The Bishop of Manchester explained in a long letter to
Sir Percival Heywood, which appeared in the newspapers of yester- day week, his reasons for refusing to institute Mr. Cowgill to the living of Miles Platting. These reasons were in brief that Mr. Cowgill had taken part in the ritual which Lord Penzance had declared to be illegal, and had refused to give any pledge that he would discontinue it for the future. Sir Percival Hey- wood replies to the Bishop, in a letter published last Thursday, that the Bishop had never brought any proceedings against Mr. Cowgill for illegal ceremonial, nor, for that matter, against Mr. Green, since he had only sanctioned the proceedings of the Church Association, instead of taking the initiative on himself; and that, the Bishop having himself never attempted to stop Mr. Cowgill's ritualistic practices, nor, indeed, those of any of his clergy, however illegal he might think them, on his own account, it is not competent to him now to refuse to institute a clergy- man presented to him with all the proper legal formalities. Sir Percival Heywood reserves the right either to appeal to the Courts of Law to compel Dr. Fraser to institute Mr. Cowgill, or to get Mr. Green to withdraw his resignation and test the legality of his deprivation by Lord Penzance. We must say that we think Sir Percival Heywood makes a strong point, when he says that the Bishop cannot properly refuse to institute a clergyman with whose ritual he has never before in- terfered, and who only practises the same ritual as other incumbents with whom, also, the Bishop has never interfered.
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