THE BURIALS BILL rTO THE EDITOR OF THE " sr
sureros."1
SIR,—If I were a parish priest in the country, and could really persuade myself that the grievance of the Dissenters was a real one, I should have no objection, if the law allowed me, to permit them to bury their dead in the parish churchyard, with their own authorised service. As a matter of fact, I publicly advocated legislation in that direction thirteen years ago. I frankly own, however, that the attitude of the Dissenters in this matter has considerably modified my view of the question. I like honesty, and I feel that the agitation in favour of the Burials Bill is not a sincere agitation. This may seem a harsh judgment, and I shall be very glad if it can be shown to be an erroneous one. Let us test it :- 1. The leading spokesmen of the Dissenters honestly avow that even Mr. Osborne Morgan's Burials Bill would not satisfy them, the real object of their attack being the legal status and endow- ments of the Church. Now, I am probably less of an Establish- mentarian than you are, Mr. Editor, but I like straightforward warfare, and it is not straightforward to fight the battle of Dis- establishment by spurious appeals to grievances which do not exist.
2. This brings me to my second point. Are the grievances of the Dissenters real, or are they only factitious ? As a matter of fact, the Church of England is the only Christian communion in the world in which a considerable portion of the Burial Service is said at the grave. In all other communions the service is almost entirely said elsewhere, and this is particularly the case with the Dissenters in this country, at all events, till quite recently.
3. But let us assume that the Dissenters now wish to follow the example of the Church of England in having a service at the grave. They claim to be placed on an equality with the Clergy of the Established Church. Very good. If I thought that the claim was a sincere one, I should advocate it, but Mr. 0. Morgan's Bill does not give them equality, but domination. The Clergy of the Established Church are restricted to a particular service, which is authorised by law. Will the various Dissenting com- munities agree to draw up Burial Services which shall be authorised by law, and to the use of which they shall be restricted ? If they will not, I submit that what they desire is not equality, but domina- tion. In the second place, the Clergy of the Established Church are now bound to bury, with the rites of the Church, all who have been baptised, and have not committed suicide. iVill the Dissenters agree to relieve the Clergy from this burden, on con- dition of being allowed to have their own Services in our church- yards ? if they will not, I submit, again, that what they aim at is not equality, but oppression.
4. Some of the advocates of the Burials Bill resort to the illegitimate strategy of poisoning the wells. Look at the following sentence, in Mr. Blomfield's letter in the last Spectator :—
" I think that I am relating the experience of many, when I say that hardly a week passes without our hearing of some fact connected with the present management of our churchyards which awakens feelings of indignation and shame. At one time, it is an infant who has died sud- denly, before the curate could arrive to baptise it ; an unauthorised person has performed the rite, and tho parents (good Church-people) hope that there will be no difficulty about the burial. They are soon undeceived, and compelled to obtain a grave in a Dissenting burial- ground, three miles dstant from their own parish."
Mr. Blomfield gives this as a common occurrence. Can he pro- duce one such case ? I venture confidently to assert that he can- not, and for the simple reason that the thing is impossible. The parish priest has just as much power to refuse Christian burial in such a case, as he has to order Mr. Blomfield to be hanged on the nearest tree. By the law of the Church of England and of Christendom, baptism by a layman, or even by a heathen, is as valid as baptism by a priest, provided the right matter and the right form are used, for these are alone of the essence of the Sacrament. The case supposed by Mr. Blomfield, therefore,
could not have occurred, and to vamp up utterly baseless accusa- tions of this sort is accordingly an attempt to create an unfair prejudice,—in other words, to poison the wells.—I am, Sir, &c., MALCOLM MACCOLL.
[Why is Mr. Blomfield's error a " poisoning of the wells ?"—En. Spectator.]
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