The Bill for revising the Lectionary produced a smart debate
in the House of Lords on Monday and Tuesday. The Lord Chan- cellor, in moving the second reading, after describing the nature of the changes proposed, stated that the number of lessons front the Apocrypha has been reduced from 132 to 41, which are now chiefly taken from Ecclesiaaticus and the Book of Wisdom, and that no change had been made with respect to the Athanasian Creed, because the Commissioners could not agree, but that it was desirable to pass this Bill as soon as possible, as a great printing trade was waiting for the new series of lessons before printing the new prayer-books. This reason alarmed Lord Grey, who saw in it a probable reason against a fresh disturbance of the large printing trade in question by any reopening of the debate as to the Athanasian Creed ; and he took the opportunity to deliver himself of a very vigorous and sharp denunciation of that creed, which he said he always heard with "horror." He added, too, an attack on the highly technical divinity by which the Athanasian formula attempts to define the mystery of the divine nature, which much scandalized Earl Beauchamp. The second reading was passed, but not without a very clear intimation from the House of Lords of the disgust with which the damnatory Athanasian clauses are regarded.
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