THE RELIGIOUS WORLD

Evening Star, Issue 10901, 8 April 1899, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE RELIGIOUS WORLD

A HOT HBRESY HUNTv 'A merry ding-dong has been going on be-1 tween the Rev. Hector Ferguson-'and Fro- | feasor Rentoul over the heresy charge. Of \ a surety (writes the Melbourne correspondent * of the ' Hobart Mercury') the latter gentleman, who may fairly be styled the Purves of the Presbytery, and chief slang-whahger of the Scottish sanhedrim, has neve* had the truth so plainly put to him- by a rev. brother before. The Rev. Rentoul says he was appointed to examine the Rev. Ferguson when the latter presented himself for acceptance fresh from Scotland, and with his Scottish credentials of ordina- _ iipn in his hand; and he was disappointed with the result, as ho found him wanting in scholarship. The Rev. Ferguson says the Rev. Rentoul is "a fabricator of the meanest sort," that he never did examine him, and that it would have been an insult to the home church to have suggested such an examination; hence the deficiency in scholarship is a pure assumption. He challenges the Ormond professor to the proof or disproof, and the Ormond professor-—decidedly one of the most abusive among Melbourne disputants, one who never touches a controversy that he does not embitter and vulgarise—declines the combat on the score of his opponent's abusive language. Verily the Hector of Northcote has so far made it tropical, for the Achilles of Ormond, and though the end of the heresy hunt is a foregone conclusion—foregone' from the date of indictment —and though Hector's body must again be dragged round the city at the heels of the insulting Achilles, Hector will at least retaiD the satisfaction of having launched *w»dry well-sent spears, arid among them this: " If churchmen of the Rentoul type had the power to-day which they had, say, 300 years ago, I would have to "burn for publishing this letter." That is just so. and it is the *onl of Torquemada that live? again in the bodv of Rentoul. [Wednesday's eahloE'rim-' tA\ us that the Fresbvterv have f.m-.0. >'_•■> Rev. Mr -Ferguson trinity of the eh;<iyc-s v ; -iemd against him.]

an r:iTR!•:•-':;:-•• i:i-"'ixiseENCE. It Las btc.i c'i'te:! .-•.•ued that the Pope, when a youu>- man, paid a visit to Queen Victoria, but it is not generally known that that visit had considerable influence on his life and career. The story has been told by Professor Laponi, the Pope's private doctor, to the Rome correspondent of the London 'Telegraph' in these terms:—"ln 1846 Gioacchino Pecci left Brussels, where he was simple Nuncio to Leopold 1., father of the present Kin?, who gave him on his departure a very warm letter for Gregory XVI., in which the King highly praised the tact, ability, and intelligence of the young prelate, and expressed the desire to see him soon nominated cardinal, which he would consider as a personal favor. With such a recommendation his rise to the purple was, of course, sure. But he did not return at once to Rome, thinking it a good opportunity to satisfy one of his great desires—that is, to go to London and see and speak with Queen Victoria. In fact, he crossed the Channel, and succeeded in obtaining the longed-for audience, from which he received an indelible impression, as he himself says in a letter about this visit written to his family—a letter which is now preserved at Carpineto. his birthplace. He describes the conversation with the Queen, nine years younger than himself, with great enthusiasm, and has not sufficient words in which to praise her grace and amiability, and to explain how profoundly touched lie .was by the conversation and sentiments expressed by her. He ends by saying that he would never forget that meeting, and it would 6eem as though he has not done so, because when he came to the Pontifical throne as Leo XLTI. there was an exchange of warm compliments and a reminder of the conversation of thirty-two years before, and even now evsrv New Year the aged Pope and Queen personally write each other a few lines. This visit to London retarded Monsignore Pecci's return to Rome with his previous letter, so that on his arrival he

found Gregor- XVI. so dangerously ill that he could not present it. Only a short time after, on June 2, 1846, Gregory died, and the letter had to be given to Pius IX., who was already under the influence of Cardinal Antonelli. who, being, like Pecci, from Ciociaria—a district of the Province of Rome—heartily disliked the future Pope, who did not get his red hat until 1853. Hence one may say that his visit to London and his desire to see the Queen retarded his ecclesiastical career for seven years." BISHOP AND VICAR. There has been some correspondence between the Bishop of Ballarat (Dr Thornton) and the Rev. F. Slaney Poole, M.A., vicar of St. Peter's, as the outcome of a promise to deliver an address at the City Oval on Easter Sunday, made by Dr Thornton to the promoters of a carnival which has been arranged to augment the funds for the erection of the new statue of the Queen in Ballarat. The fete extends over three days, and the proceedings on Sunday take the form of a church parade, at which contributions to the statue fund are to be solicited. When approached in the first place, His iordship expressed reluctance to associate himself with a movement which comprised a sports meeting on such a dav of solemn observance as Easter Eve, but consented, after the Committee had reminded him that they had decided to forego their programme of sports for Good Friday.' This decision led to a protest from the Rev. Mr Poole, who stated his grounds as follow : 1. That the majority of people will not be able to dissociate the Easter Day engagement from the rest of the carnival, as it Js to be carried out under the same management, and the money contributed is to be given to the same object as the other results of the carnival.

2. That I cannot look upon the Queen's statue fund as one of those " works of charity and mercv " for which collections at a religious service are usually made. 3. That while gratefully recognising, as your Lordship does, the absence of sports on Good Friday from the programme of the Carnival Committee, I yet note that a concert, with a charge for admission, is billed for Good Fridav evening, and the fact that it is called a " sacred '* concert does not render it much less objectionable. The palpable object of both the concert on Good Friday and the service on the Sunday is to raise money. Your Lordship, I feel sure, has the same objection as have I to the prostitution of religious services and sacred songs to so base and unworthy a use. 4. There is still another reason of considerable weight, as it seems to me, which I with the greatest diffidence venture to put forward. It concerns my position as vicar of St. Peter's, as the City Oval is in my parish. This position as vicar I hold, not for myself alone, but in trust also for my successors; whatever are its rights and privileges, it is clear' - my duty to uphold and maintain. The question is, and I put it plainly and boldly, but I need hardly say with everv respect, Has the bishop the right to take such a service as this in a parish where there is resident a clergyman licensed bv him to that parish? Your I Lordship's license and authority to me empowers me "to preach the word of God, read the common prayer, minister the holy sacraments, and perform all other ecclesiastical duties belonging to the office of vicar of the parish of St. Peter's." Clearly,' this engagement which }our Lordship has undertaken is. if it be a dutv at all, one of those other all ecclesiastical duties belonging to my office, and I very respectfully ask for the reasons which have induced your Lordship to deprive me of this portion of my license without my privity and without cause shown.

The remainder of the paragraph argues that the bishon has no " right" to enter the parish, though His Lordship will alwavs be a welcome visitor to it. To the letter the bishop reolied as follows : I received yours dated Saturday late on Sunday nicht, and have taken a day before replying. In consequence of its receipt I am prepared to withdraw my promise to the promoters of the so-called " carnival." That is a serious step to take, and may cause embarrassment, for the notice is short, and no other clergyman of our church can, under the circumstances, take my place next Sunday. Hence I must give some good reason for retiring, and can only throw the responsibility on yourself. I certainly presumed on your making no objection ; your doing so

"is, Aerefore, a new And me, fatal difficulty, which I cap.honestly plead in justification of my not redeeming my promise. . . . I admit also-that taking part in the oval service is no part of my; official duly, and that you have the right to demur to' my doing so. Therefore, at four o'clock to-day, if I do not hear from you that vou will not press your' objection, 1 shall presume that you accept all responsibility, and withdraw my promise to the ' Committee. But I feel it necessary to add i that I resret that you have objected, and still think my consent was right in itself, under the circumstances. The remainder of the letter dealt with the religious aspect of the question, and in it His Lordship said:—"l admit that, while entertaining not the least objection to wellordered Easter festivities, I feel some sympathy with your disrelish for association with this carnival; and partly from its name." In reply to the letter Mr Poole said that, under all the circumstances, he could not see his way to an insistance on the objection, and he therefore formally withdrew it. A NOTABLE CHRISTIAN CHIEF. By the death of William Shaw Kama, which occurred at his farm near Middle Drift (says the 'Cape Mercury'), the last of the direct line of a notable race of Native chieftains is gone. Kama's exploits were not in the field. His victories were those of peace, and his fervent Christianity did' a great deal towards elevating and advancing his people in the march of civilisation. A notable son of a. notable father —the late William Kama, whose career was one of lovalty to the Queen under trying circumstances, a noble man, a just ruler, and a fervent Christian—he succeeded to the chieftainship of the Amagqunukwobe tribe about 1875, being confirmed in all his rights, titles, and privileges by the colonial Government. His father was then about seventy years of age, and, being feeble, wished to be relieved of his chieftainship. Ever since that date the tribe has advanced, for the main effort of William Shaw Kama's life was to elevate them and keep them in the paths of righteousness and sobriety. The deceased was born a Christian, and never entered into the degrading immoralities of heathenism. When the Christian missions advanced into Kaffraria and a Native ministry was formed he became a candidate for the ministry, was admitted, and for five years faithfully and efficiently performed the duties. It was only upon his taking up the chieftainship that he ceased to pursue the ministerial vocation, otherwise he would probably have died in orders. The remarkable loyalty shown by William Shaw Kama and his people in the rebellion of 1877-78, when all his relatives were at war with the English, is a great tribute to his steadfastness of purpose. His mother—who still lives—is Nongwane, a sister of Sandilli and of Gaika, the great chief. The hottest fighting of the rebellion was practically on his ground, yet nothing could swerve his loyaltv, though his position was most precarious at times, being between two fires, as it were—the English and the insurgents. His loss, both to the Government and the Natives, will be great, as he stood forth as an example of what the Native can accomplish under favorable circumstances. He died without issue, therefore the estates and chieftainship pass to his nephews sons of Mani or Samuel Kama, the eldest son of Kama. GLEANINGS Two new Indian bishops have just been appointed. The Rev. G. A. Lefroy, head of the Cambridge University mission at Delhi, becomes Bishop of Lahore in succession to the late Bishop Matthew, and the Rev. H. Whitenead, head of the Bishops' College at Calcutta, to be Bishop of Madras in succession to Bishop Gell, resigned. , "It is now thirty-five years, said General Booth at Christchurch, " since I was pleading with a crowd of people in the county of Cornwall, pleading with them, as I am with you, to get matters settled and to save themselves. A man and his wife surrendered themselves to God, and this afternoon, 12,000 miles away, the grandson and granddaughter of that man and his wife knelt at that penitent form in front of you." Extraordinary scenes were witnessed in Inchimite Chapel, Cotton Tree, Colne, on February 12. For some time this congregation have been at variance—one portion desired musical instruments for the service, while others were anxious to adhere to the old mode of worship. As a consequence, ore section held a service in the school, whilst the elder people used the chapel. On this Sunday, however, the former attempted to also use the chapel. This led to a scene of great disorder, in which the rival parties came to blows. The tumult continuing, police were sent for, but before they arrived the contestants had separated, one or two having received black eyes. There was a scene at St. Paul's, London, on February 23, when the Rev. Robert Fillingham protested against Father Dolling preaching in the cathedral. Mr Fillingham, at the commencement of the service, rose, and read the following protest:—"l, Robert Charle3 Fillingham, a confirmed clergyman of the Church of England, do solemnly protest against the presence of the Rev. Dolling in the pulpit of this Protestant cathedral, on the ground that he is a notorious depraver of the Book of Common Prayer, having celebrated and justified the celebration of masses for the dead, contrary to the thirty-first article." There was some excitement at the close, Mr Fillingham being conducted to the door by the vergers. A number of his adherents left the cathedral with him. It is not every man who, having attained the patriarchal span of life, can look back to sixty years of unbroken teetotalism. The Rev. Dr Dawson Burns, the well-known Nonconformist divine and total abstinence lecturer, holds this remarkable record. The frequenters of the little chapel in Church street. Edgware road, London, where he signed the pledge in February, 1839, as a boy of ten years, made quite an occasion of his sixtieth anniversary as a teetotaller. Dr Burns ten vears ago celebrated his teetotal jubilee with the Church street Chapel. Sir Wilfrid Lawson, M.P., rose to that occasion, and hailed the reformer in a stanza of fifty or sixty lines of poetry. This time the parliamentary apostle of teetotalism in England contented himself bv regretting, in prose, that Parliament and the Government had been undoing for sixty years the good wrought during that time by the sermons of Dr Burns and his father.

The Archbishop of Canterbury went to prison on Sunday, February 12, and delivered, it is said, as eloquent and touching a sermon as ever came from his lips in the most splendid cathedrals of his diocese. The scene of His Grace's visit was Her Majestv's gaol at Wandsworth, and he occupied the pulpit in the chapel, before which were seated 900 prisoners, who even in their days of liberty had probably never seen a real archbishop. Many of the prisoners were grently moved bv the sermon. The Roman Catholic authorities in Fiji are on the point of sending out in couples a contingent of eight European ladies and fourteen trained Fijian women to teach the Natives the art of sanitary laws. The mission is to be undertaken with the knowledge and hearty consent of the Fijian Government. At a Christian Endeavor meeting at Hastings last week a rev. gentleman asserted ttat "Hastings was the hardest place in New Zealand for those who worked in the interests of Christianity. He attributed this to the horse-racing and gambling mania, which had such a hold of the community that nothing else was spoken or even thought about. Bergen (Norway) boasts a paper church Inrre enough to seat 1,000 persons. The building is rendered waterproof by a solution of quick-lime, curdled milk, and white of egrs's. ■ Father T. E. Bridgett, who died at Clapham recentlv. was one of the most prominent members of the Redemptorist Order in Enele.nd. He was broutrht up as a Barttist. but in his sixtrpnth year joined the Church of Fncland. fn October, 1847, he entered St. John's College, Cambridge, with the intention of takincr orders, but in 1850 refused to subscribe to the oath of supremacy denying the spiritual nnd ecclesiastical authority of fl'p Vm\o vithjn +he realm, and thus was obliged to leave Cambridge without having mdinf-H. Tn 1850 Mr Bridgett was rn'"■ived into the Roman Catholic Church by Father Stanton, of the Brompton Oratory, and joined the Order of the Redemptorists. father Bridgett wrote several historical, biographical, and literary works, besides numerous books of Roman Catholic theology. The Rev. John Wood, an anti-Ritualist

Bbrtfugfik &y;F*f\ s f'V > : Acdordingto the' Bailyttews/.a body of young lay Churchmen resolved, to make -it a tart - ot'their bbdemnce of Lent to pray dady for .the, conversion of Sir -WiUiajn Hatcourfc to the One True Catholic and Apostojdc .Faith. The paper directed the attention of these enthusiasts to the cases of Mr' Kinsic, Mr Samuel Smith, ex-monk Widdows, General Booth, and Mr Labouchere," remarking that there were plenty of other J in the same boat, but it shrewdly -suspected that all these would be voted past praying for. , The Pope has consented to the sale of St. Mary's, which was long the headquarters if Roman Catholicism in London, Cardinal 1 Vaughan being now prepared to undertake i the erection of a new one. Although not [more than eighty years old, this church has many interesting associations. There Cardinal Wiseman lay in state, and in its vaults lay the body fii Von Weber, the composer of 'Der Freischutz,' till Wagner had it removed to Dresden. DR TEMPLE'S EXPERIENCES AS A TEMPERANCE REFORMER. The Archbishop of Canterbury, during his reept visit to Sheffield, addressed in the Albert Hall a crowded meeting, under the auspices of the Church of England Temperance Society. Contrasting the present position of the temperance question with what it was half a century ago, Dr Temple said he could well remember the time when temperance reformers were looked upon as contemptible fanatics, and when insurance societies refused to insure the lives of teetotalleds. He coidd remember being pelted with flour bags, apples, and onions, and other missiles of a similarly harmless kind j when the gas in the halls was turned off, and every effort was made to throw their meetings into confusion. He was addressing a crowded meeting one night at Exeter, and was insisting that drink was not necessary to enable people to do hard work, when a delightful old woman at the back called out: "What do you know about it? Have you ever stood for many an hour over a wash-tub? If you had, yon would know better than to tell us. we could do it without gin." Now there was no opposition such as that to which he had referred, and he looked forward to the time when puMie opinion would have so changed that it"would be a matter of su»prise to find a man who indulged in drink.