what ie merel nominal CHURCH GOTERNMSNT.

F to by yy ntemlibecia fhp_Legtalaturtrirlto is also a member of the ritkgsof depraisc=rgrara..e.anam°41.11jvibt 41) 1:17rinitlb.iTeerh'aNi.ne Ae.t2.! been rorglinttinglacdit.n~iIRi

.;

Western Christendom for many centuries wsinlinglitokribeithaviouid with dome exceptions :didbelieve,-two-niain-prineiples- of-church government,— the necea glildigl'iMdfCM$04014T llAiltAllfidness of Wok)

■ pin

. I fj1k• 1. I 0/ 1.1;r1 iraj !ivitiOli for dis-

o ffeformation

• 1•44c0 ihthis system, ; IlitIgtoreffili t1Mdugr tide Mush le I Is( Ito.be iden- 'itrakesnOthig Instil:441r git'Otirt t , the idlilithe lane/vas! EliarinattaitioAnttiVgftluk■ • u c1 4,” as he ist 'ea • considered a le •

bFleiintron beyond Pi4CiAcy '' was , , lidthervien niphited.nlir tolerated ;

t DIM `Itirlhe eriffircerl 'obedient:el in) :things spiritual . as in thilits/ dog; 'fink ohinrCh governor or, goverinnetlfS !whether bishop, pres- . byterc)couneil, or, synod, presuming to regulate rine affairs of arty reli- gious- body-on English ground, besides the Establishment, would have had much the same fate as a ,iustice of the peace who 'should have acted in the name of Philip of Spain. This system, however, founded as'it was upon a supposition which' soon• ceased to be, or rather never was a fact—the identity, namely, of the Church and nation of. England—and undermined by those same principles of free thought, and free conscience which herLshakea off the yoke of Rome, retained its symmetry but a very short time. Among much that was and still is excellent, it contained one radi- cal error, which even at this day we have not entirely get rid of—the prin- ciple of compulsion in matters of religion. It extended miost unduly what a great living thinker has termed* "the authoritative interference of govern- ment," violating by the rude hand of human law that "space in human ex- istence--the domain of the inward consciousness, the , thought and feel- ings, which ought to be intrenehed around and sacred froM authoritative in- trusion." This confusion of the nature of State and Chute'', of civil and eccle- siastical authority, has indeed almost vanished froinnut laws; but while it still leaves some blemishes there, it certainly oreatetithat olourly.state of public opinion upon such subjects widoh every now and, then bursto into a storm. In judging, of the relation between the Established Church and other aristiart,bodies, nothing is so difficult as to keep steadily in view the truth, which we hold to be one of the greatest cliscoveriet of inodern times, that a church is a purely voluntary society, exercising authority over the free will of its members, and dealing towards those without and thed.e within only by moral and spiritual means. But so far is this principle from being clearly recognized, that we are for ever hearing language applied to a church which is only suitable to competing railway companies or rivf4.,states. If the Pro- testants of Ireland monopolize the Government pat e and the political

power of the country, it is called " Protestant ak& ; if their Roman

Catholic countrymen are admitted to a share in thess'good•things, it is a " heavy blow and great discouragement" to the Itoteiitant Church : if one Minister is in office, the Church is in dangers; if another, she triumphs. At this moment we hear zealous Protestants commenting ,upim the Prime Minister's letter, and declaring that "the Church is looking up." Thus a .Christian society, which ought to be a branch of the kingdom of God" upon earth, is treated as if its welfare had somo "similitude to the prosperity of empires."t It is as if the moral wellbeing of an indi- vidual, that "kingdom of God which is within us," Afore to. be estimated by his dress, his wealth, his political advancement, his success against worldly, rivals. And this confusion of thought awl feeling is largely in- creased by one circumstance, in which the government of the Church seems to resemble the government of the State ; we mean the system of local ad- ministration, by which a certain district, under the mime of diocese, parish, &c. is formed for ecclesiastical purposes. The minieter of the Established Church in this ease is :very apt to feel ■thi, through he were a magistrate or a prefect, and to regard as a species of rebellion tine existeneti of other Chris- tian societies within his dominions. When indeed, thb great majority of the inhabitants are happily members of the National Church, such a feeling does but little harm; but when, as in Ireland, the contrary is the case, and the Establishment is unfortunately not the Elinrolt of the People, the mischiefs thus caused are manifold. To give one instance : the opposi- tion of the clergy of the Established Church ta. National Education in Ireland, is doubtless caused mainly by their unwillingness to take part in a system which recognizes the status of', the', Raman Catholic priest, and admits him to a share in the work. This statea things is yet more complicated in the case of episcopal churches, by the' use of local titles of ecclesiastical rank, which have the effect of still further obscuring the im- portanq principle; that ecclesiastical authoritris,noteempuleory, and there- fore not necessarily single or exclusive. This "statement of the purely vo- luntary and moral character of church government may seem a truism to many, but it is so constantly forgotten, and so imperfectly' carried out, that even those who acknowledge it require to be reminded of their obligation to accept its consequences ; not the leastso when, mat the present moment, the audacity of others tries the strength of our couvictions and the scope of our consistency.. It is, however, very possible to give np all ideas of compulsion in matters of religion, and yet very much mistake the nature of ecclesiastical authority. The claims of the Church upon our obedience may not be enforced by secular penalties, but they may be made to rest upon false assumptions. And this we conceive to be the true account of that subtile theory which possesses so many minds, the theory of Apostolical succession. According to it, the legitimacy of any churcligovernment depends on a literal succession of its hierarchy from the first teachers of Christianity ; ecclesiastical pedigree which constitutes a moral claim upon the allegiance. of men, and decides mainly,' if not altogether, between the pretensions of rival churches. We confess that this ultra legitimist doctrine of church government has always seemed to us so mischievous in its consequences, that we are inclined to wish the Church of England did not possess the imagiharyprivilege 'of such a legitimacy. We cannot help thinking, that if a break had happened to occur in the succession of the bishop as it did in that of the king, all due order being otherwise preserved, it would have had the same wholesome effect in one case as in the other, and have reduced the episcopal jai; divinum to more rational and less mystical pretensions. The theory in question exerts, we think, an unfavourable,influence within our Church, by leading the clergy to adopt a tone and conduct towards the people more suited to former ages than to the • Jobe Stuart Political Economy." + Montathitien--" Esprit des Lou." t The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel lussiweently addressed a memo- rial to the Queen, which, so far from recognizing principle, evidently implies that two Bishops of two communions are as little to tie tolerated at Sydney or Ho- bart Town as two Governors, and 'so refuses to Bohlen the free organiza- tion of their Church. "That notwithstanding suet* laudable p vision made for the constitution and government of the Church of Christ, the Bi aop of Rome has in divers instances, and more particularly at Sydney, nobsrf To r Adelaide, Toronto, and Newfoundland, intruded into sees so erected by your Id easy, and occupied by Mil Bishops of the Church of England, ecclesiastics 00 sated by himself, and spiritual jurisdiction over all members of the'Phut of Christ therein." igneemattent by rhualt/p8 and It sue:de:slow" We shall see a handful, of Xpiseepahansi ineScoliand 'affecting to treat the National Chinch as.schieniatio,andillegitimate, denying, the. validity of her orders and sacraments, ,andluilding,churches 4. teecervert the benighted:no.- tives. These are indeed. `? fautestio tricks,." which; may make menlaugh, but "angels" will " weep " atsuch a.sacrifice Christian spirit to theletter of:a mystical theory.

We have given.this hasty sketehof what we conceiveto thetwo :errors that .most confuse and.distortmen's views. of eoclesiasticah government, be- cause both have been called into unfortunate activity, by the recent measure of the Pope, and because both. must be avoided by all who would estimate fairly the position of the Roman. Catholic communion amongst 'us. or resist-

its encroachments with success. As, to, the first point, wemust make 'up our minds to carry out, to the. full the principle of freedom in:matters eccle- siastical. We must.not be scared. or provoked out of our consistency by the increasing boldness,or irritating pretensions of a Church which, havingenee had.good reason to dread, WO. haw scarcely yet made up our minds to treat with calmness and fairness.. We.muat not fear to accept the consequences, of our own deliberate. acts.. If with, atardy justice sveo have. struck„, off. our prisoner's chains,. we must not be surprised when his begins to mow his limbs and liftup his head.. In short, .we, niustnet apply the principles of

the sixteenth century to the facts of the nineteenth,. orfaney Queen Victoria's position identical withQueen Elizabeth's. hetuseleariyunderstand, thatwhile all her subjects are equally bound to obey andneverence her as head of the

State, (as the Roman Catholics of England, in their. dutiful. address have de-

e ) none are compelled to pay, her ecclesiastical allegiance except the voluntary subjects of the National. Church ; which we trust will long stand. to develop far more than.atpresent its capacities of good, but which met not be maintained.at the expense.of • the liberties of others, or.by =Tether means:than the affectionate.attachment of its members, But we regard the second pamtto. which we have celled:our-readers/ at- tention as far more important in our day than the first.. A good deal of

bigoted.feeling and extravagant language, perhaps- sommattempe at foolish and unjust legislation; may indeedspring out of the relies:of what. we have termed the. Elizabethan- system of chureht.goveanment We deprecate. any such attempt; we2deplorei on =s of the unhappy. consequences of the Papal.. bull, the reviral of that blind ,No-Popery spirit which has. lived. on with marvellous vitality eversinee, the.dayeof the. Armada: we, are mire pains: andpenalties am not the arms with. which, to meet the adversary forces- of Rome.. But.when we turn, to.the Church of England, trusting- far more in ' her teaching and her mold characterthan in the coercive power of the State to protect this countryfrom the spiritual. bondage of Popmy; we, find too

many of her-most zealous minietemand memberstirmingtheinselmefor 'the

contest with no better weapon, than: the theory of Apostolical succession. They-bandy charges of heresy and. sehismwith thellomanists.; . they oppose our ecclesiastical pedigree. to. theirs,. Iii so dc' ir they give up the real claims and.sexrenderthe true stronghold of their. chinch.. They accept the enemy's field of battle, instead of, choosing their owmand so, fight-at disad- vantage. Surely wemayLsaten this. at. least from! the history of those who have already deserted. from_ our ranks., They are those who have learnt to demand as theessence -of the; true. church:a, 'erarelry supposed Us derive its authority, the " validity " of its orders,.and the effioacy of its swanments, ' not from the natural and moral rights of a Christian community, but through a mystical SUCCOBBiati from the hierarchy of former' ages and' other countries.. And its is, upon minds- thus , perplexed about- the " catholicity " of their Church, and trembling. before- the phantom' of schism, that the' Papal bulL be doubtless intended: to work. Whatever.

other motives may haves prompted that measure; such as the desire of the Roman Catholic clergy for a more regular- and. less arbitrary system of church, government,. there, clan he no doubt that it was. designed to quicken the Romanizing movement, and tedecide the waveremby proclaiming more*

positively than heretofore the spiritual claims of Rome., Hm,rthe language. of the French Unirers---=‘ Me. act, of. supremacy just. issued. by the. Pope

denies the existence! im Erighuid of any other spiritual authority than"

his own. Let. uprightennuded. Anglicans. reflect upon thia, and. examine their consciences!" No. wonder that minds such as. we have described.

should transfer their allegiance to that Church which, possessing all they

deem essential:in common, with our own,. puts forwarit her claims with so much greater assurance; and.whose wider and mom unchangeable " catho.. Hefty may well, upon their theory, override the authority of ourcompara- tively small and. modern communion.. No wonder that those who once thought it necessary to publish elaborate "Vindieations of the. Anglican Church from the Sin of Schism," should since have abandoned the weak position they had chosen. And no wonder; we must. add, that men deter... mined to merit:hie their own, responsible judgment to some spiritual power;

and dissatisfied wit:lithe, modest. pretensions and comparative liberty of. An- glicanism, should turn to that Church .which. boldly claims .the. surrender, and. promises. relief from. the. burdea. But let us not encounter Rome at such a- disadvantage ; let us retire from this treacherous position to stronger and loftier ground upon our native ter- ritory. Our attachment to, the Church of our fathers is' abundantly justified by our belief in her Christian character and. capacityof good. The "spiritual authority" of her ministers needs no. other support than the inherent power and duty of. &Christian society to provide forite owe governance and edifica- tion, guided, in the absence of express revelation or infallible authority, by the example of the first teachers and the'spirit of Christianity. Her right to form the National Chureh,-topossese the cathedrals, churches,.and ecclesias- tical revenues of the country—to be closely connected, with. the State, so that the Sovereign is necessarily oneof her.members and at the head of her consti- tution,—this depends upon the will of the people of England, the-great majority,

of whom are attached to. her communion and profit by her ministrations.. If the day is ever to acme when the English- people shallehange their mind, and re- turn under that "'yoke which their fathers were not able to bear," they will naturally carry with them the revenues and the buildings devoted to the purposes of national religion. That event, however, we are convinced, will

never take place. The Church of England may make it impossible, if she has the courage. to east away her mystical pretensions, and advance the cause of spiritual Christianity by freedom of thought and moral education.

1 An Episcopal' clergyman the other day iu Scotland remarked, how strangeit was to be in a land where there were no churches !

nineteenth centurY, and Ole> g perhaps, although. We CaiX atiE t uid the subjei doctrine of the sacminentet itiihe rebel' neighbouring churches and the tjudgtient passed •

their. character,. that the Wvillhows most strongly, r it ls' a eitteitiaig4.-: nifi can t fact, and 0313 VerY(40444448414"TY, tAsi4iyittionof,tbe world, into " Celliolic " and -"Vene.C.ntlipliu aVicefiNO w41.14-ff-Yd =mai of intellectual- botindindbfieArokitinifti CIFFffla

between light and darkness,

stition,.pnrity-andoorraption of ClieWian Ilfeneeinerciirretlike OW 1 fear, -their brethren, for strangers hence': aiennthidween ktiristkin ties the mostakinl and, a .false -friendship between,' thosemostereally distant

And to eouvince.us.that this is ure 1km-declamation; we lava buti-tholoake

and listen around ,uri. see Anglo-Catholies sympathizing:, witieldoeo man Cathalicecrver,Tn31t11bu,asgl denouucing those Beformod aristunrboduise. which haveed