THE OLD WAY.
[To THE EDITOR OF TUE " SP ECTATOR.1 SIR,—In the Spectator of June 29th, p 970, you write: "It cannot be conceded that ' the Carthusians only asked to be allowed to serve God in the old way.' They were loyal to the Pope," &c. Now, is it not a fact that " loyalty to the Pope" was " the old way," in England ? Was it not, in fact, a part, and a very important part, of the religion of the land ? You say you cannot continue this controvert' " unless it can be shown that you have made an error in fact." Here, it seems, if historical documents are to be trusted, you have made a grave " error in fact." If not, how comes it—to take one out of many difficulties that might be urged —that in public documents and letters the Primates of the English Church constantly declared themselves to be "Legates of the Apostolic See " P How comes it that they asserted their precedence over York and their Primatial jurisdiction over suffragans to be founded on decrees and grants of the Roman Pontiffs ? See, e.g., letter of Lanfranc in 1070, in Wilkins's " Concilia," VOL I., p. 326. Indeed, strong evidence of England's loyalty to the Pope in all touching religion is scattered through the whole bulky volume.—I
[We publish Monseigneur Vaughan's letter as he seams specially anxious that we should do so, but we cannot admit that there was any error in fact,—though, no doubt, there is a complete disagreement between him and us in respect of the point of view.—ED. Spectator.]
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