CONVOCATION EXTENDED.
Six—Like Dickens in the case of the "Manchester School," I have been much puzzled with the matter of "Convocation." The etymology signifies a calling together, and it has something to do with the Church, but there my perception ends. As we are a nation professing tolerance,—a very poor word, being only the negative of intolerance, a disgrace to Christians, whose Founder was meek even unto evil-doers,—as we profess to tolerate all religions, even the disciples of Mahound and Termagaunt, Fireworshipers and Bhuddists, we are surely bound, in calling together the Church= to call at least the whole Church, all who profess the doctrines of Christianity. "In my Father's house there are many mansions." The meaning of the word religion is, a binding together. If Christians of many sects dispute and quarrel, they have not religion, whatever may be the amount of their belief. Nay, more, if Christians oppress Mahomedans or Hindoos they have not religion. Belief is not a matter of volition ; the form of a man's creed is given to him by external circumstances, while his mind is in the plastic state, and modified by his mental constitution, just as his phy- sical constitution determines the nature of a man's bodily acts.
Amidst the various forms of the Christian religion in the British empire, the Church of England is in one essential particular superior to all others. The ministers are paid by the State. Not that they are all fairly or rightly paid ; the practice will a1mit of much improvement : but they are paid, and are supposed to be independent of their congregations. And this appears to be an essential element in the religious office. We do not put a schoolmaster's remuneration at the mercy of his scholars; that would be to force him to teaoh only the lessons the schoolboys might prefer, or no lessons at all.
And if we make the teachers of religion the mouthpieces of their congre- gations, we shall have congregation doctrine, and not the doctrine of the minister's own perceptions. If the payment, and amount of payment, be de- pendent on pew-rent, he will be something more than man if his doctrines be not modified to keep his pews and his purse full. In this particular the Established clergy have the advantage over the ministers of the Voluntary system. No doubt, there are ministers in all sects
honest men, not to be swayed by motives of gain ; but if it be a desirable thing to make any stipendiary payment to ministers of religion, it should be in such a mode as to keep their consciences independent. If, therefore, it be desirable to pay. one sect by the State, it is desirable to pay all.
And it is desirable ; for in that mode the community acquires a control over their morality. It will be alleged that this would make them simply tools of the State instead of tools of the congregation. But this does not necessarily
follow. The point being conceded that it is desirable to teach religion, it follows that the mind of the pastor should be free from anxiety ; and if he be a charitable man, it is not desirable that he should pass his time in shoe- making to prevent many of his flock going. barefoot, from a mistaken sense of duty, of which I have known cases in point.
And how is an outcry to be prevented, imputing unfairness in payment ? It does not seem difficult. It is to be supposed that every individual minister has a certain average teaching capacity, extending to a given num- ber of families. His cure of souls ought not to exceed this number. If it be said that the number divided throughout England would require more ministers than we could afford to pay,—that it would absorb all existing
church-revenues and more taxes than could be collected,—then we must be contented to live in a state of heathendom ; for to appoint a minister to a
flock too large for his grasp would be almost a wickedness. But in wealthy England, such a result is scarcely to be credited ; and in matters of religion the rich must pay for the poor. A given number of families, then, should constitute a cure or parish ; and when the proper number of any one sect were gathered together, it should be competent for them to elect their minister and require of the State an as- signed stipend for his maintenance. Nor does there appear any valid reason why Hebrews or Mahomedans should be excluded from the operation of such a law. The business of the State is with their morality, not with their re- ligion. At the same time, it would not be possible to prevent congregations from subscribing voluntarily for their pastor to increase his income, and thus bribing him to be their mouthpiece ; and if this be an evil it must remain so ; but at any rate ministers of conscience would be free from oppression, though ministers of no conscience might be open to bribery. Once elected, it should not be competent for the congregation to dismiss their minister. It should be competent to them, as to all others, to oharge him with immorality ; and when proven, he should be discharged. And this, it may be objected, would make all the stipendiary ministers the servants of the State. Not so • they should be tried by their peers. And this, it will be objected, would open the door to sectarian oppression of individuals by the mass. There is a simple mode of preventing this. Let the jury of peers be composed of men of every sect. The trial would be a question of morality, and morality should be the same in all religions. Religion without morality would not bind together, but tear apart, a nation.
But how if the minister after election changed his tenets ? In that case his congregation would leave him, and others would come to him. If he could not keep together a congregation, it would be prima facie evidence that he was not wanted, that he was se:Alessi, or that he had not the fitting facul- ties for a minister. If he could not keep together a congregation, he ought not to have a salary; but he ought not to be displaced without a fitting rea- son and a trial; and a jury of all sects, there is little doubt, would do justice. That would be a Convocation in which there would be no quarrel. Of the mischievous effect of the Voluntary principle I will give an in- stance. An English clergyman suffering under ill health emigrated to the United States for change of climate. On arriving in New York, be purchased a chapel "in good business" ; the then minister retiring—but not far. He obtained another chapel but a few streets off, and in his first sermon stated that his reason for removing was, that the former chapel was located in a. very unhealthy site, and hie duty to his congregation required his removal. Like a horse-dealer, he sold his chapel without a warranty, and carried off the connexion which done gave it value; illustrating a new mode of "shaving a Britisher."
Still, for those who prefer the Voluntary principle there should be no saying nay to them. All that could be required by the State—always meaning by the State the community at large—would be, that no doctrines subversive of morality should be inculcated, and that no individual breaking this law should be allowed to preach when found guilty by a jury of his peers chosen, from all sects.
There are certain services to humanity of which I hold the office of reli- gion to be a part, that should never be made a matter of competition, or of desire of progressive gain. Competitive body-stealing induced burking, tilt the State interfered. Competitive curing of diseases induces the desire for disease. Were there no diseases, physicians must starve ; were there no fractured bones, surgeons must starve. A more enlightened condition of political society will make physicians and surgeons stipendiaries of the state, as magistrates are—will regard a healthy body as an essential to the pre- servation of a healthy soul ; and the parish physician, residing by the side of the parish minister of religion, will be interested only in the extirpation of disease, and will be a very effective aid to religion. He will help to solve the problem, why children born innocent grow up to be pests to society, and to prevent the continuance of the evil. It says much for human nature, that a race of professional men placed in the anoma- lous position of their welfare depending on the ill-fare of others have attained so high a position in public respect. But, Edwin Chadwick notwithstanding,—if I mistake not, he was adverse to working-people obtaining help from the parish doctor gratuitously,—it is an irrational thing that any act of men should thrive only by the misfortunes of other men. If soldiers were only paid by the amount of work done, we should have an incessant getting up of wars, as in the case of the Italian condottieri ; and we might suppose a system in which the soldier would play into the hands of the surgeons, and they again into the hands of the undertakers. To help. the unfortunate, is a pnvilege of humanity. To thrive by the misfortunes of others, and be pleased with the position, needs a hard heart ; and there was something very beautiful in the position of the truly religious amongst the monks of old, who were at once curers of bodies and healers of souls. May it not be again ? I remember a clergyman of the Established Church, who, when grown up and married, went to Edinburgh to study, and took out his degree, solely for the purpose of healing his own sick gratuitously. I am not proposing that all ministers should be physicians, but that where there is a natural aptitude it should be applied, and that the minister should not be in the position of having no help to give to the diseases of the flesh. He should be aided by the physician. We need a Convocation in which such things as these may be discussed by members of all sects. Is there religion enough amongst us to bring it about ? Mrs. Barbauld has a fable where members of all sects were pouring out into the street from their places of worship when a man fell down in a fit : instantly all sects were practically at work to help him. Shall this beautiful spirit remain for ever a fable ? I believe no better means could be devised for reconciling all sects and removing bigotry, than giving them a moral duty to perform together, in which the tendency to intolerance.
would meet with an universal check. Itsuciro AIEDICL.
Previous page
