., Provost of Oriel College, in a

250 NOTES.
striking and exhaustive sermon on the subject of " Spiritual
Destitution at Home," preached before the University of
Oxford, on Sexagesima Sunday, 1860. See note p. 31, from
which I venture to extract the following passage. " Unhap
pily, even the Government, when it is itself a proprietor
and an employer, sometimes sets a most unworthy example.
I find, indeed, instances to the contrary at p. 230, where the
Government proposed, and the House of Commons voted,
10,0007. to the London Diocesan Building Society, on the part
of the Woods and Forests, as they are very large landed pro
prietors in London; and in p. 112 we have an account of
a grant of 80007. for the erection of a Church in Woolwich
Dockyard. But consider such a case as that of Plumstead,
* which contains the Woolwich Arsenal,' where about 12,000
souls have been added by the Government Works in eight
years to an old parish with a church holding 350, and that
a mile and a half distant from the bulk of the population.
One incumbent, endeavouring to meet the urgent demand
for a new church, offered 15007. himself, and raised 2507. in
the parish ; but this being all he could effect, he returned
the money and retired from the parish. To his successor
the Government promised a grant of 1007., when he himself
offered 10007. and the sacrifice of two years' income. It
also granted 10007. for the erection of schools; and these
being opened for divine worship on Sundays afforded some,
but very inadequate, relief. Application was therefore made
to the Government, ' the claims of the parish having been
strongly urged, both at the War Office and in Parliament,'
and a grant of 15007. was made on condition that the vicar
also raised 15007., which he only effected by contributing
himself a third of the amount ; and when a further sum of
5007. was found absolutely requisite for the work, he sought
in vain to obtain it from the Government which had ' created
the population,' and whose officers had represented that,
'to do what was recommended, not to say anything of
moral considerations, would be a matter of extreme
economy.' Doubtless it would have been so ; but there

LECTURE IV. 251
were higher considerations which should have prevailed.
The case may well be described ' as scandalous to a
Christian nation ; ' whilst the people ' came and laboured
like beasts of burden, no man caring for their souls ; and so
died, not knowing whither they went.' — Report, pp. xv. xvi.,
Evidence, pp. 104 — 113. Such was the history of this
sad case in 1858. In 1860 it runs thus : — ' By continuous
importunity the additional grant of 5007. has been obtained.
The Church has been built ; it is not yet paid for, though
the incumbent has drawn very largely upon his private
means ; and he is solely responsible for the debt. Even now,
in consequence of the larger extension of the Government
Works, he fears that his parishioners have less accommoda
tion for public worship than when he first appealed to the
War Office ; yet he cannot command the time and labour
which would be consumed by a second appeal.' — What
right have we, under such circumstances, to expect a
blessing upon our public works ? "
Note (38), page 91.
So stated in a Pastoral Letter addressed by the present
Bishop of London to the laity of his diocese in 1860. See.
leading article in Times newspaper, April 16th, 1860.
Note (39), page 93.
" Teeming populations often now surround half-empty
churches." " The grand requirement of the case is a multi
plication of the various agents, by whose zeal religion is dis
seminated, not chiefly an additional provision of religious
edifices." — Census Report, p. 161.
Note (40), page 98.
The following are the regulations respecting grants out of the
Common Fund issued by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for
England, May 1861. "The Ecclesiastical Commissioners for
England are prepared to receive applications for grants, out of
the Common Fund under their control, towards making better

252 NOTES.
provision for the cure of souls. These grants will be made
only on condition that they be met by benefactions from
other sources. A benefaction from trustees, or from any
diocesan or other society or body of contributors, as well as
from any individual, whether such benefaction consist of
money, land, house, site for a house, tithe, or rent charge,
any or all, may be met by a grant from the Commissioners ;
but neither a grant from Queen Anne's Bounty, nor a
charge upon the revenues of any ecclesiastical corporation,
aggregate or sole, ' except as undermentioned? nor any endow
ment, bequest, gift, or benefaction already secured to a
benefice or church, can be met by a grant from the Com
missioners. The grant will not in any case exceed the
amount of the benefaction, and as a general rule it will not
exceed 10007. Grants will be made to existing benefices.
Districts proposed, but not actually assigned by Order in
Council, will not be eligible to receive grants except in cases
where the amount of benefaction offered would, with the
Commisioners' grant, be sufficient to provide 1507. per annum.
In selecting cases, priority will be given to those which,
having regard to income, either taken by itself, or combined
with population and area, or either of them, shall appear to
be the most necessitous. A benefice held contrary to the
provisions of the Plurality Act as applicable to new incum
bents will not be considered eligible for a grant, except in
the case where the object is the immediate provision of a
parsonage house. A benefice which has received a grant is
not disqualified, on the offer of a further benefaction, from
receiving a further grant in any subsequent year. The
grant and benefaction may at any time, with the consent
of the Commissioners and the Bishop of the Diocese, be
laid out in the purchase of land, or tithe rent charge within
the parish or district, or in the purchase or erection of a
parsonage house. Applications must reach the Commis
sioners' office before the 1st of December in each year
in order to obtain a grant in the following spring; and
in the event of a grant being made to a benefice, the be-

LECTURE IV. 253
nefaction, if in money, must be paid to the Commissioners
on or before the 1st of June, or the grant will be rescinded.
The Commissioners reserve to themselves the power of alter
ing these regulations from year to year as they may deem
expedient. All communications to be addressed to the
Secretary, Ecclesiastical Commission, 11, Whitehall Place,
London, S.W." Note (41), page 98.
The principle on which the Salop in Lichfield Poor Bene
fice Fund is conducted is thus stated in an appeal published
in 1860.
" Our Diocesan Church Extension Society, so long as funds
shall be supplied to it, will meet 4007. raised in augmenta
tion of an endowment below 2007. a year, with 2007.
"In 1860 the Ecclesiastical Commissioners met 1007.
raised for Albrighton next Shrewsbury, with 1007. 5007.
for Grinshill with 5007. 6007. for Preston Gobalds with
6007. 9007. for Bayston Hill with 9007. 15007. for Ash
with 10007. (maximum grant).
" In the Archdeaconry of Salop there are fifty-three bene
fices below 2007. per annum.
" It is proposed to raise 8007. per annum, for aiding four of
these benefices each year with 2007., to be met with 2007.
from local resources. The resulting 4007., when increased
to 6007. by our Diocesan Church Extension Society, to be
offered to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners for a grant, thus
securing probably 10007. or 12007. for investment for the
permanent increase of the endowment of such poor benefices."
Note (42), page 100.
In an age so distinguished for Christian liberality it may
seem invidious to select names for notice ; but those of Miss
Burdett Coutts, and the Misses Monck, — of Archdeacon
Bentinck, of the late William Egerton, Esq. of Tatton Park,
of the Messrs. Whitehead at Rochdale, of Mr. Arkroyd,

254 NOTES.
of Baroness Windsor, Mr. Hubbard, Lord Derby, and the
Duke of Northumberland will occur to every mind. The last
mentioned nobleman, who is lay rector of the parish of
Tynemouth, having offered to give a sum of 15,0007. pro
vided the Ecclesiastical Commissioners would contribute a
like sum, towards the establishment of district churches in
that parish— which proposal, owing to circumstances, the
Commissioners did not think themselves able to accept — has
now contributed the munificent sum of 30,0007. for the pur
poses of endowment only ; and it is expected that the Com
missioners will build the new churches and parsonage houses.
The whole expense of carrying out this important scheme
will be further defrayed by the noble duke.
There are of course numerous other instances of similar,
if not equal, liberality, of which the amount will never be
known, but of which an account is kept before God.
Note (43), page 102.
See "The Offertory, the most excellent way of contri
buting money for Christian purposes," by J. H. Markland,
D.C.L. ; " The Use of the Offertory," by the Rev. Richard
Seymour, M. A. ; also " The Offertory," in a volume entitled
" Parochialia," p. 311. " Such an act of general oblation,"
observes Bishop Blomfield in his Pastoral Letter, 1843, " is
calculated to remind every separate congregation, and every
individual worshipper, that they are all members of one spiri
tual body, of which Jesus Christ is the Head." " The practice
of giving will create habits of bounty," observes Archbishop
Howley. Our bishops, it is believed, are now unanimous in
favour of such a method of collecting alms.
The Bishop of Lincoln, in his last Charge, 1861, urged it
" as a wholesome, a liturgical, and a scriptural method of alms
giving, in which rich and poor are encouraged to unite in
the fulfilment of a plain duty." He further suggests that
" in all cases where the Holy Communion is administered, the
alms of the whole congregation might be collected, as there
seems no reason why those who deny themselves the privi- .

LECTURE IV. 255
lege of communicating, should be deprived also of that of
giving alms."
In a former parish of my own in which this practice was
observed, the alms thus collected increased from 207. a year
to an annual amount of 1567.
Note (44), page 103.
The following extract is given from a tract on " Church
Extension," by an able and exemplary incumbent of my
Archdeaconry. " If the real ' tenths ' of the Ecclesiastical
nett incomes were now paid, and ' first-fruits ' left out
entirely, the actual product would be not less than 300,0007.,
per annum. In lieu of this, a new and fair assessment of
the nett income, and a rate graduating upwards upon all
livings above 2007. yearly, beginning with sixpence in the
pound, would, without hurting any one, raise a nett
yearly sum of 120,0007. and provide for the endowment of
70 or 80 churches yearly, at 15007. average each. What
but such an honest and Christian, and, let it be added,
really conservative effort as this, is required to call forth the
hearty co-operation of the laity of every rank from the
peer to the labourer ? It would be a glorious day for the
Church of England, and for the cause of Christianity itself,
when some such measure should be cheerfully embraced by
the patrons and beneficed clergy of the Established Church.
It would open a door of hope to crowded and increasing
places, and would make many a heart to leap for joy."
Note (45), page 106.
"Your episcopate remains at this moment, in point of
numbers, exactly where it was at the time of the Reforma
tion, — notwithstanding your clergy have immensely increased;
notwithstanding your population is actually quadrupled ; and
notwithstanding the duties discharged by the bishops, both
in Parliament and in their dioceses, have been doubled and
trebled in amount." (Speech of the Right Honourable the

256 NOTES.
Secretary of State for the Home Department, as reported in
the Times newspaper of June 10, 1852.)
" The people of America have seen their episcopate in
creased from one bishop to thirty-two in less than eighty years ;
but the people of England have had no agumentation of their
episcopate, except by the addition of a single bishop, for the
last three centuries. Why should England be precluded from
that benefit which America so freely enjoys? " — Letter to
Viscount Dungannon, entitled, "Proposed Subdivision of
Dioceses," by Chr. Wordsworth, D.D., Canon of West
minster. Note (46), page 107.
His Lordship adds in this communication, dated Riseholme,
January 10, 1854 — "The remedy, as to this diocese, is
obvious ; to erect Nottinghamshire into a separate diocese,
with its see at Southwell. To this should probably be added
the Isle of Axholme. I have no means of judging whether
the endowment of such a see could be provided by the im
proved management of the estates of the Chapters of Lincoln
and Southwell ; but, if not, I have little doubt that it could out
of the episcopal estates of Lincoln. Nor is it unreasonable to
believe, judging from the analogy of the Colonial bishoprics,
— only too closely applicable to the manufacturing districts of
Nottinghamshire, — that as much, at least, would be effected
for church extension by the presence and concentrated
influence of a Bishop, as could be done if the sum appropri
ated to the endowment of the see were expended in the
endowment and augumentation of livings. These remarks
will apply, mutatis mutandis, to several other dioceses in
England." Note (47), page 108.
See the letter already referred to " On the proposed
Subdivision of Dioceses," by Dr. Wordsworth.
Note (48), page 109.
The objection of the Nonconformists was to Prelacy, not

LECTURE IV. 257
to Episcopacy. They state, at the Savoy Conference, " that
they have no objection to a balanced episcopacy, but com
plain, 1. of the extent of dioceses, which rendered a personal
superintendence impossible: 2. of Bishops deputing their
authority to officials who were sometimes laymen: 3. of
their occasionally assuming the sole power of ordination, and
exercising arbitrary power in articles of visitation." In his
Declaration the King professes that " he will endeavour to
appoint good Bishops who shall be preachers, and that
where the dioceses are large, they shall be assisted by
suffragans." Vide " A Sketch of the History of the Church of
England, to the Revolution in 1688," by the present Bishop
of St. Asaph. Pp. 485, 486.

Note (49), page 109.
See the first Report of the Cathedral Commissioners,
p. xvi. ; also third and final report of the Cathedral Com
missioners, p. xxv. 1855.
Recommendation of the Cathedral Commissioners. Third
Report, p. xxvi. : —
" 1. We recommend, that a permissive Bill should be
framed and introduced into Parliament (similar to the Act
31 Henry VIII. c. 9), empowering your Majesty, and your
Majesty's successors, to divide any diocese, under certain
conditions of territory and population, and with the consent
of the bishop where it is proposed to effect the division,
before the avoidance of the see.
" That in no case should a new see be erected, unless a
sufficient income with a suitable residence be provided."
Third Report, p. xxvii. : —
"We recommend that a general statute be framed enabling
your Majesty, after due inquiry by a Commission specially
appointed for that purpose, to recommend a person to be
elected coadjutor, cum jure secessionis, to a bishop, in case of
such bishop requiring such aid and. relief by reason of
advanced age or protracted infirmity, and being ready to
s

258 NOTES.
surrender a portion of his episcopal income in favour of such
coadjutor." Note (50), p. 109.
I subjoin copies of the Declaration and Memorial referred
to.
I. Declaration as to an Increase of the Episcopate in England
and Wales.
" We, the undersigned clergy of the United Church of
England and Ireland, thankfully acknowledge the increase of
zeal and activity which has of late been shown in the Church
of England, but deplore that her energies are greatly
hindered by the want of an Episcopate at all adequate to the
present spiritual needs of the people.
"Whereas the population of England and Wales has
increased during the last three hundred years from about
four millions to nearly twenty millions, and whereas the
present number of the Clergy is about eighteen thousand,
and it is calculated that they are increasing at the rate of
three hundred a year, while the number of Bishops has re
mained the same, with the addition of one only.
" We believe that opportunities of more frequent personal
intercourse between a Bishop and the Clergy and Laity of
his diocese, and the more frequent administration of the holy
rite of Confirmation, would tend to infuse new life and vigour
into the Church, and to promote unity, consistency, and
efficiency in the labours of those who are working for the
salvation of souls. And, judging as well from the experience
of former ages as from the happy results which have at
tended the extension of the Episcopate in the British
Colonies, we confidently anticipate similar advantages from
the extension of the Episcopate at home.
" We desire, therefore, hereby to express our earnest hope
that measures may speedily be adopted for the adequate
extension of the Episcopate in England and Wales."

LECTURE IV. 259
II. Memorial on the Increase of the Episcopate. — To the
Right Honourable Viscount Palmerston, K. G., M. P., First
Lord of the Treasury, §*c. §•«., the Memorial of the under
signed Lay Members of the Church of England sheweth, —
" That in the opinion of your Memorialists an increase
of the Episcopate in England and Wales is much to be
desired. " The population of England and Wales has more than
doubled itself during the last fifty years ; but the number of
Bishops has been only increased by one since the middle of
the sixteenth century.
" In America and the British Colonies, the Episcopate may
be increased according to the needs of the population ; and
it seems to be reasonable and just, that a similar benefit
should be enjoyed by Her Majesty's subjects at home.
" Your Memorialists are of opinion, that more frequent
personal intercourse than is now practicable between a
Bishop and the Clergy and Laity of his Diocese, would
promote unity and efficiency in the labours of those who are
endeavouring to advance the moral and spiritual welfare of
the people.
"The more frequent administration of Confirmation would
stimulate the energies of the Parochial Clergy in imparting
reHgious instruction to the young, in those practical duties
which would render them loyal subjects and patriotic
citizens, as well as good Christians.
" Facilities have been already afforded by recent enactments
for the sub-division of parishes ; and the application of a
similar principle to Dioceses seems to follow as a natural
consequence from those legislative provisions.
"In the year 1847 Her Majesty issued a Commission for
inquiring into the state of the several Bishoprics in England
and Wales, and was graciously pleased to declare therein an
' intention, that a measure should be submitted to Parlia
ment for continuing the Bishoprics of St. Asaph and Bangor
as separate Sees, and establishing forthwith a Bishopric at

260 NOTES.
Manchester; and also, as soon as conveniently might be,
three other additional Bishoprics.''
"The former part of Her Majesty's gracious intention,
concerning the Bishoprics of St. Asaph and Bangor, and a
See at Manchester, has been fulfilled; the latter part, which
relates to the foundation of three other additional Sees, has
not yet been carried into effect.
" It has been found by experience both at home and in the
colonies, that, wherever a new Episcopal See has been
established, the number of the Parochial Clergy has been
much increased, and the efficiency of the Parochial system
proportionally augmented, and pious and charitable institu
tions have been greatly multiplied. Upwards of half a
million sterling has been raised by voluntary contributions
in the Diocese of Ripon, and expended there in the erection
and endowment of Churches, Parsonages, and Schools,
within sixteen years from the foundation of that See. The
creation of an Episcopal See at Manchester in 1847 has led
to similar results.
•'' Your Memorialists do not contemplate any increase of the
number of Bishops in Parliament ; and they are of opinion,
that an income of 30007. per annum would suffice for the
endowment of any new Episcopal See, as long as the Bishop
of that See was not called to the discharge of Parliamentary
duties ; and that, on his succession in course of time to a
seat in the House of Peers, an addition of 5007. per annum
ehould be made to the Episcopal income.
" Your Memorialists would suggest, that, before any new
See were founded, a considerable portion of the requisite
endowment should be provided by means of local and other
voluntary contributions, which would, if they were forth
coming, constitute a reasonable indication of the desire
existing for the erection of the new See. It would, however,
appear to your Memorialists, that, where an existing Diocese
is capable of division, a part of the endowment belonging to
such See may equitably be apportioned for the purposes of
the new See.
" Certain Dioceses may be mentioned, which seem specially

LECTURE IV. 261
to need subdivision, and in which there are resources already
available for the foundation of additional Sees.
" The Diocese of London contains more than two millions
of souls; that Diocese might be divided, and another See
might be formed by converting the Collegiate Church of
Westminster into a Cathedral Church, as it formerly was,
and by raising the Dean to the dignity of a Bishop.
" Another Diocese which requires sub-division is that of
Exeter. It is the most extensive of any in England and
Wales ; and the Cathedral City of Exeter is distant about
145 miles from the western extremity of the Diocese. The
necessary funds for the endowment of a new See might be
partly derived from the Episcopal and Capitular Revenues
of that Diocese, which will soon be greatly improved in
value. The present Bishop of that Diocese has frequently
expressed his desire for its sub-division, and has intimated
his willingness to resign to a Bishop of Cornwall the Epis
copal preferment within that county.
" Another similar instance may be found in the Diocese of
Durham. Its population has increased with unexampled
rapidity in the last few years. The income of the Bishop is
80007. per annum, which greatly exceeds the average
income of other Episcopal Sees ; means might thence be
derived for the sub-division of that populous Diocese, and for
the erection and endowment of an Episcopal See in the town
of Newcastle-upon-Tyne ; and other favourable local circum
stances might be mentioned which would facilitatethis result.
" A desire has been manifested in the county of Hertford
for the transformation of the ancient abbey of St. Albans
into a cathedral church; and it is very desirable, that the
Bishop of Rochester should be more nearly connected than
at present with his cathedral city ; and that the clergy of
the Kentish portion of the diocese sliould have easier access
to their bishop than is now the case.
" The Diocese of Lincoln, with its vast area and large
number of clergy, is another diocese which, as has been
attested by its present bishop, needs subdivision ; and a
s 3

262 NOTES.
cathedral for a new diocese, to be taken out of that of
Lincoln, would be found already prepared in the collegiate
church of Southwell.
" Wishes have also been expressed for the restoration of
the city of Bristol as an independent episcopal see ; and the
existence of a cathedral with a dean and chapter in that city
would promote the fulfilment of such a design.
"We are also assured, that in the archdeaconry of Co
ventry, which was annexed to the see of Worcester in 1836,
and contains a population amounting to four-sixths of the
diocese, there is a strong and general desire for the erection
of a separate see on the next avoidance.
" For this there is a prescriptive claim. Coventry was an
episcopal see for seven hundred years ; and one of the stately
churches might suitably serve as a cathedral: and it is
believed, that the funds required for endowment, in addition
to what could be spared from the see of Worcester, would
not be wanting.
"Other dioceses might be mentioned which need sub
division. We consider, however, that the inhabitants of
those dioceses are the parties most competent to express an
opinion on this subject; and that, if they are desirous of
such a subdivision, local contributions would not be wanting,
when once the necessary powers may have been given by
parliament for the erection of additional sees.
" With this view Her Majesty's Commissioners for In
quiring into the State of Cathedral and Collegiate Churches
recommended in the year 1855, 'That a permissive bill
should be framed and introduced into parliament (similar to
the Act 31 Hen. VIII. cap. 9), empowering Her Majesty
and Her Majesty's successors to divide any diocese, under
certain conditions of territory and population, and with
the consent of the bishop where it is proposed to effect the
division, before the avoidance of the see.'
" This recommendation of Her Majesty's Commissioners,
among whom were the two Archbishops and the late Bishop of
London, and the present Bishops of Durham and Oxford,
appear to your memorialists to deserve attentive considera-

LECTURE IV. 263
tion ; and since, as they understand, your lordship on a
recent occasion expressed an opinion, in which they entirely
concur, that any question of episcopal extension ought to be
considered with reference to the country at large, they
would earnestly entreat your lordship either to introduce
into Parliament or to support such a legislative measure as
may enable Her Majesty's subjects, who desire an extension
of the episcopate, to profit by such an exercise of the royal
supremacy in constituting additional sees at home, as has
already been called into action, and is now in operation with
very beneficial results, secular and spiritual, in the colonial
dependencies of the British crown."
To this memorial were attached the names of many lead
ing members of both Houses of Legislature, and of other influ
ential laymen. It was also signed by all the churchwardens
of all the parishes of the city of Coventry, and by nearly all
the magistrates, by the Mayors of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
of Tynemouth, of Grantham, &c. &c.

III. Representation of the Lower House addressed to the Upper
House of the Convocation of Canterbury, February 11th,
1859.
" We would respectfully suggest that the large extent of
some of our Dioceses, both in population and area, preclud
ing the possibility of sufficient personal intercourse between
the Bishop and the Clergy and Laity of his Diocese, together
with the want of more concentrated action, furnishes strong
reasons for some Increase of the Episcopate, which might be
obtained without any interference with the number of
Episcopal seats in the House of Lords, were the precedent
followed which has been already established at the erection of
the See of Manchester. By this means each bishop would
have fuller opportunities of making himself well acquainted
with his diocese, before he would be called to succeed to his
legislative duties, We would suggest the expediency of a
general enabling Act (similar to the 31st Henry VIII. c. 9.)

264

NOTES.

to which resort might be had as often as circumstances require,
or opportunity offers, for the erection of new Sees. We would
further suggest that arrangements should be made for the
case of any Bishop who might become wholly, or feel him
self partially incapacitated for the effective discharge of his
duties ; in the one case by some well-considered provision for
a retiring Bishop — in the other case by adopting the recom
mendation of the Cathedral Commissioners with regard to
Coadjutor-Bishops. Such an office has existed from the
earliest ages ; it was strongly recommended by the authors
of the ' Reformatio Legum ; ' it still exists in many parts
of Christendom ; and has recently been revived in our own
Colonial Church, in the case of the Bishop of Jamaica."
Size of some of the dioceses in England, population in 1851, and

Dioceses.

Population.

Area in acres.

London 

2,143,340

246,157

Manchester 

1,395,494

845,904

Chester 

1,066,124

1,630,988

Winchester 

1,080,412

1,598,568

Ripon ......

1,033,457

1,567,793

Lichfield 

1,022,080

1,740,607

Exeter . ...

922,656

2,530,780

York . . ...

764,538

2,261,493

Worcester . . . .

752,376

1,037,451

Durham .

701,381

1,906,835

Lincoln ......

677,649

2,302,814

Norwich ... . .

671,583

1,994,525

Rochester 

577,298

1,535,450

Gloucester and Bristol

538,109

1,000,503

Oxford 

503,042

1,385,779

Ely ....:.

482,412

1,357,765

Peterborough ....

465,671

1,240,.'127

Bath and Wells ....

424,492

1,043,059

Canterbury ...

417,099

914,170

Salisbury 

379,296

1,309,617

Chichester . ...

336,844

934,851

Hereford 

216,143

986,244

Carlisle 

372,306

901,052

Sodor and Man ....

52,387

180,000

St. David 

407,758

2,272,790

Llandaff 

337,526

797,864

St. Asaph ....

236,293

1,067,583

Bangor 

192,964

985,946

LECTURE IV. 265
" The average population of the Dioceses in England and
Wales in March 1851, was about 645,000, and may now be
estimated at more than 660,000." — Third Report of the Cathe
dral Commission, p. xl.
While these pages have been passing through the press,
the following resolutions have been unanimously carried in
the Lower House of Convocation of the Province of Canter
bury, February 14th, 1862; that house having been pre
viously desired by the Archbishop and Bishops in the
Upper to communicate to them the conclusions at which it
arrived on that subject.
" I. That this house is of opinion that some increase in
the Home Episcopate is necessary.
" II. This House is of opinion that there are two modes
by which an increase in the Episcopate may be effected,
viz. : " (1.) By a subdivision, or re-arrangement, of existing
dioceses.
" (2.) By means of the statute of Henry VIII. (26
Henry VIII, cap. 14) for the appointment of suf
fragan bishops.
" III. This House is of opinion that a general permissive
Bill should be introduced into Parliament, enabling Her
Majesty and Her Majesty's successors to subdivide dioceses,
under certain conditions of territory and population; but
that no subdivision of any diocese should take place without
the consent of the bishop of the diocese which it is proposed
to subdivide.
" IV. That it is desirable that a Committee should be
formed, consisting partly of bishops and clergy, and partly
of laymen (similar to the Committee for the Extension of the
Colonial Episcopate), whose duty it should be to receive
and to dispense funds, accruing. from voluntary contributions,
for the endowment of new sees at home.
" V. That no new see should be erected until a suitable
church should be set apart for the cathedral of the diocese,

266

NOTES.

and until an endowment of not less than 15007. per annum,
with a house, should be provided for the bishop of the new
see. " VI. That it is also desirable that advantage should be
taken of the Act of Parliament above referred to (26
Henry VIII. c. 14), not only whenever, from age or in
firmity, a bishop is unable to discharge in person the active
duties of his office, but also provisionally in large and popu
lous dioceses with a view to future subdivision."

Note (51), page 110.
The following Table shows the result of the increase of the
Colonial Episcopate, and the augmentation of the Clergy in
the several dioceses.

Diocese.

First Bishop
consecrated.

No. of Clergy
at Foundation of
Diocese.

No. of Clergy
at present.

Nova Seotia . . . .

1787

72

Eredericton . . . .

1845

30

55

Quebec

1793

4

41

Montreal

1850

45

53

Toronto ...

1839

86

139

Rupert's Land ....

1849

5

12

Newfoundland . . . .

1839

47

Jamaica . . . .

1824

116

Barbados

1824

23

80

Antigua ...

1842

25

35

Guiana

1842

23

30

Calcutta

1814

125
Madras
1835
96
Colombo .
1845
22
38
Cape Town
1847
14
59
Sydney . . . .
1836
54
Newcastle
1847
17
23
Melbourne ....
1847
3
25
Adelaide
1847
4
28
New Zealand
1841
12
49
Tasmania ...
1842
19
75
Note (52), page 111.
See letter by Dr. Wordsworth addressed to Lord Dun
gannon, already referred to.
LECTURE IV. 267
Note (53), page 113.
See testimony on this point furnished in the evidence of
the Rev. T. J. Rowsell, Perpetual Curate of St. Peter's,
Stepney ; the Rev. W. Champneys, Rector of Whitechapel ;
and the Rev. John E. Kempe, Rector of St. James's.
Answers 1097, 1099, 1646—1666, 3350—3371.

Note (54), page 113.
See the contrast between the policy of the Church of Rome
and that of the Church of England in this respect, as described
by the late Lord Macaulay in his review of Ranke's " History
of the Popes." Note (55), page 114.
I have been assured that no instance of this has occurred
among the lay agents employed by the London Scripture
Readers' Society.
While this note has been passing through the press, I
perceive, to my extreme gratification, that at the last session
of Convocation of the Province of Canterbury, which from
illness I have been myself unable to attend, the following
representation has been carried in the Lower House,
February 12th, 1862:
Representation of the Lower House addressed to the Upper
House of Convocation of the Province of Canterbury.
" The Lower House having been directed to take into
their consideration the Report of the Diaconate Committee,
beg leave to lay before His Grace the President, and their
Lordships of the Upper House, the following representa
tions, with the respectful request that they will be
pleased to take such measures as to them may seem ex
pedient in order to carry their recommendations into effect.

268 NOTES.
" The questions which have been submitted to us are the
following : — 1 . Whether the Diaconate might not be ex
tended in such a manner as to mark more distinctly the
difference between that Order and the Priesthood, and thus
to give increased efficiency to both, by a better adjustment
of their several duties, as defined in the Ordinal of the Book
of Common Prayer ; and, 2. Whether it might not be ex
pedient to revive the ancient order of 'Readers,' as was
designed by Archdeacon Parker immediately after the
Reformation. " I. In considering these questions we have assumed —
" (1.) That there is an urgent necessity for additional
agencies within the Church of England, adapted to the pre
sent circumstances of our country.
" (2.) That there are many persons, in different stations
of life, who would rejoice to be employed in the work of the
Church under some definite and authoritative commission,
but who are precluded by various causes from becoming
candidates for Holy Orders.
" II. With these facts before us, we have first of all
turned our attention to that part of the subject which relates
to the consideration of the best means of promoting the
efficiency of the Diaconate, with a special regard to its dis
tinctive and subordinate character.
"III. The distinction between the Second and Third
Orders of the Christian Ministry is clearly defined in our
Ordinal. This distinction has, however, been very much
lost sight of, partly in consequence of the Diaconate being
considered merely as a step to the Priesthood, and partly in
consequence of the Deacon having not unfrequently been
placed in the sole charge of a parish. We think that it
would contribute greatly to the efficiency of their future
ministry, if Deacons could be placed under the direction of
experienced Priests during their Diaconate ; and that the
difference between the Deacon and the Priest would be
marked more distinctly, if the Deacons were encouraged to
continue in that Order, whenever practicable, for a longer

LECTURE IV. 269
period than is now usual before they are advanced to the
Order of Priesthood.
"IV. We have next considered whether this third and
lowest Order of our Church is capable of any extension, so
as to admit the persons already alluded to, who may be sup
posed capable of rendering efficient service under regular
appointment. But we regret to say that we find serious
obstacles in the way of such extension, and for the following
reasons : —
" (a.) The indelible character of the Diaconate constitutes
one great difficulty ; inasmuch as the Church might on this
account often lose the help of those who could give the ser
vice of a time, but not the service of a life, to this especial
part of her work.
" (7>.) The amount of literary qualification, as required by
the Ordinal and the Canon, presents another difficulty.
The persons whose services are sought, could not, for the
most part, be admitted, unless the strictness of the examina
tion were relaxed. And, inasmuch as it would be practi
cally impossible to have different degrees of qualification for
the same Order, there is too much reason to fear that the
whole standard of qualification for admission into the
Christian ministry might ultimately be lowered.
"(c.) Other impediments present themselves from the
provisions of Statute Law, which affects persons in Deacon's
Orders.* " V. From these and other considerations we are of opinion,
that, whatever increase may take place in the number1 of
persons admitted to the Diaconate, a supplemental agency is
also required, which shall be in accordance with our eccle
siastical system.
" VI. Our attention has therefore been directed in the next
place to the expediency of reviving the ancient Office of
* For example, Clergymen in Holy Orders are exempt from serving
on juries (6 Geo. IV. c. 50, s. 2). They are also precluded from sitting
in Parliament (Stephen's Commentaries, vol. ii. p. 391), or from engag
ing in trade (1 & 2 Vict. c. 106, s. 29), &c.

270 notes.
Readers. We find that this Office, which can be traced
back to the third century, or even to an earlier period, was
partially restored, for a short time, immediately after the
Reformation. The purpose of its restoration at that time
was, to secure parishes from being entirely destitute of all
religious teaching, through the difficulty of finding a suffi
cient number of persons duly qualified for admission into
Holy Orders. A class of persons is now needed to assist the
Clergy of parishes with large or scattered populations in
house-to-house visitation, in catechising, and in performing
some other ministrations as may be assigned to them by
competent ecclesiastical authority.
" VII. Various terms have been suggested as indicative of
the nature of the Office which the present necessities of the
Church require. But, whatever name may be assigned to
the Office, we think that its duties should be so adjusted that
it may include persons of all ranks and classes of society; the
time of some being given wholly to the work ; of others, only
in part ; some receiving stipends, and others rendering gra
tuitous services; that those admitted to it should receive
their commission, on the nomination of the Incumbent, from
the Bishop of the Diocese, after due examination as to their
moral character, their religious knowledge, and their effi
ciency, with the solemnity of a public service in the Church,
and by an instrument under the Episcopal hand and seal ;
and that they should be in all respects under the control and
direction of the Incumbent in whose parish they are em
ployed. We further think that they should be at liberty at
any time whatever to resign the commission so received from
the Bishop, and that the Bishop on the other hand should
have the authority to revoke such commission.
" VIII. We make this recommendation with a full convic
tion of the pressing wants of the Church of England, and of
the need of a greatly multiplied agency to enable her to
fulfil the purposes of her high and holy calling. Nor
would we conclude without the earnest prayer, that whether
by these or by some other means, an ' effectual door ' may

LECTURE IV. 271
be opened for the piety and zeal of those who seek by a
definite mission from the Church, and in hearty communion
with her, to promote the temporal and spiritual welfare of
their fellow-creatures.
"Jerusalem Chamber, February Xith, 1862."

272

NOTES

LECTURE V.
Note (56), page 117.
The words occur in a Letter to the Right Rev. William
Skinner, D.D., Bishop of Aberdeen, and Primus, on the
Functions of Laymen in the Church, by the Right Honour
able W. Gladstone, M.P. for the University of Oxford. I
give the context, " The distribution of local power, as
between clergymen and vestry, is the irregular, dis
orderly, and hazardous compensation for the absorption of
central power in the clergy at large, as contradistinguished
from the laity at large. I do not say, then, that the
exclusive prerogative of legislation in the clergy makes
them too much our masters ; far from it; but I say this:
it exalts their power at the expense of their influence;
it exalts the shadow at the expense of the substance;
it exalts the name at the expense of the thing ; it increases
what they cannot use, and takes from them what they
could. It is by influence, and by influence only, that our clergy
can be really powerful " (p. 25).
Note (57), page 119.
The whole subject is of such importance, and is generally
so little understood by the laity, that I give, in extenso, both
the petition itself and the discussion in the Upper House
of Convocation to which it gave rise, February 14, 1860, as
reported in the " Chronicle of Convocation : " —

LECTURE V. 273

" Ordination of Ministers.
"The Bishop of London — The Bishop of Lichfield
has placed in my hands a petition from certain persons in
his diocese, which petition certainly is of great importance
— the more important, perhaps, or at all events not the less
important, because I believe the statements in it are not
really capable of being substantiated, though they represent
a state of feeling on the part of certain members of the laity
which it is necessary your lordships should know. My
right rev. brother not being able to be present, begged that
I would, in presenting the petition, make any remarks that
occurred to me. The subject is the mode in which we, the
Bishops of the Church of England, exercise our discretion
in the selection and examination of candidates for Holy
Orders. I think I ought to read the petition, not, as I said
before, because the statements are true, for I think they are
erroneous, but because they express the feelings of a great
number of persons.
" The Bishop op St, David's — Who is the petition
from? "The Bishop of London — It is from the Mayor of
Derby and a number of influential laymen in that city.
The petition is as follows : —
" ' That your petitioners desire to approach your vener
able house with every feeling of confidence and respect.
" ' That your petitioners have observed with deep sorrow
and regret several instances which have recently been made
public, of offences against religion and morality committed
by persons in Holy Orders.
" ' That your petitioners thankfully acknowledge the high
character which the clergy justly bear, as a body, and which
contrasts so pleasingly with that of the clergy of many other
countries; but your petitioners cannot conceal from them
selves the fact, that the sacred order of the ministry is

274 NOTES.
continually receiving the accession of more persons of care
less and ungodly lives, than your venerable house can pos
sibly be aware of.
" ' Your petitioners are constrained to set before your
lordships the painful fact, that many persons are, from time
to time, ordained, whose lives and conversation are noto
riously opposed to the solemn professions required from
them at their ordination, whereby great scandal is given to
all earnest Churchmen, and much ground given for the
allegations of Dissenters, that holiness of living is not
requisite in the priesthood of our church.
" ' Your petitioners desire also respectfully to call the
attention of your venerable house to the fact that too many
of these persons, on their ordination, do not make any
alteration in their habits of life and conversation, but are,
notwithstanding their entry into the Diaconate or Priesthood,
still so remarkable for carelessness and levity, as to make
themselves the subject of remark in all societies ; that your
petitioners have observed that this is not confined to members
of any party in the Church, but may be noticed in persons
holding very opposite theological opinions.
" ' That your petitioners are quite aware that the certifi
cate of three beneficed clergymen is in theory a sufficient
testimony to the moral fitness of candidates : but they
venture to submit that these testimonials are frequently
given on a very partial acquaintance, and frequently on the
representations of interested friends.
" ' That your petitioners believe that it will be impossible
for your lordships to be certain of the moral fitness of
candidates for Holy Orders unless some further inquiry be
made by your lordships' directions before admitting them to
examination. Your petitioners submit that in the habitual
absence of any special inquiries by the diocesan, the whole
responsibility of deciding upon the moral fitness of candidates
rests with the clergy who are applied to for testimonials,
thus placing them in a position of great delicacy and diffi
culty, but from which they would be relieved were it

LECTURE V. 275
known that the Bishop of the diocese would probably test
the value of the certificates by inquiries of his own.
" ' Your petitioners would not venture to intrude upon
your venerable house upon a subject peculiarly resting with
your lordships, had they not a deep conviction that the evil
referred to is much more widely spread than your lordships,
burdened with the care of your large dioceses, can be at all
aware of.
" ' Your petitioners therefore humbly beg that your
venerable house will be pleased to take such measures as
may seem good to it for the more effectual exclusion of
ungodly or careless men from the Holy Order of the Priest
hood.' " The importance of this petition seems to me to consist
in this — that it shows a wide-spread ignorance, on the part
of the laity, as to the steps taken by your lordships in the
examination into the qualifications of candidates for Holy
Orders. There are two statements made in the petition to
which I would especially call your lordships' attention. One
of them is this: —
" ' Your petitioners are quite aware that the certificate of
three beneficed clergymen is in theory a sufficient testimony
to the moral fitness of candidates, but they venture to
submit, that these testimonials are frequently given on a
very partial acquaintance, and frequently on the represent
ations of interested friends.'
" I wish to remark, that if that be a true statement, it is of
great importance that the attention of the clergy generally
should be directed to this — that we, in receiving the
testimonials of three beneficed clergymen, consider there
cannot be a more solemn declaration than that which those
three beneficed clergymen make as to the fitness of the person
whom they recommend for admission to Holy Orders. In my
judgment, and I am sure in the judgment of your lordships,
a clergyman who puts his name to testimonials declaring any
person whom he recommends fit for Holy Orders, when he
has any doubt of his fitness, is guilty of as grievous a sin as
T 2

276 NOTES.
can well be committed. The words of the declaration, as I
well remember, are most stringent; they not only declare
the conviction of the clergyman as to the fitness of the
of the candidate, but they declare that from personal
acquaintance with the candidate they know that he is fit.
Not only does the clergyman say, ' I do not know anything
against the man,' but ' I never heard anything against him,
and I. have had opportunities of judging of his conduct.'
And I consider that any clergyman who will attach his
name to such a testimonial, as a matter of form, will be
most grossly and grievously neglecting his duty. It has
been lately stated, in connection with this subject, that we
all know that college testimonials are mere matters of form.
Now, my lords, it was my lot for many years to be the
tutor of a college, and I can safely say that the testimonials
in that particular college were by no means matters of form,
but that we did most seriously and conscientiously consider
whether we were justified in stating that the person whom
we recommended was fit to be admitted to Holy Orders.
Connected with this, there is another point of some interest.
There is very great diversity as to the form in which the
different colleges send their testimonials. At Oxford, the
form is a very stringent one, but at the sister university it
is much more lax ; and although I do not believe that it is
intended as a matter of form, yet at Cambridge the testi
monials are not so rigid and explicit in their expression as I
could desire. I will pass on to another statement in the
petition : —
" ' Your petitioners believe that it will be impossible for
your lordships to be certain of the moral fitness of candidates
for Holy Orders, unless some further inquiry be made by
your lordships' directions before admitting them to examina
tion. Your petitioners submit that, in the habitual absence
of special inquiries by the diocesan, the whole responsibility
of deciding upon the moral fitness of candidates rests with
the clergy who are applied to for testimonials.'
" Now, I can hardly suppose that the writer of this

LECTURE V. 277
petition has the slightest conception as to the steps which
are taken by Bishops in respect to the qualifications of
candidates for ordination. I have no doubt that what
I find to have been the practice of my predecessor in the see
of London is, more or less, the practice in every see in
England. And in order that this may be ascertained, I
will state what was the practice which I found prevailing in
London. In the first place, six months before the ordina
tion (and, as I understand, elsewhere three months before
the ordination), every person who wishes to present himself
as a candidate, must give his name to the Bishop. As soon
as possible after this intimation, the Bishop has a personal
interview with the candidate, and endeavours to satisfy him
self, both by his chaplain and personally, whether, prima
facie, the young man ought to be admitted into Holy Orders,
judging from sight and conversation and from a slight
preliminary examination. The candidate is then required
to give the names of three persons, who may be applied to,
privately, in the very way pointed out by the petitioners,
independently of the public testimonial. These three persons
are solemnly required to give their assurance whether they
do or do not believe in their consciences the person to be
what he ought to be. This private communication some
times results in the gentleman who has been appealed to,
saying that he does not know enough of the candidate to be
able to express an opinion. Another reference is then
required, and another appeal is made. Thus, by private
inquiry, great care is taken to ascertain whether the person
is what the public testimonials represent him to be. It is
then, I believe, the custom of most of your lordships, as it is
the custom in this see, that at the time of the examination
we do not delegate another person to carry on the examina
tion, but personal intercourse takes place between the
candidate and the bishop, and the bishop endeavours to
satisfy himself by all the means in his power whether the
candidate is really a person fit to be admitted. I can
hardly conceive anything more solemn than the position in
T 3

278 NOTES.
which the candidate, the Bishop, and his examining chaplain
stand during the examination week ; and, anxious as I
should be myself in any way to take greater pains to ascer
tain the fitness of the candidates — willing as I should be to
introduce any alteration that tended in that direction, I am
not aware how this could be done so as to obtain greater
security. The only thing that occurs to me is this : — In
the diocese of London there are a great number of candi
dates, and it has been sometimes suggested that it would be
desirable to have four ordinations, in the year instead of two,
thus reducing tlie numbers at each ordination. But I have
hesitated in taking that step, and for two reasons — first,
because I do not think it very desirable for the diocese, that
I should be perpetually pouring a number of young men
into it. I know that there are many excellent persons
desirous of holding curacies, who are liable to be superseded
by young men, and I am rather anxious to put a check upon
that practice. And more than that, I think that when a
large number of persons are engaged on a solemn occasion,
the number adds to the solemnity. On this point I should
be most thankful to adopt any suggestion of my riglit rev.
brethren or any one else, by which we could increase the
solemnity of Ordination, or the securities to be given as to
the character of the persons ordained. But the question
remains, how can the impression to which I have called your
lordships' attention have got into the minds of the petitioners?
Now, it is a most melancholy fact, that certainly at this
time, when by God's mercy the Church is exerting herself
more than in past years, and there is more zeal among
clergymen and more regard for the people's souls — at this
very time, strange and unheard-of scandals have certainly
accumulated more than at any former period. How this is
to be accounted for I cannot say. Probably, when good is
at work, evil is also at work ; and the temptations which
beset men are not to be put down by any vigorous system
which may be adopted by ourselves or by others, nor even
by force of public opinion. It is a subject of deep humilia-

LECTURE V. 279
tion to all who are interested in the Church, to think that
such scandals should have arisen, but we are bound to con
sider whether there are or are not any facilities under
which they are promoted and encouraged. I wish to draw
your lordships' attention, then, to a matter in which I think
the clergy generally could fairly assist us in saving the
Church from this sort of scandal. I am sure that I speak
the sentiments of your lordships when I say that we are all
most anxious to do our part; but it cannot be denied that
there does grow up in every diocese — most certainly there
has grown up in this diocese, and I am most desirous, if
possible, that it should be remedied — a mode of calling in
the assistance of clergymen for temporary duty, of whom
very little is known, but who, by being thus occasionally
employed, get a sort of footing in the diocese, and I believe
in a great many instances in this way scandal arises to the
Church. I was very much surprised the other day to
receive from a clergyman of standing and position a letter,
in writing which I think he showed great wisdom, asking
whether he might safely employ such and such a person,
whose name he mentioned. The moment I saw the name, I
knew it as one that is familiar to the right rev. bench, and I
think it would be well that the public should understand
that the right rev. bench have the means of knowing some
thing of the antecedents of the clergy generally, which the
public at large, and the clergy at large are not possessed of.
I wrote back to my correspondent, stating that I thought he
would act unwisely if he employed the curate in question,
and recommended him to look carefully to his testimonials,
and be certain that they were duly signed and countersigned
by the bishop of the diocese. I wish our brethren would
remember that for even the temporary employment of
a clergyman it is desirable to have testimonials — not printed
testimonials, of which I have a great abhorrence — not
testimonials from the other side of the water, which come to
us in abundance. I generally find that the man about
whom the less said the better, can produce many testimo-
t 4

280 NOTES.
nials ; and when these volumes of testimonials come to hand,
be sure there is something wrong. What we want is simply
this — the testimony of three clergymen, countersigned by
the bishop of the diocese, that the man applying may be
safely employed. The clergyman to whom I have referred,
wrote in reply to my letter, expressing surprise at what I
had told him, and adding that he had applied to a most re
spectable registry office in London for a curate, and that they
had recommended this gentleman. Now, I have no great
opinion of registry offices for clergymen, generally speaking;
but there is a registry office connected with the Curates' Aid
Society, which I knew something of. It was not the office
from which the recommendation had come in this instance ;
but my attention having been drawn to the subject, I
requested the secretary of that society to furnish me with a
list of the clergymen on his list. He did so, and I found
many names upon it that were familiar to me, and I believe
to all your lordships, as persons in whose favour we should
scarcely like to give testimonials. I immediately begged
the gentleman who conducts that registry to be very careful
as to whose names he admitted for the future upon the list,
and I believe he at once took steps to make the register
more safe than it was at the time I received the communica
tion I have referred to. It should never be forgotten that
those who recommend assistants to the clergy take upon
themselves a very grave responsibility. I believe things have
of late years very much improved in this matter, and that
the clergy, when they have occasion to go away for a short
time, do generally take care that their places are well
supplied. Still, they are not aware of all the difficulties
of which we are cognisant, and they would act more wisely
if in all cases they referred to us, the Bishops, because
we have the means, which they have not, of ascertaining
whether the person who offers himself to undertake the tem
porary charge is such a person as he represents himself to be.
In the old times, the practice in London, when a clergyman
required assistance, was to send to St. Paul's Coffee-house,

LECTURE V. 281
where a clergyman could be had for an odd Sunday at any
time. Thank Providence, that state of things has passed
away ; but it is still of importance that attention should be
drawn to the subject, and I am sure it would be a great
service if a number of names were selected of persons who
could be depended upon, for there is always a great number
of respectable clergymen who may be safely depended upon
available for such duty, and it would be much to be re
gretted if these most respectable and worthy persons were
confounded with others who are in a very different category.
I mentioned — I hope not in disrespectful terms — the testi
monial which come to us in such abundance from the sister
island ; and in dealing with them there is a difficulty, not
only as regards the clergymen who sign them, but as regards
the Bishops who countersign them. Some of my right rev.
brethren in that country have a peculiar habit of signing
testimonials; and there is one most rev. prelate, for whom
I have the deepest respect, and for whom the whole Church
has the deepest respect, who will never sign that ' this
clergyman is worthy of credit,' but signs — ' As far as I
know, he is worthy of credit,' — or 'I have no reason to
know that he is unworthy.' This places the Bishops here
in a difficult position, because we have not that security
which we ought to have as to the character of the applicant.
Then, there are others of our right rev. brethren on the
other side of the water who will not sign any testimonial
at all. There is, however, a very easy cure, which is simply
to say, that without the testimonials duly signed and counter
signed we will not have the men. I have great respect for
the laborious services of many of these clergy ; but I believe
we might gain as well as lose by the discontinuance of that
free-trade that has now existed for some time between the
two countries on this matter. I think it desirable for us to
put before our right rev. brethren there the importance of
their signing such testimonials as we do, and then we should
have the same means of testing the accuracy of the testi
monials which are presented to us from Ireland as we have

282 NOTES.
of testing the accuracy of the testimonials of clergymen in
this country. I present this petition, totally disagreeing
Avith it. The Bishop of Lichfield also disagrees with it ; but
I think it important, nevertheless, as showing the great
misapprehension that exists with regard to the care we take
to ascertain that the persons on whom we lay hands at ordi
nation are really such as are fit for the sacred office.
"The Bishop of Winchester — In common with many
of my right rev. brethren, I listened with great anxiety to
know whether the memorialists could suggest any rule more
stringent than that we are in the habit of exercising in regard
to the examination of candidates for the holy office ; and in
using the word examination, I do not mean to confine it to
the literary qualifications of the individual, but to extend it
to his moral character, and his ability to teach, and the other
qualifications necessary for a person in Holy Orders. I do
not scruple to say, that there is no period in the whole year
which so heavily weighs on my mind as the Ember weeks
for ordination. I have no doubt I share this anxiety with
my right rev. brethren, and I should be glad if any of them
could suggest some mode by which my mind might be better
satisfied with respect to the fitness of the candidates who
come before me. I have had occasion publicly to request
the clergy in my own diocese to exercise more discretion in
presenting candidates than they do at present — not, I be
lieve, from any indifference on their part, but from the belief
that the Bishop himself takes care to make a full examination
into the qualifications of the candidate, which they have not
the means of doing. Now, I think they are mistaken in
their view. It is incumbent on them to satisfy themselves,
so far as their influence extends, as to the fitness of the
candidates they present. It is placing an unfair and undue
degree of pressure on the Bishop and the examining chap
lain, to leave to them, and to them alone, the painful and
always difficult task of ascertaining the fitness of a candidate.
The modes of inquiry mentioned by my right rev. brother
are no doubt, in their degree, sometimes more and sometimes

LECTURE V. 283
less, as occasion may require, the modes which all your lord
ships use. They are such as I myself employ, aud I may
say that I never admit a candidate as an approved candidate
without having first seen him personally, and subsequently
remitted him to my examining chaplain, who, in a preli
minary interview, satisfies himself as to the extent of the
information and the degree of knowledge he has acquired ;
and by this means I ascertain the disposition of the candi
date's mind — a point which I need not say cannot be
ascertained by testimonials. I may, perhaps, be allowed
to say a word with respect to the testimonials from colleges.
So far from considering the giving of testimonials a mere
matter of form, I am sorry to say that in not a few instances
I have had individuals communicating with me, and inquiring
whether, under all circumstances, I expected that a college
testimonial should be exhibited, and staling that, for reasons
given, such testimonials had been refused. In no instance
did I feel at liberty to dispense Avith the college testimonial,
and least of all when it had been refused. I mention this
fact for the purpose of showing that the colleges refuse as
well as give testimonials. I have myself observed tlie dif
ferences of form in Avhich testimonials arc drawn up. My
practice has been to write to the head or tutor of the
college, inquiring why a special form of testimonial has been
given. This remark applies particularly to Cambridge.
The simple inquiry Avhich I have instituted will enable the
Bishop to satisfy himself whether anything is meant by the
form in which the testimonial is Avorded. I may just refer
to one point which is not alluded to in (he petition. The
petitioners might have remembered that, besides the testi
monial presented to the Bishop, the laity themselves have
the opportunity of testifying as to the fitness of the candidate.
In some instances they have taken up the matter, and
communicated with the Bishop, and have mentioned cir
cumstances which have prevented the ordination of unfit
candidates. I should be glad if the inaccuracy of the state
ments of the petitioners could be pointed out to them, and I

284 NOTES.
hope my right rev. brother the Bishop of Lichfield will state
to his friends in Derby, that the Bishops of the Church are
not so inattentive to one of their most solemn duties as they
seem to conceive.
" The Bishop of Chichester — I wish to make one re
mark with regard to the employment for a short period of
clergymen of whom little or nothing is known. They are in
the habit of taking up their abode at various places for a
short time, representing that the state of their health requires
a cessation from duty. A clergyman in this position soon
forms a sort of acquaintance in the place, and states that
although he is not equal to the performance of regular duty,
he should be happy to render occasional assistance. Having
once obtained employment, he gradually finds his health im
proving, and that he is able to perform his duty for a month,
or two or three months. The clergyman of the parish often
thinks that such an employment is a matter of no great
importance, and unattended with any great risk. I have
suffered in more instances than one from a want of caution
on the part of my clergy, and have represented to them that,
however short the period of such employment may be, they
ought to call my attention to the case of the gentleman who
applies for temporary employment. I make this remark,
because within a few months a clergyman who has been
employed under these circumstances so disgraced himself
that he was obliged to leave the parish.
" The Bishop of Bath and Wells — I may mention 3
practice which has been adopted with success in my diocese.
When an application has been forwarded to me, I have
transmitted a copy of it to every Rural Dean. If he finds
any person on the cautionary list, whom he knows to be
an unfit person to act, he transmits the name to me. If he
finds any person who is not licensed, acting in my dio
cese, he informs me. By that means I get the name of
every curate officiating in every deanery, and am able to act
accordingly. The Bishop of Lincoln — I should be sorry to allow it

LECTURE V. 285
to go abroad that there is even any one registry-office from
which curates may be taken without inquiry. It is scarcely
possible that any secretary can make himself master of the
antecedents of all those who apply to him. He has not the
means of doing so. I apprehend that his letters of inquiry,
if he were allowed to make them, would be privileged com
munications. Registry-offices may be necessary — I think
they are a necessary evil — but it should be understood that
any clergyman taking a curate or assistant from a registry-
office, if he values the welfare of his people, is bound to make
full inquiries as to the character of the clergyman engaged
there, as well as from any other source.
"The President — It is important that it should be
generally known and understood, that although the Bishops
generally sanction the establishment of registry-offices, they
do not by any means sanction the employment of clergymen
recommended by these establishments.
" The Bishop of Llandaff— The petition takes it for
granted that the testimonials of the clergy are too much a
matter of form. Now, every person who presents himself as
a candidate for examination for Holy Orders is desired to
present a si qvis ; that is to say, notice is publicly given in
the church in the place Avhere he resides, and where his
character is well known and his antecedents from his youth
up, and the laity are called upon to give notice whether there
is any reason why the individual should not present himself
as a candidate for ordination. If any person knows an ob
jection, he has then the opportunity of stating that objection.
Ao-ain, on the day of ordination all parties are called on to
state any impediment of which they are aware. Conse
quently the whole responsibility does not rest on the sub
scribing bishop or clergyman. With regard to the tempo
rary employment of clergymen, I may remark, that a
person officiated for a time in my diocese who was no
clergyman at all. He afterwards went into a colonial
diocese, and there obtained ordination. I have known cases
of clergymen in my diocese whose testimonials were not

286 NOTES.
subscribed, entering the diocese of Bath and Wells, and
also of London. Now, if the clergymen employing these
parties had asked the question whether their testimonials
were subscribed by the bishop, they would have found that
they had no such testimonials.
" The Bishop of St. David's — The security against
the admission of persons in cases where there is a clear
and notorious impediment is by no means confined to a si
quis, or any public notice. I do not know whether it is the
particular characteristic of my part of the country, but my
experience there has led me to believe that wherever any
such impediment exists, it is a matter of notoriety in the
neighbourhood from which the person comes ; and it would
be remarkable if, in that neighbourhood, there was a uni
versal disinclination to communicate the fact to the Bishop.
If there be a person who labours under a stain on his
character, he must be a fortunate — or rather, I should say,
an unfortunate — individual, if he has no real friend who
would take some step, either privately or publicly, to make
it known to the Bishop. My own experience leads me to
think that perhaps in most cases there would be rather a
tendency to the contrary side. But it really is almost
morally impossible that any grave or notorious stain on the
character of a person can exist without its being communi
cated to the Bishop.
" The Bishop of Oxford — I believe the Bishops of
London and Winchester have stated correctly the great care
taken in their extensive dioceses to prevent the ordination of
unfit men, and it would be but wasting time to repeat the
same statements as to all our dioceses. But it is desirable
that it should go forth that what they have stated as to the
means taken to prevent the possibility of people coming
untried, is carried out effectually in every one of our dio
ceses ; and it may save further discussion if all my right reAr.
brethren would assent to that. (General cries of 'Hear,
hear.') I can hardly conceive a greater crime than that a
Bishop should be careless in these matters; and although

LECTURE V. 287
there may have been a time Avhen college testimonials were
dispensed with, or character passed by, I trust such things
will never happen again in the Church.
" The President. — Of all the matters spoken of, none is
more beneficial or more calculated to prevent the intrusion of
improper persons than the system of previous personal in
quiry of the man himself as to his fitness and his motives.
The system was first begun — I think it was first regularly
organised by the late Bishop of London — - more than thirty
years ago. I received it from him, and by keeping very
strictly indeed, as a general rule, to that practice, I have
found the greatest advantage. By being acquainted with
the circumstances of the candidates as well as their disposi
tions, I have been in many instances saved the necessity of
rejecting them when they came up. From seeing them three
or four times, I can generally judge of their character and
motives ; and, if I consider that they are not fitted for the
office, it is my habit to say to them, ' You do not appear to
be aware of the importance of the step you are about to take.
If you persevere, such a course may be open to you here
after, and if you come with proper testimonials you will be
received, but I cannot receive you to-day.'
" The Bishop of Salisbury — No person can officiate
without our leave, and I allow no one to officiate in my
diocese more than two Sundays without my sanction. We
are really responsible, and it may be necessary to make the
rule still stricter. Although I suffered some years ago from
irregularities of this kind, I do not think that such things
exist now.
" The Bishop of Oxford — -The rule is the same in my
diocese, except that they may officiate three Sundays. In
each case the rule leads to their calling on me before they
are allowed to officiate once, and in some cases it has pre
vented much mischief. I allow every Rural Dean to give a
title to some one whom he can specially recommend, and for
whom he will become responsible. There is no difficulty,
when a clergyman wishes to go away for a short time, in
getting a proper substitute.

288 NOTES.
" The Bishop of Salisbury — The plan has acted ex
ceedingly well in two ways ; in one case, with respect to a
paid person, and, in the other, where the services were
unpaid. A gentleman every way qualified at the University,
acting as a tutor in a deanery, and anxious to be ordained,
but unable to give up his tuition, I have allowed the Rural
Dean to appoint as his curate. He is to serve for two years,
and officiate at every church to which the Rural Dean sends
him, the only cost being that of his transit. That regulation
gives great assistance to the parochial clergy."

Note (58), page 119.
See representation of the Lower House, addressed to the
Upper House of Convocation, February 10, 1859.

Note (59), page 120.
See " The Form and Manner of Making of Deacons."
" When the day appointed by ihe Bishop is come, after morn
ing prayer is ended, there shall be a sermon or exhortation,
declaring the duty and office of such as come to be admitted
deacons ; how necessary that order is in the Church of Christ,
and also how the people ought to esteem them in their office.
" First, the Archdeacon, or his deputy, shall present unto the
Bishop {sitting in his chair near to tlie holy table), such as de
sire to be ordained deacons (each of them being decently
habited), saying these words, Father in God, I present unto
you these persons present, to be admitted deacons.
" The Bishop.
" Take heed that the persons whom ye present unto us,
be apt and meet, for their learning and godly conversation,
to exercise their ministry duly, to the honour of God, and
the edifying of His Church.

LECTURE V. 289
" The Archdeacon shall answer,
" I have inquired of them, and also examined them, and
think them so to be.
" Then the Bishop shall say unto the people;
" Brethren, if there be any of you who knoweth any
impediment, or notable crime, in any of these persons pre
sented to be ordered deacons, for the which he ought not to
be admitted to that office, let him come forth in the name of
God, and show what the crime or impediment is.
" And if any great crime or impediment is objected, the
Bishop shall surcease from ordering that person, until such
time as the party accused shall be found clear of that crime.
" Then the Bishop (commending such as shall be found meet
to be ordered to the prayers of the congregation) shall, with the
clergy and people present, sing or say the litany, with the
prayers as followeth" Sfc. fyc.
Note (60), page 120.
On two occasions while I filled the office of examining
chaplain in the diocese of Worcester, charges were brought
against candidates after they had been ordained, but not till
then : and on my engaging, should the charges be substan
tiated, that the Bishop's licence would be withdrawn, the
complainants declined coming forward. On two other
occasions, when charges were brought just before the
examination for Holy Orders commenced, the candidates
who were the subject of them, were required to withdraw.
In the only other similar instance which occurred during the
seven years of my holding the office of examining chaplain,
the charge was not made till the person affected was pre
sented to a living. In all these cases, testimonials certify
ing the moral fitness of the candidates, and the necessary
certificate of public notice having been given of their
intention to offer themselves as candidates for Holy Orders,
had been duly forwarded to the bishop.
U

290 NOTES.

Note (61), page 122.
I am acquainted with one instance in which, from the
omission of a mere legal formality, a Bishop was involved
in an expense of 5007., though the charge against the in
cumbent could not be denied. In the recent notorious
case of the Bishop of London versus Bonwell, though the
defendant was cast in every court, his Lordship's expenses
are understood to have exceeded 12007.
Note (62), page 125.
The following extract from an article in the January
number 1862, of the "Christian Remembrancer," on Father
Felix and his Conferences at Notre Dame, is well worthy
of attention.
" Most worthy of imitation, in one notable respect at
least, is the system of theological and pulpit training
existing in the French Church. It stands in melancholy
and humiliating contrast with the course usually
adopted in our own. Amongst us, theology is seldom
studied as a science, frequently it is not studied at all.
 And until the whole of our present painfully
inadequate, vague, and shallow system of preparation
for the ministry of the word and sacraments, is remodelled
and placed on a more definite and comprehensive basis ;
until the Church herself takes up the work, and provides
and prescribes a systematic course of theological training
for all candidates for Orders, we fear that she will be
deprived of a most substantial element of strength and
influence, and that we shall continue to labour under
innumerable evils.
" In another respect does this portion of the life of Father
Felix teach us a valuable lesson. When once we do
possess — in spite of the shadowy and unsatisfactory sys
tem prevalent amongst us — in spite of the absence of all
scientific training of candidates for the priesthood — an able

LECTURE V. 291
and eloquent preacher, what use do we make of him ?
How is he too frequently treated ? Is he placed in such
an appropriate sphere of duty as is likely to afford full and
unfettered scope to his powers for good, for teaching,
reclaiming, influencing the masses, and presenting to them
the momentous truths of religion, with all the adjuncts and
charms of a perspicuous and forcible style, and of a ready
delivery and effective address? No! It. may happen that
he seldom has the opportunity of preaching at all ; and if he
has, he may possibly be prevented from doing so by other
duties of an absorbing nature. Instead of regularly, or at
least at stated periods, occupying our cathedral or metro
politan pulpits, where, under God, he might be the means
of influencing thousands to their eternal good — he may be
vegetating, unhonoured and unknown, on some paltry
curacy, in some remote village, or be relegated to the
headship of a school, or the viee-principalship of a hall, with
but scanty opportunities of exercising his distinguishing and
peculiar talents, and even then possibly, only in a very
limited and contracted sphere.
" Far differently and far better are these things managed in
France and other countries, as is evidenced in the life of
every continental preacher of eminence. . . . As soon as
a superior or a bishop perceives that a candidate for the
priesthood has the stuff of a good preacher, and exhibits
oratorical power, his training for the holy office of preacher
is carefully attended to ; full scope is afforded him for the
exercise and development of his peculiar gifts, his ora
torical abilities are sedulously cultivated and his efforts
encouraged, and when he has proved himself an able
preacher, he is eventually placed in the particular sphere in
which he is likely to effect the greatest amount of good."
-(Pp. 71, 72). Note (63), page 125.
I allude especially to several able articles, which have
appeared in the course of the last two or three years, on the
u 2

292 NOTES.
subject of clerical deficiencies, in The Times newspaper.
The writers show, with much force and vivacity, the want of
oratorical power on the part of many of the clergy of the
national Church, and the injury hence resulting to the
cause of religion. But they forget that their strictures, in
this respect, are as applicable to the great body of our
educated laity. l\ is notorious that few Englishmen, under
the present educational system, possess the faculty of ex
pressing themselves with force and appropriateness in
public. Note (64), page 126.
It is observed in the article on Father Felix and his
Conferences at Notre Dame, already alluded to, that in no
respect are the deficiencies in clerical education more strik
ingly exemplified than in the delivery of most of our
preachers. " It is well known with what ease, what natural
ness, and frequently perfect gracefulness, French preachers
deliver their sermons. Indeed their manner of delivery is
often their greatest recommendation. We have occasionally
heard French sermons which riveted our attention in their
delivery, but which subsequently appeared very poor in
the reading. There was a good deal of shrewdness and judg
ment in the answer made by Renaud to one who asked him to
publish some sermons which had been very much admired.
' Most willingly, if they will print the preacher also.' . . .
The delivery of our preachers is, as a rule, woefully inferior.
The reason of this is obvious. The elocutionary art is as
sedulously and systematically studied and cultivated in
France, as it is sedulously and systematically ignored, and,
to use the words of a very high authority — the Bishop of
Exeter — ' disgracefully neglected amongst ourselves,' and
we very much fear that even now an affirmative answer
might be returned to Bishop Berkeley's celebrated query,
'Whether half the learning and study of these kingdoms
is not useless, for want of a proper delivery being taught in

LECTURE V.

293

our schools and colleges ? ' Mr. Daniel Moore, in his able
' Thoughts on Preaching,' has well observed, that, in a practi
cal ignoring of all the adjuncts of effective oral address, and
in the almost contemptuous denial to elocution of any right
to be considered an art at all, the Church of England stands
almost alone ; and until this evil is remedied, and elocution
occupies a prominent place in the preparation of candidates
for Orders, some of our best sermons will not only not
command general acceptance, but will too often become
practically useless."
" The tameness, the monotony, the want of naturalness and
reality, the undignified attitude, the listless and inexpressive
countenance*, the soul-withering coldness, with which
sermons are delivered in this country, strike foreigners
particularly. If there be some exaggeration, there is at
the same time much truth, in the following passage from
Coquerel's recently published volume on Preaching : —
" L'Eveque ou le ministre anglican commodement accoude
sur un coussin de velours assez vaste pour .recevoir son
cahier, lisait avec la plus confiante placidite, sans risquer
d'autre geste que le mouvement de tourner les pages, et a
peine se permettait-il, de loin en loin, ce qu'on appelait
the waving of the hand, c'est-a-dire l'effort de soulever la
main pour la laisser retomber aussitot sur le rebord de la
chaire. C'etait un dementi systematique et permanent
donne au vieux principe- que l'aotion est l'essence de l'art
oratoire ; ce principe si recommande par Demosthenes, dont
Ciceron, en l'appuyant a son tour dans les termes les plus
forts, rappelle le mot fameux, que les trois premieres
qualites de l'orateur sont, le Taction, 2e Taction, 3e Taction."
Bouchard, a writer most favourably disposed towards
our Church and nation, as well as every French traveller who
* Ad summum dominatur maxime vultus; hoc supplices, hoc minaces,
hoc blandi, hoc tristes, hoc hilares, hoc erecti, hoc submissi sumus.
Hoc pendent homines, hunc intuentur, hunc spectant etiam antequam
dicamus. Hoc quosdam amamus, hoc odimus, hoc plurima intelligimus.
— Quinctilian, lib. xi. cap. 3. u 3

294 NOTES.
has attended our services, makes very similar remarks.
See also the Letter of the Bishops on the necessity of train
ing theological students in public reading, in Mr. d'Orsay's
" Lecture on the Study of the English Language." Bell and
Daldy, 1861.
Mr. Gresley also aptly remarks : — '? The first point to
which a preacher must attend when he gets into the pulpit
is, that he may be heard ; — that the sound of his voice may
be heard distinctly in every part of the church. I should
not have thought it necessary to notice so obvious a truth,
but for the very common neglect or forgetfulness among
preachers in this most essential point. How constant a
complaint is it with a congregation that they cannot hear
their minister ; with all their attention, they cannot catch
more than half his meaning ! " — Treatise on Preaching,
p. 336. Note (65), page 128.
See " Appendix to the First Report of Her Majesty's Com
missioners, appointed November 18th, 1852, to inquire into the
state and condition of the Cathedral and Collegiate Churches
in England and Wales. — Presented to Parliament, 1854."
This appendix contains the answers of the theological
professors and of the heads of colleges and halls in Oxford
and Cambridge to this inquiry, — " The Commissioners are
desirous of ascertaining the opinion of the university and of
the professors as to whether the theological lectures in the
university may be considered as supplying all that is wanted
for the preparation of candidates for Holy Orders, or whether
it will be desirable to institute theological colleges in con
nection with some of the cathedral churches?" (Oxford).
" The Commissioners will also be thankful for the advice of
the university with respect to the preparation of candidates for
Holy Orders. They are anxious to know whether it is your
opinion that the lectures of the theological professors supply
all that is wanted for this purpose ; or whether it will be

LECTURE V. 295
desirable to institute theological colleges in connection with
some of the cathedral churches ? " (Cambridge).

Note (66), page 130.
Answer returned by Dr. Jacobson, Regius Professor of
Divinity, Oxford.

Note (67), page 131.
The judgment of the Commissioners is given in their final
Report, presented in 1855, p. xix., and is thus expressed : —
" It was stated in our First Report (pp. xxiv. xxv.), that
one of the main purposes for which cathedrals were founded,
was to impart Christian instruction, especially to those under
training for Holy Orders in the Church.
"Referring to the evidence there given, and to the re
marks there made upon the subject, we have now to declare
our opinion : ¦ —
" That it would be advantageous to religion and learning, if
in each of the two Provinces a certain number of theological
seminaries were formed or restored.
" In selecting places for such institutions, we suggest that
regard should be had to statutable provisions, and also to
existing means and appliances in the cathedral or collegiate
body: e.g. number of canons, theological lectureships, li
brary, hall, and other buildings for the reception of students ;
sufficient population in the cathedral city, that the students
might be profitably trained and exercised in parochial and
pastoral work, under the direction of the clergy of the city,
in visiting the sick, teaching in the schools, &c.
" We would suggest, that where a cathedral is so situate,
that in connection with it a theological college could be
instituted, which should be under the direction of the Bishops
and Chapters of several associated dioceses, the benefit of
such institutions might best be secured, and the dangers
v 4

296

NOTES.

apprehended from a too great multiplication of such colleges
be avoided." Note (68), p. 133.
See answers of Dr. Wynter, President of St. John's Col
lege, Oxford; Dr. Cartmell, Master of Christ's College,
Cambridge ; and Dr. Jeune, Master of Pembroke College,
Oxford. Note (69), p. 137.
See " Clerical Training," a sermon preached in Cuddesdon
parish church, June 9th, 1857 ; published at the request of
the Lord Bishop of Oxford.

Note (70), p. 137.
" There can be no doubt," observe the Committee, " as to
the value of a practice frequently adopted by young men
previous to ordination, of placing themselves under the care
of an experienced clergyman, who can at once superintend
their theological studies, and gradually initiate them into
the pastoral duties of their future office ; and we regret that
this practice cannot be universally introduced." — Report,
p. xvii.

297

NOTES

LECTURE VI.
Note (71), page 144.
See a sermon preached- in the chapel of Marlborough
College, on Michaelmas day 1858, being the anniversary of
the Consecration of the chapel, by the Rev. F. Temple, D.D.,
Head Master of Rugby School.
See also a "Letter to an Employer, in an account of
St. Mark's School, Windsor, embodying some suggestions
on the subject of education," by the Rev. Stephen Haw-
trey, M.A., Mathematical Assistant, Eton, page 10, from
which the following is an extract : —
"  now in your employ, was brought up in our school.
May I ask what character he bears ? Do you find him truthful,
open, trustworthy, intelligent, quick to learn, and industrious,
sensible, modest, obliging, and, as far as you know, moral in
his habits of life? .... My inquiry is purely with a view
of ascertaining what effect their early education has had on
the after life and habits of the boys who have been brought
up at our parochial school."
Note (72), page 145.
The charge referred to is one delivered to the clergy of the
Archdeaconry of Middlesex, " On School Rates in England
and America,"— at the visitations held at St. Paul's, Covent

298 NOTES.
Garden, on the 30th and 31st of May 1860, by the Venerable
John Sinclair, M.A., Archdeacon of Middlesex, and Vicar
of Kensington. Note (73), page 146.
" Address " by Alexander Bache, as quoted in the above
Charge, from the New York Church Journal, Dec. 11, 1856,
page 28. I am glad to confirm this testimony by that of the
late Dr. Arnold. In his Life, by Canon Stanley, 3rd edition,
vol. i. p. 131, it is observed, "For mere cleverness, whether
in boys or men, he had no regard. Mere intellectual
acuteness," he used to say, in speaking (for example) of
lawyers, " divested, as it is in too many cases, of all that is
comprehensive, and great, and good, is to me more revolting
than the most helpless imbecility, seeming to be almost like
the spirit of Mephistopheles." Often when seen in union
with moral depravity, he would be inclined to deny its ex
istence altogether. The generation of his scholars, to which
he looked back with the greatest pleasure, was not that which
contained most instances of individual talent, but that which
had altogether worked steadily and industriously. The uni
versity honours which his pupils obtained were very consider
able, and at one time unrivalled by any school in England,
and he was unfeignedly delighted whenever they occurred.
But he never laid any stress upon them, and strongly depre
cated any system which would encourage the notion of their
being the chief end to be answered by school education.
" If," he used to say, " there be one thing on earth which is
truly admirable, it is to see God's wisdom blessing an in
feriority of natural powers, where they have been honestly,
truly, and zealously cultivated." In speaking of a pupil of
this character, he once said, " 2" would stand to that man hat
in hand"

LECTURE VI. 299

Note (74), p. 148.
In a leading article in The Times newspaper, March 30th,
1861, it is observed, " all the informants of the Commission
concur in the assertion that in the choice of week-day
schools, the working population is absolutely careless of the
theological differences of Protestant churches or sects ....
the child returns as a matter of course to the faith or custom
of the parents, unless the activity of religious partisans has
moulded his opinions through the proselytising influence of
the Sunday school." While there is no doubt that the
managers of schools attach great importance to the education
of children in the religious creed which they themselves
profess, it appears that the parents of the children do not
share in this feeling. The testimony of the Assistant Com
missioners on this point is remarkable. Thus Mr. Headley
says, Report, p. 147 : " I have heard of no single instance
in which the religious teaching in a school formed the
ground for withdrawing or withholding children from the
school." Again, Report, p. 164: "It is extremely rare to
find a church-school which does not contain several children
of dissenters. I have been constantly assured, that no objec
tion is known to be entertained to the religious instruction
given in the school. When the rule of the school requires
the attendance of all the children on Sunday, there often are
objections made, but even then the objections do not origi
nate so much with the parents, as with the teachers and
managers of the dissenting Sunday school." Mr. Cumin
states (p. 6), " I have been asked whether the poor show a
preference for one system of education over another ; whether
they neglect the education of their children because of re
ligious differences ; and whether, in short, there is anything
in the present schools which indisposes parents to send their
children to school. I made the most diligent inquiry into
these matters, and found no difference of opinion. School
masters, clergymen, ministers, city missionaries, all told me
that the poor, in selecting a school, looked entirely to

300 NOTES.
whether the school supplied good reading, writing, and
arithmetic." "The truth is," he adds, "that the religious
difficulty, as it is called, does not exist."
Dr. Hodson says on the subject of religious instruction :
" I do not find among teachers, parents, or pupils, that any
practical difficulty exists. Even those who themselves have
very little religious thought of any kind, have a notion that
religion is a good thing for their children." (p. 64.)
The following judicious remarks are from a leading article
in The Times newspaper of March 30th, 1861 :— " The Com
missioners justly conclude that the feelings of managers and
subscribers must be regarded as scrupulously as if they were
shared by the parents of the children who are to be taught ;
and it is certain that religious motives have been infinitely
more effective in promoting the institution of schools than
any zeal which may exist for the cause of intellectual training.
It is useless to argue Avith local philanthropists on the com
parative unimportance of sectarian differences. The parish
clergyman will not relinquish his connection with the Na
tional Society, nor will the zealous Dissenter submit to the
Catechism and the Liturgy. Impartial devotees of secular
education are few and comparatively inactive ; nor is it easy
to find a latitudinarian lady visitor. Twelve hundred thou
sand poor children are at present taught under the superin
tendence, and, in an altogether unreasonable proportion, at
the expense, of the clergy. Any innovation which should
exclude special religious doctrine from the course of instruc
tion would throw the whole mass of scholars on the mercy of
the farmers, who habitually regard a boy as an implement
for picking stones or scaring crows from a cornfield. The
landed proprietors, though far less liberal in their contributions
than the clergy, are almost equally resolute in their repudia
tion of Dissent ; and, on the other hand, the Nonconformists
of the towns regard the doctrinal truths to which they are
witnesses as incomparably more indispensable than the
mundane accomplishments of reading and writing. The
Government, when it comes to deal with Popular Education,

LECTURE VI. 301
wisely contents itself with secondary arrangements for
increasing and applying the power which it finds already
provided. The judicious engineer will not commence his
operations by diverting the water or turning off the steam."
The following passage from the Report of the Conference
of the Liberation Society, p. 110, affords, an instructive
insight into the educational views of political dissent.
" Nor must the society neglect the great work of popular
education. Great efforts are now being made by the advo
cates of the Established Church to lay hold of the children
of the poor, and to train them up in obedience to its claims.
Every insidious art is plied, with untiring energy, to scatter
abroad the most pernicious notions, with a view to reclaim
the population to the bosom of the Church, and to imbue the
general mind with a superstitious dread of the doctrine and
practice of Dissent. Rank, wealth, and power are embarking
in this crusade against freedom of thought and independency
of opinion. Leisure and talent, and the blandishments of
condescension are put at the service of the Church. Parishes,
that a few years since were silent and inactive, are now set
in motion ; and in every town and village in the empire
strenuous exertions are being made to arrest the progress of
Dissent. It will become us to educate the children of the
poor, so far as Ave can, in accordance with the spirit of the
age. Everything should be done to aid the extension of the
British and Foreign School Society. Daily instruction
should be provided, wherever it is practicable, in connection
with dissenting congregations. The pupils in our sabbath
schools should be well informed on the meaning and consti
tution of a church, on the spirituality of the Redeemer's
reign, on the sinfulness and mischiefs of the assumptions of
religious establishments. The features by which we are
distinguished as Nonconformists should be by all means more
distinctly taught and more generally understood. Most
strenuous and unwearied exertions should be put forth hy
the dissenting community to rescue the rising generation
from the strange, exclusive, and bewildering instructions

302 NOTES.
under which episcopal solicitude yearns to place them ; and
towards these exertions the Anti- State-Church Association
should steadily turn its eye."
Note (75), page 148.
" It is proved that in rural districts landowners do not con
tribute to the expenses of schools so liberally as the wealthy
classes in mining districts or large towns. The result is, that
the burden falls principally on the parochial clergy, " who,"
say the Commissioners, " are very ill able to bear it." Mr.
Fraser collected the financial statistics of 168 schools in his
district, to which there were 1028 subscribers, of these, the
following were the proportions : —
£
169 Clergymen contributed 1782 or 10 10 0 each
399 Landowners „ 2127 „
217 Occupiers „ 200 „
102 Householders „ 181 „
141 other persons „ 228
The rental of the 399 landowners is estimated at 650,0007.
a year. In a somewhat similar table of the subscriptions to 18
schools in his district, Mr. Headley gives the following
figures : £
Landowners contributed . . . .198
Occupiers „ .... 38
Clergymen „ .... 471
Mr. Cumin gives similar instances. " I visited," he says,
" one country parish, in which the resident owners of land
subscribed 27. to the school, and four non-residents 117. 5*.,
Avhile the clergyman gave 237. in one year. In this parish
the rateable value of the land was 35007."
" Respecting the heaviness of the burden thus borne by the
clergyman, the Commissioners remark, ' that it is but imper
fectly indicated by these figures. He is frequently respon
sible for the finances of the school; he takes the largest

£

s.

d.

10

10

0

5

6

0

0

18

6

1

15

6

LECTURE VI. 303
interest in its affairs ; he has to beg subscriptions from all
sources ; and at last submits, most meritoriously, and most
generously, to bear not only his own proportion of the
expense, but also that which ought to be borne by others.
It has been repeatedly noticed by the school Inspectors ; and
it is our duty to state, that, as a class, the landowners,
especially those who are non-resident (though there are many
honourable exceptions) do not do their duty in the support
of popular education, and that they allow others, who are far
less able to afford it, to bear the burden of their neglect.'
" The farmers, or land-occupiers, on the other hand, are not
merely indifferent, they are hostile to education. Mr. Headley
says, ' that they seldom feel any interest in the school, and
seldom therefore subscribe to it.' Mr. Fraser reports that
' the prejudices against education, which fifteen years ago
were nearly universal, are still to be found lingering amongst
this class.' But he remarks that ' they have very little notion
of almsgiving of any kind, and have been entirely overlooked
in the efforts that have been made to improve the condition
of schools.'" — See "Popular Education in England,"
pp. 64—5. Note (76), page 149.
This has been repeatedly urged on our Bishops, and is re
cognised by them as a reason for admitting candidates for
confirmation from the poorer classes at an earlier age than
might otherwise be deemed advisable. The hope is that the
intercourse with the clergyman thus revived, may enable him
to resume and retain his pastoral influence over them, before
they become wholly estranged.
Note (77), page 150.
See sermon on " the Church's Duties and the Church's Op
portunities," preached in the nave of Wells Cathedral on
Thursday, October 4th, 1860, at the annual meeting of the
Diocesan Societies, by Charles John Vaughan, D.D., Vicar

304 NOTES.
of Doncaster, &6., from which the following is an extract : —
*' Often the brief years given to school contain the whole of a
poor man's training in the things of God : and heavy is the
responsibility which rests upon those to whose charge those
brief years have been consigned, to see that they be made
really profitable, - — a seed time, indeed, of that engrafted
Word which is able to save the soul."

Note (78), page 150.
In a sermon preached at the annual meeting of the
Worcester Diocesan Training College, entitled '" Education
not Teaching but Training," and published in the report of
that institution for 1861, I have stated at length my view of
this subject. Note (79), page 151.
See on this subject an assize sermon by the Rev. John
C. Miller, D.D., entitled "The Dying Judge's Charge,"
p. 26. Also, extract from a speech delivered by him at the
anniversary of the Sunday School Union, May 3, 1855, and
quoted by the Rev. Dr. Hessey in his Bampton Lectures,
1860, p. 501, and from which I cannot deny myself the
pleasure of subjoining the following passage : "I do not
believe there is a single father on this platform, or in this
hall, who would attempt, if he had a grain of common sense,
to deal with his own children as we have been dealing with
the children of the poor. Who that- knows the elasticity of
a child's body and mind, and the difficulty of keeping it still,
even at family prayer, would ever dream, if he thought at all
upon the subject, of overtasking the physical and mental
powers of children, as we have so long been doing on the
Lord's day?"

LECTURE VI. 305

Note (80), page 151.
See account of St. Mark's School, Windsor, already alluded
to, from which the following is an extract : " There is no
sentiment I am acquainted with, bearing on this subject, that
I think more true and valuable than the following ; — it occurs
in Professor Stanley's work on the Epistle to the Corinthians.
He is speaking of St. Paul's mode of dealing with the
Churches he had planted, and says : — ' Sympathy is the secret
of power. No artificial self-adaptation — no merely official or
pastoral relation — has an influence equal to that which is pro
duced by the consciousness of a human and personal affection
in the mind of the teacher towards his scholars — of the general
towards his soldiers — of the Apostle towards his converts.'
These words ought to be engraven on every schoolmaster's
heart  So essential do I consider it to a master's
success, that he should make the boys feel that he takes an
interest in them, and sympathizes with them, that if I were
to put my meaning in the shape of the old apothegm, I
should say that the first requisite for a master is love, the
second is love, and the third is love." (pp. 26. 27.) Injustice
to the School of St. Mark's, Windsor, I subjoin Mr. Canon
Moseley's allusion to it, see vol. i. Minutes of the Privy
Council, 1848 — 49. " At this school, the boys breakfast with
the schoolmaster, each bringing his bread and butter, and
the clergyman providing the cocoa. I doubt not that this
meal, eaten in common by the teacher and children, has con
tributed largely to the high moral tone of that remarkable
school . . . The most perfect idea we can form of a school
approaches to that of a well-ordered family ; and of the proper
relation of the teacher and his scholars, to that of a parent
and his children. It is perhaps difficult to conceive how this
idea is to be realised, unless they take their meals together."
My own views on this subject are stated in the sermon
entitled " Education not Teaching, but Training," already
alluded to.

306 NOTES.

Note (81), page 153.
There are some very able remarks on the moral condition
of the youth of the working classes in an article on " Supple
mental National Education," in Macmillan's Magazine, May
1861, by Rev. H. S. Robinson, Principal of Training College,
York. Note (82), page 153.
I give the whole of this important passage : " All of us,
laity as well as clergy, individuals as well as the Church,
may do much by our thoughtfulness for our weaker brethren,
for the young, and the poor especially, and let it be added,
(in the case of those in better circumstances) by our personal
self-denial, towards making Sunday that divine yet humane
institution, that blessing to the whole man, which it was
doubtless intended to be. I fear that we oftentimes make
mistakes in this matter. To begin with children : we find
it difficult to know what to do with them on Sunday ; we
take them to church perhaps twice ; we give them services
too long even for adults. They understand but little of the
prayers, and less of the sermon. But this gets over only a
part of the day. What is to be done Avith the remainder ?
Perhaps we have taught them a question from what is called
the broken catechism: — ' Can those be thought to keep the
Sabbath day holy who play on it ? ' to which the answer is
— 'By no means.' And we feel bound to carry out this sort
of teaching. Accordingly, when away from church, they
must not do this, they must not do that — they must sit still,
or be very quiet, or read only good books, and the like.
Can we wonder that they associate religion and Sunday with
dulness and restraint, and that when they become their own
masters, they dislike a Christianity which seemed to check
all natural cheerfulness, and give them little that they could
feel or understand ?
" And if this is the case with our own children, it is much

LECTURE VI. 307
more the case with the children of the poor. To the restraint
of two church services is frequently added the restraint of a
Sunday school. The Lord's day is made to them a day of
positive work. Can we wonder, again, that so soon as they
grow to an age to quit that school, they associate Sunday,
and everything connected with it, with heaviness and weari-
someness ? In church they got little they could understand ;
they were frequently seated where they could neither hear
nor see : out of church they were met by lessons — well
intended indeed, but ensuing upon what they had done or
suffered already, too much for their jaded minds and bodies.
An eminent clergyman, Dr. Miller, has said publicly, that
' we need have many searchings of heart when we see the
small effect produced by our Sunday schools, and by our
Sunday teaching generally ; and that though there are
objections to detaching children from the services in the
church, even this is preferable to giving them what they
cannot understand.' He says in effect, that 'the whole
treatment of Sunday, in reference to the children of the poor,
requires revision.' Whether such continuous tension of
mind, or stagnation of bodily energy for a whole day, and
that on His day who cared for little children, should exist,
I leave you to judge. Whether any Sunday school should
be established, which does not possess a recreation ground in
which the children should be allowed such regulated amuse
ment at intervals throughout the day, as shall suit their age
and requirements ; and whether, again, there should not be a
graduation of the spiritual nutriment of children, as compared
with men, analogous to that which is applied in bodily food,
I leave to your charitable consideration. At present there
is undoubtedly something wrong. Persons, directly they
quit school, throw off Sunday altogether in disgust, and hence
the frequent confession that their first step in evil was
Sabbath-breaking. There is some truth in that confession.
But to state their case more correctly, they had been taught
to consider the Lord's day a burden. They could not bear
it — threw off that burden, and with it, all reverence for God
x 2

308 NOTES.
and all thought of the unseen and their own hereafter." —
Dr. Hessey's Bampton Lectures, 1860, p. 337 — 8.

Note (83), page 154.
" Let our Sunday school children," observes Dr. Miller in
his assize sermon, entitled "the Dying Judge's Charge,"
p. 26, — " no longer be dragged to services, in length beyond
their powers of patient attention and endurance, and in
character unsuited to their capacities — let them have simple,
short, suitable services — and when they leave our Sunday
schools they will not, as, to so fearful an extent, they do now,
turn their backs upon church and clergymen alike, but con
tinue in many cases attached worshippers. Let the quality
of our Sunday schools be elevated to keep pace with the
elevation of our day schools — a point which has not yet ex
cited the attention which it demands."
It is an instructive fact that while about three-fourths
of the popular education afforded by public day-schools is
in connection with the Established Church, the Dissenters
recruit their numbers on Sunday. For every seventy-six
day-scholars, the Church has only forty-five Sunday scholars,
while for every three day scholars, the Wesleyans have
nineteen Sunday scholars. This may partly be accounted
for by the fact that the Church educates on week-days the
children of Dissenters.
" I am confident," observes the Dean of Carlisle, " that
the Sunday school is just the faggot above the load in many
instances. The Sunday-school teachers as a body, however
pious and well-intentioned, are inferior even in Scripture
knowledge to the day-school teachers, and they are generally
wholly unskilled in the art of training. I have seen the
children of a class laughing at the blunders of their Sunday-
school teachers. I firmly believe that the subsequent irre
ligion of so many who have been through our schools, is to
be traced to the injudicious amount and quality of the whole
Sabbath-day instruction. Sunday, instead of being a day of

LECTURE VI. 309
rest and relaxation, is the heaviest and dullest day of the
seven to the poor children."
Mr. Fraser, one of the Government Commissioners, ob
serves : " I was in the habit of visiting one or more schools
every Sunday, but of all I saw — more than twenty — there
is not one that has not left the impression of weariness and
deadness on my mind."
It is right to add that the Educational Commissioners
express their opinion that " Sunday-schools, when well-
conducted, are an effective means of giving religious teach
ing, and possess other and great advantages."

Note (84), p. 154.
The utility of this class of schools may be judged by the
circumstance that they are frequented chiefly by those who
have never received elementary instruction, or have forgotten
it. " At Wells," observes Mr. Cumin, " I found Lord
Auckland himself, teaching a class of navvies to read and
cypher. I witnessed with admiration those brawny men
come into the room with clean smock frocks, and newly
washed hands and faces, having walked a distance of more
than two miles from their cottages to pursue their studies.
Every one had his reason for coming, and one of the most
intelligent had the ambition of rising to be an engine-driver."
The fact is, as Mr. Wigham, the superintendent of locomo
tives at Bristol, said, these men know that some of the
richest contractors have risen from being mere navvies, but
that such a position is impossible to reach without a know
ledge of reading, writing, and arithmetic, but especially the
last, in order that they may be able to measure work."
It seems to be clearly made out that mixing boys with
men always leads to disappointment.
The principal hindrance, however, to the success and ex
tension of evening schools, appears to arise from the difficulty
of obtaining the services of proper masters.
x 3

310 NOTES.
It is suggested that a grouping of evening schools might
be organised, in which case an organising master might
spend one night of the week in each school, and train the
ordinary master to his duty. The Commissioners have no
doubt that evening schools, unconnected with day schools or
with any other institutions, would in many cases he useful ;
and they quote Mr. Maurice's testimony, to the effect that,
at present they are " the only means of encountering the
great difficulty of modern English education," See " Popular
Education in England, &c." by Herbert S. Skeats ; Brad
bury and Evans, 1861. Note (85), p. 154.
There are names that will at once occur to every reader in
corroboration of this remark. And it is our happiness to
believe, that thousands of the daughters of our people in
these days, as teachers in our national schools, as district
visitors, as nurses of the sick, as helpers of the helpless, and
succourers of the fallen, are doing God's work amongst us,
and while ennobling their own sex, furnishing the brightest
and most influential example to the other.

Note (86), p. 156.
Thus a gentleman of great experience as an Inspector of
Schools, in a letter to Mr. R. A. Kinglake, one of the
magistrates for that division of Somersetshire, on the subject
of schools for farmers' sons, observes : " The middle classes
in this, as well as other districts, are more uncared for than
the poor or the independent. Their parents as yet do
not feel the vast importance of the matter, and the high
prices of the present moment are to them a powerful argu
ment that with their present mental acquirements they can
gain money and save money. They never think, reason, or
argue on the beneficial influences of a sound education — no,
nor even of its pecuniary advantages. Among a hundred

LECTURE VI. 311
farmers' sons, I cannot find one scarcely who knows the
nature of the soil he cultivates, what will improve it, or
what are the best materials to mingle therewith. They do
as their forefathers did, and what they do, they do without a
reason. This ought not to be : to say nothing of morals,
nothing of that high feeling which would make them
useful members of civilised society, capable of well filling
the sacred trusts of home hfe, public hfe, political life. One
year or two of boarding school education, after a miserable
drilling by a village schoolmaster, is all that now around
here for miles is granted to the middle classes. If you could
influence your brother magistrates to take up this matter,
and to provide a school, say in the neighbourhood of Weston-
super-Mare, there to give a solid useful education, — teaching
agriculture not only by chemistry, but by taking some
twenty or thirty acres of ground, it would be an inestimable
benefit. The arrangements should be so conducted as to
average in cost from 307. to 407. Such a school would not
only be a blessing to society, but would in a short time be
self-supporting, and serve, moreover, as a stimulus for the
formation of similar institutions in the county. No time is
t'o be lost if we mean to keep the farmers in their proper
place, and prevent their being overtaken and distanced by
other classes."
To the same effect, are remarks recently made by Lord
Chelmsford, on the occasion of his presiding at a meeting of
the Chelmsford Literary Institution. His lordship observed :
" The nature of the instruction now given in National schools
to the lowest class of the people was of a character so much
higher than that which they received in former times, that
it was a subject for grave and serious consideration whether
increased efforts were not necessary in the classes above
them to improve their own minds, in order to keep the same
relative distance in advance in their mental progress. Nothing
could be more prejudicial to society, than that the labourer
should be better informed, and better instructed than his
employer." x 4

312 NOTES.
Again, I find in a pamphlet recently published by one of
Her Majesty's Assistant Inspectors of Schools the following
remark : — " The few children taught in private schools that
have come under my notice, have certainly not been favour
able specimens. They have generally learned to write neatly,
and do some of the more mechanical parts of their school
work correctly, but their minds have not been awakened ;
and their ignorance on many subjects which are made the
matter of much interesting oral instruction in our National
schools has been surprising. See " Some Points considered
in reference to Secondary Schools," by H. R. Sandford,
M. A., one of H.M. Assistant Inspectors of Schools ; Wright,
Stafford, 1861. Note (87), p. 156.
The reason why the most pretentious and the most shallow
of these private schoolmasters are often the most popular
and attractive, is well stated in an extract from a letter
given by Mr. Acland, in his work on the "Middle Class
Examinations," from one whom he calls " an experienced
observer, himself in trade." His words are these : " This
has always appeared to me the real gist of the educa
tional question, — popular shabbiness of estimate, with po
pular inability to appreciate. Those who buy bread, or
meat, or clothes for their children have some tolerable judg
ment of the article ; but in buying instruction for them, they
buy in the dark, and the most conscientious teacher has no
chance against the most ignorant quack."

Note (88), page 157.
The following passage is extracted from the pamphlet on
" Secondary Schools " already alluded to : — " As a proof of
how much may be done by these public Middle Class Schools
towards raising in tone and intelligence the class of children
they are designed to benefit, I need only refer to such

LECTURE VI. 313
institutions as the Middle Class College at Hurstpier-Point —
an institution which appears to be conducted in a noble
spirit, and to retain a great hold on the affections of its
scholars in after life. Nothing, again, can be more pro
mising than the aspect of the Middle Class School lately
established at Trowbridge, which has been most liberally
endowed by a neighbouring clergyman. One of the most
important movements that have been made in regard to
middle class education, is the formation in the county of
Devon of a company entitled the Devon County School
Association, which has already in connection with it an ex
cellent Middle Class School, founded by the Rev. Canon
Brereton, and now established on the proprietary basis, at
West Buckland, and will probably soon have another. The
Lord Lieutenant of the county, and other leading gentry, are
liberal supporters of the movement. It is somewhat strange
that all these efforts to improve the education of the middle
class should be made in the rural county of Devon, while other
counties, far beyond it in manufacturing wealth, and both
in the extent and in the intelligence of the population, have
hardly taken a step in the matter, have done little or nothing
in a united way towards providing a better class of. schools
for their farming and trading class. Any one wishing for
information as to the above movement in Devonshire, may
obtain it from the Rev. C. S. Bere, Uploman Rectory,
Tiverton, who has been instrumental in establishing another
school on the same plan as that of West Buckland, in the
neighbourhood of Tiverton." Mr. Sandford adds, " It was
my acquaintance with such schools, the seeing how much
could be done in them for boys of the middle class, and how
intelligent, tractable, gentlemanly, under a good system, boys
of that class could become, that in a great measure caused
me to take an interest in the subject."

314 NOTES.

Note (89), page 158.
See "Educational Charities " in the abstract of the Report
of the Royal Commissioners on Education, already alluded to,
pp. 100—9. Note (90), page 159.
On June 18, 1857, a statute was passed hy convocation,
having for its object the examination of candidates not being
members of the University. Examinations are held once
annually. The examiners, time and place of the exami
nation, and other particulars are arranged by a Delegacy
appointed under the authority of the statute. The exami
nations are held in Oxford and in such other places as the
delegates appoint. The candidates are divided into two
classes. 1. Seniors under the age of eighteen. 2. Juniors
under the age of fifteen. Every successful candidate receives
a certificate, specifying the subjects on which he has satisfied
the examiners.
The examination of the junior candidates is in the follow
ing subjects. 1. Preliminaries, &c. &c. 2. The Rudiments
of Faith and Religion. 3. Optional Subjeets, &c. &c.
The examination of senior candidates is in 1. Preliminary
subjects, &c. &c. 2. The Rudiments of Faith and Religion.
3. Optional subjects &c.
Local committees wishing to have examinations held in
their several districts, may at once obtain all necessary in
formation from the Rev. J. Griffiths, 63, St. Giles, Oxford,
Secretary to the Delegacy. Their actual request for an
examination must be made before the 1st of February.
Note (91), page 161.
See " And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free : " — a sermon preached in the chapel of Marl
borough College, on Michaelmas day, 1858, being the
anniversary of the Consecration of the chapel, by the

LECTURE VI. 315
Rev. F. Temple, D.D., Master of Rugby School. See also a
sermon preached by the same author in Wellington College
Chapel, on Sunday, Jan. 23, 1859, on the text "For as we
have many members in one body, and all members have not
the same office ; so we, being many, are one body in Christ,
and every one members one of another," Romans xii. 4. 5,
from which the following passage is an extract:— " Now
the lesson which St. Paul wants to teach us when he calls
the Church a Body, is this ; that we are bound up together
in such a way that every one of us has a concern in the life
of every one else. We are very apt to think that each man
has himself to look after, and has nothing to do with any one
else, and no one else has anything to do with him. We are
very apt to say, ' What is it to any one else how I live ? If I
do no crime, if I pay my just debts, if I do all my duties
which my place requires of me, what more can be wanted ?
It can make no difference to any one else what are my
thoughts, what are my feelings, what is my manner. If I
do my duty, no one can complain ; however sulky and dis
contented I may be, no one has a right to interfere. If my
words are not bad, no one is hurt by my thoughts. If I
never say my prayers, if I never read my Bible in private, if
I never think about God, if I never listen to what is going
on in God's house, that may be very wrong ; but it is no
one's concern but my own.' We are apt to take fancies of
this sort into our heads ; and if we do, here is St. Paul's
answer : — - We are members one of another ; ' we are one
body ; we cannot live apart from the rest, however much we
may wish it. Just see how the members of the body are
bound together. Is it nothing to the heart, if the foot be
bitten by a poisonous serpent ? Is it nothing to the foot, if
the mouth drink in the infection of some dangerous disease ?
Is it nothing to the head, if you cut an artery in the arm and
let all the blood flow out ? You cannot have any part of the
body hurt without the other parts suffering, and sometimes
suffering very much. Just so it is with the Body of Christ.
If one of us sin, even though the sin be quite secret, and no

316 NOTES.
one know anything about it but God, until all secrets he
revealed at the day of judgment, yet for all that the sin is a
secret poison, and will most certainly do harm in many secret
ways to those who live much with the sinner. I tell you
that even sins of thought have their secret issues in damaging
the Body, and how much more sins of act and word ! And
on the other hand just as the body carries poison from one
member to another (if any poison be brought in), so too does
the body carry from one member to another the grace of
God. God can give His grace in many ways. He can if
He chooses put good thoughts and good wishes into our souls
all at once, and without using any instruments. But the
common way in which He does this is by making one good
man stir up another, and then making him stir up another,
and then him another, until the power of His Holy Spirit
has breathed successively upon many hearts, and has breathed
into them the breath of the life of our Master Christ."
See also a sermon preached by the Rev. E. W. Benson,
M.A., Head Master of Wellington College, on the same
occasion. Note (92), page 162.
I speak of Dr. Arnold, as I knew him, and the work which
he effected, and the men he trained. On some points, both
political and religious, my views differed from his. But I
was his near neighbour for the last few years of his life,
while I was incumbent of Dunchurch, — and as such
had frequent intercourse with him. I had four sons at
Rugby, — and also three assistants in my parochial charge,
ordained to my cure, who received their education there, — two
of them favourite pupils of Dr. Arnold's, recommended and
introduced hy him. Of the former, it does not become me, as
a father, to speak : but I may record my deep and affectionate
sense of services received at the hands of De Bunsen of
Lillieshall, Hoskyns of Tyrrold Aston, and Bere of Uploman,
who laboured with me as sons in the Gospel, and whose

LECTURE VI. 317
subsequent course has more than fulfilled the promise of
their youth. Note (93), page 164.
See " Public School Education :" a lecture delivered at
the Athenaeum, Tiverton, by the Right Honourable J. T.
Coleridge, second edition; London, John Murray, Albe
marle street, 1860= Note (94), page 164.
See " Sermons on The Beatitudes " with others, mostly
preached before the University of Oxford, Sermon x. p. 176;
by George Moberly, D.C.L., Head Master of Winchester
College. Note (95), page 166.
It is unquestionable that for the culture of the mind there
is no discipline so good as the enlightened study of the masters
of Greek and Roman Literature. The preference manifested
by the great captain of our age for men to officer his troops
who had been educated at our Universities, is well known.
Even for commercial pursuits our Universities furnish a
good preparation, — while for the senate or the bar it cannot
be denied that the studies pursued there supply the best
possible, training ; and the recent efforts to popularize the
system and enlarge the course of studies, as well as to free
it from antiquated restrictions and abuses, ought to go far
to recommend it to practical minds.
I quote with pleasure on this point the mature judgement
of Dr. Arnold, " That classical studies should be the basis of
intellectual teaching," he maintained from the first. " The
study of language," he said, " seems to me as if it was given
for the very purpose of forming the human mind in youth ;
and the Greek and Latin languages, in themselves so perfect,
and at the same time freed from the insuperable difficulty
which must attend any attempt to teach boys philology

318 NOTES.
through the medium of their own spoken language, seem the
very instruments by which this is to be effected." But a
comparison of his earlier and later letters will show how much
this opinion was strengthened in later years, and how, in some
respects, he returned to parts of the old system, which on
his first arrival at Rugby he had altered or discarded. To the
use of Latin verse, which he had been accustomed to regard
as " one of the most contemptible prettinesses of the under
standing," " I am becoming " he said, " in my old age more
and more a convert." Greek and Latin grammars in English,
which he introduced soon after he came, he found were at
tended with a disadvantage, because the rules which in Latin
fixed themselves in the boys' memories, when learned in
English, were forgotten. The changes in his views resulted
on the whole from his increasing conviction, that " it was
not knowledge, but the means of gaining knowledge, which
he had to teach ; " as well as by his increasing sense of the
value of the ancient authors, as belonging really to a period
of modern civilization like our own : the feeling that in them,
" with a perfect abstraction from those particular names and
associations, which are for ever biassing our judgement in
modern and domestic instances, the great principles of all
political questions, whether civil or ecclesiastical, are per
fectly discussed and illustrated with entire freedom, Avith
most attractive eloquence, and with profoundest wisdom."
— (Sermons, vol. iii. pref. p. xiii.)
" From time to time, therefore, as in the Journal of Edu
cation (vol. vii. p. 240), where his reasons are stated at
length, he raised his voice against the popular outcry, hy
which classical instruction was at that time assailed. And it
Was, perhaps, not without a share in producing the subse
quent reaction in its favour, that the one head-master, who,
from his political connections and opinions, would have been
supposed most likely to yield to the clamour, was the one
who made the most deliberate and decided protest against it."
— Life of Dr. Arnold, vol. i. third edition, pp. 134-5-6.

LECTURE VI. 319

Note (96), page 166.
The examination system was altered in 1855. In addition
to the classical and mathematical schools, two new schools
were established, viz., a school of natural science and a school
of law and modern history. The staff of professors who
lecture on these subjects has been very largely increased.
At Christchurch, studentships, and at Magdalen College,
demyships are awarded for proficiency in physical science :
and at All Souls, the fellowships are awarded with special
reference to proficiency in the subjects of examination in the
law and modern history schools.
Thus, though the University considers the literce humani-
ores to be the studies best suited for the general training
of all her students, other lines of study are open to those
who have special tastes and aptitudes for them.
Note (97), page 167.
" The Labourers in the Vineyard," a sermon preached
before the University of Oxford, on Septuagesima Sunday,
February 5th, 1860, by Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, D.D.
Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History, and Canon of
Christchurch, from which the following grand passage is an
extract : — " It may be that this question, as put in these
words from this place, is fired into the air. It may be that
those whom it most concerns are far away, standing and
loitering in a still deeper idleness on this day — I cannot say
of ' rest,' for ' rest ' has no meaning for those who know not
what it is to work. But if in the minds of any who hear me
the words find an echo, the answer will perhaps come hack
almost in the words of the parable, — 'no man has hired us ; '
' the hfe of this place is against us ; its studies do not suit
us ; we have worked elsewhere ; we have worked at school ;
but we cannot work here.' No ; not so. There is no fatal
charm of indolence and apathy in college life. To labour here

320 NOTES.
is indeed your special call. As the preacher stands Sunday
after Sunday in this place, and doubts what is the special
duty which he shall lay before you, there is one of which he
can feel no doubt whatever ; and that is, to work. In after
life you may be in doubt what your calling is, but here it
cannot be mistaken. Here, in the natural studies of this
place, it lies straight before you. Now is the golden time
which will never come back to you. The field of study may
be narrower than you would wish ; narrower, perhaps, than
with advantage it might be. But it is wider by many degrees
than once it was ; it is wide enough for almost every one to
find his sphere. At any rate, do something ; if not within
the prescribed limits of study, then do something outside of
them; do something to justify your existence here; do
something which will enable you in after years to say, 'this
at least I then learned so as to remember still.' ' This idea,
this book, this character then first broke upon my mind.'
' This habit, this principle got hold of me in such a year, in
such a term ; and by God's grace it has stood me in good
stead until now.'"— Pp. 34-5-6.

321

NOTES,

LECTURE VII.
Note (98), page 173.
In his noble charge, " The better Prospects of the Church,"
the Archdeacon denounces the miserable and niggardly
spirit, which, as he says, during the last three centuries
generally characterised whatever was done in England for the
worship of God. " When," says he, " our ancestors were
poor and few in number, they built churches capable of con
taining a far larger population than was then to be found in
the land ; and they decorated them with all the skill of art,
and with everything that was most beautiful and most costly.
But since we have become the richest nation upon earth, it
has everywhere been seen, for generation after generation,
how loth Mammon is to part with any portion of his wealth
for the service of God. Therefore the gifts Avhich we had
ceased to use passed away from us. The skill in architecture,
which had prevailed above four centuries among men whom
we have the presumption to look down on with insolent
contempt, passed away from us. We became more and
more dexterous in all that is merely mechanical, in every
thing that is designed to pamper and charm the senses, but
almost barbarians in the higher regions of art." — Pp. 14, 15.
Note (99), page 175.
The churches of St. Pancras and Marylebone in the metro
polis, St. Thomas's and St. George's, Birmingham, and not
Y

322 NOTES.
a few similar structures throughout England, on which vast
sums were expended, may be cited as examples. Most of these
churches are of dimensions much too large for the compass
of an ordinary voice, and in the case of many of them to
which populous districts were attached, large sums were
expended on the fabric, but no adequate provision was made
for the minister. The cost of each of them would erect in
these days two or three churches far better suited for the
purposes of worship, and at the same time provide a par
sonage and endowment. Note (100), page 177.
" Report of Lords' Committee on Spiritual Destitution,"
p. xix.
The Committee had previously observed (p. xvii.), " Their
attention has been given to what is commonly called the
pew system, including within the meaning of that expres
sion, seats of a form and size inconveniently large, obstruct
ing sight and sound, and also involving in many cases a
continued retention of, or claims to, seats, by persons who
may have ceased to reside in the parish, or to frequent the
church. By the operation of this system it frequently
happens that the poorer classes ,of the parishioners are, to a
great extent, practically excluded from the parish church."
Note (101), page 177.
In "Fuller v. Lane" (2 Add. Eccl. Rep. 425), Sir John
Nicholl observes : " All the pews in a parish church are the
common property of the parish: they are for the use in
common of the parishioners, who are all entitled to be seated
orderly and conveniently, so as best to provide for the
accommodation of all."
Mr. Toulmin Smith, of Lincoln's Inn, Barrister at Law,
in his work, " The Parish," has the following passage : —
" It is well known that pews are a modern innovation, and
one of the growths of Puritanism. The result has certainly

LECTURE VII. 323
been different from what the Puritans intended ; for pews
have been one of the main causes of setting up distinctions,
offensive to all good taste and Christian simplicity, even in
the house of God. In a remarkable old case (Year Books,
8 Henry VII. fo. 12), though the seats then found in
churches were, as is now the case in continental churches,
but a few loose and moveable ones, it is declared that even
such a seat is ' a nuisance,' as interfering with the right of
' ease and standing,' that belongs to the people : ' for the
Church,' it says, ' is in common to every one ; and there is
no reason why one should have a seat, and that two should
stand : for no place in the Church belongs more to one than
to another ; ' while the parishioners ' are not able to have
their standing room on account of these seats.' How much
more, then, is this true with the modern pew system ! It is
of great importance to remember, that the sale or letting of
pews in a parish church, whether by churchwardens or by
any holder of a seat by prescription, is altogether illegal.
Nothing can legalise this : — unless indeed, it be an Act of
Parliament; and any such Act of Parliament would be an
absolutely revolutionary measure. Neither can a parishioner,
to whom a seat has been assigned by the churchwardens, let
it. The latter are bound indeed to take care that no such
practice grows up. It is one of the marks of the disregard
of principle, which in so many respects characterises the
modern Church Building Acts, that they admit of the letting
of seats in the churches built under them. Thereby they
do but further prove, that the ' ecclesiastical districts,' and
* new parishes ' which they establish, are merely sectarian
arrangements. Propositions have been made for legalising
the letting of seats in parish churches. The moment this
shall be done, the Church will lose every character of an
institution standing in any relation to the parish as the
Church of the People, and claiming, in that character, reve
rence, affection, and support from sincere men of all creeds
and opinions." T 2

324 NOTES.
To the same effect, Mr. Coke Fowler, on "Ihe Law
of Pews "(p. 69). "Can it be wondered at that such
practices have done much to alienate the affections of the
poor from the Church ? By these means they are almost
literally shut out. The law tells them that the floor of the
church is common ground ; but this, like many other things,
is in reality only a pleasant legal fiction ! Yet they are not
so dull as not to know that the English clergy are appointed
for the cure of all souls, with equal diligence, within the
limits of their charge; that one soul is as precious as
another in the sight of God; and that the accidents of
Avealth and rank can attach no spiritual value to one above
the other. Can it be a matter of surprise, then, that when,
knowing all this, they find the churches of England furnished
and arranged on a system diametrically opposite to these
truths, they turn their backs on her? It is vain to call the
Church of England ' the Poor Man's Church,' whilst, upon
her present system, she is emphatically the Church of the
Rich." It is difficult to see on what principle of equity, a rate
can be levied on an entire community, for what is practically
for the benefit of only a few. The opposition to church-
rates in many instances originated, and finds its strongest
pleas, in the wrong inflicted on parishioners by the appropri
ation of seats. Nor should it be forgotten, that the area,
Avhich, if free and unappropriated, might, in most instances,
afford ample accommodation for all Avho attend, will be quite
insufficient when seats are reserved.

Note (102), page 178.
In a Charge delivered to the clergy and churchwardens of
the archdeaconry of Coventry, and published at their request,
in 1858, I expressed my convictions on this subject in the
following terms : — " The parish church is for public Avorship,
and common prayer : its area is free and open ground ; its
services are for the use of all classes ; every parishioner has

LECTURE VII. 325
a right to a place within its walls. Such is at once the
theory of the Church and the law of the land.
" But what is the actual state of our parish churches ? Are
they common property ? Is their area free ? Can all the
parishioners meet together on their floors, Avithout impedi
ment and without distinction? Can any inhabitant walk
into his parish church, and claim his right to worship there,
without any one attempting to question this ? Wherever
else he is put aside, can he say, ' Well, at least the house of
God is free. I am at liberty and at home there : there the
distinctions of the world cease ; there the rich and poor meet
together ; the Lord is the Maker of them all ?'
" Must we not, my brethren, admit, with shame, that the
reverse of all this is true, — that in no place here in England
are human distinctions, and the jealousies and feuds these
foster, more rife and rampant than in our parish churches ?
And that in His House before whom all are equal, there
men most assert their place and their precedence ? Are not
our churches claimed by the few, to the exclusion of the
many ? Is not the area parcelled out in portions, to which
men arrogate separate and exclusive property ? Do we not
hear of their rights by faculty ; and rights by prescrip
tion ? Do they not even put locks and plates engraven with
their names on these cushioned and curtained enclosures,
and make merchandize of them, selling and letting them
for hire ?
" Now, what is this but an act of flagrant spoliation ? What
can be more discreditable and injurious to us as a Church ?
Has it not generated, not merely opposition to church-rates,
but wide-spread alienation from the Church itself? Does it
not in great measure account for the neglect and contempt
of religion so prevalent amongst the working classes ? What
wonder if men rise in opposition to a system which tolerates
such an abuse ! It places the Church in a most unfavourable
and invidious light. It neutralizes its power of doing its
appointed work. It stultifies its claims as the Church of
Y 3

326 notes.
the Poor. It almost invalidates its credentials as an insti
tution of Christ. For it is in direct contravention of the
principles and precepts of the Gospel. It ignores at once
the admonition of the Apostle, and the example of our Lord.
The one warns us to have no respect of persons, to give no
precedence in our religious assemblies to the man with the
gold ring and the goodly apparel over the poor man in vile
raiment — not to despise the poor. The other enjoins us to
go out into the streets and the lanes, and the highways and
the hedges, and to compel them to come in, that God's house
may be full. The one tells us that if we have respect unto
persons, we commit sin. The other enunciates as the badge
of Christ's religion, that the poor have the Gospel preached
unto them.
" And what pastor of Christ's Church — at least in our cities
and populous places — cannot testify to the obstruction in his
work which the abuse of which I speak occasions ? how it
practically refutes the theory of the parochial system ; how
it shuts his mouth when he would urge persons to frequent
the buildings from which they are thus virtually excluded !
" Its results have been to raise a rampart betwixt the Church
and the people, and make the clergy, in too many instances,
less the pastors of the nation than the chaplains of a class.
It will not admit of argument ; it cannot stand inquiry ; it
would crumble before opposition. And if men were only
half as jealous of their rights in matters of religion as they
are in matters of this world, they would at once combine to
put it down."
Suoh are my own opinions ; — but the subject is of such im
portance, that I am thankful to avail myself of the recorded
sentiments of others.
I begin with extracts from some of the leading journals of
the day.
" Nine-tenths of the cry about ' spiritual destitution,'
and of the demand for ' church extension,' and the rest,
arise, not from the difficulty of meeting the one or effecting
the other, but from the fact that interested persons want

LECTURE VII. 327
something more than ' church extension,' and relief from
' spiritual destitution.' They are jealous of new churches,
new clergy, new people, and want improvement without
alteration ; above all, not to abate one jot of their own
dignity. No man's dignity, however, should be allowed to
stand a day in the zoay of public good." — The Times news
paper, Feb. 14, 1856.
" An attempt has been made, and is still making, to draw to
Exeter Hall, on Sunday evenings, some of those thousands of
working men who assuredly exist in the metropolis, but who
are not found in either the churches or the chapels. The large
hall has been opened on the Sunday evenings of the last three
weeks, able preachers have been provided, and care has been
taken to announce that ' «77 the seats are free.'
" We cannot notice these and similar attempts, without
recurring to that which is always present to our mind, as one
of the foremost causes of the present alienation of the work
ing classes from public worship. We mean the vicious
arrangement of nearly all our churches and chapels.
" It is important, when we speak of this, to bear in mind
the real date and origin of the evil of which we complain.
The pew system, or rather the whole internal arrangement
of the churches and chapels of the metropolis is not ancient ;
it is not Roman Catholic ; nor is it Protestant. It took its
rise nearly two centuries after the Reformation, in one of
the darkest and most deplorable periods of the whole British
history .... The first half of the last century, within
which most of the present churches and chapels were built,
was a period in which religion, morals, science, and literature
were at the lowest ebb. Unblushing corruption in the
Government, and vulgar selfishness among the people, cha
racterised the age  Throughout the whole, one
principle of action is everyAvhere discernible ; the upper and
middle classes built the churches for themselves." — The Record
newspaper, January 6th, 1856.
"Few people would believe how great a practical hin
drance the pew system is to the advance of the Church
T 4

328 NOTES.
amongst the masses in our toAvns. The testimony on this
subject of the most practical and sagacious men is sin
gularly uniform, and is strong in proportion to their know
ledge of the poor, and the earnestness which they bring
to bear upon the difficulties of their situation. In great
towns, at least, it is said by those best qualified to speak,
that one of the chief hindrances to their work, is the
impossibility of getting the poor to feel at home in church,
and regard it and its services as something real and living,
the centre of their devotions, the comfort of their lives.
They look on the Church for the most part as a stiff, cold,
and dreary place, which they do not like to enter, and with
which they feel they have little to do. They cannot walk
freely into it, and kneel down where they choose — it is
no home for them ; it does not invite them ; perhaps it will
not receive them when they come. Even with the high-
principled there is a reluctance felt, which their principles
enable them to overcome ; but with the vast majority, that
are not so, the state of our churches acts as a barrier against
their use, and as an argument which the clergyman finds it
difficult to encounter .... The pews are costing the
Church of England the hearts of thousands of the English
poor ... It is the appropriation of God's house, which has
cost us so dear in the alienation of the people of our towns.
It is the perfect freedom of God's houses which is needed, as
one great practical means towards the recovery of their
hearts, and their restoration to the number of the Church's
faithful children." — The Guardian, September 8th, 1852.
" We look upon the whole pew system, not only as one of
the greatest hindrances to the successful working of Chris
tianity, but one of the greatest curses that has fallen on the
Church in modern times. And we do not believe that it
could ever have been grafted on the Church, except in such
an age as that of Cromwell, when worldly-mindedness and
individual selfishness had darkened, and almost hid all
spiritual religion ; and that if the claim had been made for
the first time in our day, not only common sense, hut every

LECTURE VII. 329
feeling of religion and equity, would be roused against it.
Nothing but the iron rule of prevalent custom, and the
prejudice of English traditions, could hide from the eyes of
men the injustice of the plan. And hence we would do all
that lies in our power to tear it root and branch from the
Church. . . . We have ourselves seen pews in English
churches twelve feet or more square, duly enclosed by
curtains and tapestry, furnished with drawing-room chairs,
centre table, hat-stand, and stove with fender and fire-irons."
— North American Church Review, October, 1855.
" It is undeniable that the pew system erects an artifi
cial inequality, where all should be equal. Herein it violates
a clear and express divine command, anticipating as it were,
and made strikingly applicable to the state of things now
existing in our own churches. The apostle forbids any
advantage whatever to be given in churches to one class
over another, as regards situation, or the union of families, or
personal comfort. His condemnation specially applies to the
invidious division of churches between * pews ' and ' free
seats.' To all who are instrumental in maintaining such
distinctions, he seems to address the emphatic language, —
'Ye have despised the poor.' 'If ye have respect unto
persons ye commit sin ; ' and as if by way of special warning
to those who, however unimpeachable they may deem them
selves in their faith or works, yet are guilty in this point,
he adds, ' but whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet
offend in one point, he is guilty of all ! ' " — Manchester
Weeky Advertiser, January 26th, 1856.
" The law of England undoubtedly contemplates that
every seat in every church shall be free and unappropriated.
All. the claims of the Church on the purse of the people pro
ceed on this hypothesis. Church-rates, e. g. are wholly in
defensible — in point of equity — on any other. They
proceed upon the assumption that the accommodation of the
church is free to all parishioners ; which it is not, and never
can be, where pews prevail and exclude the poor. Every
interference with the relation established between the

330 NOTES.
benefits afforded and the demands made, tends to alienate
the people from the Church, and should be avoided as fur
nishing a plausible charge of inconsistency against her.
" Pews are an evil, even to their occupants. The dis
tinction made between those who have pews and those who
have none, destroys the equality of all in the presence of their
God ; a priority of right in the house of prayer clashes with
the very notion of 'common supplications.' The present
system is the prolific parent of ill-will and anger, which
arise out of the disputed possession of pews. What miser
able parish squabbles, what alienation from the truth, what
hostile dissent have not been generated by contested rights
to exclusive possession of favourite seats in church I Again,
the pew system nurtures selfishness as well as pride. It
separates man from his neighbour, and lowers the tone of
devotion. But great as are the injuries which pews inflict
upon their occupants, they are nothing to those which are
inflicted upon the excluded. At present, three-fourths of
the whole population of England and Wales who might
attend church, have no pews ! This state of things repels
those who love the Church, and desire to attend her services ;
but how much more does it hinder those Avho are wholly in
different or alien to her, who have to be won to religion of
any kind, and who throw it in the face of those who try to
evangelise them, that ' even if they go to church they have
nowhere to sit ! '
" It is no answer to this to say that in many churches
where free seats are provided the poor do not use them.
There are comparatively few churches in which the free
seats are as good as the pews, uniform with them in pattern
and construction, and equal to them in comfort and accom
modation ; where, however, that is the case, and the parish
is properly worked, there will be found very few unoccupied
free sittings. What the poor cannot endure, is to be seated
in benches marked off from the rest of the church, and whose
very design and position denote that they are for an inferior
class of worshippers. Look at those odious benches that

LECTURE VII. 331
crowd the middle aisles of London churches: is it likely
that the poor will be enticed to go and occupy them ? They
are filled for the most part, but it is by the domestic ser
vants of the pew-holders. The poor are practically driven
away. The effect of the pew system on the young, on
assistants in shops, and the large floating, unsettled portion
of the population, who are separated from their family and
home, is very grievous. These having no certainty of a seat
if they go to church, easily acquire a habit of not going, and,
as years pass on, become confirmed in habits of irreligion or
dissent. The mortification of being compelled to stand in a
crowd during a great portion of the prayers, while many
sittings are unoccupied, because the owner (?) of the pew
objects to the admission of strangers to his circle, keeps
many from church. Yet this is going on in London and the
large towns every Sunday, and driving numbers to the
excursion train or to the meeting-house.
" But the pew system is a wrong to the clergy. It is a
great obstacle to their success. In dealing with the poor
their lips are often silenced by the fact, which they cannot
deny, that the poor are not provided for in the parish
church. Till this reproach is taken out of the poor man's
mouth, it is vain to hope for his return to the feelings and
duties of a loving churchman. The obstacles which pews
offer to mission work amongst the poor, have driven away
many to irregular and unchurchlike substitutes for worship.
. . . The destruction of pews and the multiplication of ser
vices are amongst the first and simplest methods of church
extension, and is the obvious way of making one church do
the work of three.
" We have here glanced at the evils of the system. We are
aware of all the objections, financial and others, that may
he urged against a change, but they have no stand-point in
the presence of the grievous evil entailed by things as they
are. While the present system lasts the Church can never
reclaim the poor. Let her in faith destroy that system, and
God will help her to the means of pursuing the more excellent

332 NOTES.
way." — "Article on The Pew System, and the Injuries which
it Inflicts on the Church of England, in the Literary Church
man." (London : Bell and Daldy, 72 pp.)
" Pews keep the poor from the house of God, and are
fruitful causes of dissent and irreligion. It matters not that
in most of the pewed churches sittings are reserved for the
poor. The feelings of a poor man are hurt when, on entering
the sacred portal, he is directed to the free seats by some
rude verger.
"In the sanctuary, the presence-chamber, as it were, of their
common Maker, we want men to forget, as far as possible,
the distinctions of the outer world, and to remember only
that they are brethren, members of one family. They do
not look like a congregation of brethren, when some are in
warm, panelled, cushioned, and curtained pews; others on
open benches. For ourselves, we could scarcely presume to
expect the Divine blessing on temples and services kept up
by outraging the lowliness of the poor and flattering the
pride of the rich. We denounce the system as repugnant to
true Christian principles and to the common dictates of
Christian charity." — Church Review, June 18th, 1861.
" The fearfully unchristian effects of the pew system
have at all times stood in such bold contrasts to the Gospel
blessings on the poor, that advocates have never been
wanting to maintain the true principles ; and now that the
Church is striving to be active in her work, it is marvellous
to witness how abuses, which had hitherto been so long esta
blished as to form legal precedents, seem to crumble into
dust before the obvious and clear light of justice and Christian
truth." — Christian Remembrancer, July 18th, 1852.
" To make a special provision for the comfort of the well-
educated and better disposed, whilst those who are disinclined
to religion are knowingly subjected to all the discouragement
of uncomfortable places, or practically — it must often
happen — of finding no places at all, in the house of God, is
a custom as unhappily universal as it is plainly inconsistent
with Christian charity and common sense. It is impossible

LECTURE VII. 333
to overrate the amount of hindrance to the Church's work,
in large towns and in country parishes, produced by the
present grievous misappropriation of her religious edifices."
— Church of the People.
See " Letter addressed to the Lord Bishop of Ely, on
the equal rights of all classes of parishioners to the use
of the parish Church, and the unchristian results of the
appropriation of seats," by Rev. John W. H. Molyneux,
B.A., incumbent of St. Peter's and St. Gregory, Sudbury,
Suffolk. "The Pew System, and the injuries inflicted thereby
on all degrees of men in the Church," by a layman.
" Preaching the Gospel to the Working Classes impossible
under the Pew System," by Rev. John W. H. Molyneux.
To the authorities quoted above I subjoin the following
testimonies from individuals.
Dr. Stanley, the late Bishop of Norwich, thus ex
presses himself in a letter dated Palace, Norwich, December
16th, 1842 : " Agreeing with you, as I entirely do, upon the
injustice and evil tendency of pews, by Avhich the benefits of
our Church Services are, comparatively speaking, confined to
the higher and wealthier classes, to the exclusion of the
poor, — I sincerely hope your appeal to the inhabitants of
Ipswich may be successful, and that they may be amongst the
first to express, as a collective body, their disapprobation of
a system so adverse, in my opinion, to the true interests of our
national church, which professes to have so much at heart
the spiritual welfare of the poorer and humbler classes of our
population. I am persuaded, indeed, that one of the promi
nent cases of dissent, as well as utter disregard and in
difference to religion, manifested by too many of these
classes, is attributable in a great degree to that exclusive
system of pews which has for so many years prevailed."
Earl Shaftesbury (House of Lords): — " I consider it
a great defect in our churches — a defect which has not grown
up of late years, — on the contrary, we are now learning to avoid
it, — that the working classes when they attend the services
of the Establishment, generally find themselves pewed up to

334 NOTES.
their very eyes, shut out from the places where they can hear
and be well accommodated, and not placed on a footing of
equality with the rest of the congregation. You find many
nooks and corners reserved for the working classes ; you have
free seats set apart for them ; but they will not occupy those
places ; they think they are despised, and treated as beings
of a secondary order. Unless, therefore, you show them
proper respect, and in the house of God admit that there
at least there is equality, depend upon it the vast pro
portion of the labouring population in London will never
be brought to attend the worship of the Establishment.
What the people of England want is not patronage, but
sympathy, — the bringing of heart to heart, — the acknowledg
ment on the part of persons of all conditions, of all degrees of
wealth, that they are made of like passions, with themselves,
with the same hopes, the same aspirations, the same sympa
thies, the same fears."
The Earl op Derby, on laying the foundation-stone of a
church in the parish of St. James's, London, July, I860: —
" It was the greatest misfortune of our day that in this
great city, and indeed in all the great towns of the country,
there was little room for fair play for the development of the
parochial system of the Church — that system than which
nothing could be so admirably adapted to its high and holy
ends — that system which contemplated not merely the
aggregation of men and women in the neighbourhood, but
which did contemplate, in the strictest sense of the term, a
community of Christian men and women, with common
interests, with common feelings, with common sympathies,
and with one faith in common. That Church was open to
all, rich and poor without distinction, and was one which
authorized the minister to be the adviser and friend of all, he
knowing all who were confided to his charge, and being
prepared, with a due sense of his responsibility to his Hea
venly Father, to dispense the Sacraments to all alike. In
large towns it would be too much to say that the benefits of
the parochial system were equally well carried out ; but,

LECTURE VII. 335
thank God, in many rural districts they nearly approached
to the practical working of the system. The duties
of property, as well as its rights, were not only not ignored,
but they Avere respected, and for the most part were faith
fully performed. Common occupations facilitated good feel
ing, bringing together rich and poor in kindly sympathy.
They were not severed, but were connected together by the
bonds of human friendship, and by Christian fellowship. The
churches for the most part Avere able to admit those who
came to them for the purpose of Divine worship, and in a
majority of the parish churches it must be the fault of the
minister, if he were not known to his parishioners, and did
not find out the means of working upon their affections ; but,
unhappily in this great metropolis there was no room for
this work of Christian fellowship. The very size of many
parishes made it absurd for the minister to attempt to become
acquainted with more than a very small portion of his pa
rishioners, even with the assistance of the laity, who could
have personal access to a part only of the population.
Again, in the churches, large as they were, they had not, in
many cases, one-tenth of those who ought to be habitual
attendants on Divine worship ; and this because it was
necessary to resort to pew rents, by which a portion of the
parishioners, and others, were excluded, though they might
desire to attend these holy places. It was impossible to
enter many large churches without being painfully struck
with the comparatively small number of free seats, and the
still smaller number of the working classes by whom those
free seats were occupied. In London the claims of property
were but feebly felt ; the owner of the soil, through special
agreements, building, and underletting, held but a small
portion of it, thus dividing and distributing the interests of
the people, doing away with the responsibility attaching to
the property in respect to those who were settled upon it.
The more wealthy had, perhaps, no other property ; and the
result of all this was, that a vast number of the population
were growing up in a state of heathenism, and did not

336 NOTES.
attend the services of the Church. The poor again, to whom
emphatically the principles of Christian truth should be
preached, were excluded from all the ministrations of the
Gospel, and access to their spiritual pastors and advisers. True
indeed it Avas that the labours of the ministry were lightened
and assisted by a body of devoted Christians, engaged in the
offices of Sunday-school teachers, Scripture readers, &c, who
laboured either for a very small remuneration, or gratuitously.
But because this assistance was required, was it right that
those whom Divine Providence had blessed with wealth
should withdraw their aid, and withhold their pecuniary
assistance towards facilitating the efforts of those Christian
people who were thus labouring in this wide field of Chris
tian benevolence ? It was unfortunately the case that there
was too little desire on the part of the wealthy to put to
themselves the fearful question, for such it was, ' Who is my
neighbour ? ' But were they to make no effort in the name
of Him who had declared that none should be lost ? These
were some of the reflections which had crowded upon his
mind as, year after year, he had marked the constant and
hopeless efforts of the parochial clergy to maintain the pa
rochial system."
The Dean of Carlisle : — " Who are they that should
cast a pebble of hindrance in our way ? Is it those who are
preaching on soft cushions to pampered hearers, in churches
the very antitype of that referred to by the Apostle : ' Stand
thou there, or sit here at my footstool ? ' Is there not
very great guilt on the Church of England, that she has for
so many years allowed, to say no more, the rich to accommo
date themselves and to care so little for her poorer members ?
No wonder she has gone so far astray ! My friends, the
answer to this is, Ave ask you to come here, because many
desire and cannot go to church ; many desire, and cannot
find a place to go in, without being insulted by distinctions
in the presence of God, Avhich are hateful to the God we
worship." The late Professor Blunt : — " Everybody must see

LECTURE VII. 337
that the Church of England has had its basis greatly nar
rowed by our pew system, till it was ceasing to be the
Church of the People, with everything in it to fix itself in
their affections ; the while that ' the man in the goodly
apparel and with the gold ring ' was pretty well securing to
himself the whole area of the building."
The Rev. Dr. Taylor, of St. John's, Liverpool: —
" There is an invidious distinction between the rich and
the poor, as well in the appearance of the pews as in their
position. Those of the former are well supplied with com
fortable cushions, carpets, and hassocks, while doors serve to
keep out intruders ; they are also fixed in the best position
in the church, not only for the purpose of hearing, but also
of seeing and being seen. Those of the poor, on the con
trary, are plain open benches, erected in the worst part of
the building ; six or eight near the door, exposed too to
draughts ; a few of the more aged are, perhaps, — a mark of
favour, — brought up and ranged round the pulpit on forms, or
seated on the steps of the Communion Table ; whilst if more
space be wanting to accommodate them — a very unlikely
thing, as may well be thought under such circumstances, —
forms are placed for them along the aisles, where they are
compelled to squeeze themselves into the smallest possible
compass, whilst the aristocratic occupants of the cushioned,
scarlet-lined pews, rustle past in their silks and satins.
" Now, I ask, is it any wonder that the free seats in too
many of our churches, thus involving the badge of poverty
and disgrace, should be deserted by the poor ? And yet our
ministers and the wealthy turn round and express their
astonishment that the poor do not come to church.
" Let churches be placed on a proper footing. Sweep away
all closed pews ; let there be no distinction between class
and class in the house of God. The soul of one is as valu
able as the soul of another. Why should not the poor have
as good an opportunity of hearing the word, 'by which
faith cometh,' as the rich ? That is a profound oracle in
Exodus xxx. 12 — 15 : — ' The rich shall not give more, the

338 NOTES.
poor shall not give less, when they give every man. a ransom
for his soul.' Wherefore ? Because the souls of all are
equally valuable in God's sight.
"The poor have feelings of independence and self-respect,
all the more acute, perhaps, from the poverty of their cir
cumstances — at least the more alive to what they cannot but
regard as a designed insult — the invidious classification of
rich and poor in God's house. Whilst this state of things
continues, let us hear no more of the excess of free sittings
above applicants for their use."
The Dean of Manchester : — " The effect of it in
numerous instances is. to shut out the poor from our church
services, and thus hinder them from partaking of the benefits
we are continually complaining they so seldom seek. In our
old parish churches there were no such things as -rented
sittings, and in country places generally, in the present day,
the whole are free.* It is only in large towns and in popu
lous districts, wherein new churches have been built, that
this rule is seen ; and it is to be feared that in all instances
wherein it is established there are grounds of apprehension
as to the Church's security."
The late William Cobbett : — " When our churches
were first built, people had not thought yet of cramming
them with pews as a stable is filled with stalls. When
they had reared a fine and noble building, they did not
dream of disfiguring the inside of it by filling its floor with
large and deep boxes made of deal boards. In short, the
floor was the place for the worshippers to stand and to kneel,
and there was no distinction, no high place, and no low
place — all were upon a level before God at any rate. Some
were not stuck into pews lined with green or red cloth,
while others were crammed into corners to stand erect or sit
on the floor. Those who built these churches made their
calculations as to the people to be contained in them, not
making any allowance for the deal boards."
* The worthy Dean is much mistaken on this point. I wish it were in
practice as he states. — J. S.

LECTURE VII. 339
Rev. John W. H. Molyneux : — " Men who are ill-
informed sometimes speak as though a church entirely free
and unappropriated, that is, not cut up into small private
properties, was a new and unheard-of thing. So far is this
from being true, that when our fine old churches were built,
pews and appropriated seats were utterly unknown. This
was the case for above 1600 years of the Church's history.
Such inventions were left for a covetous and worldly age,
Avhen the selfish ease and convenience of rich men is
thought more of than the interest of the Gospel and
the good of the poor; and when all just idea of common
public worship is well nigh lost.
" The very essence of the mischief of the pew system is,
that it has produced indifference and dislike, to even a
greater extent than inability, to attend church. It is this
special evil effect of the system which constitutes the chief,
it may almost be said the only, difficulty in the way of its
revival ; for were the people generally sensible of the value
of that of which they have been robbed, did they prize it as
they would do worldly advantages and political privileges,
there would be such an agitation and demand, as would soon
rescue the churches from appropriation. Private seats, in
the parish churches of London would then be as much out
of the question as private paths in its thoroughfares.
" As it is, however, those who have been most injured,
care least ; and we have to plead for those who plead not for
themselves, and to contend for those, who, for the most part,
neither sympathise with, nor understand, the efforts that are
made in their behalf. They have been of no account with
the Church, and the Church is now of no account with them.
If we wait till the people cry out for the use of the church,
we may wait for ever. We might as well wait for the
heathen to cry out for the Gospel before we send mission
aries to them. We must anticipate the demand, and by
supply create it. The Church must open her doors, and
throAV wide her gates, and in so doing, show that her arms
and her heart are open to embrace with tenderest love, all
% 2

340 notes.
her lost and wandering children. She must act like her
Master, who said, 'ye have not chosen me, but I have
chosen you.'
" If the whole is unappropriated, not a single seat need
ever be lost or left vacant on the chance of its ' owner '
coming. No one need ever feel uncomfortable at the thought
that he is using another person's ' property.' Every family
and individual at each service they attend, will place them
selves just where they please, where they find such vacant
places as they require. Families, including children and
servants, may all sit together if they please, without the
least hindrance or difficulty ; and they will all feel happy
and at ease, with the consciousness that they are in their
Father's house, and therefore in their own home, where they
have the best possible right to be.
" I know it is God's will that the church shall be for the
people, and that the Gospel shall be preached to the poor : I
have therefore no fear and no anxiety as to the result." —
Letter to his Parishioners. Second Edition.
Note (103), page 178.
The abuse to which I here draw attention, is notorious,
and of frequent occurrence ; and one which, as archdeacon, I
have on several occasions been called on to redress. Were
the parochial clergy appealed to, they wrould furnish
numerous instances, as Avithin their own knowledge, of such
misappropriation of free sittings on the part of the middle
class. Note (104), page 178.
This is no doubt the case in some instances ; and is easily
accounted for, by the fact that under the present system, the
possession of a private sitting is regarded as a personal
dignity. The feeling of the operative classes in this respect
is thus explained in an able pamphlet on the pew system,
already alluded to : —

LECTURE VII. 341
"Of all the qualities of character belonging to the in
habitants of these islands, none stands out in bolder relief
than that of sturdy independence. To be under an obligation
to, or dependent upon another, is alien to our nationality.
"The classes of workmen, artisans, and small shop-keepers,
demonstrate this spirit even stronger than their superiors. If
there be one subject on which sensitiveness is displayed more
than another, it is the imputation of poverty. On these
points, a wound is inflicted by the adoption and arrangement
of free seats in churches. A mechanic declines to be classed
as a pauper. He enters the market for labour, and honestly
earns his own livelihood. He asks, Why am I cold-
shouldered in church, why thrust into the most distant parts
of the building, — this too in the House of God ?" — The Pew
System, &c.
" Examine what provision is made for the largest class of
all — the working men and their families. A few benches
up the middle aisle, or at the back of the galleries, constitute
nearly the whole of the accommodation set apart for those
whose numbers, in the immediate vicinity, must be told by
thousands. What wonder is it, then, if the mechanic, enter
ing such a church, and feeling himself regarded almost as an
intruder, resolves to go there no more ? Is not the resolution,
on the part of a man not yet religious, a very natural one ?
" The truth is, we have gone in the very teeth of St. James's
injunctions, and are now ' reaping that which we have sown.'
The simple remedy is repentance, and immediate restitution."
— The Record newspaper, January 6th, 1856.

Note (105), page 180.
To wit, the Incorporated Church Building Society, which
has a special fund for temporary school churches and mission
houses, the objects of which are, as stated in its reports —
" b— By promoting the erection of school-churches and
mission-houses, to supply temporarily (till funds for build-
z 3

342 NOTES.
ing a permanent church can be raised), the spiritual wants
of densely populated districts in large parishes. — 2. To aid
in building permanent mission-houses in large towns, under
special and peculiar circumstances. — 3. To assist in erecting
mission-houses, of a more or less permanent character, in the
scattered hamlets and outlying districts of wide-spread
parishes. Donations or subscriptions to this fund, will also
be gratefully received by the Local Hon. Secretary."
The archdiaconal church extension societies of Worcester
and Coventry also give grants for the erection of temporary
places of worship, and of schoolrooms which may be used for
the same purpose.
The following recommendation occurs in the Report of
the Committee of the Lower House of Convocation on
Home and Foreign Missions : — " To meet the spiritual wants
of the shifting masses of population in some parts, and the
growing settlements in other parts of our mining and manu
facturing districts, temporary or mission-chapels are greatly
needed." To which the following note is appended : — "It
has been suggested, that church building societies might
promote the objects here recommended, by loans as weU as
liberal gifts. The former might bear interest, and be se
cured by a mortgage on the property. The latter also might
be made conditionally, so that if from any cause within
twenty years the buildings should no longer be wanted for
their original purpose, a certain fixed proportion of the
grants should be recoverable by the society. It is obvious,
that the chapels could only be licensed, and we would sug
gest the desirableness of a relaxation of that rule of most of
our church building societies, by which they are precluded
from giving aid to unconsecrated buildings."

Note (106), page 180.
The building to which I allude Ava's erected during my
incumbency, at Thurlaston, an outlying hamlet in the parish

LECTURE VII. 343
of Dunchurch, Warwickshire, from a design furnished by
W. Butterfield, Esq., and has been greatly admired. It
accommodates about 130 persons, and I have the happiness
of knowing that the services, commenced by myself some
years ago, are still continued and well attended.

Note (107), page 181.
Information as to the structures here alluded to may be
obtained from G. Robinson, Esq. Leamington, architect of
the Coventry Archdiaconal Church Extension Society, who
has given much attention to the subject, and to whom the
credit of originating the particular mode of construction is
due. Note (108), page 181.
Dr. Arnold also shortly stated his views on this point at a
meeting of the Coventry Archdiaconal Church Building
Society, a year or two before his death. And in his " Life
and Correspondence," 3rd edition, p. 179, he thus ex
presses himself, in a letter written in answer to a request for
a subscription towards the erection of a church : "I shall
be glad to subscribe 27. towards the endowment of the
Church, and not towards the building. My reason for this
distinction is, that I think in all cases the right plan to
pursue is to raise funds in the first instance for a clergyman,
and to procure for him a definitely marked district as his
cure. The real Church being thus founded, if money can
also be procured for the material church, so much the better.
If not, I would prefer to see any building in the district
licensed for the temporary performance of divine service,
feeling perfectly sure that the zeal and munificence of the
congregation would, in the course of years, raise a far more
ornamental building than can ever be raised by a public
subscription ; and that, in the meantime, there might be
raised by subscription an adequate fund for the maintenance
z 4

344 NOTES.
of a clergyman : whereas, on the present system, it seems
perfectly hopeless, by any subscriptions, in one generation, to
provide both clergymen and churches in numbers equal to
the wants of the country." Note (109), page 181.
I refer the reader to an article in the Quarterly Review,
April 1861, on " Spiritual Destitution," already quoted,
p. 239, in which the desirableness of such temporary build
ings is strongly urged.
To the same effect are some pertinent remarks in a lead
ing article in The Times newspaper of April 16, 1860, from
which the following is an extract : —
" All experience shows that a population of this sort, and
in this condition, cannot be dealt with as the simple folk
within sight or sound of a village church, or even the small
knot of gentry and tradespeople in a country town. In
those vast metropolitan parishes ¦ — three exceeding 35,000,
says the Bishop ; four more exceeding 30,000 ; five more
exceeding 25,000 ; six more exceeding 20,000, and so on —
altogether sixty-six parishes exceeding 10,000, we have a
chaos of social elements, a dead level of conditions, a mere
undeveloped mine of moral qualities. This is not the case
for individual agencies, marvellous and even miraculous as
they have proved in some emergencies. Ordinary men can
not breast such waves, and even extraordinary men may
fail. The Bishop hails missionary enterprise, but hopes
more from any scheme for subdividing parishes into manage
able districts. The latter is the work to be promoted by the
Diocesan Church Building Society. Of course, there must
be both churches and clergymen, and we hope eventually to
see them adjusted one to the other. But, as there are not
churches, — or the churches that are, so Ave are told, are but
ill-attended ; as clergy engaged in this hard service require
mutual help and countenance ; as the spiritual war is, in
fact, the invasion of an enemy's territory, Ave cannot help

LECTURE VII. 345
thinking the Bishop would get more sympathy, more money,
and more men for a well-devised missionary wrork, framed
to the scale of the Avhole metropolis, than for more ' churches,'
in the vulgar sense of the word. The handsome church, on
a costly site, with its actual or threatened tower, its perma
nent endowment, and its staff of petty officers, is the Church's
three-decker, on which we spend so much, and so often find
to be useless. What we really want is the flotilla of gun
boats, to push into lanes and alleys. We Avant something
more locomotive than church and steeple ; more winning
even than reredoses and copes ; sweeter than church bells ;
and more penetrating than either the feet or the eloquence
of dignified rectors. If the Church does not adapt her means
to the end, and make it a ' day of little things,' Dissenters,
and even Roman Catholics, will. In fact, this is what they
are doing ; and this it is that enables them to make up for
their immense disadvantages in social rank and position."

Note (110), page 182.
We find these places of worship frequently alluded to in
Scripture ; — as, Matthew iv. 23 ; vi. 5 ; xii. 9 ; xiii. 18.
Mark i. 29, 39 ; xiv. 1 ; xv. 21. Luke iv. 16, 44 ; vii. 5 ;
xiii. 10; xvii. 17; xviii. 4, 7,26. John vi. 59; xviii. 20;
Acts i. 13 ; vi. 9 ; x. 9 ; xvi. 20.
To one of them — an oratory, or place of religious retire
ment — our Blessed Lord is supposed to have resorted —
Luke vi. 12 ; and the words ttj upoore-oy^ (in our transla
tion, " in prayer " ), may be more properly rendered " the
place of prayer."

Note (111), page 184.
" When a nuisance of long standing is to be abated,"
writes Archdeacon Hare, " it is requisite that many persons
should join in lifting up their voices against it." I will

346 notes.
therefore further refer to a passage in Mr. Perceval's de
lightful " Christian Peace Offering" (p. 139), where, after
speaking of the churches which he has seen in the Romanist
countries, " of the largest dimensions, crowded from one end
to the other, without distinction of age, or sex, or rank —
without regard to personal accommodation — all, like one
body, on their knees, and all with one voice joining in the
responses " — he contrasts them with our churches, " into
Avhich the pride of the world, instead of being at least left
at the threshold, enters openly, and where the ease and com
fort of the rich and great is sought to the inconvenience of
their poorer brethren, and not to their inconvenience only,
but oftentimes to the hindrance of their sight and hearing ;
nay, where litigious squabbles and miserable jealousies are
often carried into the house of God, and maintained with
personal violence, about the possession of this or that pew."
— The Better Prospects of the Church. A Charge to the
Clergy of the Archdeaconry qf Lewes, by Julius Charles Hare.
M.A. Notes, pp. 48, 49.
To the same purpose a writer in the North American Re-
vieiv observes : — " We acknowledge that we have never
entered a Romish church on the Continent, and seen how
the whole space is left open every day as a place of retire
ment and prayer for all classes, and watched the little chil
dren as they came in, in pairs or singly, go down on their
knees and hold up their little hands in prayer before the
altar — or seen the steps of the churches at early morn
covered Avith the tools of the labourers who, on their way to
their daily task, had stopped to ask God's blessing on the
day — or, as twilight drew its curtain round the rich and
poor side by side on the same stone floor — without breath
ing the prayer that Ave might yet behold something of this
in our own land, in temples of a purer faith."

LECTURE VII. 347

Note (112), page 187.
These words occur in the speech of Lord Ebury, in the
House of Lords, May 8, 1860, and indicate his views on the
Revision of the Liturgy. That his object is to benefit the
Church, as well as to conciliate Separatists, will be dis
puted by no one who is acquainted with his Lordship's per
sonal character and active services in the cause of religion.
But as, unhappily, some of his remarks have given offence,
and the object of his motion has been both misunderstood
and misrepresented, it is only fair to state his design in the
words employed by himself: —
" As I have been so often asked the question what my
own views are, I am perfectly Avilling, as far as I can, to
answer it; though, of course, it can only be in general
terms. " The Commission would, I presume, be composed of
ecclesiastics, Avith the admixture of a few laymen; at all
events, of some civilians, to assist in the review of our
canons and constitutions. It would be animated, doubtless,
by the spirit which is so well set forth in the letter of the
American Episcopal Convention to the Anglican Bishops
(1786), namely, ' not to depart from any doctrine of our
Church, but carefully to consider the alteration of such
things as are calculated to remove objections, which it would
appear to be more conducive to union and general content
to obviate than to dispute.'
" As to the Canons, in regard to the validity and operation
of which the greatest variety of opinion prevails — and
which, if allowed to remain as they now are, it is possible
may become the source of even more vexatious litigation
than they ever have been previously — I presume those that
are deemed obsolete will be expunged, while any that it is
considered useful to retain will be couched in comprehen
sible language, and placed in harmony with existing use.
Although, in old phraseology, in their entirety they are

348 notes.
called the Book of Canons, yet there is, in fact, no Book.
They are of two sorts — the old black-letter Canons, framed
before the Reformation, and sanctioned by Act of Parlia
ment, 25th Henry VIII., so far as they be not contrary to
custom, statute, or royal prerogative ; the others,- of 1603,
which were never confirmed by Parliament, and which are
supposed to be binding on the clergy alone, though doubts
have been frequently expressed whether, in fact, they are
binding on any one ; and, in truth, they are almost univer
sally disregarded. The historian of the early Puritans says
of them : —
' The disgrace of these barbarous canons belongs to the Convo
cation in which they passed ; but prejudice, fomented from time
to time by some of her assailants, still lays it to the Church of
England ; and it must be allowed that some degree of censure
fairly belongs to her for permitting the canons to remain so long
without revision, for the canons in their present state are discre
ditable to the Church, unsuited to the age, and urgently wanting
revision.' " With regard to the Prayer Book, the changes most gene
rally desired seem to be these : — First and foremost, and
that without which other alterations would scarcely be con
sidered a boon, stands the abolition of the terms of Subscrip
tion, enforced by the Act of the 14th of Charles II. They
were not considered essential in the Church of Jewel and
Hooker, during the stormiest periods of our Church-history.
They are a disgrace to our statute-book in the year 1860.
Then the abbreviation of the Morning Service and Daily
Service, the objections to which may be summed up in the
language of Archdeacon Berens : —
' Our Morning Services last too long, both in a moral and phy
sical point of view — too long for keeping up a proper deg-ree of
attention and devoted feeling — too long physically, inasmuch as
to the very old and very young, and to those who labour under a
want of health, it often occasions a painful weariness. '

LECTURE VII. 349
" On a former occasion I gave a detailed specification of
the repetitions and anomalies contained in the Morning
Service. I presume it is not necessary that I should
repeat them now ; I will therefore merely remark, in passing,
that the repetitions are generally considered even greater
hindrances to devotion than the length.
" Then, as an attempt at rigid uniformity is as useless as it
is inexpedient, the officiating minister should be at liberty
to made selections for services within certain limits, when
he considered them better adapted to the circumstances of
his congregation than those prescribed.
" Next, the remodelling of the Calendars and Rubrics ; a
want almost universally admitted ; specially substituting the
inspired word of God for the apocryphal lessons.
"I think it is also desired that the Psalms should be
arranged for three services, with optional selections, as in
the American Book of Prayers.
" As to the Athanasian Creed, it has been proposed either
that the damnatory clauses should be expunged, or that the
rubric should be so far altered as not to make the readina: of
it compulsory ; in fact, in most churches it is very seldom
read, and in some not at all. Both in this case, the saying
of Daily Prayer, and the Services for the Saints' Days — the
Act of Uniformity and Terms of Subscription are perpetually
violated ; and it were much to be wished that the ordering
of these should be so altered as not to make their use ab
solutely imperative.
"The occasional services — for Burial, Visitation of the
Sick, Baptism, Marriage, Catechism, and Ordination — should
also come under review, in order, as I mentioned in my
previous address to this House, to see whether certain
expressions contained in them might not be so modified as
to give a more unequivocal latitude to difference of opinion
than they do at present ; and, where unity is indispensable,
more clearly to define our Church's teaching, in matters
which have within the last few years, and which are still,
giving rise to the most lamentable and violent contests before
our courts of law.

350 notes.
" The Burial Service, as it is now required to be performed,
has been declared to be a scandal by four thousand clergy
men of various shades of opinion.
" It is in the knowledge of your Lordships that the Mar
riage Service is habitually mutilated.
" Lastly, I see no reason why we should continue to pray
in bad grammar, false concords, and obsolete terms ; and it
is, therefore, much wished that more suitable terms should
be substituted for them, especially such as would not easily
be misunderstood by the poorer classes." — Speech of Lord
Ebury, in the House of Lords, May 8th, 1860, on the Revision
of the Liturgy, pp. 22, 23, 24, 25.

Note (113), page 187.
" What," asks Dr. Cardwell, in his account of the Revi
sion of the Liturgy in the reign of James L, " must the
Puritans have thought of the complete and almost contemp
tuous refusal that was given to them respecting the vest
ments, the ring in marriage, and the cross in baptism ?
observances which, when treated as mere rites, were held to
be unobjectionable, but when considered on the principle of
obedience to church authority, were pronounced to be indis
pensable. ' I charge you,' said the king, ' never speak more
to that point, how far you are to obey the orders of the
Church.'" Again, in his narrative of the changes effected in the reign
of Charles IL, after recording Dr. Tennison's computation
of 600 minor alterations authorised in the Book of Common
Prayer by the Convocation of 1662, and finally ratified by
the Act of Uniformity, he remarks, " It will be observed,
that in this long enumeration there is no mention of any of
those characteristic points Avhich had been the subjects of
strife and division in the Church, from the earliest days of
Puritanism. That the use of the Apocrypha ; the expressions
complained of in the Litany, and in the services for Baptism,
Marriage, and Burial ; the Rubric with regard to vestments,

LECTURE VII. 351
the kneeling at the communion, the cross in baptism, the
ring in marriage, the declaration as to infants dying imme
diately after baptism, the absolution of the sick, though some
of them slightly modified, continued in principle the same.
All these and several others had been conceded by the Com
mittee of 1641 ; they had also been virtually withdrawn by
the Royal Declaration of October 1660; and some of them
had been abandoned by the bishops in the Savoy Conference.
But they were all of them retained by the Act of Uniformity,
on the plea that the Nonconformists had lost whatever
claim they might once have had for consideration and for
bearance, and that the other party saw nothing in such
alterations but inconvenience and error. And this feeling
Avas so strong, both in Convocation and in Parliament, that
several changes of an opposite character were approved,
which could not fail to be galling to the Presbyterians."
— History of Conferences, &c., by E. Cardwell, D.D.,
pp. 144, 386-7.
Thus also Bishop Short, in his remarks on the Act of
Uniformity and its consequences: — " Had a contrary line of
policy been pursued; had some further alterations been
made in the Common Prayer Book ; had the old law been
allowed to stand with regard to conformity ; and particularly
had a wish existed and been expressed by the upper orders
among the clergy, that union might be cultivated in the
Church as much as possible; many of the more moderate Non
conformists would probably have joined the Establishment.
But the very declaration contained in the Act was obviously
introduced to prevent the possibility of such an event." . . .
" When Lord Manchester," states Dr. Calamy, " told the
King, while the Act of Uniformity was under debate, that
he was afraid the terms of it were so rigid that many of the
ministers would not comply with it, Sheldon replied, ' I am
afraid they will.' Nay, 'tis credibly reported he should say,
' Now we know their minds, we'll make them knaves if they
conform.' "Doubtless Sheldon might deem this line of policy, of

352 NOTES.
ejecting all the Nonconformists, to be the wisest for the
Church; but the events which have since occurred must
convince every man who can judge of such questions, that
intolerance is but another name for selfishness, and will
generally defeat its own ends." — Bp. Shorfs History qf the
Church of England. Pp. 510-11.
Note (114), page 189.
In his recent work on the Revision of the Liturgy, Dr.
Vaughan has argued with great force in favour of retaining
the words in the Office as they now stand. But the fact
remains, that in 1850, 4000 of the clergy, in addressing the
Primate on the subject, represented that the phraseology
complained of " imposed a heavy burden on their consciences,
and was an occasion of scandal to Christian people."

Note (115), page 191.
" Lights and Shadows ; or Church Life in Australia,"
by T. Binney. Pp. 55-6-7.

Note (116), page 192.
" The Liturgy and the Dissenters," by Rev. Isaac Taylor,
M.A. Third edition. P. 33.

Note (117), page 193.
" There is no fear," says Mr. Binney, " of the beautiful
Liturgy of the Church of England being tampered with by
her true and loving children — a Service which, for myself, I
have once and again acknowledged that I seldom hear de
voutly and appropriately conducted without tears." — Lights
and Shadows, p. 135.
Some of my readers may recall a similar testimony borne

LECTURE VII. 353
by Dr. Cumming, of the National Church of Scotland, when
describing the impression produced upon himself the first
time he joined in the Litany. The only objection urged
by another member of the Scotch Establishment against our
Liturgy was, that it was too spiritual. It was doubtless the
sustained devotion of the Service which in this instance was
complained of.
I ought to add the terms in which Mr. Binney qualifies the
language quoted above : — " But that the ' Offices ' shall be re
formed, and thus brought into harmony with the mind of the
living and personal church — the men and women who really
constitute the congregation of the faithful, who have scriptural
light in their purified reason, and the life of God in their
holy souls — that this should be done, is only what is panted
and prayed for now by a majority of the members of the
Episcopal Communion, who are alive to its interests, dis
tinguished by intelligence, or piety, or both." — P. 135.

Note (118), page 193.
See Appendix I. to an able sermon, entitled " The Dying
Judge," in which Dr. Miller, of St. Martin's, Birmingham,
records the result of a scheme attempted by himself, and
which has since, in part, been successfully adopted by other
clergymen. See also " Chronicle of Convocation " for Session Feb. 10,
1859, in which the present Bishop of London is reported
to have used the following language : —
" I think that it is of great importance that your Lordships
should consider very fully the degree of elasticity of which
our present Services are capable. Your Lordships drew up
and circulated a paper, some years ago, on the subject of the
use of the Litany ; but I believe it will be found that it is
hardly sufficiently understood by the clergy in the more
remote parts of the country, and certainly is not generally
known to the laity, that the use of the Litany by itself is
not only lawful, but is actually encouraged by the assent of
A A

354 NOTES.
a majority of your Lordships. This seems to me a very im
portant point. I have conversed with many persons who
have thought deeply on this subject, who consider it of great
importance that your Lordships should let it be understood,
after mature consideration, in what points you believe there
is elasticity in our services. I believe that there is great
elasticity in those services. I believe that the use of the
Litany itself is almost sufficient to meet the demand for
a more elastic service. If it be found, also — and I
believe it may — that the Communion Service may
be used as a second service, that will be a great means
of making our services suitable for occasions when you
do not wish to have the whole service. If it be true
that you can preach without using the whole of these
services, it would give a degree of elasticity which I think
would satisfy every reasonable man. And I believe it will
be found, when the matter is thoroughly investigated, that
there is no need of revision, even with a view of making our
services more elastic." — P. 14.
See, further, in a speech delivered by the same prelate, as
reported, Feb. 11, 1859, the following passage: — "It has
been said that the Bishops wish to sit still and do nothing.
Now there are no persons more alive to the necessity of our
services being made more elastic, or who have taken a more
active part in rendering them so, than the Bishops. Who
but they have been the chief movers in our several Special
Services ? They have, moreover, taken the opinion of three
eminent counsel on the subject — Sir F. Kelly, Mr. Roundell
Palmer, and Dr. Phillimore — who are of opinion, notwith
standing what has usually been supposed to be the interpre
tation of the Act of Uniformity, that the section which
requires the service of the Book of Common Prayer to be
read in the church, chapel, or place of worship Avhere a
sermon or lecture is to be preached, before such sermon or
lecture be preached, applies to lecturers only, and that ' it is
not necessary that the Common Prayer and Service should
be read in presence of the preacher of the sermon or

LECTURE VII. 355
lecture, or upon every occasion on which a sermon or lecture
is to be preached, if the preacher be a rector or other parish
priest.' That, of course, opens a very wide door, for it im
plies that a sermon may be preached without the regular
prayers of the Church having been read. I would call your
Lordships' attention to the great elasticity which has been
given by the adoption of that opinion by this House, and to
the power of acting throughout the length and breadth of
the land upon the declaration made by your Lordships some
time ago with reference to the use of the Litany." — Chronicle
of Convocation, p. 27.

a a 2

356

NOTES

LECTURE VIII.
Note (119), page 204.
The words are quoted from a Sermon by Rev. F. Robert
son ; but as these Notes are being prepared in a foreign
country, where I have no ready access to books, I am unable
to verify the quotation. Note (120), page 210.
The efforts of Mr. Henry Hoare in the promotion of a
plan for the organisation of such conferences between the
clergy and the laity throughout the country are now well
known to every churchman, and have already borne abun
dant fruit.
For the testimony of many of our most distinguished pre
lates in favour of this plan, see Reports of Proceedings in the
Upper House of Convocation, Feb. 11th, 1858, Feb. 11th,
1859, and Feb. 11th, 1862.
I make the following extracts from the said Reports:

"CO-OPERATION OF THE CLERGY AND LAITY.
(February 12th, 1858.)
" The Bishop of London — I have been requested to
present a petition from a number of the clergy and laity of

LECTURE VIII. 357
the Church of England, whose object is to induce this House
to take some steps to bring the clergy and laity into more
intimate co-operation with each other for the general benefit
of the Church : —

" ' To the Most Rev. the Archbishop, the Right Rev. the
Bishops, and the Rev. the Clergy of the Province of
Canterbury, in Convocation assembled,
"'The humble petition of the undersigned clergy and laity
of the Church of England,
'" Sheweth — That your petitioners observe with thank
fulness the progress which continues to be made towards the
restoration of synodal action in the Church of England.
'"That your petitioners have seen with satisfaction the
appointment of a committee of the Lower House in May,
1857, to consider the best means of securing the united
counsel and co-operation of the clergy and laity of the
Church. " ' That your petitioners appreciate highly the benefits
derivable from ruridecanal synods and chapters.
" ' That your petitioners believe that ruridecanal divisions
of dioceses would likewise afford convenient facilities for lay
co-operation, if laymen resident within the deanery were
invited by the rural dean, as occasion might require, to con
fer with the clergy on subjects affecting the welfare and
usefulness of the Church.
'"Your petitioners, therefore, humbly pray that your
venerable House will be pleased to take into consideration
the possibility and desirableness of making some provision
for the more thorough revival of ruridecanal synods or
chapters throughout the province.
" ' Your petitioners further pray that you will take steps
for the promotion of such a measure of co-operation of the
clergy and laity in ruridecanal divisions or dioceses, as in
your wisdom you may deem right and expedient.
A A 3

358 NOTES.
" ' And, sincerely trusting that the blessing and guidance
of the Holy Spirit may be vouchsafed to your deliberations,
your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.'
" Without expressing any opinion as to the particular
mode in which this object is sought to be obtained, I can
have no doubt, and I am sure your lordships are of the same
opinion as myself, that anything which brought the laity into
co-operation with the clergy in the great work of the
Church, would be most valuable. The petition is very nu
merously signed.
"The Bishop of Oxford — I understand the special
prayer of that petition to be, that the bishops would, and
that this House of Convocation would, as far as it is capable
of so doing, express its conviction that it would be for the
advantage of the Church if, generally throughout the
country, there were, as there are in many dioceses, for in
stance in your grace's diocese and my own, meetings of the
clergy in rural chapters under the direction and countenance
of the Bishop ; and if, once a year at least, certain laymen,
invited by the clergy, would meet them to consult with them
in free conference on the common affairs of the Church ;
and, in that way, by increasing the authority of our Church
consultations, and by degrees bringing laymen in the same
way to consult with the clergy under the direction and
superintendence of the Bishop, that most laudable desire
expressed by so many, of bringing the laity more formally
into the consultations of the Church, might be obtained.
Clearly it is the only way open to us, because it is impos
sible for us by any means to bring the laity into the Con
vocation of the province. That would alter entirely the
fundamental constitution of Convocation, which consists of
Bishops and clergy, and of them exclusively. We all desire,
as my right rev. brother (the Bishop of London) says, to
bring the laity and the clergy into consultation with each
other. We have none of us any idea of dictating to the laity,
of lording it over them, or being rulers in any way of their
faith. But we earnestly wish to see them working with us

LECTURE VIII. 359
in consultation upon the common matters of the Church, and
giving us the great benefit of their advice and co-operation.
I heartily concur and sympathise in the prayer of the
petition. " The President — Perhaps it may serve the purpose,
which is a good one, of the petitioners, if I state that this
Synodal meeting, if it may be so called, has taken place
more than once in a most important part of Kent — in the
principal deanery of that county — and that it has been
considered very successful. The persons who have met
have consisted chiefly of churchwardens of parishes, but they
have been intermixed with others who were not church
wardens. It so happens that in Kent a great number of
the gentry and clergy are churchwardens of their respective
parishes. The clergy themselves, through the Archdeacon,
have selected certain of the clergy to form the clerical part
of that Synod. They have already met twice. They have
considered two or three subjects which are very important
to the Church, and their meetings have been not only ex
ceedingly harmonious and cordial, but promise to be very
useful. Certainly the machinery is not very difficult where
there are a sufficient number of persons to afford a selection ;
and with the assistance of Archdeacon and the Rural Dean
I do not think your Lordships would find any difficulty in
organising such Synods.
"The Bishop of St. Asaph — Perhaps your Grace may
be able to state where they meet and how often, and how
long they continue together ?
" The President — I think they meet at Maidstone and
sit for a day, but at no stated periods, and only to consider
matters of which previous notice has been given by the
presiding authority.
"The Bishop of St. Asaph — I think the details of
such meetings would be most valuable and interesting.
"The President — Mr. Hoare 's book contains every in
formation on the subject." A A 4

360 NOTES.
Again, in Session, Friday, February 11th, 1859, we have
the following discussion in the Upper House on the same
subject. " LAY CO-OPERATION.
" The Bishop of Oxford — I have to present to your
lordships the following petition from Henry Hoare, Esq. : —
" ' To the Most Reverend the Archbishops, the Right Reverend
the Bishops, the Very Reverend the Deans, the Venerable
the Archdeacons, and the Reverend the Rural Deans and
other Clergy of the Church and Realm of England,
" ' The humble memorial of the undersigned,
" ' Through Divine favour, and in a spirit and temper which
have elicited very general approval, the Convocation of the
province of Canterbury has of late years exercised the right,
not to say the duty, essentially appertaining to it, of de
liberating upon matters touching the welfare of the Church
established in this realm.
" ' Petitions have been prepared for presentation in both
provinces. In the province of Canterbury they have been
received and duly considered, and various questions have
been raised, among which none, perhaps, exceeds in import
ance that of providing the clergy and the laity of the Church
of England with some better opportunities than at present
exist for joint counsel and co-operation. That subject has
been considered, not only in both Houses of the Convocation
of Canterbury, but also by several of the Bishops and other
clergy of the province of York, although in meetings of a
less strictly Synodical character than is to be desired, and
has long been hoped for.
'" That the general result is, a deep conviction that the time
is come for definite action; and your memorialist solicits
permission respectfully to state that an important body of the
lay members of the Church appear at length to be agreed

LECTURE VIII. 361
upon the following conclusions, which may be taken as
expressive of wishes and opinions very generally entertained
by those laymen who have considered the subject : in addition
to which there is reason to believe that experiments in the
direction indicated would be viewed Avith favour by Con
vocation. "' I. That the Clergy of this realm should be permitted to
meet in their respective Convocations, as by law established.
'" II. That the judicial character of Episcopal and other
Visitations, as by law established, should be maintained.
'"III. That where meetings of the clergy in rural deaneries
are now held, they should continue to be held ; and that
where they are not now held, they should be set on foot,
subject to the approval of the Ordinary ; uniformity of
practice, in every respect, being desirable in all the dioceses
of England and Wales.
" ' IV. That in the same divisions of dioceses, or in such
others as may be more convenient to the Archdeacons and
Rural Deans, the clergy of the locality should occasionally
form themselves into consulting committees, at whose meet
ings certain of the laity from neighbouring parishes should
be requested to give their attendance, for the purpose of
common advice and mutual consultation on matters which,
from time to time, the clergy may deem of sufficient import
ance to require the joint cognisance and consideration of
the whole Church.
'" V. That associations should be formed, as far as may be
practicable and convenient, in the several parishes, for the
promotion of objects calculated to create an extended interest
and sympathy in behalf of the Church; such associations
being invariably under the superintendence or control of the
parochial clergy, and the subjects selected for consideration
being sanctioned by them.
" ' Your memorialist therefore desires humbly to submit the
above statements to your serious consideration, in the hope
that arrangements may without delay be entered upon for
carrying them out into action in the several archdeaconries
of both provinces.

362 notes.
"' By order and in the name of the Society for the Revival
of Convocation. '"Henry Hoare, Chairman.'
In asking your Grace's permission to move that this petition
be received and laid upon the table, I am anxious to say a
few words as to the effect which has followed, in my own
diocese and under my own eye, the adoption of the plans to
which the petitioner prays us to give our sanction and
encouragement. I have only this day received communica
tions from the Archdeacons of the counties of Berkshire and
Buckinghamshire, with respect to the results of carrying out
these plans, which have been carried out, to a considerable
extent, in their archdeaconries. They report most strongly
as to the good effect which to their own knowledge has
resulted from the adoption of these plans ; and especially the
interest which the laity, who have been invited to join the
clergy in the rural deaneries, have taken in the subjects
brought under discussion. This has been very great. The
laity who have taken part in these proceedings include
persons in the highest positions in society, as well as the more
humble members of the Church. They have joined with
the clergy in worship and prayer as well as in consultation ;
they have taken an active part in these deliberations, have
advanced their own opinions, and have discussed them along
with the clergy with great freedom, and have given and
received most valuable information on various matters which
have been considered. With regard to church-rates, for
instance, the consultations which have taken place havo been
the means of diffusing in these districts a great amount of
information which perhaps could not have reached them in
any other way. The opinion of the Archdeacons is that
this is a most valuable movement ; that it is entirely free
from the danger which any election of laymen to serve in
Church councils must necessarily involve ; and indeed from
evils of every kind. The laymen having merely been
invited to attend at consultative meetings, the evils of elec-

LECTURE VIII. 363
tions have been avoided, and the good has been very great,
and, as far as anything human can be, nearly unmixed. In
presenting this petition, I feel bound to give it my warmest
support, and beg to move that it be received and laid on
the table. I am not aware that Convocation can take any
direct steps to forward the matter, but one indirect step of
great importance would be for your Grace and any of my
right rev. brethren who have witnessed the working of the
plan to express their opinions concerning it, so that such
expression may go forth to the Church at large through the
ordinary channels, and thus assist those good men who are
anxious to bring about that greatest of all blessings to an
earthly Church, after the direct spiritual blessing of its
Great Head — the uniting together in feeling and in har-
monious action the great body of her clergy and her laity.
" The Bishop of Lichfield— I quite agree with what
the Bishop of Oxford has said as to the advantages likely to
accrue from the joint consultation of the clergy and laity on
Church matters, Avhich Mr. Hoare is so earnestly promoting.
The subject has been already considered in one of the arch
deaconries of my diocese, and I hope it will soon be taken
up in the others, arrangements being in progress to effect
that object.
"The Bishop of St. Asaph — Mr. Hoare was kind
enough to visit one or two deaneries in my diocese, and with
my full sanction and assistance, the clergy have invited the
laity in their neighbouring localities to attend their meetings,
and have not found the slightest objection to that course of
proceeding. " The Bishop of Salisbury — I have not the advantage
possessed by my right rev. friend the Bishop of Oxford, of
being able to state to your Grace and my right rev. brethren
any experience of the working of the plan of Mr. Hoare;
but I have seen that gentleman on the subject, and he has so
satisfied me of its utility, that I fully intend to introduce it
into my diocese. My present position is this : — Mr. Hoare
has kindly promised to attend the meeting of the Deans and

364 NOTES.
Rural Deans which is annually held at Salisbury, for the
purpose of laying before them a statement of the success
which has attended the working of his plan ; and I trust, if
it should please God to allow us to assemble in this place
next year, to be able to communicate to your Grace that the
plan has worked as successfully in my diocese as it has done
in that of Oxford. I entirely concur in the object which
Mr. Hoare has in view, and hope that his plan will result in
closely uniting together the laity and the clergy in the great
work of strengthening the Church.
" The Bishop of Exeter — I wish, in a very few
words, to express my entire concurrence in the views which
have been expressed by my right rev. brethren. I fell in,
at an early period, with the plans of Mr. Hoare, and ex
pressed a wish that they might succeed. At the same time
I saw some difficulties in the way, and thought it my duty
to express them. One great difficulty which exists is this.
That there should not be an election^ is quite clear; but
after the experience of what has occurred in the diocese of
Oxford, I trust the difficulty of selection will not be so great
as I imagined would be the case. It appears that the Rural
Deans select those laymen whom they wish to consult. I
am of opinion that that is a very desirable course, but I
cannot be blind, and we ought not to be blind, to the possible
danger of producing a collision, which it will require great
prudence on the part of the Deans to prevent. I think,
upon the whole advisableness of the plan, that it is strikingly
just, and I should be sorry to say a word to discourage it,
but I considered it desirable to point out the difficulty. I
do not offer these observations in the way of objection to the
plan, but rather as a caution in the way of carrying it into
effect. " The Bishop of Llandaff — During the nine years
and a half which I have been connected with the diocese of
Llandaff, I have received a great deal of assistance from
laymen of high rank in that diocese, and I think that the
feeling of co-operation which has been evinced during that

LECTURE VIII. 365
time is increasing. But it certainly has struck me very
strongly that what we require is, some plan for exciting the
sympathy, not so much of the higher ranks of the laity, as of
the middle classes, on behalf of the Church. I believe there
is a great deal of sound good feeling in the middle classes in
favour of the Church, and that they only want some centre
around which they can meet. I think it probable that the
kind of organisation recommended by Mr. Hoare might
serve that purpose, and prove particularly beneficial to the
interests of the Church. I cannot speak of this particular
plan in the same manner as some of my right rev. brethren,
not having had the benefit of their experience in the matter ;
but although the plan has not been adopted in my diocese, it
has not been overlooked. Our present position is this : —
There are nineteen rural dignitaries in my diocese, who meet
annually, at my residence, to consult respecting the general
interest of the Church in that diocese and elsewhere. At the
last meeting, the general subject of lay co-operation was
brought forward, and I requested the several Rural Deans
during the year to take the opinion of the clergy as to the
best way in which lay co-operation could be stimulated in
the diocese ; and at our next meeting I hope we shall hear
of these deliberations throughout the diocese. I mentioned
the subject to Mr. Hoare the other day, and invited him to
attend, in the hope that he will do so, and give us the benefit
of his advice and experience on the subject, and I shall be
heartily glad to find the matter set on a proper footing.
There are two things which I should like to know with re
spect to these meetings, so far as they have been carried out.
In the first place, I wish to be informed by whom the invi
tations to the laity have been given ; and in the second place,
I should like to know whether different subjects have merely
been discussed, or whether any vote has been taken upon
them. " The Bishop of Oxford— In my diocese the invitation
has, in every instance, been given by the Rural Dean of the
district, in his own name and that of the clergy. Hitherto,

366 NOTES.
I may safely say that every danger pointed out by my right
rev. brother, the Bishop of Exeter, has been avoided, and I
do not think that the least feeling of jealousy has been
excited by the course which has been adopted. - The laity,
who are marked out by character and position, in different
ranks of life, have been invited, and in almost every instance
they have attended, and we are not aware of any jealousy
on the part of those who have not been invited. It was
necessary, of course, to pass over some, who, however, will
be asked to take part in the proceedings in another year.
This shows that we are not acting in any exclusive spirit.
In some parts of my diocese, votes have been taken when it
was thought desirable to ascertain the sentiments of the
majority. In one instance two or three plans were pro
pounded respecting the church-rate question, and after some
discussion, each plan was put to the vote, for the purpose of
ascertaining the opinions of the assembly. This was done
without the slightest tinge of hostility, and merely from a
desire to ascertain which plan commended itself to the largest
number of those present.
" The President — The diocese in which I reside had the
benefit of the first trial of this scheme, and the manner in
which the selection of the laity was made, in the deanery to
which I am referring, was by the clergy of the different
parishes meeting together, and suggesting the name of some
person connected with each parish. With respect to the
quality of the persons selected, they have been generally
such as would be selected to fill the office of churchwarden.
In a large parish like Maidstone, two persons might be
selected. I am happy to say that, so far as our experience
has gone, I can give the same satisfactory testimony as that
which has been given by my right reverend brethren. The
plan is, in fact, not a new one. In my former diocese I
derived great advantage from the clergy and laity meeting
together to discuss important subjects. The question of
education was the subject of discussion in a large meeting
of the clergy and laity of Lancashire and Cheshire. The

lecture viii. 367
clergy and laity also met together to consider the best
method of promoting church-building, to meet the wants of
the diocese. I can speak with great confidence as to the
advantages of such a system, which has been attended with
no disadvantages, and I believe that the more general it
becomes, the better will it be for the interests of the
Church. " The Bishop of Winchester — I cannot allow the
discussion to close without making a few remarks on the
subject, although I have not had the advantage of meetings
of this particular kind in my own diocese. I have, however,
had some communication with Mr. Hoare respecting his
plan, and at his invitation, have written an expression of my
acquiescence in that plan, and of the satisfaction I shall feel,
if, through the Archdeacons, it can be carried into effect in
my diocese. I am not sure that either of the Archdeacons
has as yet taken any steps in the matter, but I am satisfied
that one of them will co-operate in the movement. The
other, unfortunately, is at present unable to do so. For
myself, I can say that I shall most readily assist in any
movement which may be made with that prudence and
caution which its importance requires. In my own diocese,
meetings of a similar character have been held, which have
been attended with singularly good results. About eighteen
months ago conferences took place between the clergy and
laity of sixty or seventy parishes in Hampshire with refer
ence to Sunday-schools; but although they met on that
subject, it was not at all unnatural that others should be
introduced, and many important matters relative to the
religious and social condition of the several parishes were
entered upon. I attended many of these conferences, and
in some instances from sixty to eighty persons were present.
Invitations were sent to the churchwardens, the schoolmas
ters, the pupil-teachers, and all those who, from their posi
tion, were likely to be interested in the proceedings. The
conferences which I personally witnessed were of the most
gratifying character. The attendance was not confined to

368 NOTES.
one sex, for both schoolmasters and schoolmistresses were
present. The meetings lasted from two to three hours,
according to circumstances, and the result has been that in
all those parishes a mutual feeling of sympathy between the
clergy and laity has been created and extended. In large
parishes, where the clergyman has a great difficulty in com
municating with the whole of his parishioners, these meet
ings have been attended with the greatest advantage. The
friendly intercourse thus commenced has been continued,
and all parties have expressed personally to myself the
gratification which they have experienced from the move
ment, and I hope these conferences will continue in future
years. I thought it desirable to state these facts, inasmuch
as they have a bearing on the subject, although the proceed
ings are not exactly those contemplated by Mr. Hoare.
"The Bishop of Lincoln — I wish just to mention, in
addition to the evidence that has already been given, that in
two deaneries in my diocese, these meetings of the clergy
and laity have taken place with the greatest success. There
was not the least mixture of evil in them, and on separating
they not only felt that the bonds of the clergy and the laity
had been more closely knit together, but that much valuable
information had been obtained ; and I would recommend
that in other deaneries the same plan should be adopted.
What passed on my last Visitation has tended in no small
degree to remove the objections of many of the clergy, who
feared that some difficulties might arise from the clergy and
laity meeting together for the purpose of consultation. We,
for the first time, invited the Churchwardens to dine with
us at the Visitation, and, after dinner, some little discussion
took place relative to charities and matters of that kind, and
the universal opinion was, that these meetings were good
both for the clergy and the laity. In my diocese, which is,
comparatively speaking, thinly populated, the difficulty
which has been alluded to exists only in a mitigated form ;
because, where there are few persons, the selection can
scarcely be called a selection. I hope, in the course of a

lecture viii. 369
short time, the system will be extended throughout my.
diocese." Similar approval was expressed in the Upper House, Feb.
11th, 1862, on the presentation of a petition from Mr. Hoare,
in the following terms: —
" The Bishop of London — I have to express regret that
owing to my leaving town for a few days, I had not an
opportunity of receiving this petition in time to undertake
its presentation to your Lordships' House. But I would
seize the present occasion for the purpose of acknowledging
the value of the serAdces which have been performed by the
gentleman whose name is the last appended to that petition.
His exertions have been indefatigable, and I am sure that
anything which emanates from him will not fail to receive
the most serious attention of this House. I shall be glad to
have that petition laid upon the table, and its prayer acceded
to by your Lordships.
"The Bishop of Oxford — I entirely agree with the
Bishop of London, that a great debt of gratitude is due to
the gentleman whose name appears last on the petition —
Mr. Henry Hoare. No man could have devoted his time,
his money, and his great abilities more assiduously and more
self-denyingly to any cause than Mr. Hoare has done for the
purpose of aiding the Church of England — first, in bringing
the clergy to understand and consult one another, and then
in bringing the laity to assist them by mutual counsel,
advice, and co-operation. I am sure every one of my right
rev. brethren will acknowledge that we owe an unspeakably
large debt of gratitude to Mr. Hoare for the course which
he has for so many years pursued.
"The Bishop of Winchester — Concurring in all that
has been said with respect to the obligations we are under to
Mr. Hoare, there is one point in his character to which I
would call especial attention — and that is, the extremely
judicious manner in which he has carried on his movements.
He had to enter upon a new course, which in many quarters
was not very popular; and so far as my own observation
b b

370 NOTES.
has gone, I must say that he has exhibited a degree of for
bearance and patience beyond all praise, and has succeeded
in subduing opposition, and to a great extent in conciliating
those who, in the first instance, entered into a consideration
of his views with feelings of dislike and distrust.
" The Archbishop — I believe the exertions of Mr.
Hoare were first begun in my diocese, in which he resides ;
and I should be wrong if I allowed the opportunity to pass
without stating my high estimation of the earnestness with
which he has devoted himself to the object which he has
undertaken. His disinterested and unremitting efforts for
the benefit of the' Church cannot be too highly prized.
" The Bishop of Salisbury — Mr. Hoare has visited
my diocese once or twice, and has created amongst both the
clergy and the laity a most affectionate feeling towards him
for the honest sincerity with which he has propounded his
opinions ; and his thorough good humour has rendered him
one of the most popular men in my diocese."
The Report of the Lower House alluded to will be found
in the Chronicle of Convocation, February 11th, 1859, pp.
113, 114, 115, and is as follows: —
" The Committee of the Lower House of Convocation of
the province of Canterbury, appointed to consider ' the best
means of obtaining the counsel and co-operation of the laity
of the Church in annual visitations or diocesan synods, or
in any other modes that may be deemed expedient,' have to
report as follows : —
" They are unanimously of opinion, that the well-being of
the Church greatly depends, under Almighty God, on the
mutual good-will and cordial co-operation of its members,
clergy and laity ; and it is their earnest desire that the end
proposed may be attained.
" At the same time, they thankfully acknowledge, that a
spirit of harmonious action between the clergy and laity has
long shown itself with excellent results, in the administration

lecture viii. 371
of the affairs of many religious and charitable societies ih
this country.
" The special duty, however, of the present Committee is
to suggest means for eliciting, strengthening, and consoli
dating such co-operation, by regular diocesan organisation,
particularly of a synodical character.
" The Committee are of opinion, that the means employed
for obtaining such co-operation, should be regarded, in the
first instance, as of a tentative and provisional kind.
" It may also be anticipated, that no uniform plan can be
devised, which would be equally applicable at once to all
dioceses. "Parish Vestries.
"I. The primary elements of lay co-operation may be
found in Parochial Vestries, in which the clergyman and
his parishioners meet together for consultation on matters
ecclesiastical as well as temporal.
" Ruridecanal Chapters or Meetings.
" II. The Committee would next advert to the ruridecanal
chapters or meetings, which are of very ancient date.
" They appreciate highly the benefits derived from them,
and hope that such chapters or meetings may be generally
revived. "The Committee suggest for consideration whether the
ruridecanal divisions of dioceses might not afford facilities
for lay co-operation, if churchwardens and sidesmen of
parishes of the deanery, and perhaps other laymen of the
Church, were, as occasion might require, invited by the
Rural Dean to confer with the clergy on subjects previously
proposed. " Such meetings, it is supposed, would be preceded by
common prayer in the Church, and it is to be wished that
an opportunity might also be offered for partaking of the
Holy Communion. B B 2

372 NOTES.

"Archidiaconal Visitations.
" III. The next advance towards a fuller development of
lay co-operation may be seen in the Visitations held by the
several archdeacons ; fifty-five in number, in this province.
" The Committee are not unmindful that such visitations
were originally of a disciplinarian and judicial character.
" In course of time, however, and under the influence of
various circumstances, these Archidiaconal Visitations took
the place of the two yearly synods, anciently held by the
bishops of the several dioceses. (Bishop Gibson, Codex,
p. 958.)
" They are, in fact, the only constitutional assemblies of
the clergy and laity of the archdeaconry, as such, which
are at present known to the law.
" The Committee do not enter on the question, whether
the present organisation of these assemblies is the best that
could be devised ; but they are of opinion that it is capable
of improvement in its application.
" They do not recommend that any attempts should be
made at present to_ create new agency for lay co-operation
in the archdeaconries ; but that, in the first instance at least,
resort should be had for that purpose to the constitutional
organisation already existing from time immemorial.
" They feel persuaded, that these visitations afford valu
able opportunities for obtaining the co-operation of the
clergy and laity, and for promoting the practical efficiency
of the Church.
" The churchwardens are legally the lay representatives
of the several parishes of the archdeaconry, and are cited as
such to the visitations. They are the guardians of the fabrics
and goods of the parish-churches ; and are the trustees and
dispensers of a large annual revenue, amounting to not less
than 300,0007., for the maintenance of the parish churches,
and of their religious services.
" The sidesmen (or synodsmen) also are by the 90th
Canon recognised officers of the Church, whose duty it is to

lecture viii. 373
assist the churchwardens in the execution of their office, and
are as such to be cited to the visitations.
" Everything therefore ought to be done to increase the
efficiency of these officers, and to strengthen the bonds of
union Avhich connect the clergy with them.
" It may be hoped, that if the importance of these offices
Avere more generally understood, and if the holders of them
were duly recognised as persons charged from ancient times
with solemn duties, and if, as occasion might require, they
were called into consultation with the clergy at these visita
tions, they would be stimulated in their efforts to do their
duty ; and the office of churchwarden would be raised in
public esteem, and would be sought by earnest and zealous
laymen, to the benefit of religion, and to the promotion of
charity and unity.
" The Committee take for granted, that the conferences
at these synodical visitations would be limited to questions
concerning the practical efficiency of the Church, especially
within the archdeaconry ; and that no question of a purely
doctrinal character Avould be submitted for discussion at
them; and that the archdeacon, as president, would give
previous notice to those who would be summoned, what the
subject would be, on which he would request the opinions
of those convened, and that sufficient time would be allowed
for deliberation.
"For the more intimate and hearty union of those who
are convened to these visitations, and for the blessing of
Almighty God on their joint deliberations, it is to be wished,
that an opportunity should be offered to all who are sum
moned to them, of joining together in the participation of
the Holy Communion. " Episcopal Visitations.
" IV. The Committee next proceed to consider the case
of the visitations held by the bishops of the several dioceses,
of which there are twenty-one in this province.
B B 3

374 notes.
" The average number of the clergy in each of these
dioceses is not less than 650, and the churchwardens pro
bably amount to more than 900, on an average, in each
diocese. " In most dioceses, the bishop's visitation takes place only
once in three years ; the archidiaconal visitation being held
in the two intermediate years.
" The bishop of a diocese has no regular opportunities, of
meeting his clergy in any one place ; or of collecting the
general opinion of the clergy and laity of his diocese ; or of
communicating his own judgment to them in any one dio
cesan assembly.
" Formerly, as has been already observed, diocesan synods
Avere held by each bishop of the province twice in every
year. " The English reformers recommended in the Reformatio
Legum (de Synodis, p. 109, ed. Cardwell) that a diocesan
synod should be held by each bishop annually, to which all
the clergy of the diocese should be convened, by means of
the rural deans ; and that such synods should be opened with
the Litany and the Holy Communion, and an address from
the bishop or archdeacon ; and that the synod should consist
of the clergy and such of the laity as the bishop might re
quest to remain ; and that its deliberations should, if re
quisite, be continued for several successive days.
"Your Committee gratefully recognise the benefits at
present arising from the meetings of the churchwardens, to
gether with the clergy, at the visitations of the bishops ; and
they see in those visitations the basis of arrangements which
might, if strengthened and amplified, be made available for
the consultation and co-operation of the laity with the clergy
of the diocese, under the presidency of the bishop, according
to the principles and arrangements already stated in the
case of archidiaconal visitations.
"But they would further express their earnest desire, that,
hy a subdivision of dioceses, the clergy and laity of every

lecture viii. 375
diocese might be enabled to meet under the presidency of
their bishop, and be associated with one another, under his
paternal authority, in the Cathedral Church of the diocese,
for mutual counsel and edification, and for Christian fellow
ship in the offices of religion.
" Your Committee are aware, that many persons, whose
motives they respect, are desirous of a more rapid and
larger development of lay co-operation than has been re
commended in this report.
" They do not profess to determine, whether such an ex
pansion may not hereafter be necessary. Time and expe
rience will show. If any organic changes are requisite in
the present system of lay-representation, they are of opinion
that suggestions for such changes should come from the
laity rather than from the clergy. But they earnestly
hope, that a fair trial may be made of our existing organisa
tion. " They respectfully commend the present subject to the
consideration of the archdeacons and rural deans of the pro
vince of Canterbury ; and they would invite reports stating
to the House the results of experiments made by them for
the purpose of obtaining lay co-operation of a synodical
character. " Your Committee would also recommend that a dutiful
representation should be made upon this subject by the.
Lower House to his Grace the President, and their lordships
in the Upper House.
" In conclusion, they unite in fervent prayer to Almighty
God, 'by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church is
governed and sanctified, that every member of the same, in
his vocation and ministry, may truly and godly serve Him,
through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.'
The association of the laity with the clergy in archi
diaconal and ruridecanal conferences, has been tried in my
own archdeaconry with the best results.
B B 4

376 notes.
Note (121), page 213.
The Times newspaper. Note (122), page 214.
It might have been thought that nothing could add lustre
to the example here alluded to, or to the loyalty and lbve
with which it is repaid.
But when it could be said of our royal mistress, that
" in the very presence of death, and in the first moment of
her agony, she rose beneath the overwhelming weight of her
crushing sorrow, resolving, under God's blessing, to do her
duty to the country, " — when in her own words " her own
misery only makes her feel more for the widows of her
people," what limits can be fixed to the national devotion !
I desire to adorn these pages with the letter written by
Her Majesty's desire, on a recent calamitous occasion, to
Mr. Carr, the head viewer of Hartley Colliery, and which
was read by the Incumbent of Earsdon at a large religious
meeting held on the pit-heap : — " Osborne, Jan. 23rd, 1862.
" Sir, — The Queen, in the midst of her own overwhelming
grief, has taken the deepest interest in the mournful accident
at Hartley, and up to the last had hoped that at least a con
siderable number of the poor people might have been recovered
alive. The appalling news since received has afflicted the
Queen very much. Her Majesty commands me to say that
her tenderest sympathy is with the poor widows and mothers,
and that her own misery only makes her feel the more for
them. Her Majesty hopes that everything will be done as
far as possible to alleviate their distress, and Her Majesty
will have a sad satisfaction in assisting in such a measure.
Pray let me know what is doing. — I have the honour to be,
your obedient servant,
"C. B. Phipps."

lecture viii. 377
Note (123), page 215.
These words were spoken some months before that
illustrious Prince was taken from us, of whom it has been
said, that to do justice to his memory sounds like adulation,
and to speak the simple truth is to pronounce a panegyric.
History will record his virtues : monuments will be erected
to his memory. But what tribute can compare with that
rendered in the following letter by her who knew him
best? " Osborne, Feb. 19th, 1862.
" My Lord, — The Queen wishes me to add a few words
to the answer to your letter, which you will receive with
this, expressive in a more special manner of Her Majesty's
personal wishes.
" She is aware that she could not with any propriety con
tribute, as a wife, to a monument to her husband ; but she is
also the SoA'ereign of this great Empire, and as such, she
cannot but think she may he allowed to join with the
nation in the expression of a nation's gratitude to one to
whom it owes so much.
" Who has a dearer interest than the Queen in the well-
being and the happiness of the people? And if it has
pleased God to make her reign, so far, happy and prosperous,
to whom, under Divine Providence, is this so much owing as
to her beloved husband — in all matters of doubt or difficulty
her wise counsellor, her unfailing guide and support ?
" No one can know, as the Queen knows, how his every
thought was devoted to the country — how his only aim was
to improve the condition of the people, and to promote their
best interests. Indeed, his untiring exertions in furtherance
of these objects tended, in all probability, to shorten his
precious life.
" Surely, then, it will not be out of place that, following
the movement of the people, the Queen should be allowed to
consider how she may best take part with them in doing
honour to her beloved Prince, so that the proposed monu-

378 NOTES.
ment may be recorded to future ages as reared by the queen
and people of a grateful country to the memory of its
benefactor. " I have the honour to be, your lordship's most obedient
and faithful servant,
" C. Grey.
" The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor, &c."

Note (124), page 217.
See a speech entitled " Woman's Work," delivered in the
Lower House of Convocation, on Tuesday, July 9th, 1861,
by Richard Seymour, M.A., Rector of Kinwarton, Proctor
for the clergy of the diocese of Worcester, on moving the
following resolution : —
" That this House do agree to present to His Grace the
Archbishop, and to the Upper House, praying their Lordships
to deliberate and agree on certain rules by which women,
whose hearts God has moved to devote themselves to works
of piety and charity, may be associated together on terms
and conditions distinctly known as those which the Church
of England has sanctioned and prescribed " : — in Avhich the
whole of this subject is treated with singular pathos and
ability. See also a leading article in the Guardian Newspaper,
March 6th, 1862, on Convocation on Sisterhoods, with some
admirable remarks on the subject itself and the debate
thereon in the Lower House of Convocation.
The subject was discussed in the .Upper House, on
Friday, the 7th, when the following representation from the
Lower House was read :
" ' To the Archbishop and Bishops in Convocation assembled.
" ' The Lower House beg to represent, — That their atten
tion has been called to the manner in which Christian women
have of late years devoted themselves within the Church of

LECTURE VIII. 379
England definitively to the aid of Christ's ministers, in
alleviating the sorrows of the sick and suffering, and in other
pious and charitable works. That they desire to express to
their Lordships their conviction that such ministrations on the
part of women are to be regarded with great thankfulness,
both as a revival of the Scriptural and primitive practice of
the Church of Christ, and as eminently conducive both to
the temporal and spiritual good of all connected with them.
Believing, therefore, that such efforts deserve all the en
couragement and guidance which the Church can give, they
pray your Lordships to take into your consideration the modes
and limitations under which such encouragement and guid
ance may be given. And in order that this desire may take
effect, they respectfully request his Grace the President
and their Lordships to direct the appointment of a joint com
mittee to consider this subject, and to report thereon to the
Convocation of this province.'
" The Bishop of London — I should be glad to see a
committee appointed on this very important subject. It is
probably known that in the diocese of London various efforts
have been made in this direction, and that these efforts are
increasing. In times past they were viewed with a good
deal of jealousy, and were supposed to be confined to persons
entertaining one set of opinions ; but now they are pretty
generally recognised throughout the various sections of the
Church. As nothing but good can arise from these indi
viduals devoting themselves for Christ's sake, if their labours
are judicious, so it is desirable that we should consider what
advice can be given and what checks can be put upon any
tendency towards a want of that judiciousness which is
necessary in such matters. I may mention that in the large
parish of St. Pancras, under the superintendence of the
parochial clergyman, and with the full sanction of Canon
Champneys, certain ladies are allowed to labour amongst
the destitute poor of the district. The effort is only just
beginning, and it is difficult to say with what degree of
success it may be attended ; but it is an effort which will be

380 NOTES.
watched with great interest by all those who are anxious for
the spiritual good of the district and the general good of the
Church. Similar efforts were made long ago in the diocese of
London, and although they were naturally viewed with some
jealousy, I have great reason to be thankful for the amount
of self-denial and goodness of every kind which has been
evinced by those who have devoted themselves to the work ;
and I must say that I think we ought not to be too critical in
judging of the way in which they perform a work for which
we ought to be very thankful.
"The Bishop of Oxford— As I have had some ex
perience on this subject, I can echo every word which the
Bishop of London has said as to the self-denial of these
ladies, to their readiness at the suggestion of those placed
over them to give up everything that might raise a suspicion,
and the noble devotedness of their character in regard to this
work. I have seen the effect of this in many places. Some
suspicions were at first naturally entertained; but their
noble conduct in this town, and in my own diocese, in minis
tering to the poor when every one else had fled from the
dreadful scene of pestilence, won the hearts of those who at
first suspected them ; and it is impossible to feel too thank
ful to Almighty God for the rise of such a work amongst us.
I think, after what has fallen from the Bishop of London,
that it would scarcely be wise to act on the suggestion of the
Lower House. There is a certain shrinking delicacy in such
movements, and I think it would be better to leave those in
London under his care, and those in other dioceses under
the care of their spiritual guides, than to establish any formal
rules, or to take any formal steps in Convocation. It is
possible the time may come when it will be wise to do so ;
but at present I think it more advisable to leave the bud to
unfold itself in a quiet way, rather than to take any formal
steps in the matter.
" The Archbishop — From what I hear of these ladies
and the way in which they are acting, I think it would
injure the cause we desire to promote if we were to interfere

LECTURE VIII. 381
Avith the exercise of their free judgment and discretion. We
must believe their inclinations to be most excellent when they
devote themselves in this manner to so great and self-denying
a work ; and we have no reason to suppose that that self-denial
will not be accompanied with so much judgment as will enable
them to carry on their work without any interference on the
part of others ; and any premature step might have the effect
of checking the rising flame instead of promoting its progress.
"The Bishop of Landaff — It would give me great
satisfaction to see this work extended in the Church of
England provided it can be conducted, as I believe it may
be, with a due regard to the sound religious feeling of the
country. There are many cases of distress which no
persons are better qualified to mitigate than well-educated
Christian ladies ; and I know there are a great number of
unmarried ladies, of widow ladies, and others whose peculiar
circumstances enable them to devote themselves almost ex
clusively to works of charity, who would be glad to have the
opportunity of so doing. If we give them that opportunity,
we shall provide for a want under which the Church of
England has long suffered. At the same time I cannot help
feeling very strongly that their assistance should be accepted
in such a way as to commend it to the sound feeling of the
country. For the reasons which have been given it may be
inexpedient to appoint a committee on the subject, but I
hope that what has been stated will induce those ladies, and
especially the managers of the institutions with which they
are connected, to avoid anything calculated to give offence ;
because it is unquestionable that the real hindrance to the
spread of this means of usefulness has been the institutions
themselves. Your Lordships may have seen a little work
which has been recently published, entitled 'The Expe
riences of an English Sister of Mercy in the Crimea,' by
Margaret Goodman ; and I think it quite impossible for any
one to read that work without feeling thankful that this lady
and some others plunged into the miserable haunts of
Devonport in order to visit persons afflicted with the cholera.

382 NOTES.
Their service in the Crimea and at Scutari must be viewed
with equal admiration. But I think the work itself suggests
the need of caution which has occurred to my own mind, and
I have the less hesitation in saying this, because it is the
impression of the lady herself, who, referring to some of the
regulations of the institutions, after pointing out their great
value, says that when she returned from the Crimea she
found the regulations such that she could not continue her
assistance. I shall be heartily glad if the work can be
carried on effectively, with a due consideration for the sound
religious feelings of the country.
" The Bishop of St. Asaph — The question before us is
not whether the work may be carried on, but whether we,
as a body, ought to interfere in the matter. I think more
good will be done by the general expression of our earnest
desire that it may be carried on, than by our interfering with
the manner of so doing. I know not what the ladies may
require beyond the sanction of the clergymen of their own
parishes, but if they wish for any further authority, I am
sure the -Bishop of the diocese will render them every assist
ance. If we were to lay down any rules, perhaps some of
the Bishops might not altogether agree with them, and an
obstacle might be thrown in the way of that work, on the
prosecution of which the reformation of the great mass of
the lower classes of our population is dependent.
" The Bishop of Llandaff — The difficulty is not so
much Avith regard to the rules under which the ladies should
work, as to the rules which ought to guide the institutions
in which the ladies are trained for their special work. That
is the point to which my observations specially referred. If
there are to be such institutions, they ought to be conducted
on principles of which we can all approve.
" The Bishop of St. David's — The petition, as I under
stand it, refers to the agency of ladies of England. If they
are to engage only in charitable ministrations separately and
individually, I do not think it would be necessary to make
any regulations respecting the mode of administration. But

LECTURE VIII. 383
I apprehend that in most cases they form a body living
together, and that the object of the petition is that an in
quiry may be instituted as to the rules by which such insti
tutions may be best administered. If these societies were
placed under proper management, all the difficulties which
have been suggested by the Bishop of Llandaff would be
removed, because it is only in the interior of such houses
that any misdirection of charitable efforts could take place.
I wish all such establishments could be placed under proper
control without at all interfering with the voluntary agency
of the members. I know not how far they are at present
under the control and authority of the Bishop. If they are,
I do not see the necessity of placing them under any other
restraint, and I think the matter may be safely left in the
hands of the Bishop, who ought to have the power to make
such regulations as he may think fit.
" The Bishop of London — The efforts made in London
vary very much in character. Some of them are directly under
my superintendence, the ladies having made it a condition,
on forming themselves into a society, that they shall have
access to the Bishop and be able to consult him, and look
upon him as the Visitor of the institution ; and wherever
they carried on the work in a manner of which I approved,
I consented to give them my counsel and assistance. Of
course there are other institutions with which ladies are
connected, for visiting the poor and the sick, which have not
sought to place themselves in connection with us — some of
them from a love of independence, and others from knowing
that my sentiments are not exactly in accordance with their
regulations. Although it has been taken for granted that
this is more or less a new work, we must not forget that
there is one institution in this diocese which dates back con
siderably into the Episcopate of my revered predecessor. I
allude to St. John's House of Mercy, the existence of which
ought never to be forgotten. That institution was formed
for the training of nurses, and the lady at the head of that
institution is acting as matron at the Hospital at King's

384 NOTES.
College, simply from a love of the bodies and souls of those
who are brought there. I believe the connection between
King's College Hospital and that institution has been of the
greatest use to the hospital, and I trust it is likely to intro
duce into the hospitals of the metropolis generally an ele
ment which has hitherto been wanting. Recently, through
the kind care of Miss Nightingale, an addition has been
made to the sort of training carried on in King's College
Hospital in connection with St. John's House of Mercy. It
would be almost presumption in any one to think of praising
Miss Nightingale in relation to this subject, but I think it
right to mention that she has devoted part of her energies to
the improvement to which I have alluded. It has been
taken for granted that- this representation refers altogether
to institutions of persons living in community. But, whe
ther that be the case or not, I think this is a proper occasion
to remark that the women thus employed are under a
regular superintendence. A great effort was made in the
parish of St. Giles, by persons who hung rather more
loosely to the Church than was desirable, to reclaim persons
who were leading a vicious life, and to visit the poor in their
own homes ; and the incumbent of that parish has found
nothing but good resulting from the efforts of those Bible-
women. In the parish of St. Clement Danes there is a
movement most-strictly connected with the Church of Eng
land, and a considerable number of mission-women have
been sent amongst the poor ; and from that parish the work
has extended in a variety of directions. Ladies well known
to many of your lordships have undertaken the superintend
ence of these women, and the sphere of their operations is
gradually increasing. They are sent into various parts of
the metropolis, each lady considering herself responsible for
the work of her paid agent, and all of them being desirous
of placing themselves under my direction, and in every in
stance taking care to do nothing which is not sanctioned by
the incumbent of the parish.
" The Bishop of Llandaff— The Bishop of London

LECTURE VIII. 385
has called your Lordships' attention to the usefulness of the
ladies in connection with King's College Hospital ; and
that circumstance recalls to my mind a fact relating to a
charity at the University of Cambridge for the relief of sick
students. It was suggested by Dr. Haviland that a portion
of the income should be devoted to the training of nurses ;
and I remember the doctor saying that Mr. Valentine Blom-
field had lost his life entirely in consequence of an ignorant
nurse administering to him the wrong medicine. How far
the late Bishop of London may have been influenced by
this calamity, which came so near home to him, in sup
porting St. John's House of Mercy, it is impossible for me
to say.
"The Bishop of Oxford — With your Grace's per
mission, I will now move the following resolution : —
" ' That this House has read and considered the address of
the Lower House as to the devotion of themselves by Christian
women within the Church of England to works of piety and
charity. That this House agrees with the Lower House in
believing jthat such efforts deserve all the encouragement
which the Church can give them, and such guidance as may
help those who are making them to be dutiful members
of the Church of England. That they deem it most expe
dient that this guidance should be sought directly from the
parochial clergy and the Bishops of the districts in which
such devoted women labour : and they commend them and
their work to the prayers of the Church, that ah, so la
bouring may be upheld and directed in their life of charity
and labour of love by the blessed Spirit of the God of peace
and love.'
" The Bishop of St. David's — Believing that these
institutions may confer important benefits on society, I feel
very anxious that they should be kept on a safe and sound
footing. We must all be aware that there is a peculiar
danger incident to institutions of this kind where a number
of ladies live together — a peculiar danger of excitement,
which, if they are not under proper control, may tend to
C C

386 NOTES.
dangerous consequences, both as regards the welfare of the
institution itself and the effects which it produces. I think
it desirable that all those who have such institutions within
their sphere should watch over them with great care, and
take all possible steps to induce their managers to submit
their rules to the sanction of the Bishop, or some other
efficient authority; and that wherever the Bishop is re
quested to take upon himself the office of Visitor, he should
examine the rules and offer such suggestions as he may think
proper previous to giving his sanction to the institution. I
hope that the feeling expressed in the resolution will have
a beneficial effect on the spirit which animates the supporters
of these institutions, and have much pleasure in seconding
the motion.
" The Bishop of London — Looking at the word ' de
voted,' etymologically, it might be supposed to have some
reference to * vows.' I believe that any clergyman ad
ministering a vow to any person subjects himself to severe
penalties. Anything like a * vow ' on the part of individuals
to devote themselves to this work is the last thing we would
recommend. It is most desirable that this should be clearly
understood. "The Bishop of Oxford — In my diocese I have
uniformly made it the condition of my connection with these
institutions, that their statutes shall state explicitly that they
are bound only so long as they please to continue in the
society. " The Bishop of Chichester — The word ' devoted '
is evidently used in the popular sense.
" The motion was put and agreed to, and ordered to be
communicated to the Lower House."

Note (126), page 219.
This extract is from a work entitled " Female Improve
ment " by the late Mrs. John Sandford, which first appeared
thirty years ago.

lecture viii. 387
I subjoin a few passages from the context :
" The ordinary circumstances, also, in which woman is
placed, seem to point her out as the most suitable agent
in many benevolent designs. She enjoys a leisure which is
seldom granted to the other sex. In what way can she
employ it so well as in relieving the ills of her fellow-
creatures? One of the most obvious offices of benevolence
is that of visiting the destitute and sick ; and it is one for
which women must be considered, in some respects, as pecu
liarly qualified. Their kindness of address, their gentleness
of manner, their winning tones of voice, may find acceptance
where the more decisive manners of the other sex would
procure a less courteous welcome ; and these recommendations
often more than compensate for their want of authority and
physical strength. In times of sickness a woman has
natural and easy access. And as she smoothes the pillow of
the suffering and the dying, she may gently, and as far as
her province will allow, probe the wounds of conscience, and
then pour into them the * oil and wine ' of Christian
consolation. " There are situations where this duty involves but little
personal sacrifice. Amongst a rural population, where the
hamlet lies in some sequestered glen, and in our way
thither we drink in the pure breezes of the park or of the
down; — where the cottage itself is clean, if not picturesque,
and its inhabitants welcome our approach with the honest
smile of simple hospitality — there, we may well say, it is
a pleasure to lift the latch, and to communicate to those who
at least are willing to listen, that instruction which is the
most valuable for them to receive. We may meet here, it is
true, with ignorance and sin ; we may find sickness and
sorrow ; and to conflict with the one, or to seek contact
with the other, involves an effort. But it is not what
nature recoils from, as it does from scenes of unmitigated
evil ; and there are refreshments in the occupation itself,
which, even at the time, compensate for the sacrifice of time
and ease.

388 notes.
" It is not so, however, when a similar office leads us, not
to the quiet village, but to the alleys of a densely populated
city. Those who pass only through the spacious streets and
squares of the metropolis, — who visit no abodes but those
of the wealthy, — who give of their abundance through the
instrumentality of others, — know by hearing only of poverty
and destitution, and have little idea of the realities of want.
Could they see the picture which a London court presents, —
the infant swarm issuing from its garrets or its cellars, whose
countenance bespeaks misery, and whose accents tell of sin,
— could they see the denuded walls, where a fellow-creature
pines in sickness, — the straw pallet where, perhaps, a poor
woman meets her hour of anguish, and gives birth to a child
of want and sorrow,— they would feel almost a compunc
tion in the enjoyment of their own luxuries, and would
sincerely desire to afford relief.
" It may, indeed, be asked, whether scenes such as
these are a fitting spectacle for any woman ; whether a
sphere so arduous, is suited for female enterprise? Uni
versally, it is not so. It is not one on which very young
women can embark, for it requires experience, firmness, and
qualifications which belong only to maturer years. The
delicate in health are equally unfit ; and as domestic duties
have a prior claim to any foreign efforts, there are many
whom these will not allow to extend their active labours
beyond their own homes.
" But amongst those in whom the love of Christ is a
constraining motive, and Avho are ready both to endure and
to labour for His sake, there may be found, perhaps, not a
few, whom age, health, and courage render fitting agents
for one portion at least of the work of benevolence.
" Is it not then possible to bring, as a subsidiary assistance,
the piety and zeal of women : to concentrate more than has
yet been done, the desultory efforts of such as are already
stirred up to the work, and to excite others who are ready
to respond to the only constraining motive ? "
Thus wrote an English wife and mother in 1832. She

lecture viii. 389
fell asleep in Christ some years ago. But others have
effected what she prayed and worked for.
" And I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write,
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth :
yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours ;
and their works do follow them." Amen and Amen !

LONDON
PBINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO.
NBW-9TBP.BT SQUARE

BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

REMAINS of BISHOP SANDFOED. 2 vols. 8vo. 1830. Longmans.
FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD : a Course of Lectures delivered at Long-
Acre Chapel, London, 1834.
PAEOCHIALIA ; or, Church, School, and Parish. 8vo. 1845. Long
mans.
VOX COEDIS ; or, Breathings of the Heart : a Manual of Private De
votion. Parker. 1849.
The BLAMELESSNESS of HEE CLEEGY a SAFEGUAED of the
CHURCH : a Sermon preached at the Triennial Visitation of the Lord Bishop of Worcester
in the Parish Church of Southam , 1845.
The PEACE of JEEUSALEM: a Sermon preached on the Third
Jubilee of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign. Parts, preached in the
Church of St. Michael, Coventry, 1851.
CLEEICAL CEEDENTIALS : a Sermon preached at the Lent Ordina
tion in the Cathedral Church of Worcester, on Sunday, March 8, 1857.
CLEEICAL TEATNLNG : a Sermon preached in Cuddesdon Parish
Church, June 9, 1857.
EDUCATION NOT TEACHING, BUT TEALNING : a Sermon
delivered in Saltley Church, at the Annual Meeting of the Worcester Diocesan Training
College, October 25. 1860.
CHURCH EXTENSION : a Speech deHvered on the Institution of the
Church Extension Society for the Archdeaconry of Coventry, December 1851.
INAUGURAL ADDEESS, delivered in the Town Hall of Birmingham,
at the Anniversary Meeting of the Queen's College, 1852.
SOCIAL PEOGEESS : a Lecture delivered to the Members of the
Leamington Athenaeum, January 7, 1856.
VISITATION CHAEGES deHvered at Birmingham, Coventry, and
Southam, at the Visitations held in 1852, 1853, 1855, 1856, 1858, 1860.

BY THE LATE MES. JOHN SANDFOED.
WOMAN, in her Social and Domestic Character. 4th Edition. Longmans.
FEMALE IMPROVEMENT. 3rd Edition. Longmans.