THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1881.

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 3784, 12 February 1881, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1881.

The Irish question is by no means the only question of absorbing interest at present under discussion in England. The question of the State Church is being decanted upon in all the leading expounders of public opinion. The public appear to have at last arrived at the conclusion that something more than the 39 articles of the Rubric are necessary for the true worship of the Deity. The question of Ritualism has been discussed at length. The Spectator says:—

It is clearly the right thing to do, if Ritualism is to be put down; while, if Eitualism is not to be put down, the farce of sending clergymen to prison for practising it cannot be too soon withdrawn. There is not the least need to prove by experiment that Eitualism can be put down. It can be put without any difficulty, if people are only willing to face the consequences that may follow. The really important thing at this moment is that Englishmen should take in that the choice lies between tolerating Eitualism, and putting ifc down decisively. Either of these alternatives is intelligible and consistent. If the English people are agresd that they will not have an Established Church in which high Ritual is tolerated, they have both the right and the power to drive the Ritualists out. If they are prepared to tolerate Ritualism rather than run the risk of precipitating Disestablishment — and the the deprivation of any considerable number of clergymen n-ight do a good deal to precipitate it—it is high time to invest toleration with the safeguards that are required to prevent Eitualism from being forced upon unwilling congregations, or denied to congregations which desire it.

The old dominance of the Romish Churoh in England, the introduction of intolerable doctrines, and the fines and penalties by the tyranny of the then rulers of spiritual matters, gave rise to the Reformation, and the abolition of the Romish Church as an established institution. The English Church was then established as a State institution, and at the time of its inauguration it was thought that the principles of the Church, were, of such a nature as would

be permanently satisfactory to the English nation. For some time the code of ecclesiastical laws were satisfactory, but at the close of the last century, sceptics raised their voices against certain doctrines of the Church, and from then this unbelief has been developed to such a degree as to almost upset the power of the Church. Ritualism was introduced into the service by men whose religious ideas were closely allied with the teaching of the Romish Church, while many clergymen adopted an almost equally extreme view in direct opposition to Ritualistic practices. At last the papers have taken the matter up, •. and all the principal reviewers and journals having authority have been discussing the question. It is certain that reform is needed in the doctrine of the Church, in order that the Church will escape an otherwise inevitable fall. Public opinion is now very strong at Home, and if reforms are not introduced and Ritualism either abolished or permitted in the service of the Church, disestablishment will be the inevitable result.