THE REV. LORENZO MOORE

la the February number of the New Zealand Churchman appears a lengthy correspondence between Bi-hop Nevill and the Rev. Lorenzo Moore. Wo have only room for the 0 including letters from which it will be seen that tfie Bishop ha* withdrawn, the Rev. Mr Moore's license to preaoh :—: — Que^ustown, January 29ih. Dear Mr Moore, — Yonr reply to mine of the 20th is now to hand. You also send me a copy of a letter published ia the Morning Herald, which is beaded " Free Chnrch Services," and signed hy you as a Church of Eugland minister. Your letter to me states that for a length of time you have not bad any license, and, therefore, that you have not contravened my authority in your prf sent line of action. I regret that you shoald have adopted a line of defence si littla worthy of you. You returned, indeed, the license undsr which you had officiated at Port Chalmers a few days before I heard of your being about to sot up bervicfts of your own ; but even in the phorfc interval I had diked you to efficiate at places within the diocese, which showed that I regarded you as virtually though not formally, licensed so to do. I would ask, if you did not so regard your>eU, what ri^ht hart you to tike pirfc in the Diocesan Synod recently held ? 3till more recently, you have acted as a licensed clergyman of this diocfise in faking part in the election of clerical representatives (if the General Synod in allowing your name in the list; which 1 sent round of clergy entitled to vote or to be themselves elected as being the licensed clergy of the diocase. In your published letter you say that you had "a lengthened correspondence with me before I entered on the step which I havri taken." The point is comparatively small, but aa it may seem to impty some kind of acquiescence on my part, I tbink it right to remind you that neither verbally nor by letter had any communication taken place bet wen us on this subject until. I, having heard from others what was actually going on, wrote toy first letter of expostulation. I will only add that you muet know quite well that you have no authority under these circumstances to sign yourself a Church of England minister whatever may be the service you use. I regret that nothing now remains except for me to follow the cource indicated in my last letter.— lam, yours truly,

S. T. Ddnedin.

Belvidem. Clyde street, Dunedm, February 3rd, 1880. My Dear Bishop Nevill,— l beg to acknowledge the receipt to-day of your letter of the 29th tilt. Allow me to correct misapprehension on one or two points which you seem to have in connection with the Btep I have taken. The heading of my printed letter which I sent to you, viz., "Free Church Services," w&s not put in by me. In signing myself a Church of England Minister, I assert and maintain that I am at tbia moment as truly a minister of the real Church of England as any clergyman in New Z°aland— l may add, moro truly than some, and any attempt to disparage my position as such will only recoil on those who make it. You can scarcely consistently reprcach mo with having ( while notholding your license) satin the Synod, taken part in the election of clerical representatives, or helped in casual clprical work when asked to do so, when the fault, if there were any, lay with yourself and your Arcbdea cofl. My rdturning you tbe license which I held from you while at Port Chalmers was intended to let you know that I did not consider myself as being any louger under your official control. Ab long as I conscientiously could, I clung to what you deccribe as " the Church of the Province of New Zealand, commonly called the Church of England," but so rapid has been the growth of novelties here and else where in the diocase, that T was at last constrained to take, most reluctantly, the step I have, I fear that in tho pressure of business you have forgotten that your "first letter of expostulation " was n«i; (as you say) prompted by " healing from otlws what was actually going on," but wa« in reply to a plain, straightforward letter frum myself, of January sth, telling yon of the fitep I waa about to take, and giving you my reaHona for doing bo. And now, my dear Bishop Nevill, with true sorrow I take leave of you, begging you to remember that I amnot leaving, nor have I any intention of leaving, the Church of England. You will do what you consider to be your duty — I am doing what 1 consider to be raine, as a much-needed reformer of ritualistic abuses in the Church of Euglaud.— l am, with all due respects, yours Biucerely,

Lorenzo Moobe.

TheßigbtEov. Dr Nevill.