The Archdeacons of London and Middlesex have presented to the
Bishop of London an address requesting him "to give his powerful aid for the preservation of those barriers of subscription by which our forefathers endeavoured to exclude from the schools of the Universities and from the ministry of the Church all persons of whose cordial adherence to the doctrine of the Church there was any reason to doubt." The Bishop, in his reply, intimates that a majority of his clergy have not, "from whatever cause," signed this address, and explains his position on the point. He only wishes to abolish, by Act of Parliament, such subscriptions as were imposed by Act of Parliament, and to leave those imposed by the Church to the consideration of the Church. Ho indicates clearly enough that lie does not think subscription any considerable safeguard for maintaining the "standard of doctrine" unin- jured. The Bishop's reply will be generally understood to be, in fact, individually hostile to the subscriptional method of enforcing uniformity. The memorialists seem quite to ignore the fact that the solemn answers made by candidates for ordi- nation in the ordination of priests and deacons do, in fact, answer all the legitimate purposes of subscription in a much less objectionable form.
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