OUR LONDON LETTER.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 1234, 3 September 1878, Page 3

OUR LONDON LETTER.

(fboh oira own coBnEsroNDENT.) London, July 18. In the first week of this month were commenced the sittings of tho great Pan-Anglican Synod, to which the Church has bo long looked forward, and for which so many scores of bishops, gathered from the four winds and the uttermost parts of the earth, have come together. Their lordships have been dißcnssing many matters of importance, among whicli may be noticed the following: — "The relations of Missionary Bishops to the Missionaries acting m tho same country ;" " Toluntary Boards of arbitration, for churohes to which such an arrangement may be applicable." " Tho anomalous position of Anglican and American Chaplains on the Continent ;" " The condition, progress, and needs of the various churches of the Anglican Communion ;" and " The growth of Infidolily." The former questions, important as they are, shrink to insignificance, m comparison witli thr last. There is something paltry and puerile, something almost impotent, m the fondness of clergymen of all ranks, including these ono hundred bishops from the four winds, for discussing ad nauseam the details of Church discipline, when the very foundations of the Church are shuddering and tottering. Infidelity m England, whatever it may be m other parts of the earth, is a loaring lion, wulking about m all directions. One day it appears m the ranks of the nobility, and the eldest son of Earl Russell dies m its clutches. The next day it is crunching the spiritual bones of come poor parson m the remotest of country Vicarages. Of the scientific men, scarce ten per cent, escape. Faithful parents send their sons, whom they destine for high service m the church, to college to comple their education ; and the sons, while they study the philosophy of Greece, Rome and Germany to gain their j honors m " Greats," learn to wrangle over the three creeds, and discuss the thirty-nine articles with as much freedom as if they were three conundrums and thirty-nine propositions of Euclid. At Baliol, where the cream of the young intelligence of the country is collected by the severity of the examinations, Dr Jowett, a clergyman, reigns supreme. This learned man is not only a teacher by training, and a spiritual guide by profession, but is also a man of immense personal influence. Yet it is said that of ten undergraduates who go to Ba'iol as Christians, nine will come away from it hopeless Eree hiukers. The same tendency which is alienating from the church the young nobility, the rising generation of the middle-clasaes, and a sprinkling of clergymen, even of veterans, who have carried tho colors of the church for

dtyears, is at irork amongst the artisans an inechinics »nd the agricultural poor. Tli >f women still believe, but then the wome d always do, and can five very little accoun of what it 13 thut they Ijcliero. '1 i.ere ar k signs now that the froek-coatrd, j.isk-bootei il plalfortn-tramping latterday Ae-womeu, whi are coming co much to the front about tin rightß of their sex and so forth, are discardinj the traditions of woman-kind m this matte: along -with the rest, and learning like thei :s brothers to question everything. Mrs Besanl £ may be named m an instance. This most _ cultivated lady is one of the rubidest infideli t in the land. Her child was taken from hei . by the order of a judge, chiefly on the ground t ot lier atheism. It 19 but fair to Mrs Besant c to fay that she does not m all respects come l| within the category I have alluded to. She jj tramps upon platform', and believes m the 0 rights of her sex, but she is not un-sexed ; . she is not what I call a Ac-woman. £ "WVll, then, while such is the state of the j country, when the Tery home and nursery of a the Anglican Communion is thus pestilencej stricken, is not tcre something comic, if . cot too deplorable, m the attitude of the 1 clergy? They will harangue Sunday by Sunday to their believing consregationa about the [ dangers und punishmentsof infidelity. But 3 the ini-n they ought to re&uh either are not m * the churches to hear them, or, being there m p disguise, need some more potent physic than t lho threats or denunciations which are all . they get. The one hundred bishops, from the ulter- '. most purts of the earth, have be^n discussing this great question : What to prescribe for L modern infidelity ? They will discuts it again before they separate. The prescription they [ finally agree upon tvilt perhaps be original, perhaps definite anil intelligible, but probably ' nothing of the sort. Probably it will be an : emasculated hotch-potch — a mixture of one 1 hundred different nostrums. The right prescription was given eighteen centuries ago. St. Paul, I think, was the doctor, Here it is ; let tho Bishops act upon it, or try to. It is short und simplu euou^h : "Proveuli things !" If they would only drop discussing their i precious " relations of missionary bishops to missionaries acting m the same country ;" their voluntury "boards of arbitration for churches," and their "anomalous positions of Anglican chaplains," and nou'd put their hundred old hoary heads together to do a little proving ! Poor old gentlemen — "most respectable old gentlemen " tho Times culls them — they aro up m the uttics somewhere (or m the clouds), discussing tho arrangoment of their wardrobes, the contents of their larder, the furniture of their apartments, and beneath them the house itself is m flame 3 ? On tho 14(h of Jnne there appeared m the Glole newspaper, and m that paper alone, 11 report, not, verbatim, but nearly so, of the English nnd Russian secret agreement. Instantly the agreement was flashed by telegraph all over .Europe, and what was intended loboaStitu secret became public property. This important document was obtained surreptitiously, and of course it ought not to have been, published. l\r some timo the wildest rumors were afloat respecting tho source from which it was obtained, nnd it was even whispered that some high functionary at tho Russian Embassy hid had to do with ils publication. But at length the tri'th camo j out . A certain Mr Charles Marvin, one of the writers at the Foreign Office, had possessed himself of the contents of tho document by an effrxt of memory, and hud imparted them for — it may be supposed — a sufficient consideration m money- The proprietors of the Globe thought the document would be sure to get abroad very soon, and so they stretched 11 point of honor m their own favor, lest, m the hot race for .new 3 their puper should be left behind. Mr Charles Marvin wns duly apprehended, and brought before the magistrates on v charge of larceny. But it cnuld not be proved that ho stole so much as the paper on which he wrote out the agreement. Ho had committed no larceny, and wns therefore necessarily acquitted. It *is a curious flaw m our criminal law that to steal by memory the contents of an important seer it State puper is no 'Hence, and cannot be punished m a court of justice. The criminal law of England, a3 your renders, perhaps, hare leirnt by this tin.c, is to b'> codified during tho present session. J Jhe Bill by which this great reform will bo effected is tho work of Sir James ITitz- James Stephen, the greatest master of jurisprudence m the couutry. It was he chiefly who codified tho Indian criminal law ; and v short time ago he published, m one volume of not more than 409 quarto pages, a complete and most misterly digest, of the existing criminal law of England, as if to show experimentally what might be done towards codification m a very short time, and marvellously small corapnss by one able hand. The new code will be founded on this digest, but will contain many amendments, and among others, provision will be made to meet such cases of breach of trust as that of which Charles Marvin was guilty m divulging tho contents of the Anglo-Kuseian agreement. Some curious and interesting statistics of drunkenness have just been published m cmnection with the Habitual Drunkards Bill, which is now before Parliament. It appears that though the number of deaths m the United Kingdom from delirum tremens, and other forms of alcoholic poisoning, hns been steadily increasing during the last thirty years, the number per thousand or per million of the population, has steadily declined. Tho sum total is greater, the proportion is less. More remarkable still, the years of commerciul prosperity, when wages were highest, were years of more marked improvement m the matter of drunkenness than those ot the recent depression of trade, when wages have been low. Clear proof that wealth, the preacher's bug-bear, is not the chief mainstay of the gin-shop. By the Habitual Drunkard's Bill, which will soon become law, personß who find themselves incapable of self-rescue from their slavery to drink, will be able to place themselves voluntarily under restraint for fixed periods, and the restraint so accepted will thereupon become compulsory, the authorities of the licensed institutions m which these drunkards will place themselvea having statutory powers to detain the pitients igainet their will for the period agreed upon. The m briata asylums of America, somo of which have similar statutory powers over the inebriates who enter them, aro said to have worked marvellous cures m very many cases. It is hardly to be supposed that "he establishment of similar asylums m England, whatever support may be given them by the provisions of tho new Act, will hare any marked effect upon the total drunkenness of the community. But it will bo much to have provided a door of escape for persons too weak to save themselves, but earnestly desirous of being rescued from their terriblo malady. The day before yesterday witnessed the return of Lord Beaconsfield and his illustrious colleague from the Berlin Congress. The fame and popularity of the AngloTurkish Convention by which the Island of Cyprus is ceded to England m return for an English protectorate of Asiatic Turkey, are immense. Only forty-eight hours were given for the preparation of a becoming reception m London. But the enthusiasm of men was unbounded. Charing Cross Bailway Station was quickly converted into a magnificent reception hall, decorated on the wesiern side with I crimson seats almost to the roof, and gorgeous flowers, tropical plants, and bunting without end. All the elite of London, save those who could not find room, were crowded into the station an hour before the train arrived. There were Dukes by the dozen and Earls by the score. Duchesses and Marchionesses, and all manner of grand dames. The Lord Major and Sheriffs m the full robes of their bumbledom drove up m good time. Ha'.f the Ministry and two-thirds of bo:h Houses of Parliament squcezi-d for the seats ou the grand stand. Never was such a scene produced m a railway station on such, a short notice. And ouiside the station? Every j window from Charine Cross to Downing-street was crammed, Colonel Sir Edmund Henderson

d tbe Chief Commissioner of po'ice on prancing le p-jlfrey borne, and along with him four n hundred mounted pre'er?, were on the spot to it keep order. The day wa9 intensely hot, and c the ten thousand dozens of people on foot d were packed and jammed togetlitr like 0 sardine* to welter m their own oil. One's c back-bone "creeps" at the thought of the g whole scene. Never was such a fuss before r nor is there evei likely to be over the r ri turn to England of a man who five and t forty yi-ars ago was a plain Mr Nobo<y. t In good time the train swept quietly into s the station. There was a minute's breathless r pause whilo Sir Edward Watkin, tlie chair--1 man of the Kailway, and Mr John Shaw, the t general manager, stepped out of one of the i front carriages. Then appeared from another s carriage the tall, thin, tottering form of the s Premier, wrapped m a long grej travelling ! coat. One intense gaze from the spectators to make sure of their man, and then a perfect, s thunder of applause, clapping of hands, and ' hurrahs without end,:ird nil manner of strange • cries. Friends crowded round and shook hands : most eagerly with Lard Benconsfield snd the > Marquis of Salisbury, and it was some ■ minutes before escnpo could be effected into > I lie opcu carriage m waitiDg. At last the ; heroes of the hour drove out from the i station, decorated with flowers and [dugs, to i the streets, which m all directions showed i nothing but a dense ma«s of heads. If the ovation before hud boon likn thunder, the noise that now arose suggested the end of the. world. ■ Tumultuous d af .-rung applause followed the ; Premier's carriage from the station to Down- • ing-street. Nercr before was there Mich a I i spontaneous overpowering outburst from on Eng ish rrowd. From the windows nil along , the rouic bouquets fell m barrow-loads. Tho 1 honr.-e shout! mid clapping :md tho roar of i hurrahs followed the Premier into his house, i and was continued till he appeared at a win- ■ dow and craved audience for a short ipeech. When at List, sufficient, silence was secured to illo-.v the nt-ari-s*. listeners to hear his words i Lor.l Beaconsfleld spoke as follows : — '■ I assure you tlm'. no recognition of our • neighbors could bo more grateful to ray feel- • ings than this expression of tho sentiments of 1 those, amongst whom I s>o many of my • oldest and most cherished friends. Lord Salisbury and myself havo brought you back 1 peace (loud cheers), but a peace I hope with honour, and such a peace as will satisfy our Sovereign and gratify our country (cheers). I can say no more at present than express my gratitude and pride for tho sympathy you have Biiown us at this trying moment." Loud and continued cheers. Lord Salisbury was then called for, and m tin, following pithy sentence he summed up tbe moral of the lour, comnlctely satisfy ing his uudience, as their repeated cheers gave witneES : — "I thank you heartily, and I gather from this great assembly that you will alwnys support a Government that supports the honor of England." (Xoud cheers). The fol ! oivii:g verses, which may interest BOine of youv readers, I havo culled from tho Standard. They arc said to be from the pen of the German poet Gustavo Schwetschke, nnd to haTo been distributed, by Prince Bismarck's request, among the plenipotentiaries on the lust day of the Congress : — GAUDEAMUS CONGRESSIBILE. Gaudcamus igitur Sooii congressus, Post dolores bellicosos Post 1 ibores gloriosos Nobis fit. decesjus. Übi sunt, gui ante nos Quondam consedere, Vienuenses, Purisienses Tot per anno*, tot per menses, Frustra decidere. Mundushcul vult decipi, Bed non decipiatur, Non. plus ultra inter gentes Litigantea et frementes Manus conferatur. •Tivat Pax ! et comitent Dii nunc congres3um, Ceu Deua ex machina Ipsa venit Cypria Roborans succaasum. Pei-ent discorrlia ! Vineat semper litem Proxenetae probitas, Fides, snes, et. charitas, Guudcamus item ! G.S. Tho Pall Mall Gazette says that the version given id the Standard, is incorrect, tho true version being : — Sideamus iijitur, focii Congrcsus : Post dolores bellicosos, Post labores butnptiosos, Fit mirandus messus. Übi Bunt gui tipud nos Causns litigare, Moldo-Wiillachce frementrß, Grreeuli esurientes ? Heu ! absquutulflre. Übi sunt provincial Quaa esb lavs pracesse? Totce, totes cunt partifffi j Has tulerunt Muscovites, Illas Count Andrassy. Et quid est quod Anglitß Dndit hie Oongr.'Bsus ? . Jus pro nliis pu^nandi, Movtuum vivificandi, Splendidi succcsus ! Vult Joanes decipi Et bauiboosulutur. Io Beacche ! Que mijestas ! Cstresa reportans testas Domain gloriatur ! This vorjiw, which from internal evidence will be seen to be the true one, may be roughly Englished thus : — Let us have our hearty laugh, Greatest of Congresses ! After days and weeks pugnacious, j After labors ostentatious, See how big tbe mes9 is ! Where are those who at our bar Their demand hive stated : Bobbed. Roumanians rampaging, Greeklings with earth-hunger ranging? Where ? Absquatulated ! Where the lands we've pac ; fio3, With their rebel masses ? All are gone ; yes, all up-gobbled j These the Muscovite has nobbled, These are Count Andrußsy's. And what does England carry off To add to her possessions ? The right to ■'ago another strife, The right to raise the dead to life — Glorious concessions ! Well, let John Bull bamboozled be If he's so fond of sells ! Io Beaeclie. Hark the cheering ! See him home m triumph bearing Both tho oyster shells. .