,transcribed from the #ahej ,william ,pickering edition by ,david ,price1 email ccx#jgdpglaf4org ,picture3 ,pamphlet cover ,a ,,letter ,,to ,,the ,,rev4 ,,william ,,maskell1 ,a4,m4 ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,,mayow ,,wynell ,,mayow1 ,a4,m4 ,,vicar ,,of ,,market ,,lavington1 ,,wilts1 ,,and ,,late ,,student ,,of ,,christ ,,church1 ,,oxford4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,how ,,far ,,the ,,judicial ,,committee ,,of ,,the ,,privy ,,council ,,commits ,,the ,,church ,,of ,,england ,,by ,,its ,,decision1 ,,even ,,allowing ,,it ,,to ,,have ,,jurisdiction ,,in ,,points ,,of ,,doctrine4 99 99 99 99 99 ,second ,edition4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,london3 ,,william ,,pickering4 #ahej4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,my ,,dear ,,maskell1 ,,in these 8last days10 in which 8perilous times0 have 8come10 it seems a duty1 to be somewhat less nice and scrupulous as to any charge of presumption or lack of modesty to which a man may lay himself open by making known his thoughts upon the great matters which now agitate us1 than would be the case at another time4 ,one whose name will add no weight to any thing he may say1 might well shrink under ordinary circumstances from commenting upon your recent letter1 and appear1 even to himself1 over-bold in supposing he can add any thing to the views therein expounded4 ,but the very pain with which we approach these topics is some warrant to express our thoughts2 inasmuch as it is1 ,i think1 something of a guarantee that whatever is said1 will be1 at any rate1 not said lightly4 ,most heartily do ,i desire to adopt and echo your words 8that the enquiry on which we are all engaged is far too great to admit of any personal consideration2 and our aim is not to win a victory1 or to prove that we ourselves are in the right1 but to discover the truth1 and point it out to others40 ,if then ,i imagine a line of argument tending to elucidate this truth1 has been partially overlooked in the expression of your views1 ,i trust ,i shall stand excused1 both by yourself and any others who may read this letter1 from the charge of a too great boldness in writing it4 ,the crisis and exigence of the time is1 as it appears to me1 too great to allow us to stand upon niceties1 or permit any thing to be kept back which may even by possibility be found of service in indicating the line of duty4 ,let me1 however1 here say in the very outset1 ,i am not by any means about to attempt an answer to your letter2 a task for which ,i am1 in the first place1 not qualified1 and in the second place1 not disposed4 ,i feel the difficulties you bring forward too much myself to be prepared to ignore them1 though ,i will not say ,i go with you in the whole of the positions you are concerned to establish4 ,but it is became ,i feel the pressure of many of them so strongly2 because1 much as the names of ,mr4 ,keble and of many who take the same line of argument with him1 are to be revered1 nevertheless1 ,i am at a loss to make up my mind that they have established an unassailable position in denying the competency and authority of the court of the ,committee of ,privy ,council1 that ,i am the more anxious to say a few words upon one point which appears to me to have escaped your notice4 ,let me come at once to this point3 and to do so ,i cannot1 perhaps1 proceed more conveniently than by making a quotation from your letter4 ,at page #ed1 you say3--8,no doubt this court10 7,the ,judicial ,committee of ,privy ,council17 8nor any other court cannot make canons3 but1 as has been before said1 this is a question1 not of new canons and formularies1 but of the right construction of old ones4 ,now1 in such a cause1 either the court of the ,judicial ,committee has authority or it has not3 4 4 4 ,if then the decision of the court is to be listened to at all1 it is not easy to discover how one will be able to draw distinctions1 and place limitations upon the extent to which it reaches4 ,there seems to be no middle way between accepting and acting upon it1 and repudiating it altogether as if it had never existed4 ,i mean1 repudiating it in every other respect than in the one point1 comparatively unimportant and trivial1 of the institution of a certain person to a certain benefice40 ,you say1 it is not easy to discover a middle way4 ,i would hope1 though not easy1 it may be not impossible4 ,let me however here1 and in the first place1 clear myself from any suspicion1 if you should be inclined to attach it to me1 that ,i am about to seek a middle course by softening the amount of error contained in a denial of the exclusive doctrine of regeneration in baptism4 ,let me not be deemed guilty1 even in thought1 of doubting that such denial is a denial of the 8one baptism for the remission of sins10 and is absolute unmitigated heresy2 being such as would have shut out any ,church permitting its profession1 from the communion of ,christendom in the primitive ages2 such as no ,church can maintain1 and remain a living branch of the one ,body of ,christ4 ,i cast to the winds and repudiate with all my soul1 that spurious charity of our day1 which would seek to 8please men0 at the expense of ,god's truth2 which would recommend the ,gospel by denying the ,faith2 which would render it more popular or palatable1 by explaining away the ,creeds2 and all1 to be able to include the more within the ,church's pale1 under the plea of an extended usefulness4 ,such liberality 7with what is not our own to give17 is1 in my estimation1 a giving away ,god's honour1 and so1 mere and absolute treason against ,,him3 therefore is a giving away our place in ,his ,church1 and a blotting out it's name from the book of life4 ,let me explain further3 that in what ,i am about to write1 ,i am going to admit1 at any rate for the sake of argument1 the authority and jurisdiction of the ,committee of ,council as a tribunal in this case4 ,i may1 and indeed do think1 that in your letter1 you have allowed too little for the difficulty in which the ,church has been placed as to making her voice heard3 too little therefore to the circumstances which have hitherto trammelled her1 as accounting for and excusing her silence1 especially in later times3 as for example in the changes made in #ahcb1 and perhaps in other instances4 ,still ,i am not concerned in what ,i am about to write to controvert your positions on this matter1 because for the present purpose of my argument ,i am going to admit the competency1 i4e4 the authority as distinct of course from the fitness1 of this tribunal to try the issue1 between ,mr4 ,gorham and the ,bishop of ,exeter4 ,still1 as it seems to me1 both these points may be conceded3 first that the court is sufficient3 and secondly1 that to deny unconditional regeneration in the case of infants1 is heresy2 and yet1 it may be reasonably maintained1 that whatever the decision in this trial shall be1 ,the ,church of ,england may not stand committed to heresy thereby4 ,no doubt1 at first sight this will appear a paradox2 and the interpreter the harder to be understood of the two1 in thus imagining it not impossible to find a middle way between 8accepting and acting upon this court's decision1 and repudiating it altogether as if it had never existed40 ,but ,i mean1 not impossible to find a point of view1 regarding the tribunal from which1 we may be able justly and reasonably to allow it's competency for the present judgment on doctrine1 and yet to repudiate1 not exactly the decision itself1 but the effect of it as committing the ,church at large3 repudiate it1 in your own words1 8in every other respect1 but the one point comparatively unimportant and trivial of the institution of a certain person to a certain benefice40 ,now the only postulate ,i ask for this conclusion1 is1 that the ,church shall not1 and cannot1 stand committed to heresy without proof that her crime is something not accidental1 but wilful and deliberate2 something more than a mistake1 which she is ready and willing to clear up the moment opportunity is given her to do so4 ,in short that as a man is not a liar1 without the intention to deceive2 so a ,church is not heretical1 unless the animus of heresy be proved against her4 ,if you will concede me thus much1 ,i think ,i may be able to shew that there is a middle course between denying the jurisdiction of the ,court1 and admitting the weight even if ,i allow the justness1 of the sentence3 that is to say1 the sentence may be such as under the circumstances1 the judges were bound to give1 7,i am not conceding but supposing this37 and it may therefore carry the conclusion that the ,church's formularies on the subject in question are indistinct2 still without proving also that the ,church ever intended them to be so2 and therefore without affording ground to say that1 though her words are ambiguous1 her heart and mind have ever been heretical4 ,of course upon the strength of the sentence1 if thus given1 ,mr4 ,gorham would gain his institution2 but ,i say again1 ,i do not think the ,church would be committed to his heresy4 ,let us consider again1 what it is precisely which the judicial ,committee of ,council are about to do4 #h ,it cannot be stated more entirely according to my sense1 than in your own words4 ,you say 7page #g7 8,the question is one simply of interpretation of the ,law of the ,church of ,england 4 4 4 ,it is not a question of what is in itself true or untrue1 agreeable or not agreeable to the ,holy ,scriptures1 but solely whether a certain doctrine has or has not been clearly defined to the exclusion of some other statement about the same doctrine1 which would seem to deny it or explain it away40 ,again in the passage already quoted 7p4 #ed7 8,this is a question not of new canons and formularies1 but of the right construction of old ones40 ,then if this be so3 though the ,decision should affirm what shall be in its form1 heresy1 may there not still be a limitation as to its effect3 rather perhaps ,i should say1 a suspension of the actual heresy altogether until some further condition shall be fulfilled to give it life3 that is to say1 though the decision may affirm that the formularies of the ,church of ,england do not so clearly define the faith on this point1 as to preclude the words admitting an uncatholic1 nay an heretical interpretation1 does it follow that the animus of the ,church is therefore even in the least degree shown to desire or intend to teach such error1 nay even to allow it to be taught2 and if there be no heretical animus1 can ,she be pronounced herself to have incurred the guilt of heresy8 ,i answer1 7and ,i hope safely7 to both questions2 ,no6 because all that will be brought out1 even in the event of the decision of the court of appeal being to reverse the judgment of the court below1 will be merely that there is an ambiguity of language1 in the documents on which that court had to found its judgment2 and this1 an ambiguity1 it may be1 unintentional on the part of the ,church1 though really inherent in the wording of her formularies1 acting therefore imperatively on the judges in the case 7if so17 and obliging them to give a decision such as shall leave the point at issue1 an open question4 ,let me be well understood4 ,if such ambiguity of language be intentional on the part of the ,church2 if she can be proved to have desired in drawing up her articles and services to admit two interpretations on baptismal regeneration3 if it be her view and plan to include two such opposite parties within her as those represented by ,mr4 ,gorham and the ,bishop of ,exeter1 by such ambiguous1 and therefore comprehensive language1 ,i most fully admit she stands convicted of unpalliated heresy both in form and matter4 ,but if it be lawful without violence to reason or conscience to believe she had no such view1 but meant to assert the undoubted ancient catholic faith on baptism1 ,i do not think we are bound to make her answerable1 as if she had knowingly and wilfully assented to uncatholic doctrine1 though as it turns out 7if so it be7 the wording of her formularies is inadvertently insufficient to protect the one truth4 ,i cannot but think that though the misfortune of such inadvertence is not to be denied1 its guiltiness is not lightly to be admitted2 and that we are bound in all reason1 7and ,i am sure if so1 in conscience and loyalty7 not to consider her chained by such ambiguous language to the denial of ,god's truth1 and the catholic faith4 ,with regard then to the animus in question4 ,surely in the first place we may say this2 that it is not settled adversely to sound doctrine1 because not involved in1 this decision itself1 whatever it may be4 ,the ,judges in the present trial would ,i imagine1 even though using to guide them in their judgment contemporary documents1 and even contemporary opinions to elucidate the language of the formularies1 yet themselves admit1 that to decide the animus with which those formularies were originally drawn up1 is beside the point they have had to try3 that it suffices for them to declare the ambiguity if they find it in the words2 but that it is foreign to the matter in hand to settle whether such ambiguity be accidental or intentional4 ,of course ,i am not saying they would deny the intention of comprehensiveness4 ,on the contrary they would probably appear as a matter of course to infer it2 and may even make mention of what they suppose the intention of the ,church to have been3 but still they will not rule the animus1 as a part of their judgment4 ,as to mere legal consequences indeed1 ,i presume they will necessarily so far imply the intention to have been according to the judgment they deliver1 as fully to give the benefit of their construction to the appellant in the cause3 but yet this intention is to be distinguished1 as a different point from any which they have had to try1 which has surely been merely what is in the words of the formularies1 not how it came to be there4 ,but even should the court proceed so far as to say it gives its judgment on the latitudinarian side1 expressly on the ground that it believes the ,church in drawing up her formularies intended such comprehension1 even that declaration would have no judicial authority to impose itself on any man as the truth4 ,the grounds of a judge's sentence are a different thing from the sentence itself2 and1 ,i think all those 8learned in the law0 will bear me out in saying1 form no part of it4 ,it is not an impossible nor an unheard of case for a judge to give a right judgment1 yet upon wrong grounds4 ,the grounds are merely his opinion which challenge no authority beyond their intrinsic weight1 and which any man may canvas2 the judgement is authoritative1 and of course in a court from which there is no appeal1 is assumed ex necessitate rei1 to be sound4 ,let us then next proceed with one or two considerations which may be of service in determining for ourselves what animus we shall attribute to the ,church in drawing up those of her formularies which bear upon the doctrine of baptism4 ,a point of great weight surely is this3--that they are 7even if really ambiguous when subjected to the searching eyes and acute minds of the most subtle lawyers3 ,i use the word in no ill sense2 yet7 to all ordinary men1 and ordinary unbiassed minds1 so clearly on the catholic side1 and so plainly to such minds convey nothing but the ancient doctrine of regeneration in baptism1 that it is much more easy and natural to believe the ,church never contemplated the ambiguity than that she did4 ,let it be remembered too that if now on the present appeal1 the six eminent law officers who have heard the case do decide for the ambiguity1 yet1 so indistinctly is this ambiguity itself discernible1 that not merely ordinary men1 but one of the ablest and perhaps the most practised ecclesiastical lawyer of our day1 had no doubt or hesitation on his mind when the case was argued before him as the ,archbishop's judge of doctrine in the court of ,arches1 that it did not exist2 that there was no such approach even to ambiguous language as to make him have recourse to extraneous comment to guide him1 or cause him to give in the very slightest degree a doubtful judgment2 but on the contrary1 thought there was no sense to be put upon the ,church's statements on this subject but the one catholic doctrine1 which1 a priori1 we should suppose she would enunciate4 ,take with these general considerations the particular circumstance that if we assert the ambiguous animus1 we must suppose the ,church1 not only in fact to have inadvertently qualified words naturally carrying the catholic meaning2 but so to have intended to qualify them1 that when she says 8seeing this child is regenerate10 she meant 8seeing he is not regenerate10 or1 at the least1 8seeing ,i have no reason to believe he is regenerate10 and shall we not have a sufficient case to prevent our feeling compelled to 8think0 that 8evil10 that the ,church had a double mind4 ,to me1 at least these thoughts bring home a satisfactory conviction that it is much more likely the ,church herself has been ignorant of ambiguity1 and did not mean to be indefinite1 than that she purposely drew up her articles and services1 with merely such a subtle and almost imperceptible residuum of doubtful words that it appears a mere chance1 under a peculiar combination of circumstances that it ever comes to the light at all3 that she so speciously concealed her own desire to include a second meaning1 that taken 8in her own craftiness0 she deceived ,sir ,herbert ,jenner ,fust1 so that even when her words were most elaborately sifted by him1 this hidden sense escaped his observation2 and is only now at last made manifest upon the most laboured and minute investigation in another court1 where it is not too much to say there has been every inducement to the learned judges composing it to split hairs1 and find an ambiguity if by possibility they could4 ,i say this not as impeaching the impartiality of the tribunal1 but yet as worthy of note by any1 who knowing what human nature is1 would rightly weigh the circumstances of this decision before drawing further inferences from it4 ,if ,i am at all correct in the argument ,i have attempted to draw out1 that decision1 if in ,mr4 ,gorham's favour1 will decide the ambiguous language of the formularies1 and nothing more4 ,abstract then your mind from the present judgment1 and what will you say is the animus of the ,church8 ,will it not be the same as heretofore2 and that our estimation of our ,church's soundness in the faith is as yet unshaken8 ,for should we1 ,i boldly ask1 judge that any friend of ours intended an indirectness or double dealing by us upon no better evidence8 ,should you so judge me1 or ,i you1 in any circumstances bearing even a distant analogy to these8 and if not1 how thus judge our mother1 who has borne us unto ,christ8 ,an illustration from secular affairs may perhaps make my meaning in all this clearer1 and1 as it happens1 there is one made ready to our hand4 ,we all remember the act of ,lord ,ashley and the late ,mr4 ,fielden1 to prohibit the labour of young persons in factories1 for more than ten hours a day4 ,it was drawn up1 no doubt1 to the best of their ability to attain this object3 to give persons under a specified age1 rest and cessation from labour after ten hours at the mill4 ,but as we well know likewise1 an interpretation of the act grew into use among the mill-owners1 by which they worked their factories twelve or fifteen hours a day1 using the labours of the younger persons employed by relays2 so that though no one of them was actually at work more than the ten hours1 the object of the bill was frustrated1 if it were to secure their being dismissed to their homes after so many hours at the mill4 ,the resting them an hour1 or two hours1 in the middle of the day1 whilst others took their place1 to be also rested for the same time1 at another period1 did not secure to those young persons what was at any rate supposed to be the humane object of the framers of the bill1 and the legislature which passed it2 a return to their homes at such a reasonably early hour as might afford some time for relaxation1 and some opportunity for mental cultivation4 ,this usage however of the mill-owners did not pass unquestioned1 and a case involving the principle of it1 was first heard before an inferior tribunal1 and1 the decision being given there ,i think1 against the legality of the system of relays1 was brought afterwards by appeal before the ,barons of the ,exchequer4 ,the jurisdiction1 observe1 of this court was beyond all question1 and it applied itself to the decision of the case4 ,of course1 7exactly as in the ,gorham cause before the ,privy ,council17 the matter in hand was simply a question of the interpretation of the act of parliament4 ,the judges had nothing to do with which arrangement might be most humane1 nor even with which they imagined to be most accordant with the mind of parliament in passing the act1 if the act itself were clear to their understanding4 ,they most properly confined themselves to the terms of the act1 and to the determination of this point1 whether it excluded the working by relays or not4 ,it might be1 7as has been strongly asserted17 perfectly true1 that to permit that system1 frustrated in great measure1 if not wholly1 the attempt to better the condition of those young persons2 but however true1 it was nothing to the purpose4 ,and those judges1 as the event shewed did come to the conclusion that the terms in which the act was couched were not sufficient to make the system which had been used1 illegal3 and therefore judgment went in favour of the mill-owners4 ,now let it be granted that this1 in its effect1 destroys the bill as a measure of humanity3 that so to legislate is in fact cruelty1 whatever the intention of the act may have been4 ,but shall we on this account blame the judges in the case8 ,assuredly not2 they have but done their necessary duty in interpretation4 ,shall we say the court was not competent1 or the decision not binding1 or in any way attempt to resist its legal effect8 ,assuredly not2 or we overthrow all principles of law and order4 ,nevertheless shall we say that this judgment convicts of cruelty or double dealing the framers of the measure1 or the parliament which passed it8 ,assuredly not2 because it is much easier2 much more accordant with common sense and experience2 much more agreeable to charity and reason1 to believe that the subtleties of language introduced an unintentional ambiguity1 which the judge's eye was obliged to search out and judicially recognize1 than to believe that ,mr4 ,fielden1 or ,lord ,ashley1 or even parliament at large1 when they professed to relieve young persons working in factories1 intended to 8palter with them in a double sense and keep the word of promise to the ear but break it to the hope40 ,does any one then1 ,i ask again1 now feel justified in charging those parties with cruelty1 whose bill is nevertheless found capable of a cruel working4 ,do we charge them with the intention of such ambiguity1 and such consequences1 though they are found both to exist in the act of parliament8 ,do we infer the animus from the wording1 and say that such as the bill is practically1 such must have been the intention of its framers8 ,the application is so obvious1 ,i fear to be tedious in drawing it out ever so briefly4 ,but1 for ,parliament read1 ,church2 for ,the ,ten ,hour ,factory ,bill1 read ,the ,formularies bearing upon ,baptism2 for ,doubledealing and ,cruelty read ,false ,doctrine and ,heresy3 and if in both cases1 there be an ambiguity1 and yet we charge no such double-dealing or cruelty on the one1 as believing no such animus existed1 or need be suspected in the parties who framed the one document1 may we not equally acquit of false doctrine or heresy those who drew up the others because1 though these may perchance be latent in the wording of them1 no such animus is shown1 or need be suspected in their authors3 i4e4 the ,church which has sanctioned and used them4 ,there is another point in this analogy which will carry us a step further1 and in a most practical direction4 ,if the legislature now1 knowing all these circumstances1 and having the power to correct the error1 if so it regard that to which the ambiguous or careless wording of the ,act of ,parliament has led1 yet take no measure for correcting it1 and for re-asserting the humane principle which we are told it was intended to embody1 this conduct will surely commit parliament now to the adoption of the bill as last interpreted4 ,it would be too much to say even so1 that it would convict the framers of the measure some four or five years ago1 or the then parliament of either fraud or cruelty3 but it might well fasten those charges upon the present parliament if they believe the act was intended to work otherwise but will not restore it to its efficiency4 ,and so now1 in our parallel case4 ,if the ,church of this our day1 knowing all the circumstances of such an interpretation as we have been supposing in the matter of baptismal regeneration1 do not use the powers she may have to correct the ambiguity which permits heresy to be lodged within her1 she will acquiesce in and adopt that heresy as her own4 ,it would indeed here again be too much to say that such conduct now would prove there had been a double-mind2 an intended ambiguity for an heretical purpose in those who drew up our formularies2 for they might still have no more intended heresy1 than ,lord ,ashley and the late ,mr4 ,fielden cruelty to the factory children4 ,but this1 however it might clear the respective characters of men of another day1 would be nothing at all as to establishing a claim to soundness now1 or preserving the ,church of ,england as a living branch of the ,church of ,christ4 ,if we now adopt the heretical interpretation3 if we now knowingly and wilfully continue the ambiguity2 if we do not strive to remove the blot on the face of the ,spouse of ,christ2 we shall be answerable as a body for the heresy1 and must take the consequences both here and hereafter4 ,what then is the practical thing to be done in this exigence1 supposing the decision now about to be given to be one admitting heresy8 ,no doubt there is much difference between our case here1 and that in the analogy we have been using4 ,the ,state can1 beyond all question1 take up its doubtful matter1 and re-word it1 in another meaning1 too plain to be denied4 ,the ,church 7among us7 alas6 has no freedom of speech3 no direct power of action2 no immediate method by which to correct the ambiguity4 ,but nevertheless she must do all she can1 according to the means she has1 or she will not be clear in this matter2 and the most evident of all the steps for her to take is at once1 and in earnest1 and with her whole heart1 to petition the throne to be permitted to meet in convocation to take these points into practical consideration4 ,if she do all she can1 she will not be to be judged1 that she can do no more2 but at any rate1 ,i think any one of us may1 nay every one of us should1 suspend our judgment as to her being committed to heresy until we see what it is she will do4 ,having gone thus far in considering our position and duties1 ,i will venture a little further1 7,i trust without presumption offering it merely as a suggestion17 to state what appears to me1 the first actual step to be taken4 ,though as a ,church we cannot meet in synod until called together by the ,crown1 yet as ,englishmen1 as mere subjects of the empire we may meet and petition the throne that convocation may be licensed to deliberate upon the momentous questions which now affect the ,church4 ,as soon then as conveniently may be after the decision of the ,privy ,council shall be given1 7and ,i may as well say here1 that it appears to me to make very little practical difference as to the necessity of such a step1 whatever that decision may be37 as soon then as conveniently may be after1 a meeting should be called in ,london of all persons clerical and lay alike1 who desire to see a freer action of the ,church1 for this one specific purpose to address the throne praying her ,majesty graciously to concede to the troubled hearts and perplexed consciences of so many of her subjects1 that convocation may be summoned for dispatch of business4 ,the day should be carefully chosen3 that it be not too soon nor too late3 not too soon for it to be thoroughly and widely known1 and for all who may be anxious to be present to make their arrangements accordingly2 not too late1 so as to beget any suspicion of lukewarmness4 ,the ,archbishop of ,canterbury or the ,bishop of ,london1 should unquestionably with all duty and reverence be asked to preside2 and all our ,right ,reverend ,fathers in ,god1 be requested to give us their help and blessing in this endeavour4 ,all ,churchmen who feel in these dangerous days it would be a great comfort and advantage to hear the ,church's voice distinctly indicating the course to be pursued1 within any reasonable reach of that gathering1 ay1 and beyond it1 would1 it is to be hoped1 attend4 ,no extraneous matter should be gone into1 and if possible the speaking1 7at least so it appears to me17 should be but brief1 allowing1 if it may be1 several hours afterwards for the sole purpose of those actually present to sign the address before leaving the room4 ,i cannot doubt myself that the largest room in ,london would be insufficient for the numbers who would make a point of coming1 and each man as he went away might say1 with a heart of thankfulness1 8,liberavi animam meam10 and 8,god defend the ,right40 ,do not think in saying these things ,i am vain enough to suppose this must needs be the best plan to follow4 ,i do but mention my own thought as a suggestion for others to consider1 and ,i speak in some detail1 because at any rate1 by this means a practical character is given to what ,i say4 ,what is best will be determined by others much more competent to decide1 and ,i shall ,i trust be found ready to follow1 wherever the path of duty shall be found to lead4 ,he would be a bold man who should venture to say what the events of a few years1 nay even of one1 may bring3 but ,i think those certainly are not mistaken who deem that we are in a great crisis of our ,church's lot1 and that very much depends upon our faithfulness1 our wisdom1 and our courage now4 ,i have therefore been anxious to lay before you and any others whose hearts are burdened with our present troubles some of the thoughts which have occurred to my mind4 ,i have been more particularly anxious to ask whether ,i am wholly beside the mark of reason and sound sense1 in thinking it possible to see a middle way 8between accepting and acting upon the decision0 of the ,privy ,council1 8and repudiating it altogether as if it had never existed40 ,in a persuasion that such a middle course there is1 ,i have endeavoured to show how far the ,judicial ,committee commits the ,church of ,england by its decision1 even allowing it to have jurisdiction in points of doctrine1 and my conclusion has been that we may admit both the authority of the tribunal1 and also the formal heresy involved in the judgment it may feel bound to deliver in its duty of interpretation1 and yet allow no stigma of actual heresy to lie upon the ,church1 unless she acquiesce in1 and adopt that judgment as her own3 that is1 no further stigma1 no further evil than1 7to use again your words7 8in the one point comparatively unimportant and trivial of the institution of a certain person to a certain benefice40 ,i am glad to think ,i recognize in this sentence an admission1 that if the ,church can be freed from any further participation in the doctrine involved1 and if she do her best to repudiate any implication with heresy which that judgment may seem to throw upon her1 she may well wait the time 7,i do not say for ever1 but at any rate for the present17 till she may be enabled to clear up all ambiguity by restoring the full catholic sense to her formularies1 through the legitimate channel of her own assembly and convocation4 ,in conclusion1 ,i will but express how much consolation it affords my mind to think that the 8burden and heat0 of this trial1 fall upon one so eminently fitted1 as ,i believe1 to bear them4 ,in spite of all the sorrow which one cannot but feel that at his time of life when there should be the rest and repose which in less trying times1 and to less true soldiers 8should accompany old age10 he should be called upon still to stand in the battle's front1 and bear its fiercest shock2 in spite ,i say of this sorrow1 there yet comes over me a lightening of heart and soul when ,i think this trial has not fallen upon one less equal to the emergency2 less clear-sighted to see the line of duty2 less bold to do it4 ,if the burden indeed be heavy to any one of us2 ,oh6 how much more1 to him6 ,and yet it is not merely a pleasure and a comfort1 but a source of the most heartfelt thankfulness that the present ,bishop of ,exeter is what he is4 ,if we are in doubt1 yet he may have no cloud upon his mind4 ,if we almost fail and faint1 yet he is one to rally us4 ,if we know not how to take or interpret the signs of the times1 and question what is the path of duty1 yet is he one most able to enlighten and to guide us3 most fitted 7who in our time so much87 to 8render a reason0 for what he does1 or advises should be done1 and so render it1 as to attach the faithful2 confirm the wavering2 and confound the gainsayers4 ,i could almost weep for grief to think of the harassings and care of heart which he must undergo all these days2 but for joy also that ,i believe they fall in ,god's providence1 upon a prelate1 than whom the ,english ,church has had none1 since ,laud1 of a greater heart1 to do or suffer all that may be needful in her cause4 ,whilst then in these days of rebuke and blasphemy we pray for all1 let it be doubly for him1 that he may see his way clearly in order to guide us also2 that a double portion of that great ,archbishop's ,spirit may rest upon him1 both for his own comfort1 and the benefit of ,god's people2 and that even if his very mantle should descend upon him1 7there are other martyrdoms than those of the scaffold or the stake27 he may 8be strengthened continually with might in the inner man10 and we may have grace1 to endure to see him wear it4 ,believe me1 my dear ,maskell1 ,always affectionately yours1 ,,mayow ,,wynell ,,mayow4 ,market ,lavington1 ,wilts4 ,march #eth1 #ahej4 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,c4 ,,whittingham1 ,,chiswick4 ,,footnotes4 #h ,i say here and in the whole of this letter1 8about to do20 and 8expected ,decision10 because even if the judgement be now given1 at the ,time ,i am writing1 ,i have not seen it or heard what it is4