The Rev. John England, who is one of the Wesleyan
Chaplains to the Forces in the South-West of England, found that his position in that capacity had deceived the Bishop of Truro (Dr. Gott) into imagining him to be a clergyman of the Church of England, as the Bishop had apparently failed to realise that we now appoint not only Anglican, but Roman Catholic, Wesleyan, and other Nonconformist Chaplains. The Bishop, indeed, had remonstrated with him on preaching within his diocese (at Falmouth) without asking his permis- sion. Mr. England, seeing -his opportunity, led the Bishop on into farther misapprehensions by simply questioning his right to interfere, without correcting his misconception, whereupon Dr. Gott replied with a reproof of his corre- spondent's rather haughty tone towards one whom he still supposed to owe special respect to a Bishop of the English Church, and intimating that he never sent remonstrances on matters of this kind to the Anglican clergy without prayer that he might be rightly directed. Thereupon the Rev. John England felt that he had got the Bishop into his trap, and fell upon him in a very disdainful letter in which he explained that he was not in Anglican orders, and suggested that, as far as he could see, the Bishop might have written his letter "in any position but that of a suppliant seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit." We think Mr. England would have had a nobler triumph if he had in his first letter courteously explained his position and had not attempted to lead the Bishop on into further blunders. There was really no arrogance in Dr. Gott's first letter, though he would have done better to assure himself of his correspondent's actual position. But to victimise a Bishop is a temptation that the average Nonconformist finds at least as irresistible as the most imperious of Bishops ever found the temptation to victimise a Nonconformist.
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