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1851.

Bishop Philpotts and Bishop Jewell.

1555

shaking off the Anglican Church, but would have betrayed the cause of Catholicity, had she failed to denounce what from her point of view she justly held to be rebellion. Her separation from the Church of England, instead of being an argument against her on Church Principles, is only a declaration on her part that the English Reformers had taken up Protestant ground, and had formally renounced the Catholic theory of the Church. The excommunication of England was the natural and necessary expression of the diversity of the views held on both sides. It is no logical refutation of Rome, nor any justification of AngloCatholicism, at the bar of Church Principles; it simply tells the Anglo-Catholic that Rome does not accept his theory of National Churches. Granted that the doctrine of National Churches is the true exposition of Church Principles, the breach of unity will rest with the Church of Rome; but, on the other hand, granted that this doctrine is Protestant to the very core, the responsibility of the separation falls wholly on the Church of England.

We know the Bishop of Exeter to be a clear and subtle debater, but we confess were we Anglo-Catholics we should tremble for the issue of a controversy which began with the admission that we did not renounce Rome, but we renounced Rome's 'errors.' He comforts himself with the thought that he has Bishop Jewell to support him, assuring us at the same time, with much naïveté, that the great Reformer made the same admission in the strongest possible way, and that it is the 'foundation upon which his Apology for the Church of England "rests.' Is it that he chooses to ignore, or that he has yet to discover, that Jewell was a good Protestant, that he went to his Bible, and comparing the teaching of Rome with the teaching of Scripture, found them to be discordant, and preferring the Word of God to that of man, performed a sound act of private judgment, and cast off the errors of Rome? Does he think that he will get help from Jewell in his defence of Church Principles, when he shall be challenged by the Romanists to state what authority our bishops had for meeting and saying, "There are certain errors which we renounce?" Bishop Jewell's answer would be easy and Protestant, that of Bishop Philpotts would not be easy; we have proved that it would not be equally Protestant in essence; and we fear he would find it impossible to show cause why he should not either give up the theory of Church Principles, or renounce a Church which has cleared them away from her foundations.

In conclusion, we wish to say a few words in reply to an objection we have sometimes heard; that by exposing the

hollowness of Anglo-Catholicism, we drive fresh converts to Rome. We do not deny that such an effect may be produced occasionally; but we hold that no danger which could arise from convincing men that their present position is untenable is to be compared with the very serious mischief which would be caused by the impression gaining ground, that the theory of Church Principles was incapable of refutation. The evil is too widely spread and too actively propagated to admit of being safely left to the silent good sense of the country. Some support too is due to the many who have to fight the battle within their own homes; some security should be provided for those who tremble for the defection of those they love best, first to Anglo-Catholicism and then to Rome. Moreover, there are

not a few who would be saved from this fate, if they could be made to perceive, whilst their minds are still unbiassed, the full consequences involved in surrendering themselves to AngloCatholic teaching; many would embrace their Protestantism more firmly, and yield themselves to its principles with confidence, if they distinctly understood that a Via Media was a delusion, and that every man must either take his stand on Protestant principles or take refuge in the belief of an infallible Church. It is a matter of incalculable importance that it should be seen that neither the laws of Christ and His Church, nor those of the human understanding, admit of any third alternative. And lastly, if a justification is sought for what we have done, we can produce an admirable one in the solemn and wise, and instructive words of the Duke of Argyll.

It is not simply that whatever errors may arise in such a Church (a Church founded on Church Principles) are stereotyped by authority, so that each becomes the basis of a new and more gross corruption : but it is that the Romish system of priesthood stands mentally and morally in close connexion with the Romish system of belief. It is, indeed, conceivable that such a priesthood might start with teaching a very pure and spiritual faith: but it is hardly conceivable that such a teaching should be long retained. It is impossible that such mechanical ideas of the structure and government of Christ's Church should not necessarily involve ideas equally mechanical of the nature and requirements of His religion. If there be such an outward visible presence in the world to which such powers are given, numerous and eager calls will be made upon its assistance and protection. Men will be delighted to find that they may walk by sight and not by faith that is to say, by trust in men and things which they can see and follow, rather than by faith in things which are invisible and by conscious apprehension of their influence. Thus the people will be well pleased to magnify the office of the priest, and the priesthood will be ready to return the comforts which that office enables them to dispense. A bargain, as it were, is thus struck between them, from

1851.

Official Catalogue of the Great Exhibition.

557

which both parties appear to gain. This is the very base line from which the Church of Rome has conducted its operations - this is the very essence of the condition of mind out of which the whole system of Romanism, in its worst features, was but a natural and inevitable growth. It is impossible that a reformed faith should be maintained in its most vital principles under the combined influences thus brought to bear both upon the priest and the people. . . . May the Church of England be saved from the consequences which that connexion (of the Romish doctrines with the ecclesiastical principles sanctioned in the Bishop of Oxford's Protest) threatens-by its nature and consequences being seen and understood in time?'

...

We cannot conclude this Article without expressing our cordial respect for the earnestness and depth of conviction, and our high admiration for the ability and sustained energy, with which the Duke of Argyll carries out the advocacy of Protestant principles. The Pamphlet, whose title we have prefixed to this paper, is as remarkable for the mental power it displays as for the soundness of its views and its insight into religious truth: exhibiting a most refreshing contrast with the other, with which we have associated it. By such weapons alone can the progress of Popery be repelled: and it must cheer all to whom the cause of Scriptural religion, and of moral and spiritual independence is dear, to find themselves so efficiently supported in its defence by one who combines great intellectual vigour with a warm faith in Protestant principles, and a manly fearlessness in avowing them.

ART. IX. Official Catalogue of the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations, 1851. By Authority of the Royal Commission. Fourth corrected and improved edition, 15th September, 1851. London: Spicer Brothers, Wholesale Stationers; W. Clowes & Sons, Printers; Contractors to the Royal Commission. Price 1s. in the Building, Hyde Park, or 1s. 3d. at the City Office, 29, New Bridge Street, Blackfriars.

T

HIS volume may be said to bring down the history of Industrial Science from a period indefinitely remote to the very eve of its own publication: its teachings, like those of Biography, are by examples; it addresses itself to all our natural and artificial wants. Would you know where the richest ores, the costliest jewels, the largest diamonds or the rarest gems are to be sought; where the finest flax, wool, cotton-where the

most useful inventions of every kind-the delicate balance that
turns at theth of a grain, and the huge cross-beam that plays
with the Britannia Tube are to be found-you must consult its
pages.
You will there learn where the choicest specimens of all
and each of these-the master productions of nature and intellect
- were assembled on a recent day,-where produced,-where
fashioned, and by whom. With the impending dispersion of the
collection which it chronicles, its curt descriptions, though
they assume somewhat of the elegiac character of the epitaph,—
lose little of their intrinsic value. The bygone activity of the
collective laboratories, libraries, and workshops of the world
seem here transmuted into the pages of one small quarto volume.

Quid juvat innumeris impleri scrinia libris;
Unus pro cunctis-parvulus esse potest.

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The form of its publication is in character with a range of subject so discursive. Published simultaneously in two places -at differing prices, by two unhomogeneous and abnormal publishers, it is issued by authority,' and furnished by 'contract. A very Ornithorhynchus paradoxus of literature, combining the body of an Encyclopædia with the feet of the most ubiquitous of guides. Its earlier editions were consulted with the same feeling of despondency with which one is wont to search the rubrics of that kindred sphinx of railway locomotion-Bradshaw-and in general with the like results.

The

Into the causes of this inceptive ambiguity, it is now needless to enter. The present edition is in a great measure free from the peculiarities which marked those that preceded it. When, however, Dutch contributors promise iron fire-offices,' that eventually prove to be fire-proof safes,-French chemists send mint, crystallised and peppered,' or 'cherry-cake' which by a mistake of cerise for ceruse, turns out to be white lead, or our American neighbours promise a horse-power' or 'power-loom lathe it is not easy for an editor to be at once complying and intelligible. Catalogues are seldom models of accuracy. world has been amused before now with finding a mathematical work, De Calculo,' and Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy,' ranged under the head of Medical.' And indeed, as in the opinion of Barante, there was nothing about Madame de Genlis naturalexcept her children,-so there seems to be nothing half so natural about the volume before us-as its blunders. Few, however, who have enjoyed the privilege of consulting the original manuscripts, could have felt surprise, had the failure been even still more glaring. We are all aware of the difficulties of correct defi

1851.

Obstacles to Accuracy.

Aaron's Rod.

559

nition. And it was little probable that anticipatory descriptions of probable achievements should not partake largely of a speculative character. The collective idiosyncrasies of eighteen thousand individuals of every class and nation, will always need indulgence. But could access be still had to the original documents, we feel perfectly assured that no body of evidence on the existing state of education among the producing classes not only of this country, but throughout the world could be obtained, more curious in itself or more characteristic of their mental habitudes, than that supplied by the original applica'tions for space,' forwarded by the candidate exhibitors.

6

The statistics of this volume throw light upon the producing capabilities of our great printing establishments. From information supplied by the contractors, it would seem, that although the first complete impressions were only attainable at ten o'clock on the night preceding the 1st of May, yet 10,000 copies properly stitched and bound were duly delivered at the building in Hyde Park on the following morning. The two copies presented to Her Majesty and the Prince on that occasion had been furnished with their rich trappings of morocco and gold within six hours. The sale of this book, equal in quantity of matter to four ordinary octavo volumes, and published at less than the price of one, has been proportionately large. Upwards of 250,000 copies, about one-sixth of the esti mated number of printed volumes that issued from the printing press within the three first centuries after the discovery of the Art of Printing, have been sold. The quantity of paper thus consumed amounted to one hundred and five tons, and the duty paid thereon to the sum of one thousand four hundred and sixty pounds; fifty-two thousand pounds weight of metal are employed in the type, which is kept constantly set up,' in order to make all needful alterations. These figures are so large, that we find it difficult to discover any middle term to bring the results they indicate home to our minds. But it may perhaps assist the imagination to reflect that if from any reason, or, indeed, many reasons, the whole of the earlier editions had been consigned in one vertical column to the bosom of the Pacific Ocean, the depth of the latter being generally estimated at 6000 feet, the present improved and correct edition would still form a lonely peak rising to the height of Chimborazo or Cotopaxi, exactly 18,000 feet above the level or the censure of the ordinary inhabitants of this earth.

But with these facts before our eyes, and recollecting that the average number of volumes in ten of the largest

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