Rev. Mr. Ingleby.—"I must confess that I should like to see our church brought into a nearer resemblance to the Apostolic Church of the New Testament; but still I think we may look upon it, with all its faults, as a national blessing; and if we could get the Tractarians expelled, it would stand as a mighty breakwater against the drifting currents of Popery and infidelity."
Mr. Roscoe.—"But most of our bishops have a strong bias towards Tractarianism, because it is so favourable to their spiritual despotism; it increases and consolidates their power, and under its sway the lay members of the church are reduced to a state of abject submissiveness to the priesthood, similar to the condition of the members of the Church of Rome. The inferior order of priests rule the people, and the bishops govern the priests; the laity have no voice in the appointment of any of them; and if, as is sometimes the case, they object to their teachings as having a tendency to establish Roman Catholicism on the ruins of the Protestant faith, they can obtain no redress against such a fatal result."
Rev. Mr. Ingleby.—"But, happily, there are exceptions to this general rule, and our bishop is a very decided one. He is a good and faithful minister of Jesus Christ, imbued with a Pauline spirit; and the sermon which he delivered to his clergy was both appropriate and impressive. I was quite delighted with it, and so were some of my brethren, especially our pious and intelligent lay brethren. The text was taken from Rom. xiv. 17: 'For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.' The bearing of the discourse was to prove that the essence of religion consists in supreme love to God our Saviour, and uniform and cheerful obedience to his revealed will; and not in a mere conformity to ecclesiastical regulations, and the observance of ceremonial rites. And when addressing the clergy at the conclusion, he said, 'My beloved brethren, to whom is intrusted the ministry of reconciliation, you will not neglect to observe the rules which the church has laid down for the government of her clergy, nor omit to administer the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper, but ever keep in mind the sacred and imperative command of your Divine Lord and Master—"GO AND PREACH THE GOSPEL"—for it is the gospel which is the power of God to the salvation of the people. Preach it fully, clearly, and faithfully—in season and out of season—and with all the energy of your soul. Before you enter your pulpits to preach, retire to your closets to get your heart imbued with the unction of the Spirit; and when you return from your labours, withdraw to your closets to invoke the Divine Spirit to impress your message of grace and mercy on the hearts of the people. Ever remember you are in some degree responsible for their salvation.'"
Mr. Roscoe.—"Why, Sir, this was like an apostolic sermon. Did the clergy listen to it; and did they appear to like it?"
Rev. Mr. Ingleby.—"Yes, Sir, they listened, and some of them were delighted with it; but I fear the majority thought it savoured too strongly of the spirit of the evangelical school; they appeared rather restless."
Mr. Roscoe.—"I recently spent a few days with an old friend, when I was introduced to several Puseyite clergymen, with whom he keeps up a close intimacy. They are, in general, accomplished and intelligent, but bitter in spirit against Dissenters, and, if possible, I think more bitter against their evangelical brethren. They say the Dissenters are honest foes to the church, because they avow their hostility; but the evangelical clergy, they say, are sly, artful, and dishonest, who conform to betray—take the loaves and the fishes of the church, while they are labouring to destroy it."
Mr. Lewellin.—"Of what practical use, Sir, is your act of uniformity? The Dissenters have no such an act in their ecclesiastical statute-book, and yet, with the exception of a few Socinians, we agree on all the essential truths of the Christian faith, and our ministers preach in each other's pulpits without making any compromise, or giving any offence; but it is not so amongst the clergy of your church, even though they are under a legal obligation to believe alike. Why, Sir, it is Jew and Samaritan dwelling together in the land of promise, still refusing to have any dealings with each other, though they avow allegiance to the same prince."
Mr. Roscoe.—"Yes, Sir, our clergy are two distinct orders of men, subscribing to the same creed; yet the faith for which some contend, as the original faith once delivered to the saints, is disdainfully rejected by others as false doctrine."
Mr. Lewellin.—"The evil which you, Sir, and other stanch Churchmen see and deplore, without being able to correct it, takes its rise in this plain palpable fact—the reformation from Popery in England was not a thorough reformation; it was no plucking up by the root, as in Scotland; it was mere topping and lopping work. It was more like a transfer of the Papacy, a little changed and a little modified, from the Pope to the English monarch, to answer his ambitious purpose, than a transformation of the Papal superstition into the Protestant faith of the New Testament. Why, Sir, there is very little difference between a Tractarian clergyman and a Roman Catholic priest; they both claim the same high prerogatives, and arrogate to themselves the same submissiveness on the part of the people, restrict salvation within the pale of their own church, and assume a delegated power to discharge all the functions of their office, without any acknowledgment of their dependence on a supernatural agency. They are dogmatic, imperious, and intolerant—spiritual Ishmaelites, whose hands are against every man belonging to another order; they are, in temper and in spirit, a perfect contrast to the apostles of the New Testament, from whom they profess to derive their descent."
Mr. Roscoe.—"Your description is strong, but, alas! it is too true. I recollect one day, when there was a large number of Tractarian clergy at my friend's, being rather provoked by the Papal-like style of speech which prevailed amongst them, and availing myself of a favourable opportunity, I said, 'Gentlemen, I can hardly bring my mind to believe that you are the genuine successors of the apostles, as you assume to yourselves a self-sufficient power for the performance of your duties. The apostles spoke as men who were appointed to act ministerially, always acknowledging that their success depended on the concurrence of a Divine power; and when they were successful in their great work, they offered up their thanksgiving to God, to whom they ascribed the honour of their success, viewing themselves as mere inefficient instruments.'"