credit ,transcribed from the #ahfc ,rivingtons edition by ,david ,price1 email ccx#jgdpglaf4org ,,proposed ,,surrender ,,of ,,the ,,prayer-,,book ,,and ,,articles ,,of ,,the ,,church ,,of ,,england4 ,a ,,letter ,,to ,,the ,,lord ,,bishop ,,of ,,london1 ,,on ,,professor ,,stanley',s ,,views ,,of ,,clerical ,,and ,,university ,,subscription4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,by ,,william ,j4 ,,irons1 ,d4,d4 ,,prebendary ,,of ,,st4 ,,paul',s1 ,,and ,,incumbent ,,of ,,brompton1 ,,middlesex4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,london3 ,,theodore ,,wright1 #ahh1 ,,strand2 ,,rivingtons1 ,,waterloo ,,place2 ,,and ,,parkers1 #cgg1 ,,strand1 ,,and ,,oxford4 #ahfc4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,london3 ,,savill ,,and ,,edwards1 ,,printers1 ,,chandos ,,street1 ,,covent ,,garden4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a ,,letter1 ,,etc4 ,,brompton1 ,whitsuntide1 #ahfc4 ,,my ,,dear ,,lord1 ,,if twenty years ago1 soon after a few of the clergy had asserted their claim to hold all ,roman doctrine1 #c a proposal had been made to abolish ,subscription to the ,english ,formularies1 it would surely have been thought to indicate very grave disloyalty to our ,church4 ,and now1 when others have asserted the right to unfettered free-thinking within her pale1 and endeavoured to vindicate that right in our ,courts of ,law1 can we help being struck at the intrepidity of the demand to sweep away at once the sober restraints of orthodoxy to which ,churchmen have been so long accustomed8 ,your ,lordship has been openly addressed1 as we are all aware1 in behalf of this ,relaxation of ,subscription2 but as our ,bishop--so deeply interested in the welfare of the whole ,church--,i venture to believe that you will do justice to opposite views1 and in offering them to your attention1 ,i rely on that broad-minded charity to various schools among us1 which has marked your ,lordship's administration of this diocese4 ,dr4 ,stanley's position4 #d;a ,the eloquent advocacy of ,dr4 ,,stanley on the other side is1 indeed1 no slight advantage to the cause of those who would now supersede the ,prayer-book by modern thought4 ,in urging the surrender of all ,subscription to our ,formularies1 he can speak1 in his position1 with a prestige and power to which ,i can have no claim4 ,his testimony as to the tone of mind now prevailing in ,oxford1 or among the younger clergy of the last few years1 it is not for me to impeach1--,i must leave that to the ,bishop of ,oxford2 #d;b but certain of his deductions from very limited facts1 ,i may be permitted1 ,i think1 to call in question at once4 ,as one who1 without belonging to any party1 has had the happiness of much friendship with all--as a ,churchman1 ,i may add1 who has kept steadily to the old ,prayer-book from very early childhood till now--,i have had large opportunities for many years of knowing the heart and mind of my brethren the clergy1 ten thousand of whom not long since responded to an appeal which ,i and others had been invited to make to them2 and ,i confess that ,i am amazed at ,dr4 ,,stanley',s supposition that ,subscription is regarded as a grievance 7p4 #bc71 a perjury 7p4 #bd71 an absurdity 7p4 #bj71 or an imposition 7p4 #g7 by any considerable number among us4 ,allowing for some irritable minds here and there1 the generality have seemed to me to have the deepest appreciation of the quietness and confidence which have been1 in the main1 secured for our ,church by the present laws1 which simply bind the clergy to say that they believe the ,prayers which they use1 and the ,articles which they adopt as their standard4 ,thus much ,i have felt compelled to say at the outset1 because the opposers of ,subscription assume that their clients are so numerous that to refuse their demands may be to endanger the ,church herself4 ,true1 they generously disclaim all designs to revolutionize the ,church of ,england 7p4 #f of ,the ,letter74 ,this is well2 but ,i am far more assured by the belief that their power1 as yet1 is not so formidable as their intentions4 ,and with this preface1 ,i would pass to the subject-matter of ,dr4 ,,stanley',s ,letter4 ,scheme of ,comprehension4 ,the point of departure taken for the discussion is the ,,revolution of #afhh1 and the attempt then made at what was called ,comprehension4 ,it is even suggested that the ,high ,churchmen of those days agreed that the very being of our ,church was concerned in abolishing ,subscription1 and substituting for it a general declaration of conformity4 ,the several attempts at ,comprehension almost seem to be referred to as substantially one1 and are recommended to us as if originated by enlarged and exemplary views of the ,church's calling4 ,but1 equivocations apart1 7which would be wholly unworthy here71 will this be gravely maintained8 ,did the ,comprehension ,scheme of #afgd receive no opposition from the ,church8 or will not every one own that it was frustrated by the resistance of the ,bishops8 ,would ,dr4 ,,stanley really say that the ,scheme 7not ,act7 of #afhi was founded on a philosophy which would now command assent8 ,i suppose that he must say it1 or how could he refer to it as our rebuke and pattern8 ,yet it was1 as he will not deny1 a political effort directed against the ,roman ,catholics2 and the reluctance of the clergy 7even under all the pressure of the occasion7 to fraternize with ,nonconformists1 defeated the measure1--some of the principal ,commissioners who had to manage it1 such as the ,vice-,chancellor of ,oxford1 the ,prolocutor of ,convocation1 and the ,bishop of ,rochester1 openly withdrawing from it4 ,i really can hardly conceive of a more unfortunate appeal to history4 ,to represent the clergy of all parties1 and especially ,high ,churchmen 7p4 #cc71 as approving1 on liberal principles1 of the proposed ,comprehension1 and covertly to suggest that ,subscription was alien from the spirit of those enlightened days1 is1 to speak gently of it1 quite unhistorical--7if ,i may so apply a now familiar term72 nor can ,i forbear to point to the fact that even ,dissenters were required1 by the ,act of #a ,william and ,mary1 cap4 #ah1 to subscribe a declaration that the ,holy ,scriptures of the ,old and ,new ,testament were given by ,divine ,inspiration4 ,the parallel breaks down at every point4 ,of course1 if any one really thinks that ,england is now in great danger 7as in ,sancroft's days7 from the ,popish encroachments of the ,,crown1 such an one is free to argue as ,dr4 ,,stanley does4 ,if any suppose that a ,papal reaction among the populace is the present peril 7as it was thought to be in ,burnet's days71 let them by all means fly to the remedial measures of that era4 ,but for a philosophical historian to quote1 with admiration1 ,halifax or ,nottingham1 or refer to certain ,high ,churchmen with approval1 can but cause a smile4 #g ,it was a popular beginning of this subject1 doubtless1 to invoke the memories of #afhh and the ,toleration ,act1 in order to recommend to ,english people this proposal to destroy ,subscription2 yet it was dangerous4 ,for to have pursued the subject fairly from this point would hardly have assisted the views of the abolitionists4 ,the course of history would very soon have brought them to the great ,arian conspiracy of #aggb1 the next noticeable effort to set aside the ,articles of the ,church4 ,this1 however1 is altogether avoided1 as if it were unknown to ,dr4 ,,stanley2 and he quickly goes back to the ,reformation1 and even to the times of the ,primitive ,church1 to find arguments against ,subscription in the abstract1 7as well as against our special ,anglican form of it17--and1 must ,i not say1 to get out of the way of ,,whiston1 and the ,feathers' ,tavern8 ,let us1 then1 be generous1 and forgive the allusions to #afhh1 and forget all that followed1 and endeavour to examine on its merits the substance of the ,letter4 ,relaxation a preliminary movement4 ,the object1 my ,lord1 of the rising movement against ,subscription1 here appears to be of a purely preliminary character4 ,it is expressly cleared of all connexion with special grievances4 ,revisions are to stand over4 ,these are understood to be reserved for future treatment 7p4 #d74 ,meanwhile1 it is not against the ,articles only that the feeling is to be stirred1 but ,subscription to the whole ,prayer-book1 and even to the ,bible 7p4 #ea71 is gently deprecated4 ,indeed1 it seems to be maintained that our present ,subscription to the ,articles does not include1 as we had supposed1 ,subscription to the ,bible at all4 ,the objection1 however1 is scarcely raised in that form4 ,it is to ,subscribing per se that the repugnance is felt1 as though there were a morbid dread of putting the hand to paper1--such as we sometimes find in the uneducated classes4 ,and now it is not so much do not sign these forms1 as do not sign any thing2 and ,dr4 ,whately1 and ,archdeacon ,denison1 and the friends of ,mr4 ,gorham1 ,dr4 ,rowland ,williams1 and ,mr4 ,bristowe ,wilson1 and ,mr4 ,heath are1 as ,i understand1 urged for once to agree to relax all subscriptions1 that they may so be set at more liberty to fight their mutual battles without hindrance4 ,thus it is1 wonderfully1 to be claimed for members of a ,christian ,church1 that they should be positively pledged to nothing6 ,revision of ,prayer-book4 ,lord ,,ebury',s measure in the ,house of ,lords did not go this length1 because he had ,revision more definitely in view2 but his arguments against one form of ,subscription are equally valid against all1 so that its entire abrogation is1 on his principles1 only a question of time4 ,there is1 however1 substantial agreement4 ,it is most important that this should be understood1 and that no false issue be raised3 and this is why ,i speak of the present proposal as one for the ,surrender of the ,prayer-book4 ,dr4 ,,stanley would ask nothing so small as altering ,articles or ,liturgy2 a far simpler way he would show us4 ,revision would be mere 'nibbling' while ,subscription remained4 ,an ,act of the ,legislature might just prohibit1 he says1 7p4 #cb7 all ,subscription4--,are men1 then1 so eager for it1 that prohibition must be resorted to8 ,he would not even leave it open to any one to sign2 for thus he triumphantly proceeds3--,not a word of the ,articles need be touched4 ,they would still be left as the exposition of the ,faith of the ,church of ,england in the eighteenth century6--as the standard of its faith at the present day4 ,not a word of the ,liturgy need be touched4 ,there are1 no doubt1 changes which would be acceptable to many1 but ,,they ,,must ,,be ,,effected ,,by ,,other ,,means1 7p4 #cc47--,surely1 said the wise man1 in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird4 ,to tell us beforehand that we are to be coaxed into a general movement to get rid of ,subscription1 and1 that being done1 we must reckon on the subsequent change of the ,prayer-book by ,,other ,,means1 seems so very like an insult to the understanding of men of all parties who believe anything1 that ,i can only explain it by calling to mind the proverbial blindness of genius when hotly hastening to its own object1 and forgetting how it looks to all around4 ,but it may be said that ,i am overlooking that the ,articles and ,prayer-book1 though not signed or subscribed1 might still remain--at least1 for a time--as what is called the standard of our doctrine4 ,let us inquire1 then1 what this means2 for1 unless we look it steadily in the face1 we shall be deluding ourselves again by an ambiguous word4 ,it is suggested by the passage quoted from ,burnet 7p4 #g71 and in the argument of ,dr4 ,,stanley1 that we ,english are generally governed in other matters by ,acts of ,parliament1--and why not in religion8 ,we are not expected to subscribe the law of the land1 but simply to acquiesce1 and submit to it4 ,it is not binding on the conscience1 but only on external obedience4 ,a man may stand up and read a ,statute to others--and then argue against it4 ,while it exists as law1 he must be judged and ruled by it2 but he is free to dislike it1 and may labour to change it4 ,this is the parallel suggested1 or if it be not1 ,i have no idea of what is intended2 and ,i must say1 that when thus nakedly looked at1 it is the most unveiled ,erastianism avowed in our times1 if we except ,mr4 ,,bristowe ,,wilson',s in his ,essay4 ,it is what we might expect of ,burnet1 but scarcely of ,dr4 ,,stanley1 to make the ,prayer-book a legal standard1 but not a matter of belief3 it simply astonishes us4 ,when a great statesman of the last age told us that our religion was but a schedule of an ,act of ,parliament1 we could at least reply that ex animo ,subscription makes it our own2 but to ask us now to take away even this1 seems almost to sever all connexion between the ,church of ,england and the moral agency of her ,ministers4 ,the ,act of #affb1 and its schedule1 the ,prayer-book1 might be our standard till the next session1 and might claim as much reverence as any other old ,act of ,parliament1--but no more4 ,put the whole proposal1 then1 of ,dr4 ,,stanley1 and of ,mr4 ,,wilson1 and others into plain ,english1 and it is this--7and ,i ask to be corrected if ,i misinterpret it7--,let the clergy in future sign ,,nothing1 but let them consent to adopt and use what the ,,parliament may from time to time authorise4 ,the object1 then1 being thus simplified1 we need not here pause to estimate the excellences or defects of any of the formularies which we all alike have thought to be good enough to sign4 ,with more than judicial fairness1 ,dr4 ,,stanley admits that the whole ,thirty-nine ,articles are incomparably superior to the ,nine ,articles of the ,evangelical ,alliance 7p4 #aa71 or any that would be drawn up by the dominant factions of our ,church1 or ,commonwealth4 ,but this kind of criticism may well be postponed till the prior question is disposed of--whether we should sign any thing8 ,when the ,articles and ,prayer-book come to be hereafter discussed1 these details may have interest with some1 as parts of the literature of the ,eighteenth ,century2 but at present might it not be disrespectful merely to glance at them in a sketchy way1 to give pungency and interest to a somewhat barren subject8 ,i do not say that the highly rhetorical sentences in which praise and blame are judiciously administered by ,dr4 ,,stanley to ,article #a1 #e1 #i1 or #cd1 contribute nothing to the effectiveness of the pamphlet with the general reader2 but it is obvious that with the argument1 strictly speaking1 they have nothing to do4 ,dr4 ,stanley's ,three ,arguments4 ,the ,relaxation of ,subscription appears1 as far as ,i can gather1 to be urged by three arguments1--the first founded the origin of the ,subscriptions among us after the ,reformation2 the second1 on the alleged absence of ,subscription in the ,primitive ,church2 and the third on the practical evils of the present state of ,subscription in the ,church and in the ,universities4 ,if ,i examine each of these1 ,i shall not1 ,i think1 have omitted any point hitherto prominently alleged in this controversy4 ,i4 ,the ,church of ,england1 as such1 recognises absolutely no ,subscriptions4 ,such is ,dr4 ,,stanley',s proposition 7p4 #ch74 ,the tests of membership are incorporated in the ,services to the exclusion1 as it would seem1 of all besides4 ,it is added 7p4 #ci7--,these other obligations were1 in fact1 not contemplated at the time of the first compilation of the ,prayer-book and ,articles1 and have grown up as a mere excrescence through the pressure of political and ecclesiastical parties4 ,the ,articles were not subscribed 7by anything like general usage7 till the #abth year of ,elizabeth2 they were then1 after much hesitation and opposition1 ordered to be subscribed for a special purpose1 c4 ,the ,reformation4 ,is it possible to suppose that ,dr4 ,,stanley means this for a fair representation of the spirit and design of the ,church of ,england1 from the beginning of the ,reformation to the #abth year of ,elizabeth8 ,he writes as though the ,articles were all really to be signed1 and the ,prayer-book all settled1 and that the ,church during all that time deliberately intended to leave her members such freedom of opinion as he and others would now restore4 ,if he does not mean this1 his argument falls to the ground4 ,but what are the facts of the case8 ,elizabeth ascended the throne at the close of the year #aeeh4 ,every position of trust throughout the country was then held by ,roman ,catholics4 ,the bishops and the clergy were generally devoted to ,rome4 ,the ,convocation met1 in two months1 and drew up ,articles presented to ,parliament1 which are described as flat against ,reformation1 and subscribed by most of the ,university4 ,even ,cambridge is said to have given her approval4 ,at such a crisis1 it was evident that some years must elapse before any such ,revision of ,edward ,,vi4's ,articles could be hoped for1 as would obtain general consent4 ,but to represent this pause as a kind of freedom from ,subscription enjoyed in earlier and more liberal times1 to say that the ,church1 at least1 was ignorant of this device1 when ,subscription to certain ,articles was the first step which the ,convocation and the ,universities naturally took1 immediately ,elizabeth came to the throne1 surprises me beyond what ,i like to express4 ,the general reader is entirely at the mercy of so eloquent a writer as ,dr4 ,,stanley1 and it is not too much to ask that he use his power with a little generosity2 or if he will not1 it becomes imperative that his representations be translated into a humbler style1 that the world may judge how they look4 ,the facts of the case are1 in truth1 opposed to all that ,dr4 ,,stanley',s argument requires4 ,instead of the twenty years and more1 which preceded ,elizabeth's #abth year1 being years in which the ,church of the ,reformation adopted laxity as its principle1 the whole of the period1 from the beginning of the reign of ,edward to the year #aega 7with the exception of the brief interval of ,mary's government71 was occupied in a careful effort on the part of the ,reformers to tie down both clergy and laity by the strictest body of ecclesiastical law1 perhaps1 ever attempted to be enacted in the ,christian world4 ,the ,reformatio ,legum4 ,i refer1 of course1 to the ,reformatio ,legum4 ,the ,archbishop of ,canterbury1 the subsequently-elect ,archbishop of ,york1 and certain suffragans2 great ,reformers1 such as ,peter ,martyr and ,rowland ,taylour2 known scholars1 such as ,sir ,john ,cheke and ,dr4 ,haddon1 were engaged in this business1 which was looked to as the crowning act of the ,reformation of ,religion4 ,archbishop ,parker took up the work which ,cranmer had begun1 and even pressed it on the reluctant ,queen as far as he dared4 ,subscription demanded in #aeec4 ,the connexion of the ,reformatio ,legum with the ,articles of our ,church1 and the light which they throw on each other1 ,i need not point out to any who are acquainted with the history of our ,church at that time4 ,the ,forty-two ,articles1 from which our ,thirty-nine were1 ten years afterwards1 derived1 were first published in #aeec4 ,in the ,november of the preceding year1 ,cranmer proposed that the bishops should have them at once subscribed throughout their dioceses4 ,the death of ,king ,edward prevented this from being accomplished4 ,they were revised and subscribed by ,convocation in #aefc1 in the name of the whole clergy of ,england4 ,the early chapters of the ,reformatio ,legum contain the doctrine of the ,articles1 and were1 no doubt1 intended to be an authorized exposition of them4 ,how strict a system was meant to be inaugurated by the ,reformers may be judged by even a superficial perusal of that ,book4 ,heresy and blasphemy were to be punishable by death4 ,adultery was to be visited with imprisonment and even banishment4 ,impenitent persons were to be handed over to the civil power4 ,all this was the sort of ,discipline which was waiting to be put in force as soon as the ,reformers could persuade the nation to bear it2--and yet this is the supposed time when ,subscription was alien from the mind of the ,reformed ,church6 ,temporary restriction of the ,clergy4 ,subscription in #aefd4 ,but during this interval of twelve years1 while the bishops were doing their best to bring the clergy and people to ,uniformity1 and preparing them for the ,discipline which was openly clamoured for1 we find that immediately after the ,articles were published1 advertisements came out by authority further to restrain the liberty of the preachers4 ,in #aefd1 the clergy1 who had by their proctors subscribed the ,articles in ,convocation1 were required to protest and subscribe that they would not preach at all without special license from the bishop1 but only read that which is appointed by public authority3 and further1 that they would observe1 keep1 and maintain1 all the rites1 ceremonies1 good usages and order set forth by the ,act of ,uniformity4 ,here then was ,subscription to the whole ,prayer-book as it then stood4 ,and1 indeed1 even three years before1 the readers in ,churches were obliged1 by ,subscriptions to certain injunctions1 to execute their office within prescribed and narrow limits4 ,the state of things doubtless was still felt on all hands to be but provisional4 ,the great ,roman ,catholic party waited1 without separating formally4 ,the ,puritans were stirring themselves in the cause of ,discipline3 it was hoped by both parties that some change might1 from the lapse of a few years1 better their position4 ,the latter reckoned on the more aged of the old ,popish ,clergy dying out2 the former were encouraged by a fanatical prophecy to expect the death of the ,queen herself in the twelfth year of her reign2 but after that time the ,puritan and ,popish parties became openly defined1 while the ,church had as yet no such ,discipline as could hold her members together at all1 except by the ,court of ,commissioners4 ,it was to restrain both parties1 then1 that recourse was once more had to ,subscription4 ,can there be need1 my ,lord1 to pursue any further an inquiry into so well known a piece of history as this8 ,i should not have said so much1 had not the ,ecclesiastical ,history ,professor declared that ,subscriptions and ,declarations of ,faith were not in fact contemplated at the time of the first compilation of the ,prayer ,book and ,articles2 that ,subscription is superfluous1 needless1 capricious1 extrinsic1 and accidental1 7pp4 #ch1 #ci71 and that the ,church of ,england1 as such1 recognises absolutely no ,subscriptions6 ,i submit to your ,lordship1 that the ,church of ,england at the time of the first compilation of the ,articles and ,prayer ,book1 encouraged no freedom whatever to diverge from the one or the other--demanded ,subscription 7by ,cranmer7 in #aeec--obtained it from all the bishops and representatives of the clergy in ,convocation in #aefc--;and laboured to restrain both ,papists and ,puritans within more and more rigid limits year by year1 till by the thirteenth of ,elizabeth ,subscription was universally enforced1 as the only practical substitute for that ,ecclesiastical ,discipline which was refused4 ,i have purposely abstained from here noticing minor inaccuracies which singularly abound in the learned ,professor's letter1 and have kept to the main point4 ,his position is that since the twelfth year of ,elizabeth1 a stern and gradual growth of ,subscription has superseded the liberal system of the earlier years in which the tolerant ,church knew absolutely nothing of ,subscription6 ,without this1 again ,i say1 his argument comes utterly to an end4 ,it will be useless to weigh syllables1 and retreat upon the ipsissima verba of the ,letter4 ,the broad representation means this1 or it is nihil ad rem4 ,and the whole history of the period is again1 directly the reverse of the representation given by ,dr4 ,,stanley4 #ah ,the ,primitive ,church4 ,,ii4 ,i pass1 then1 to the next point--the alleged absence of ,subscription in the primitive age4 ,not content with the reference to the history of our own ,church1 ,dr4 ,,stanley says3--,i will not confine myself to these isolated instances1 but examine the history of ,subscription from the first4 ,for the first three centuries the ,church was entirely without it4 ,the first ,subscription to a series of dogmatical propositions as such was that enforced by ,constantine at the ,council of ,nicaea4 ,it was the natural1 but rude1 expedient of a half-educated soldier to enforce unanimity in the ,church as he had by the sword enforced it in the empire4 7p4 #ce74 ,again1 ,i am painfully compelled to meet the statements of ,dr4 ,,stanley with a direct negative4 ,the case is not as he states it4 ,a rude soldier1 in those days--7when comparatively few people wrote at all7--would not1 ,i think1 have been likely to invent this expedient3 but1 in fact1 he did not invent it4 ,council against ,paulus ,samosatemus4