In the Upper House of Convocation on Tuesday the Bishop
of Lichfield brought up a declaration, signed by 15,000 clergy and 30,000 laity, against the principle of Lord Harrowby's amendment to the Government's Burials Bill of last Session. It declares that the undersigned " consider the Church- yards, subject to the legal rights of the parishioners," as " the property of the Church of England," and they are " opposed to any legislation which shall permit persons, not being ministers of that Church, to claim as of right to officiate in our churchyards, and to use forms and ceremonies therein which are not sanctioned by the English Church." The Bishops —even the most Liberal of them—did their best, we regret to say, to prove that they agree, on the whole, with the majority
of the clergy, and not with the majority of the laity of the Eng- lish Church,—for of course the signature of a vastly greater number than 80,000 laymen could easily be obtained for what the Dissenters ask ; and even Archbishop Tait intimated his preference for a compromise which would require the assent of the incumbent to any Dissenting minister's ministrations in a 'Churchyard. What is the explanation of this permanent inclination -orthe Bishops to think themselves the Bishops of the clergy, so much more than the Bishops of the laity-of their own communion? Unquestionably that is their feeling. They are quite apologetic if they-differ from their clergy, but evidently think- there is no need for apology at all when they differ toto ecelo from the House of Lords -or Commons and the great majority of lay Churchmen. And yet in this-matter, the spirit of the clergy is certainly less charitable and Christian than that of the laity who wish to see Dissenters treated in the Churchyards as they would like the Dissenters to -treat them, if they were ever compelled to make use of Dissenting places of burial.
Previous page
