To all, then, who are interested in the maintenance and extension of the schools of the Church Education Society, we recommend steady perseverance, and the employment of all suitable efforts to bring its case calmly and effectively before the public. And we cannot believe that our brethren in the faith in England will look on with apathy, while the church in this country, faithful to its high office as "a witness and a keeper of Holy Writ," is struggling, unaided, to discharge its most pressing duties, first, to the children more iminediately committed to its care, and then to all whom God has placed within the sphere of its influence. But this will be as God pleases and when he pleases. Let it be the aim of those who are engaged in this sacred cause, by his help to do his will, leaving the issue of their labours, the time and measure of their success, altogether to his wisdom. "And let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

JOHN G. ARMAGH,

CHARLES KIldare.
ROBERT P. CLOGHER.

J. KILMORE, &c.

RD. DOWN & CONNOR And Dromore.

S. CORK & Cloyne.

LUDLOW KILLALOE & CLONFERT.

J. T. OSSORY & FERNS.

ROBERT CASHEL, &c.

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE.

Ar the monthly (January) meeting of this Society, letters were read from the Bishops of Nova Scotia, Jerusalem, and Antigua. To each of the right rev. prelates grants were voted for the purposes of church extension in their respective dioceses, and to the Bishop of Jerusalem the Society agreed to send copies of Turkish and Armenian Prayer-books, which were especially requested by his lordship. The Bishop, in his letter, states that he has it in contemplation shortly to visit Alexandria and Cairo. Being in friendly correspondence with the Patriarch of the Coptic church, the Bishop thinks his visit may be productive of benefit. The Bishop of Antigua, in his letter, dated November 26, states that he has been holding ordinations in various parts of his diocese, and has recently laid the foundation-stone of a new and elegant church at Basterre, and consecrated one at Sandy Point. His Lordship says-"It is my intention to take a new start for Dominica and Montserrat immediately after Christmas, and I have appointed to hold confirmations in 1845 in those places where I held them in 1843, with the view of repeating them every alternate year in every place." A large number of books were granted, several letters of acknowledgment were laid before the meeting, and donations were announced to the amount of 576l. 17s. 4d., in addition to 40l. 158. 3d. for the Foreign Translation Fund, and a legacy of 1000l. Thirty new members were admitted. The following gentlemen were proposed as the Committee of General Literature and Education for the ensuing year:-The Very Rev. George Chandler, D.C.L., Dean of Chichester, and Rector of All Soul's Church, Langham-place; the Rev. John Allen, M.A., Examining Chaplain to the Lord Bishop of Lichfield; the Rev. Professor Browne, of King's College, London; the Rev. Thomas Dale, M.A., Canon Residentiary of St. Paul's, and Vicar of St. Bride's, Fleet Street; the Rev. T. G. Hall, M.A, Canon of St. Paul's; the Rev. William Short, M.A., Rector of St. George-the-Martyr, Bloomsbury; Dr. Thomas Watson; John Leycester Adolphus, Esq.; Thomas Bell, Esq.; J. R. Hope, Esq.; J. H. Markland, Esq.; and John Diston Powels, Esq. The Rev. Dr. Russell, Rector of St. Botolph's, Bishopsgate, presided over the meeting.

THE PARISH OF HURST.

THE following letters seem necessary, in consequence of some observations that appeared in the Times of the 21st and the 23rd December, calculated to give a false impression of the conduct of the Bishop of Oxford and of Mr. Cameron.

LETTER FROM THE LORD BIShop of oxford TO MR. CAMERON.

(Sent at the same time with his public letter to Mr. L. Gower, the chairman of the meetings of the parishioners.)

"Blithfield, Dec. 16, 1844.

Dear Sir, I received your letter of the 9th instant, at Canterbury, the day, or two days, after the receipt of one from Mr. Leveson Gower, dated the 6th, and written, in his capacity of chairman, to a large meeting of inhabitants and proprietors of the parish of Hurst, and at their request.

I enclose his letter to me, with a copy of my answer, which I send by this day's post, not having had it in my power to reply earlier, either to yourself or Mr. Leveson Gower. My answer to the resolutions passed at the meeting will, in great measure, shew you my opinions and feelings upon the present state of things in your parish.

It is impossible for me to recognise the right of the inhabitants and proprietors in the parish of Hurst to remonstrate with their clergyman for obeying and adhering to what the church enjoins, specially in a matter where even the disuse of the custom complained of is by no means general, and is strictly adhered to in all our cathedrals. It is both a right and the duty of parishioners to complain (through their churchwardens) of their minister for disobeying the orders of the church, but clearly not for obeying them.

Having said thus much, after repeating (which I am glad to have the opportunity of doing) my entire approval of the temper you have shewn through this unfortunate disagreement, I will only add, that, feeling assured your object has not been one of victory, but that, in the words of your own letters, your continued adherence to the use of the appointed portions of the communion service arose from the belief you had already conceded the only point which really stood as the impediment to a peaceable arrangement, and that you felt no personal reluctance to give way, even now, if right; feeling assured, I repeat, that your course has been governed by the highest and purest motives, I will only add, that if it should be your opinion that the discontinuance of the service which, however unreasonably, has been made cause of offence, will tend (I again use your words) "to the peace and quietness which it is, of course, one of our first duties to set forward in all lawful ways, among those committed to our charge," I shall be willing to sanction your departure from what the church certainly enjoins generally; but what has, as certainly, been in disuse in your particular church for a great length of time.

A different feeling may hereafter shew itself, though perhaps not in your time, when the general excitement, arising from the strange and egregious mistakes and misapprehensions of men's motives, shall have ceased or abated. Any application, however, as I have said, to Mr. Leveson Gower, must come from yourself, as clergyman of the parish. I cannot order you to disobey the injunctions of the rubric, and should only be justified in sanctioning your doing so, upon sufficient and proper grounds. Believe me, dear Sir, faithfully yours,

You are perfectly at liberty to make any use of this letter.

R. OXFORD.

LETTER FROM MR. CAMERON TO THE BISHOP OF OXFORD.

In reply to a note from his lordship, dated "Christ Church, Oxford, Dec. 21st," in which (deriving his information hitherto from the newspapers only) VOL. XXVII.-February, 1845.

he stated, "whatever you had decided about maintaining or conceding this last point" (the reading of the offertory sentences and prayer for the church militant)" would have been sanctioned and supported by me, though I think you have acted with wisdom and discretion in your concession."

"Hurst, near Reading, Dec. 23rd, 1844. “My Lord,—It was no ordinary satisfaction to me to receive your very kind note from Oxford yesterday, as, in the difficult circumstances in which I was placed on Friday, I could not but have some misgivings as to the propriety of the decision which I was then induced to make. I hoped it was one which your lordship would approve; but not without some doubt whether I ought not to have tried a longer perseverance in observing the prescribed order of service, after the strong sensation which your letter to Mr. Gower afforded me. The circumstance that at length turned the scale with me in favour of an entire surrender to the prejudices of the parishioners present was, that hints were thrown out, in more than one quarter, of an intention, if I still resisted their demands, to exert an influence over the poor, to withdraw them from the church; and, important as I felt it to maintain the due order of the church, and the right and duty of obedience to your episcopal authority, I still could not think it right to be the cause of evils, the extent of which, both to the doers of them and those affected by them, it was impossible to calculate. I was very glad, also, to find that your lordship wished for the publication of the letters; as, on Mr. Walter's declining, at the close of the meeting, to publish them, notwithstanding my representation that, as an act of justice he ought to do so, I decided, as I then intimated to him, that I would send them, with a report of the meeting, to the editor of the Morning Post.

"I have the honour to be, with my most sincere thanks for your lordship's kindness, your obedient and grateful servant,

"A. A. CAMERON."

SUBSCRIPTION TO ARTICLES.

TO THE LORD BISHOP OF NORWICH.

Morningthorpe, Nov. 11th, 1844. MY DEAR LORD,-Your lordship, I have no doubt, will remember that in a publication on Subscription, in 1843, I referred to certain expressions previously used by me as to the resignation of my preferment. I argued that when so many clergymen were writing in direct hostility to the Reformation, the foundation of our ecclesiastical system, and this without any authoritative prohibition or interference, it would be unreasonable to expect that I, objecting only to certain parts of our ritual in their literal acceptation, and heartily conforming in all other respects to the doctrine and worship of our church, should feel called upon to resign.

I beg now to inform your lordship that, under present circumstances, I am no longer disposed to rest upon this argument, being satisfied that the time is arrived when further delay on my part is not advisable; when any sacrifice ought to be submitted to rather than to risk even the suspicion of countenancing dishonest practices with respect to subscription.

Namely, the damnatory clauses of the Athanasian creed, the form of absolution in the Office for the Visitation of the Sick, and the following part of the Form of Ordaining Priests ::-"Receive the Holy Ghost for the office and work of a priest in the Church of God now committed unto thee by the imposition of our hands. Whose sins thou dost forgive, they are forgiven; and whose sins thou dost retain, they are retained," &c,

On referring to my several published statements with respect to resignation, I am sensible that they are deficient in clearness and precision; faults excusable, perhaps, to some extent, when it is remembered that those statements were made from time to time, during a protracted, and harassing, and fruitless inquiry as to the meaning of subscription, amidst a great diversity of opinion, even from the best informed, who, instead of guiding me through a difficulty, only increased my perplexity. For these statements, however, I am undoubtedly responsible; and, having waited in vain for some decision arising out of the present condition of our church which might remove my uncertainty, there now remains only one course which can be satisfactory.

In conformity, therefore, with the strongest pledge I have ever given upon the subject, I hereby beg to tender to your lordship the resignation of my benefice and canonry. It is, perhaps, doubtful whether the resignation of the latter should be tendered to your lordship; but the balance of ecclesiastical law appears to recommend it; and in a case like mine it is clearly desirable that a bishop, and not a layman, should decide whether my resignation ought to be accepted or not.

One request I venture respectfully to add. I am well aware how strongly your lordship's wishes will incline you to retain me in my present situation; and it is well known to many that such must be your desire. May I therefore beg that my case may be referred to some other competent authority, entirely independent of any connexion with myself, before you pronounce a decision? I have the honour to remain, my dear lord, very respectfully and sincerely yours, CHARLES N. WODEHOUSE.

TO THE REV. CANON WODEHOUSE.

Palace, Norwich, Nov. 15, 1844. My dear Mr. Wodehouse,-I much regret that you should have thought it necessary to offer a resignation of your preferment, for the reasons assigned in the paper you have placed in my hands, with a view to my giving an official opinion on a question of such importance, and involving so many serious considerations. If I had seen any cause, since I have been bishop of this diocese, to conclude that you were maintaining or publishing opinions discreditable to you as a clergyman, or contrary to the doctrines and discipline of the church, it would have been my duty to call upon you to retract such opinions, or to proceed against you according to ecclesiastical law, without waiting for the time when you might judge it proper to tender the resignation of your preferment.

As, however, you have now done so, I have no hesitation in giving a decisive answer, that I shall neither accept nor encourage your resignation.

1st. Because I believe that the objections you entertain to certain parts of our ritual, in their literal acceptation, are not inconsistent with a sincere and hearty attachment to the general doctrines of the church, and to the form of prayer prescribed by it.

2nd. Because, considering the number and nature of many of the propositions included in our Thirty-nine Articles, the Homilies, and Book of Common Prayer, to which assent is given by subscription, it is impossible that any number of individuals should view such propositions in exactly the same light, and subscribe to them in precisely the same sense. Latitude in subscription is therefore absolutely unavoidable.

3rd. Because such latitude' has been repeatedly recognised and defended by the highest authorities in our church, from the time of the Reformation to the present moment, when it is claimed and exercised in its fullest extent by many who hold and proclaim opinions much further removed from the spirit of our Protestant church than are any objections of yours; as well as by many who have taken the same view as yourself of the points to which your scruples

refer. There would therefore be a manifest injustice in allowing you to resign a situation which you have filled long and usefully, while others, who on the same grounds would be equally called to resign theirs, continue to retain them.

The interpretation you entertain of the points in question has been so far acknowledged and established by general consent, that a latitude to that extent may be fairly and properly exercised by any who are called upon to subscribe to the Thirty-nine Articles and Book of Common Prayer, although there may be others who are anxious to carry out to their full extent those remnants of Roman-catholic worship and priestly power which, under the peculiar circumstances of the times when our church was gradually severing itself from that of Rome, were still retained in our reformed ritual.

Whilst, in the exercise of that discretion intrusted to every bishop, which in the present state of the church cannot be shared with any other adviser or authority, I come to the above conclusions; I at the same time feel strongly with you how far more satisfactory it would be if steps could be taken to remove difficulties and remedy evils of which many, and I have reason to believe an increasing number, of our clergy justly complain. For it is impossible to shut our eyes to the obvious truth that "a clearer explanation is required of some words and phrases that are rather of doubtful signification, or otherwise liable to misconstruction," in days like the present, when our church is so fearfully divided against itself, and suffering from dissensions and internal schisms far more dangerous and perplexing than those with which she is assailed by adversaries without her pale.

In forwarding this expression of my judgment on your case, I cannot conclude without further expressing my regret that, in the last of those publications, you have from time to time put forth for the sake of a sound and legitimate object, you adopted a title calculated, I think, needlessly to offend and irritate without benefiting your cause.—I remain, yours faithfully,

E. NORWICH.

THE OFFERTORY.

As so much has been lately published in the newspapers on this subject, our readers will, perhaps, feel an interest in perusing the following case and opinion. Case submitted to Dr. Phillimore, D.C.L., and Chancellor of the Diocese of

Worcester, for his opinion.

A. B. the rector of C. informs his parishioners that he purposes henceforth to collect "the alms for the poor, and the other devotions of the people," not only on the days when the Holy Communion is administered, but also on every Sunday, in the manner eujoined by the Rubric in the Prayer-book. He further explains to them that the offerings thus collected will be disbursed, partly (say one-half) within the parish, amongst the poor, and partly (i. e. the other half) without the parish, in assisting to build churches for the poor, and to propagate the gospel, &c. This proceeding on the part of the rector is sanctioned by the bishop.

Is there anything illegal in the practice thus entered on? Is it in the power of a churchwarden, or wardens, or of any parishioner, to hinder such a disbursement of money thus collected, the purpose to which it will be devoted having been previously made known, and its disbursement in this way sanctioned by the bishop?

The rubrics to which attention is particularly called are:

1. The two immediately preceding the offertory sentences.

2. That which follows them.

3. The last of the rubrics which follows the post-communion service.

OPINION.

The opinion involved in this case is, to me, at least, a question prima impres