ANGLICAN CHURCHES. 



25 



made necessary, was defeated by a vote (380 

 to 139), which showed a large majority of 

 the synod in favcr of the revision. A similar 

 result appeared when the vote was taken 

 on tho tirst proposition of the report of 

 Master Brooke's committee that declaring 

 the presence of the body and blood of Christ 

 in the Eticharistic elements to be "only after 

 a heavenly and spiritual manner." It was as 

 follows: yeas, clergy, 117; laity, 271 total, 

 389; nays, clergy, 77; laity, 35 total, 114. 

 The proposition, however, was not carried, 

 for it failed to receive the concurrence of two- 

 thirds of each order, voting by orders, as re- 

 quired by the constitution. A motion to re- 

 peal this " two-thirds rule " was supported by 

 a majority of the Synod, but it failed to receive 

 the requisite two-thirds vote of the clergy. A 

 canon was adopted to the effect that no minis- 

 ter, or other person, during the time of divine 

 service, should make the sign of the cross save 

 where prescribed in the rubric; nor should he 

 bow to, or do any other act of obeisance to, 

 the Lord's Table ; nor should any bell be rung 

 during divine service. A rubric was passed 

 prescribing the ornaments that might be worn 

 by the minister. The subject of revision was 

 finally postponed, and referred to the bishops, 

 and a committee of twenty-two clergymen and 

 eighteen laymen, representative members of the 

 Synod, who are expected to report in 1872. 



A discussion took place in the English 

 Church, in the early part of the year, in refer- 

 ence to the appointment of a Bishop for Mada- 

 gascar. The Society for the Propagation of 

 the Gospel, representing the High-Church par- 

 ty, proposed to appoint one. The proposition 

 was opposed by some of the bishops, and by 

 the Church Missionary Society, on the ground 

 that it would be a violation of the comity of 

 missions. It is the understanding among the 

 missionary societies that none of them shall 

 enter upon ground which is occupied by an- 

 other society. Madagascar has been Christian- 

 ized mainly through the efforts of the London 

 Missionary Society (Congregational), who have 

 large congregations in various parts of the 

 island, particularly at the capital, while the 

 Anglican societies have but three missionaries 

 on the whole island, and no missionaries or 

 converts at the capital, where the bishop 

 would have to reside. The Church Mission- 

 ary Society threatened to withdraw its mis- 

 sionaries if the bishop were sent over; the 

 movement met but little encouragement from 

 the Government and bishops ; the primate re- 

 fused to sanction the appointment ; finally, the 

 person designated as bishop declined to go. 

 The matter remains in suspense. 



A new system of ecclesiastical polity has 

 been adopted by the Australian branch of the 

 Church of England. An assembly has been 

 constituted, with representatives of the two 

 orders, who may vote separately. The bishop, 

 as an ecclesiastical governor, acts by the ad- 

 vice of a responsible cabinet; archdiaconal 



councils and church committees act upon ordi- 

 nary and financial matters. The laity are con- 

 stituted the chief power in the Church; they 

 sit as part of a board, which is " a sort of dio- 

 cesan privy council ; " they are consulted on 

 appointments to cures, act as assessors on trials 

 for ecclesiastical offences, and have a voice in 

 the appointment of bishops. 



The movement for the disestablishment of 

 the Church of England, which has seemed to 

 gather force among certain parties, has led to 

 the organization of a " Church Defence Insti- 

 tution." The Archbishop of Canterbury is 

 president, and several of the bishops are 

 among the vice-presidents. It will direct 

 movements to influence public opinion in 

 favor of the continuance of the establishment. 



Efforts have been prosecuted during the 

 year to bring the clergy and the laity of the 

 respective dioceses into closer relations with 

 each other, by means of diocesan conferences, 

 or synods. The Bishop of Ely has been one 

 of the foremost and most active promoters of 

 these movements, In his address at the open- 

 ing of his diocesan, conference, which was 

 held at Cambridge on the 24th of October, he 

 said that he had first planned and worked 

 for the association of the two orders nearly 

 eight years ago, under the feeling that "the 

 isolation of the clergy one from another, and 

 of all from the laity, was one of the greatest 

 practical evijs in the system of the English 

 Church. He began by inviting the rural deans 

 to call together the chapters of the deaneries 

 once a year for intercourse and consulta- 

 tion ; he then invited the archdeacons and 

 rural deans to meet with him at the cathedral ; 

 then he proposed that lay representatives 

 should meet with them, forming a clerical and 

 lay conference. The Diocesan Conference, 

 which met on the same day at Chester, dis- 

 cussed, among other questions, "the best 

 means of sustaining and promoting mutual 

 good-will among the various classes of so- 

 ciety." Conferences were also held in several 

 other dioceses. A similar body, styling itself 

 a synod, met at Salisbury on the 14th. 15th, 

 and 16th of November. It discussed a large 

 number of topics, chiefly of local interest, and 

 effected a permanent organization, adopting a 

 set of standing orders, or constitution. These 

 bodies are, of course, purely voluntary, and 

 are not capable of binding action. They are 

 regarded with diversity of opinion, and have 

 been subjected to severe criticism in the papers 

 and in discussion. 



The annual Church Congress differs from the 

 Diocesan Conference in that it is general in its 

 character standing for the Church at large 

 and is open to all, whereas the representatives 

 to the Diocesan Conference are chosen by the 

 local assemblies. The Congress of 1871 was 

 held at Nottingham, and was presided over by 

 the Bishop of Lincoln. More than two thou- 

 sand persons attended it. The number of 

 papers read was very great. The discussion 



