BARON COLERIDGE ON RITUALISM.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 308, 22 January 1875, Page 3

BARON COLERIDGE ON RITUALISM.

On Tuesday afternoon, a meeting was btld in the Royal Clarence' Assembly Rctoms, Exeter, on behalf of the Societies

fb«£ Christian Knowledge and the Propagation, of the Gospel In Foreign Parts. The, Lord Bishop of tho Diocese occupied the chair, and amongst those, present were the Right Hon. Cluef Justice, Coleridgie and Mr. A. Mills, M.P. •The Right Hon. Lord Chief Justice Coleridge, after proposing and supporting ft resolution, said—lt is perfectly true that at this time thingß are quiet enough, but I-think it would be idle dreaming to expect that' the legal position of the Church of England can long remain unaffected, if the feeling manifested throughout both Houses of Parliament, without warcely a dissentient voice, was to remain much longer in its present force and operation. , And what is it that is so profoundly stirring the hearts and minds of the people of-this country ? Not, let me take the liberty of saying, merely dress, however n|agnificent —-nay, I will go further and mfrely-+-though this, is ,'an_ important matter—not merely the position and the postures of the ministers of religion themselves. It has been shown to us by" ari illustrious authority of late that in

other countries—in Spain, ,in Denmark, in Protestant Germany, and elsewhere where the mind of man is as free to the full, and the tone of religious thought is to the full as independent as it is in England ■—these things now exist, and have existed for centuries, without complaint and without offence. Perhaps it may be that the practice of imposing these things by the mere will of the minister upon unprepared l unconciliated, and sometimes strenuously resisting pasishioners, has had something with the adverse feeling ; but 1 believe there is more than thi3—l believe it is because these things rightly or wrohgly by both sides, both by who advocate and by those who oppose ttteiri, treated as not only symbolising distinctive doctrines, but as implying what' may be called sacerdotal principles. Upon that subject, speaking for myself/'I would Bay what I have always said for years whenever it has been my lot to speak upoh this subject in public, that although I-'delight in the words of the beautiful an-

them which was sung this morning, " 'Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness**—though I thoroughly appreciate and delight in magnificent architecture—and though in my heart 1 feel a splendid and elaborate ceremonial a great help to my own private prayer—although I feel "all that, I would far rather for my own part worship in the barest bam that was ever seen, and with the poorest and meanest ceremonial that ever existed without that principle than in the most magnificent cathedral and the most splendid ceremonial with it. But I cannot as a lawyer and a man of reflection help remembering, and no one ought to forget, that the Church of England is a legal body—a legal institution, with a legal position, and in possession of legal documents to which «very member has a right to appeal, and by which every member of it is bound, arid I cannot help feeling that no fair and candid man can study the Prayer Book as I .•have had—for my misfortune, I was going to say, biic I rather say for the misfortune of others—no one can study the Prayer Book as I have done for legal argument, no one can study carefully its language, without admitting that in many important portions, as, for example, in the ordination service, the visitation for' the sick, and in the sacrament for holy communion, this principle is to be found. It is true that in other parts that principle is not insisted upon, and is apparently contradicted ; but in the years when the V Fra;>er Book was compiled these things were far less definite than they are at ; .present. You will find in the writings of •Cranmer, of Ridley, and of Latimer, and •"•■of other thoroughly—extremely I may say—Protestant men, you will find lan- , guage used on sacraments and confession that would startle very much any one who . comes upon them without knowledge., of history. More than that: in the words of M anton—Manton was the chaplain of the great Protector, and who was . certainly not a .Roman Catholic, and not disposed to be such—in his works you will' find not only an elaborate defence of the system, but an attack upon the Roman •Catholics because they said the Protestants of England did not practise it. (Hear, hear, and applause ) There stand these passages in the Prayer Book, and ; having expressed my convictions freely, it .. is only fair to say I never can consentjto,-. .and must always strongly protest against, aspersing the motives or impugning the ;kg§od faith of men who differ from me; and "who have a perfect right- to-stand upon: •docuiiients that maintain the opinions which they hold themselves. This seems also to be equally true that although ther? are these passages in the Prayer Bonk the . mind of the age hag gradually but deci- ' dedly gone away from them, alid men in • general at this time of "day—men who would have submitted to sacerdotalism in the time of Oliver Cromwell—will not be ■' disposed to submit to them froih anvone • / whatsoever, and those iritis.t isaid the : 'sigriß' bf times very ill and badly who cannot j-ead --this in them. - I£ I- might be permitted i -to make one closing observation-towards < those, whom .1 thoroughly respect, although I differ from them—may I ask them to .recollect that although the clergy have the 'greatest amount of influence of any. class of men in the kingdom, that they will riot cannot preserve that most salutary - • influence which I trust they- will long •, preserve, unless they cease to grasp atpower. Power is cne thing, and influence is something totally different. It ' is perhaps an idle dream to think of. unity, in the present distracted state ofthe Church. It is perhaps futile to preach or dream of mutual forbearance, but it is a dream in which men can do no harm to indulgethat when the English Church becomes united and harmonious absolutely, no man can set a limit to the inestimable good the

Chiirch"bf England might do in the Stkte of- England—(applause),—and .it may be, one very simple Btcp, -indeed, towards this blessed end. temperately and distinctly to set before a. number, of Church of England persons-some at leastfof the causes 'which at present hinder ita v attainment.l<oud. applause.):.. ,•