THE BISHOP AND THE WESLEYAN.

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXI, Issue 108, 12 May 1896, Page 2

THE BISHOP AND THE WESLEYAN.

What a London paper aptly calls a " diverting correspondence " lately took place between the -Bishop of Truro and the Rev. John England, a well-known Wealeyan clergyman and acting-chaplain to the forces at Devonport. Mr England was recently invited to preach m the Wes* leyan Chapel at Falmouth, and the Wesleyans of that town publicly announced his coming, and described him as " Chaplain to her Majesty's Forces." A copy of the advertisement was sent to the Bishop of Truro, who (jumping to the conclusion that a chaplain to the foroes must be an Anglican clergyman) wrote to Mr England rebuking him for preaching m a Wesleyan ohapel before obtaining " the usual permission " and thus breaking " the customs and rules of the Communion to which you belong." In reply to this, Mr England wrote twitting his Lordship with ignorance — but without explicitly saying that he was a Wesleyan. " If , " he wrote, at the conclusion of his letter, " I may be allowed to make a suggestion to a Bishop, I would say, m future, before you presume to censure, be certain that you have a right so to do.' 1 The Bishop, still thinking he was dealing with an Anglican clergyman, wrote suggesting that his age and position merited a different reply, and adding by way of postscript : — " Let me add that I generally write such letters as that which I sent you mostly or wholly on my knees." Thereupon the Rev John England smote the Bishop "hip and thigh," as the following extracts from his letter will show :— " You think I ought to re- write my reply to your first communication, and m support of this opinion your Lordship uses the arguments of age, position, and prayer. Allow me to remind your Lordship that age brings experience, and experience is supposed to bring wisdom, but I respectfully submit there is not much wisdom shown m attacking a Wesleyan minister on the strength of a newspaper report for preaching to a congregation of his own people. Position brings responsibility, and responsibility is supposed to bring caution, but I ask where is the caution shown m writing to one who, you think, is a clergyman m the Established Church, and putting an estimate on the value of his services to Anglicanism, without previously consulting your olergy list ? Prayer, I would suggest, begets charity, and charity softens bigotry ; but the latter part of your first letter does not oredit your Lordship with these virtues, and, as far as I can udge, you might have written your letter m any position but that of a suppliant seeking guidance of the Holy Spirit." The Bishop's reply to this was a very natural complaint against Mr England for not saying plainly and at once that he was a Wesleyan ; and the correspondence was closed by another letter from Mr England, blaming the Bishop for not apologising for having censured " a minister over whom he has no jurisdiction."