New Zealand Times. TUESDAY, JUNE 1, 1875.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4430, 1 June 1875, Page 2

New Zealand Times. TUESDAY, JUNE 1, 1875.

When George Primrose produced his paradoxes, the learned world declined to take any notice of them, and wo regret to notice that the secular world just now declines, in a similar manner, to notice questions to which some divines seem to attach great importance. Thus Now Zealand, we really believe, has almost forgotten who Bishop Jenner was or is, and is not likely to arouse itself to consciousness' in the matter, despite an appeal which the Bishop has published. In view of, this we feel inclined to give tho Bishop a chance, by making people aware of his past and present position. He came out to Dunedin as first Bishop of tho Anglican Church; but, before his arrival, certain ominous rumors of his very “ high “and dry” opinions had reached that excessively “ low and slow ” community. Tho Bishop, it turned out, was one of

those who believed in church millinery, and in a great many other things of horrible import; in short, he was one of those whose, tenets would have been described in tho words of another church dignitary, “orthodoxy was his doxy, and heterodoxy was any other man’s doxy.” Under these circumstances, the action of the Dunedin people was prompt and effective. A great many people joined the Church of England, who, it was said, had been Presbyterians before, and an overwhelming vote settled that they would have none of Bishop Jenner. And ultimately they had none of Bishop Jenner, who had to retire ; by no means, however, renouncing his claim to be entitled First Bishop of Dunedin. With his retirement, however, public interest in the squabble about him ceased, and we have been only reminded of his existence since by occasional paragraphs in the Home Church papers. Now, however, we observe that he has come to the front backed by a large Episcopalian opinion. He appealed to the English Bishops as to his right to the title claimed by him, and he writes to the London Guardian saying, with a pleasant pulpit sarcasm, that those Bishops deny the infallibility of New Zealand. They have once more had his case under their consideration, and at their meeting in January last—an unusually large number of Bishops being present—it was unanimously resolved that the Primate of New Zealand should be informed that .“the Bishops of the “ Church of England do not see how “ they can, consistently with the facts of “ the case, (which are recited,) refuse to “ recognise Bishop Jenner as the first “Bishop of Dunedin.” “This nltima- “ turn,” says Bishop Jenner, “ has been ‘ ‘ transmitted by the Archbishop of Can- “ terbury to New Zealand.” He goes on to say: “What reception it will meet “ with there it is not for me to predict; “ but it is surely not too much to hope “that the New Zealand Bishops and “ Synods will at last be induced, by the “ overwhelming weight of adverse “ opinion, to confess that they are not “ endowed with any special immunity “ from error, seeing that in this case “ they have certainly fallen into very “ grievous error, which they are aggra- “ vating by the obstinate and somewhat “ ludicrous persistence with which they “ resent all attempts, by whomsoever “made, to set them right.” So far we believe we can answer Bishop Jenner satisfactorily on one point. The ultimatum of the Archbishop of Canterbury will doubtless cause some theological discussion within the limited arenas of two or three Synods. The vast majority of the members of the Church of England in New Zealand, and the numerous adherents of other Christian sects here, will be as indifferent to the ultimatum as they are to whether Bishop Jenner calls himself “First” or “Forty-first” Bishop of Dunedin.