7 DECEMBER 1844, Page 1

NEWS OF THE 'WEEI4 Ir the friends of the Church

OfTingland desire to -remove much present scandal, ominous of futuielltsaster, they will resort to some :plan for invoking a high influence, stiiih-as that of an efficient Con- vocation, to settle the differenceset now tear the bosom of the Church and baffle not only the aut :"—ty but the intent of the Pre- lates. The newspapers of this sitiffWeek furnish ample proof of such necessity ; for they expose foui notableinstikagga, of divided councils and feeble authority, in as many _different kind In East Farleigh, the Vicar is at issue with his parishioners on points of doctrine and discipline, that neither party has authority to settle ; and from the event it appears that there is virtually no competent court of appeal to which the disputants can resort. The Vicar, the Reverend HENRY WILBERFORCE, a person of influential connexions, displays strong " Anglo-Catholic " tendencies : he is accused of several little practices in public worship that savour of Romish leanings ; they say that he preaches the doctrine of transubstan- tiation; and he uses "the material cross" in his private devotions. His parishioners are scandalized, and they appeal, as they have ap- pealed before, to the Archbishop of CANTERBURY. The good Arch-

op has made son,te inquiry into some of the charges against Mr.

IsaRroace ; atiVie seems to think that once is too often for so &sap cCmt.dc a siuxy, 11w Juever mill appalla t. jwlso more obviously shrink from entertaining a charge. He obviously constitutes no effective appeal; and if Mr. WILBERFORCE and his flock only keep their bickerings within certain bounds of moderation, they may go on to the end of their mortal life.

On a cognate subject is the Bishop of EXETER'S pastoral letter to the clergy of his diocese. The clergy are divided on the strict observance of the Rubric ; which is favoured by a majority of them, but still there is much opposition among the clergy, and yet more widely among the laity. It is very probable that the whole lay population of England has been so far imbued with Dissenting and Calvinistic principles as to have really gone further from the prin- ciples of a Church only reformed from that of Rome than any Episcopal clergy could well follow, and that an adherence to forms not unsuited to a Protestant Church may startle those quasi Dis- senters with a semblance of making lee-way back to Rome. But that question is the very one to be solved, and no one solves it. Certainly not Dr. Pnim.rorrs; who, deprecating rashness and preaching moderation with all the calmness that distinguishes his outward manner, urges an implicit obedience to the Rubric with all that peremptory haughtiness that distinguishes the spirit of his demeanour. He says to his clergy, Be cautious, be considerate ; do not startle and alarm your flock : but the flock must obey. He recommends soothing first and a tight curb afterwards, just as a groom would for a skittish horse : the counsel of the subject flock is clean left out of consideration.

The Chapter of Exeter Cathedral have petitioned the Arch- bishop of CANTERBURY to ascertain the views of the whole clergy of the kingdom on the matter ; and we learn this week that Dr. Howrzr has politely acknowledged the receipt of the petition : but will anything be done upon it ? Oxford University has been busied with a still more startling case—a flagrant instance of the Tractarian schism. The Reverend Mr. WARD boasted, in a book called The Ideal of a Christian Church, remarkable for extreme Tractarianism, that he had aban- doned no doctrine of the Church of Rome, and yet he had not been called to account. He has been called to account before the Heb- domadal Board, and the investigation into his conduct proceeds. Mr. WARD appears virtually to be a priest of the Church of Rome stationed in the English Church, and boasting not only of his alien condition but of his impunity. There is perhaps more levity than dishonesty in that bearing; but it is nevertheless a scandal ; and it grows out of the standing scandal of a dispute on doctrine and dis- cipline that rends one of our ecclesiastical seminaries without hope of settlement, for want of an authority to interpose.

A different but not less remarkable illustration of the perilous and equivocal position of the Church offers itself in a proceeding

hazarded by some of the Church's sincere and solicitous friends. Several laymen, of high rank and influence, comprising men of great intelligence among several parties, have become alarmed at the enfeebled attitude of the Church, and call upon the Primate of all England to take measures for increasing its efficiency in two ways,—by enlarging the number of clergy, especially in the inferior order of Deacons; and by the employment of laymen as Cate• chists and Readers. The motive of the petitioners is unquestion- able; but not so the value of their proposal. Some are startled by it, as suggesting the spread of a kind of monkery among us. A more pregnant and forcible objection appears to be, that to intrust the offices of the Church to persona of inferior social position, abilities, and education, cannot truly tend to exalt or extend her influence. At present, the inferior orders of Church- officials are, so to speak, menial servants of the clergy ; and the lowest holding direct authority, the Curates, are presumably men of high feeling and attainments: introduce a class holding something like coordinate authority, but occupying in society the position of small tradesmen or clerks, and you introduce into*,Establishment some of the most questionable elements of ,u lished churches. The sacred offices are ill-assorted with tind ignorance, or with that dictatorial presumption which stigate many a candidate for the lay brotherhood now pro-

p°. The proposition shows how desperately weak and ineffi• dent I 'Ate' nds of the Church must think it, when they recorn-

mend recruiting, in these times. It demonstrates, too, the absolute ashy for some legislative tribunal in ecclesiastical affairs.