THE BISHOP OF MANCHESTER.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR.")
SIR,—May I say a few words, unasked, on the Dean's side, and in answer to the Bishop of Manchester? His Lordship's idea, that "no one at the time dreamed of applying" his stigma to Mr. Green, is certainly a mistake. Nobody amongst my Church acquaintance thought of it otherwise.
Then, as to anomia. Not only is the Bishop accessory to many more breaches of the Rubric, and far worse for the people, than are charged against Mr. Green, but he has allowed the best part of the Manchester Rectory Division Act to be uni- formly disobeyed. The Act was passed to relieve spiritual destitution. It gives handsome endowments to district in- cumbents out of parish revenues, on the twofold condition that equivalent pew rents be given up, and no fresh pews appropriated. This condition has been flagrantly vio- lated. Since the Bishop admitted the law to be as we have urged for years, five or six new parishes, of 6,000 people each, have been fatally prejudiced by such illegal appropriation. Can we, then, but ask the Bishop respect- fully the question which, fully understanding, he put to his clergy,—" Is the law, which is the only assured and equitable protection of us all, to proclaim itself vanquished, and anarchy to be established in its room ?" Surely, depriving 20,000 poor people of their right of public worship is infinitely graver than unlawfully (if it were so) lighting a candle, or mixing water with wine. "I shall not expect," adds his Lordship, "a dissentient opinion from reasonable men, when I say that as long as it is the law, it ought to be obeyed." How, then, in the face of parishioners' protests and public meetings, can he "connive at an admitted and defiant violation of the law ?" (" Charge," Spectator, p. 386.) A Bill has just passed its second stage enacting "that every parish church is for the free use in common of all the parishioners." Of what use is our urging this and similar legislation, if our Bishop, and the school he most affects, per- sist in (to use his words) "ostentatiously defying the law of the land ?"
I send you this, a small part of our complaint, most unwill- ingly, trusting that your kind publication of it may have more weight than things said on the spot.—I am, Sir, &c.,
EDWARD HERFORD, Chairman of the "National Free and Open Church Society." Manchester, March. 28th.
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