In the House of Lords, on Thursday, Lord Brougham delivered
his judicial opinion on the famous " Auehterarder " case. He went over all the facts at great length, and briefly stated the main point at issue— The Earl of Kinnoul had presented a Mr. It. Young to a living of which he was the patron ; but the Presbytery of Auchterarder had refused to ordain and induct him to the living, conceiving that with the authority of the heads of the families of Auchterarder it had a right to exercise a veto, or to dissent from the presentment made by the patron. The question was, whether the Presbytery had a right to reject a presentment made by lawful authority. The eourt of Session had decide,l that the Pres4tery of Auchterarder had not this right, and that the Earl of Kinuoul should be allowed to exercise his power of presentment to the living. It was against this decision that the Presbytery of Auchterarder now appealed. Lord Brougham said, that having given the 'fullest consideration to all the circumstances, and having anxiously investigated all the statutes which bore upon the question he had come to the conclusion—and he came to it without the least doubt—that time Court below Lad given a right decision, and the appeal must therfAre be dismissed.
Yesterday, the Lord Chancellor Cottenham gave a similar and final judgment.
[Thus perishes the vaunted " independence " of the State Church of Scotland. The law of Ctesar is too strong for the "law of Christ," as administered by Presbyteries, Synods, and General Assemblies : in
Scotland, as in England, the "head of the Church" is e. Lord Melbourne's Queen Victoria. What a triumph to the Voluntaries! what a blow to Dr. Chalmers!]
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