14 OCTOBER 1865, Page 3

Dr. Pusey declared himself at the Congress against pews, and

told a story of a church where the mere substitution of open seats for pews filled the church, which had been previously almost .empty. If the exclusiveness of pews be really so very unpopular as is asserted, why not clear away the stiff seats altogether, and introduce the movable chairs of the Roman Catholic churches abroad? That would give space and solemnity to the building and freedom to the individual worshipper, who might either carry his seat into solitude, or sit grouped with his friends. The bench system is the most formal and unpleasant of all. There is seldom any room in them for the knees,--they are like the cramping orchestra stalls in badly-arranged theatres,—and they tempt Englishmen to hope for indulgence in their old habit of localiza- tion, only to disappoint them and disturb their frame of mind for the service, on finding their usual seat occupied.