A Bishop on the Dilke Case.

Feilding Star, Volume VIII, Issue 49, 5 October 1886, Page 4

A Bishop on the Dilke Case.

Preaching in Carlisle Cathedral, the Bishop of Carlisle (Dr Harvey Goodwin) referred (says the Times) to the Crawford case. He said a terrible history had come before tbe public, aud shameful deeds had been brought to light in all their hideous villainy and more than heathen impurity. How painful it was to see a great career of splendid usefulness to the couutry brought to nought. Most painful was it to observe how passion and ptoasure, taking the place of principle, could not only wreck reputation and destroy family peace, but had filled a court ©f justice with false witness and with perjury. " How are the mighty fallen!" And with such a lamentation over a distinguished countryman, from whom and of whom they might have expected better things, he gladly passed on to make remarks of a more general character upon the subject. First he would ask was the standard of social purity and morality, especially with regard to the sanctity of marriage, lower now that it was in times past ? To this question the answer which his observation and experience led him to offer was that among a large portion of society — and by society he meant tha people at large— the standard was as high as | ever it was ; in fact, as high as it could be because it was based upon the standard of Christ himself. Doubtless there were thousands upon thousands who accepted the Lord's definition of social purity, and in all fulness believed that the wanton look or permitted lascivious thought was a breach of the commandment, " Thou shait not commit adultery." Doubtless, also, those pure-minded disciples of Christ were the salt of the earth. He was also fully persuaded that there had been an improvement, and that much which would have passed current a century ago would not be allowed to pass current now. But he also thought there was no effort being made to get rid of high views of moralty and religious sanction in regard to marriage. Men were not ashamed to argue that marriage as understood to us ought to be abolished j and it could hardly be denied that our own legislation, however it may have been rendered necessary by the circumstances of the times, had tended practically to take away some of the halo of sacredness by wbich the marriage tie was in former times surrounded.