Saturday.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XI, Issue 30, 23 November 1883, Page 11

Saturday.

Bishop Nevill still labours to bring about the union of Christen"dom. But the work is a great one, and when accomplished, as it is sure to be, will deserve for the Bishop a fame that may even eclipse that of the seven champions hitherto principally associated with the realm in question. His Lordship, in fact, will exceed the seven champions all rolled into ' one. Can we wonder, then, that the Bishop continues the combat with. Mr. Berry, who stands in the path of success, but with hardly a chance of stemming the tides that, under the force or Dr. Nevill's attraction, are about to flow together. If Mr. Berry can be conclusively given the lie, the Bishop's cause will of course be won, and nothing in future will dare to oppose the course of union. We cannot, however, say that so far Mr. Berry has been silenced. Bishop Nevill still maintains that that gentleman did call on him with a view to becoming an applicant for Anglisan Orders, and in to-day's issue of the Daily Tinuis repeats the charge— brought at first, if true, only by as unusual a betrayal of confidence as any man pretending to be a gentleman has ever made. The Bishop's statement contained in bis letter of to-day is a flat contradiction of that written by him to Mr. Berry some time ago, and published by Mr. Berry last Saturday, and the contradiction will be apparent to anyone who compares the two passages that follow :— Bishop Nevill now writes :— " I have refrained from replying to his (Mr. Berry's) last communication, in which an ingenious attempt is madeto cause people to think I acknowledged that he had never been to me to talk about admission to the English Church. I acknowledged that I had not re/used him because it never came to that," etc. Bishop Nevill had written thus to Mr. Berry : " I recollect your telling me that it was the strong desire of my late brother that you should enter the ministry of the ADglican communion, and that I said in bidding you farewell, that any recommendation of his would weigh greatly with me. I think that was almost the whole of the matter." We do not know whether it would be irreverent to suggest that the appeal to be made here would be something like that from •' Philip drunk to Philip sober," but it is quite evident that if Bishop Nevill wrote the letter quoted by "Mr. Berry, it is not to Mr. Berry that His Lordship now succeeds in giving the lie. — But is not the union of Christendom woith a " whopper " or two ?