Mr. Gladstone, in answer to a question put yesterday week,
declared his wish and intention to introduce, after Easter, a measure altering (and we stippose in effect repealing) the abortive Ecclesiastical 'Tian' Act passed on occasion of the Papal Aggression. We shall be glad, indeed, ,to see:that, un- happy monument of -panic add ill-will swept..ftway -horn tthe Statute Book. And while the Governm mt are about it, might they not introduce some enactment providing that neither shall new Catholic Bishops take their titles from those of existing Pro- testant -sees, nor new Protestant Bishops from those of existing Catholic sees? Our new Suffragan Bishop of Lincoln has called himself, or at any rate has been entitled, Bishop of Nottingham, which is the title of a Roman Catholic Bishop, and the conse- quence is that letters intended for the one go to the other ; and the Record gets black in the face at the Roman Catholic " impertinence" in laying the blame on us Protestants. But surely it was neither courteous nor expedient to fix on a title already occupied by the Roman Catholics. Of course, if the Suffragan Bishop were to have a territorial title at all, as the title of Lincoln was taken by his superior, only Nottingham was left for him, but why give a mere suffragan a territorial title ? Why not call him simply Bishop Mackenzie? He cannot sit in the House of Lords, and is not nominated, but only approved by the State. His title ought to indicate this.
