ANGLICAN CHURCHES. 



13 



conduct a simple service of hymns, prayers, 

 and an address in consecrated buildings, at 

 times when the regular services are not held. 



The attention of the Lower House was given 

 to the discussion of the relations of church 

 and state as presented in the report of the 

 committee on that subject. The following res- 

 olutions, embodying the action of the present 

 and of the previous sessions, were adopted or 

 reaffirmed : 



That having regard to the necessity for strength- 

 ening the paternal authority of the bishops, this 

 House recommends that the usual steps be taken by 

 convocation for applying for the royal license to enact 

 such canons as may be found necessary for supplying 

 the means of direction and arbitration on doubtful 

 points of ritual without resort to litigation. 



That this House deems it indispensable to any 

 effective exercise of the domestic jurisdiction of the 

 bishop, that he should retain his present control over 

 the commencement of proceedings in court; and 

 agrees with the commissioners that the bishop's con- 

 trol being retained, it is undesirable to restrain the 

 general power of complaint. 



That this Bouse approves generally of the recom- 

 mendations of the commissioners with regard to the 

 Provincial Court, but is of opinion that, in cases re- 

 garding misconduct and neglect of duty, if the judg- 

 ment of the Diocesan Court (or of the Provincial Court 

 if the case be first heard in that court) be in favor of 

 the defendant, or in cases regarding ritual and doc- 

 trine, if the judgment of both the Diocesan and Pro- 

 vincial Courts be in his favor, no further proceedings 

 shall be taken. 



The House approved generally of the recom- 

 mendation of the commissioners in section 3 

 of their report, that in accordance with the 

 constitution of the church and realm, the 

 right of appeal for the maintenance of justice 

 in all ecclesiastical cases lies to the Crown, 

 but declared that it " can not acquiesce in the 

 principle of a final settlement of questions in- 

 volving doctrine or ritual by a lay court, which 

 is not bound in all cases to consult the spiritu- 

 ality (denned as meaning the 'Upper House 

 of the two Convocations, assisted, if they think 

 fit, by learned divines of the Church of Eng- 

 land'). And this House is further of opinion 

 that a decision in respect of such questions, 

 which had not received the sanction of her 

 spiritual authorities, could not be regarded as 

 the voice of the Church." 



That this House approves of the recommenda- 

 tion, that when on appeal to the Crown the judgment 

 of the Church Court is to be varied, the cause should 

 be remitted to the court the judgment of which is 

 appealed against, in order that justice may be done 

 therein according to the order of the Crown. 



The Houses met again July 1st. The Bishop 

 of Ohio was present, having come to England 

 on the invitation of the Society for the Propa- 

 gation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, to de- 

 liver the sermon on the hundredth anniversary 

 of the American Episcopate, and took the oc- 

 casion to present to the body the Act of all 

 the Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 

 or list of all those who had been consecrated 

 bishops since the beginning of that church ; 

 the first act of the kind that had been pre- 



sented since the days of Bishop Seabury. The 

 resolutions that had been passed by the Lower 

 House on the report of the Ecclesiastical Courts 

 Commission were amended. As adopted by 

 the Upper House, the sixth resolution (the 

 second of those given above) was made to 

 read : " This House deems it indispensable to 

 any effective exercise of the jurisdiction of 

 the bishop, that he should retain his present 

 prescribed control over the commencement of 

 proceedings in court ; and that in the case of 

 appeal to the Crown for the maintenance 

 of justice in questions involving doctrine or 

 ritual it is desirable that the opinion of the 

 bishops of the province in which the case 

 arises, or, if it be thought advisable, of both 

 provinces, shall be required in the specific 

 points of doctrine or ritual which are involved, 

 and that such opinion of the said bishops should 

 be made public." The report of a commit- 

 tee on the subject of forming a House of 

 Laymen to advise or confer with the Convo- 

 cation was affirmed. It contemplated that the 

 members of such House should be appointed 

 by the diocesan conferences of the province, 

 the diocese of London sending ten members, 

 the dioceses of Winchester and Rochester six 

 each, and each of the other dioceses sending 

 four members, while the archbishop skould have 

 the right to appoint ten members ; and that its 

 sessions should be convened and opened by the 

 archbishop, to whom also should be submitted 

 for approval the name of the elected chairman. 

 Rules were laid down for the guidance of the 

 House of Laymen, and defining its relations 

 with the other Houses of Convocation. 



The Church Congress. The Church Congress 

 met at Carlisle, September 30th. The opening 

 sermons were delivered by the Archbishop of 

 York, the Bishop of St. Andrews, and the 

 Bishop of Derry. The Bishop of Carlisle 

 presided at the sessions of the Congress. The 

 first subject for the formal discussions was, 

 "The Duty of the Church with regard to the 

 Overcrowded Dwellings of the Poor in Towns 

 and the Country." Papers were read upon ,i 

 by the Bishop of Bedford, Major Rankin, M. P., 

 the Rev. James M. Wilson, Head-Master of Clif- 

 ton College, Mr. William Ingles, President of 

 the Church of England Workingmen's Society, 

 and the Rev. C. W. Stubbs. The subject of 

 " The Rights of Parishioners in Parish Church- 

 es " was considered in papers by Archdeacon 

 Hannah, Mr. H. Clark, Archdeacon H. R. Ne- 

 vill, and Canon Perry. On the subject of 

 " Popular Literature and Infidelity," papers 

 were read by the Rev. J. E. C. Welldon, Head- 

 Master of Dulwich College, the Rev. E. Ma- 

 clure, Dr. Macaulay, editor of "The Leisure 

 Hour," and the Rev. J. W. Horsley, Chaplain 

 to Clerkenwell Prison (who spoke especially 

 of obscene literature). In the sessions of the 

 second day, papers were read : " On the Re- 

 port of the Ecclesiastical Courts Commission, 

 with Special Reference to Legislation," by Sir 

 R. A. Cross, M. P., Archdeacon John Pilking- 



