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an

A LETTER

)

MEMBERS OF THE UNITED CHURCH QF ENGLAND

AND IRELAND,

IN THE TOWNSHIP OF SCARBOROUGH.

"Mr DEAR Friends,
" Although the pastoral relation that once existed between us hm
been long severed, yet I still feel an interest in the spiritual welfare
of those among whom I once ministered; and when I find that
youf present minister, in a letter to you, charges me with circulating
" many very erroneous and strange doctrines, contrary to God's word
and the teachings of his Church," and "feels himself called upon to
endeavour, according to his ability, to banish and drive them away
from among you, according to his solemn promise made at ordination"
— I under at least an equal sense of my ordination vows must, while
maintaining the gospel doctrines of the Reformation as taught by our
beloved Church, endeavour to free myself from so serious a charge ;
and this I rejoice to say, as you yourselves sliall judge, will be a very
easy mktter. Of Mr. Darling, personally, I wish to entertain no other
feelings but those of kindness and christian brotherhood. Whatever
there maybe in the ensuing letter that is painful, let it be imputed tt:>
tlie unhappy system which Mr. Darling has espoused. Popery moulds
and uses its instruments, as best suits its own purposes, and too often
themselves are unconscious of the very fact.

I fllTst wish to draw your attention to the general scope of the
Pastoral Letter. Mr. Darling, mind you, doe^ not endeavour to prove
the truth or falsity of the doctrines and practices in question by the
unerring standard of God's most holy word, but strives to show that
the prayer, book affords him some gi'ound for the maintenance of his
views, he urges you, in the last paragraph of his letter, " to reject all
teachings and, opinions which are plainly contrary to those contained
in the prdyer book." Now in this he opposes the very rule of faith
of ouV Church, which, according to her sixth article, is this ; " Holy
Scriptuife containeth all things necessary to salvation ; so that i!.ihat-
ever is tfot read therein, nor may he proved thereby, is not to be i equired
of any man, that it shall be believed as an article of the faith, or bo
thought requisite or necess.iry to salvation." Now, my friends, you
see'the Church of England speaks very differently from Mr. Darling ;
8h^ refers you to the bible, ho to the prayer book, which, admirable
Mjfo^n the whole as it is, is still the composition of poor, weak, erring,
sinful, creatures like ourselves. And do remember, the Church of
England nowhere leads her people to suppose her infallible (tha
Popish Church does) ; she says, in the nineteenth article, "The visible
Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in the which the
pure v«>rd of God is preached, and the sacraments are duly ministered
according to Christ's ordinance, in all those things that of necessity
are requisite to the same. As the Church of Jerusalem, Alexandria,
and Antioch, have erred; so also the Church of Rx>me hath erred, not

only in their Ywrnrr and manner of coronionios, but also in matters of
faith.4 N6w from the sixth and nineteenth articles, already quoted,
• it musUf^ evident to every one that the bible and it alone can be the
ruT^^offiiith of a Chuzch of England man ; tliat is the only fountain
from which we ca^i hope to derive the truth. Using the quaint lan-
guage of the fir;>t ii. !nily — "Let us diligently search for the well of
life in the books of the Old and New Testament, and not run to the
stinking puddles of men's traditions, devised by men's imagination,
for our justification and salvation. For in holy scripture is fully con- .
tained vhat 2ve our/ht to do, and what to eschew, what to believe, what
to love, and what to look to at God's hands at length." But as Mr.
iJarling has grievously misrepresented our articles and formularies,
by giving them a Popish bearing, I will meet him on his own ground;
and, as T hope, confirm you in the belief that our church, nourished by
tlie blood of martyred men, who died protesting against the very errors
Mr. Darling is endeavouring to pervert you to, has no leaning or
kindness to that erroneous and cruel church which slew those veiy men.

In the first place, the letter is addressed " to the members of the
Catholic Church of England." When, my friends, a man professes
to writer a letter in the English language, we naturally expect that he
should use only sucli words as lie knows the meaning of. Now, Mr.
Darling either knows the meaning of the word " catholic," or he does
not ; if he does, which I cannot doubt, he assumes on your supposed
igiiorance ; and if he does not, he assumes on his own ignorance ; for
the above title is sheer nonsense. The word "catholic," derived from
two Greek words, kata olos, means iiniversal ; and universal means
7\ot particular, but pervading or extending over the whole world, or
(belonging to something in which every man is concerned ; for exam-
ple, we say the wisdom and power and goodness of God are aniversal,
because in every clime, in every situation, and in every production of
tiie earth we see these qualities displayed. The Church of England,
I need not tell you, is the aggregate of many thousaiids of congrega-
tions in England, with ofTrthoots in other places; the whole united and
()')und together by llie thirty-nine articles. Thus we see the Church
of England is the chui'ch of a peculiar locality. It is not the Church
of France, it is not the Church of Russia, it is 7iot the Church of Hol-
land ; it is therefore particular, and consequently not universal or
catholic. It may be, and indeed is, part of Christ's universal churdi,
but you very well know the part of a thing does not constitute the
thing itself; in other words, the ^jar^ is not the lohole. Mr. Darling's
letter is addressed " to tlie members of the universal particular church."
Whether this phrase becomes a man who ought to be a scholar, I leave
vou to judge. We see that, whatever were the peculiar gifts which
Mr. Darling speaks of in page 3 of his Pastoral, as acquired at his
ordination, those of writing the English language correctly, and, as we
shall presently see, of quoting honestly, were not of the number. ,/«; *.

In tlie letter addressed to you, the subject matter may be divided
into an attack upon my principles, as he calls them, and a defence of
Ills own. It would perhaps have been more consistent, in the first
pl.ice, to have proved, if possible, his own views /mm theivord of Ood,
before he had attempted to refute mine from the prayer hook; such at
all events is the teaching of the Church of England, in her articles,
homilies, and liturgy. She refers us, in all our doubts, to the Bible.

■^

** But anger has some claim to indulgence, and railing is usually a
relief to the mind." Terbaps Mr. Darling has found relief from
the experiment. However, let us pass to a review of the Pabtoral
Letter in questiop and we shall hnd seventeen mis-statementa
and false quotations; and so important are these latter, that
they entirely alter the meaning intended to be conveyed. This is a
serious cijarge; but you, yourselves, shall be the judges. That
you may be enabled to do so fairly, you must, when reading this,
liave Mr. Darling's letter at hand, as well as your prayer book, and,
jf possible, the canons of 1603. The bible you need not heed, as that
Viessed book is not, I presume, considered of any importance in doc-
tfinal questions. We^are nut to seek God's teaching, but the church's ;
a\j( least such I suppose is Mr. Darling's opinion, for in the whole of
thiki gentleman's letter I believe there is only one quotation from it.

T^rn, my friends, to the ordination service for priests, in the prayer
book I the fourth <|uestion asked is, " Will you be ready, with all
faithfi^ diligence, to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange
doctri^s, contrary to Gocfs wordy Look to the second paragraph on
the iitet page of Mr. Darling^s letter; and he says "it" (my letter to
the yrotestants of Canada) "contains many erroneous and strange
doctri^s, contrary to God's word and the teachings of his Church^
He thrrl'efore feels himself called upon to drive them away, according
tohisT^olemn promise made at ordination. Now, Mr. Darling, nor
any otw|f clergyman of the Church of England, ever made any such
promise ; i^the teachings of the church is nowhere mentioned. Read
the questi^^ihs over carefully, and especially the second, " Are you per-
suaded tliiit the holy scriptures contain sufficiently all doctrine required
of uecessi^ for eternal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ ? and
are you deteflrnoined, out of the said scriptures^ to instruct the people
committed to your charge., and to teach nothing as required of neces-
sity to eternal" salvation hut that which you shall he persuaded may he
concluded and proved hy the scriptures^ It is a pity that Mr. Darling,
whose ordination vows are such a conscientious weight upon his mind,
had not this-t)ne more prominently in his memory when he sat down
and wrote hii^ pastoral letter ; for 1 would ask you, my friends, and I
appeal to ^fe conscience of each one of you, has Mr. Darling taught
you in )M letter from scripture, or has he not; and if not, has he
fulfilled his ordination promise, of which he speaks so much about.

Let lis pass to the first paragraph on the second page of Mr. Dar-
ling's letter ; and I distinctly state that all that I subscribed to at ray
ordination I can cordially and ex animo subscribe to now, and that
" th<*Qoctrines (or articles) and formularies which are already in exis-
ten(^, taken as a whole, are scriptul-al, and admirably adapted to the
wajits and feelings of mankind." I have quoted the preceding from
mfjprmer letter, as Mr. Darling frequently does so ; and as frequently,
oncel^^xcepted, with an omission most important to ray meaning. Can
this % any possibility be unintentional ?

Mr/lDarling says it is a church principle, " that there cannot be in
any oke place more than one branch of the true church, and that the
branchfof the true church in this land is the United Church of England
and Iceland." Where does the church say so ? No where. Does the
bible 4ay this ? Most assuredly not. Only substitute " Popish prin-'
ciple" for "Church principle," and "Church of Rome" for "Church

I i

of Enf^land," in the preceding, and it will bo correctly worded, accord'
ing to Mr. Darling's real meaning. But only cxaniino his method of
j'.roving his asr^ertion. A few words taken from this, and a few words
from that, and a few words from soinowlioro else, put those together
according to the writer's viev.s, and, my friends, the prayer book, or
any other book, even tlio bible, can be made to say any thing or no-
thing, just as a man pleases ; cou])le with this the most painful mis-
statements, and false or garbled quotations; and you have at one view
llie way the Church of England is made responsible for Mr. Darling's
church })rinciplcs. ,

IJut let me not fall into tliat gentleman's error of assorting without
proving ; let us examine how he endeavours to prove the assertioi^i
quoted in the preceding jiaragraph. After adducing the nineteenth
article, he says: "Now, according to Christ's ordinance, his saora-
ments must bo ministered by lawful bisho})s, priests, and deac9ns."
Let mo ask, where in tlie bible is it related that Christ mad© suclt
pretended ordinance. Where does the Church of England say any
huch thing. Christ, my friends, made no such ordinance. 11^ says,
"Do this in remembrance of me;" and " do ye, and make discij^les of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of tlie Father, Son andlloly
Ghost." But, more than this, Christ makes uo mention, of bifihops,
priests, and deacons. Search the word of God, my friends^ ana see if
these things bo so. Mr. Darling, continuing his argumoLy says ;
" But the Churcli of England says, no man is a lawful bishop priest,
or deacon, unless ordained by a bishop." The Church of JEngland
says no such thing; how can any man assert she does ? ^e says, in
tlio preface to the ordination service, that "No man shall l)e^ccounted
or taken to be a lawful bishop, priest, or deacon, in the United Church
of England and Ireland, or suffered to execute any of the said func-
tions, except he bo called, tried, examined and admitted thereunto,
according to the form hereafter following, r.r ]iath had formerly epis-
copal consecration or ordination" in other v.'^rcis. And can any thing
be plainer ? The ministers of the Church of England must be epis-
copally ordained ; but no opinion is given or doctrine taught respect-
ing the invalidity of the orders of non-episcopal churches. (See the
twenty-third article of our church.) ^Ir. D. goes on to say : " and
therefore those denominations whose ministers are not ordained by
bishops cannot have the sacraments ministered according to Christ's
ordinance, and consequently are not — according to the articles of the
Church of England — visible churches of Christ." Turn to Jtjr. Dar-
ling's letter and read this tissue of nonsense carefully, for wl^ich, by
the bye, if done by a boy over twelv.e years old at any public school,
he would run the risk of a severe flogging ; then read, my friends,^ the
nineteenth, twenty-third, thirty-fourth and thirty-sixth Articles; and
then pass an honest and unbiassed judgment, whether such unchristJ^u
opinions are the doctrines of the Church of England. She says, at
the conclusion of the thirty-fourth article, " Every particular or ngiional
church hath authority to ordain, change and abolish, ceremdi^ies or
rites of the church, ordained only by man's authority, so tljiit all
tl)ings be done to edifying." Mr. Darling will not surely now tell us,
with this article before our eyes, that episcoj^acy, however desirable
and in accordance with primitive and universal custom, is essential to
the validity of a church.

■"i

Another inac-urate quotation, so inacciirnte as entirely to alter il«
original meaning, \h in the uppor part of the third page of the Pas-
toral Letter, where Mr. Darling Jisks, "Again, how did it happen that,
250 years ago, such a canon as this was passed by tne synod or con-
vocation of the Church of England ? " Whosoever shall hereafter
affirm or maintain that there are within this realm other meetings,
assemblies, or congregations of the king's born subjects, that may
rightly chpUenge to themselves the name of true and lawful churches,
let him be excommunicated ; and not restored but by the archbishop,
after his repentance and public revocation of such his wicked errort^."
Now, my friends, Mr. Darling asserts this to be tlie eleventh canon of
t603, and urges you to examine and judge for yourselves. I entreat
yqu to do this. Respond to that gentleman's invitation. For, remem-
belL this is not any mere doctrinal argument between Mr. Darling
andi^myself, it is much more ; it is between truth and falsehood, be-
tweelk the bible and the deceitful crafty system of Ignatius Loyola,
between the commandments of God and the traditions of men, between
Prote86^ntism and Popery. Now, let us read this eleventh canon
(having obtained the churchwarden's permission, which seems first of
all to he necessary by the Pastoral Letter), and we shall find it runt;
thus tf" Whosoever shall hereafter affirm or maintain that there are
withinwhis realm other meetings, assemblies, or congregations of the
king's ^orn subjects, than such as by the laws of this land are held
and a^Qtoed, which may rightly challenge to themselves the name of
true ancKlawful churches ; Lt him be excommunicated, and not res-
tored but W the archbishop, after his repentance and public revocation
of such hiaf wicked errors." Notice well the words Mr. Darling h^is
omitted ; »r, as you see, they entirely alter the meaning intended to
be given yok.^ The laws of England hold and allow the Rora^m
Catholic tobe'iklavvful church, by the annual grant to Maynooth alone.
The laws of England hold and allow the Presbyterians, Baptists, and
Independentsy^o be true and lawful churches, by the regium, donurn^
and the annusd grant of ministers' money, as it is called. Conse-
quently, I am ftiUy borne out by this canon of the Church of England
in recognizing my Protestant brethren as belonging to this or that
church. <^

" Anothert^'liurch (Popish) principle is, that there are three differerat
orders qC^inisters in the church, and that they must be ordained by
bishops' deriving their authority by unbroken succession from the
apostles.V (Pastoral Letter, page 3.) Now, except the declaration
that the/Church of England recdgnizes bishops, priests, and deacons,
Mr. D^ing has not in his letter adduced, neither can he adduce (as
he wjpl knows) one single proof from the articles, or liturgy, muclt
less from the bible, to support the doctrine of individual apostolical
succession.

'^■But," says Mr. Norris, " the apostolical succession is a mere fi^'-
mcnt.V Mr. Norris says no such thing ; he says, in page 22 of bis
letter, \indiyidual apostolical succession is a figment." But he holds
and mintains the doci .ine of the apostolical succession of the chrip-
tian ral^iistry generally^ as a truth in accordance with scripture, and
likewise acknowledged by the Church of England. But let us bp-
ware, fny friends, of " setting the church and her ministers in the

It:

if ■
! .*

placo of Chri-l,, tho hojid of tlio churcli, niiJ of aubHtituting" the meanr
of grace for the spirit of gnice."

At the uppor piirt of page 4 of tlie Pustornl Letter occurs another
false quotation. Tlie preface to tho oidiimtion service is made to nav
that, *' It is evident unto all men diligently reading holy scripture and
ancient authors, that from the Apostles' time there have been these
orders of ministers in Chri.st's churcli ; bishops, priests, and' deacons,"
" And no man shall be accounted or taken to be a lawful bishop^ \
priest, or deacon, except ho hath had episcopal consecration or ordi- .
nation." Nov»r turn, my triends, to the preface in question, and youy
will find it says: "And no man shall bo accounted or taken to be k
lawful bishop, priest, or deacon, in the United Church of England ai%4
Ireland^ or sulFercd to execute any of the said functions, except, d^r.,
lie hath had episcopal ordinationJ' What a wide difference is hjlre.
Mr. Darling makes the church to say, no man shall be accounted a
jawful bishop, priest, or deacon, unless opiscopally ordained ; bjut the
church says no such thing, as you yourselves see. She only says they
liliall not be accounted bishops, priests, or deacons of the Clitirch of
England. " O, popery ! how dost thou change men ; thou deBtrbyest
humanity in the most humane, and conscience m the onca most
conscientious."

I have neither time nor inclination to wade througli such a iaass of
inaccuracies and misrepresentations. Can Mr. Darling be s^far on
the road to Rome as to believe the end justices the means? ai^ there-
fore, if he can only make you think his teaching is in accor^ktice wnth
the church, your suspicions will be lulled, and your fears Jassuaged ;
and that by little and little you may be led from the simjple doctrine
of a crucified Saviour to embrace the whole system of popery. I hope
not, but I must warn you to beware ; trust not assertiqa, test every
doctrine by the word of God. Think what Uranmer, Ridley, Hooper.
Litimer, and others of that noble army of martyrs, suffered for our
sakes ; how they laboured that the truth might be oQts. Will you,
my dear friends, have the traditions of men, in howfever modified a
form, your rule of faith ; or the bible ? What is thefidoctrine of the
sacrament of the Lord's supper, as explained in the I^toral Letter,
but a refined transubstantiation ? What is the doctrine of the bap-
tismal regeneration of infants, but making that sacramer^t, instead of
faith^ the chief means of salvation ? W^hat is the doctrinotof indivi-
dual apostolical succession, but leading you to think of the 'creature
more than the creator ; to man, instead of to God ? Wh^t is tlie
definition of the Churcli as therein asserted, but leading men "from the
inward spiritual life, to place dependence on outward forms, Rites and
ceremonies ? Cast away such human superadditions, which get^erate
a spirit of bondage and a subjection to the rudiments of this vtorld,
and believe, with St. Paul, that "By grace ye are saved through f^tlu
and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God." O, weak^-inot
the grand doctrine of Christianity, the comer stone of the Reforri^tioD,
namely, the grace of God in our justification by the alone pirerits of
Josus Christ, by any traditions of men. Allow not for one riy>ment
the bible to be taken from you [read the sixth article of our ohurch],
an<l th*; pretended teaching of this or that uninspired composition to
take its place. The Church of Engbuid's rule of faith is the b«)le, tho
whole bible, and liQthing but the bible. This, blessed be God, is the

ark to protect tis from the deflp waters of unbelief ; this is a lantern
unto our feet, and a light unto our path ; this is our rock and sure
tower of defence againat the craft and subtlety of Uiose lying iu wait
to deceive. i- . , . ./

But it has ever been the endeavcur of the Cliurch of Rome to seek
to beguile our people of their common sense. Bishop Slillingfleet
[Unreasonableness of Separation, preface, p. 19] quotes a letter of ad-
vice given a Romish agent, as to the best way of managing tlio papal
interest in England, the third head of which ia " To make it appear
underhand, how near the doctrine, worship and discipline, of the
Church of England comes to us (of Rome) ; nt Imw little distance her
oranion prayer is from our mass; ;\\u\ tliut the wisest and ablest men
f that way (the Anglican) are so moderate, that they would willingly
~ ne over to us, or at least meet u:4 half way."

t is distressing to resume my reinaiks on the pastoral letter before
usj'^ut duty compels me to do so ; they shall however be very brief.
Mr. parling in page 5, says, he " can shew any of you who will take
tlie ti^ublo to call upon him such passages from the works of Cran-
mer, Latimer, and otiiers of the Reformers as will abundantly satisfy
you Wiat they held the doctrine of baptismal re(jcnerationi'^ Now
this^s simply an evasion, Mr. I), must know that I, as stated in my
letteAfollowing Holy Scripture, do so in its fullest sense, but the <pie8-
tion if will he shew us iu the Reformers later writings, after their minds
weretuliy emancipated, from the Popish thraldom in which they had
jbeen l>^n and educated, for they ^^•cre frail fallible men, groping their
way at ||rst in darkness, struggling against feelings, prejudices and
assooiatiois that had grown with their growth and increased with
their strength, even after light had been vouchsafed to them, some-
times haltijig between two opinions, and sometimes of course erring
in judgment^^pur oidy wonder is that they did so much, but the
hand of God ■v^as with them, teaching, strengthening and supporting
them — will ^wever Mr. Darling shew us in the Reformers later
writings thelr>belief in tlie doctrine of infant hapthmal regeneration^
he can no mote do so than he could shew it you in the Bible, Re-
member wljijSi* I said in my letter about the meaning of the wor<i
regcneratiork the meaning attached to it by the writer of the pastoral
letter is noS distinctly stated, but I should suppose from what lie
incidental^ remarks that lie means renovation of heart and holiness
of lifei^if so what becomes of the doctrine of justification by faith '*

Widi respect to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper Mr. Darling*
arguesyboth fur its reality and spirituality — if it be real it cannot be
apirit^l, and if it be spiritual it cannot be real — there is no mean
between carnality and spirituality, between transubstantiation and
th^ simple bread and wine, at least it is beyond my limited reasonin;^:

wers to understand it. I know it is a blessed means of grace, i

ow my heavenly Master commands me to eat the bread and drink
01 lliecup, in remembrance of his body broken and of liis blood
fihecLand I do so in testimony of my belief in the fullness of that
atoUi^ent which he made forme on Calvary's cross. But, my frends,
our i^urch speaks of the sacraments as seals and pledges, not u*
instnirnents of salvation in

inasmuch as *' faith is confirmed and
ixviir) — as that they ''be /not only badges

grac

a justifying sense — as eminent means of
grace increased" (Art.
or tokens of Christian

hie»»*8 profesflion, I at rather Bure witnoasos and offnotm?! signs of
grace." (Art. xxv.) " Not*' to use the Inin^uago of the l{i«liop of Wiij-
choRter " as if they wore the only sources of divine grace, to the
exclusion of any other; the means, the keys of the kingdom, and
investing tlicia with a saving intrinsic efficacy, not dihtinguishablo by
ordinary nnderstandiiigs from the opus operatum." (Charge 1841.)
Again "If it b intenc'cd to convey an impreswion that any alteration
whatever takes place in the natural substance of the bread and wine,
or that the body and blood of Christ are pre«cut, or can bo received
by communicants except in a spiritual sense, sucli an impression we
conceive to be erroneous for * the body (»f ChriHt is given, taken and]
eaten, in the supper, only after a heavenly and spiritual manner' {Krii
xx/iii.) and so far dangerous, as necessarily leading to the doctriiy
of transubsti-mtiation, for if once we believe any change to be effect
in the natural substance of bread and wine, the main argument agaftnst
transubstantiation seems to bo abandoned. The same authority which
is supposed capable of producing such a partial change, migl/t bo
justly conftidered capabh of producing that total change, in^ the
very body and blood of Christ, which is lield by the lioman ^tho-
lics." (Bishop of Worcester's charge, 1842.) And as our qHurch
again says: " Neither can he be devout, that otherwise doth prestime,
than it was given by the author. We nust then take heed, lest if the
MEMORY it bo made a «acr//?ce; lest of a communion it be inade a
private eating. ' " Herein tliou ueedest no other man's help, ncr other
sacrifice or oblation, no mcrijicing priest^ no mass, no me;ims esta-
blished by man's invention." — llomily concerning the Sacraient.

With rewpect to th^ surplice, it is a matter of perfect indifference
whether a man preaches in a black, white, or any othtrcolwed gown,
or no gown at all, but my objection to its use in the puljjSt is this, it
is the mark or symbol of a certain party in the Church whose sym-
pathies to say the least are towards Rome. Most of ^ou my friends
never saw a clergyman preach in his surplice before th« last twenty
years ; it was occasionally used in some of the cathedral churches,
but never in parish churches, it is an innovation and Mii' Darling must
well know it is. The church commands the surplice to^ worn only
when " the minister is saying the public prayers, or mikiistering the
sacraments or other rites of the church" and at no other time.

The practice of turning from the people is the remains cr«A Jewish
superstition, afterward embraced by the Romanists and Mahoafedans,
it is superstitious and childish in its origin, and rude and illmahnered
in its practice, displaying at the same time a weak and trifling| mind.

At the top of page 8 Mr. Darling says, " We all I suppo84. think
that the chancel is worthy of more respect than other j)arts ofStho
church, seeing there the highest and holiest mystery of our faitll is
regularly celebrated." (

It perplex' me to find out why the chancel should be holier Uubi
any other paiL of the church, especially the porch, for in the latt^in
the old churches usually stood the font for baptism. At all (#enfs.
if there be any holiness about the matter the place wherever th'i^ font
is situated, must be as holy as where the communion t;ible is jJkced,
for certainly neither the Church of England nor the IMble draws fw,
distinction between the importance of the two sacraments. \ '>
church asserts their equality clearly and without hesitation. ,

,(■1

of
n-
)«
id

>y
I.)

At pajjjo of ihe pastoml letter Mr. HuHinji; wiya, that when I u.is
vour minister, for siu'h I suppose lie nu'iins by the word " Parnon,"
Mul» word being wliollv inapplicable in this country, " I t&»'«jht, those
• loctrinosund uphold (hose j)racticeH." Ctin anything be more untrue.
I as you well know did not use the .surplice in the pulpily J did not
imu my buck to you in uny part of the liturgy, J. never tKUght bap-
tismal regeneration, I never taught i«(/i<'/(/Ma/ Apostolical Sut^cesnion,
and this Mr. Darling must know, as soon after his taking charge of
the congregation several soceeded from tlio chun-h uololy on account
vf those very practices and doctrines being introduced, and cojjsidered
Uy Uiom unscriptural novelties.

C Mr. Darling would throw discredit upon my estimation of the
ntbnber of perverts to the Church of Rome ; 1 am confident I am
far'^nder the mark. The Baltimore Catholic Mirror rocrntly }»ub-
liah^d til : names of one hundred and eighty-five English clergymen
who Vjave fallen away since 184'2. I have also a list of over two
hundred graduates of Oxford and Cambridge who have seceeded ;
and wMen we remember the lay perversions at liugb}', Manchester,
Glasgow, Lond«)n and other towns wore reckoned by hundreds in each
])lac% add to these the perversions lav Mid clerical in the United
States* and elsewhere, I nm very cure the number will far exceed five
thoua^d.

Mr.^Darling doubts whether the average income of a Colonial
Bishop]^ £2000 sterling a year. The Bishop of Calcutta receives
£6000, Jj[imaica, Madras, and Bombay £4000 each. Sydney, Bar-
badoes, Antigua and the Leeward Islands £2,600 each. Indeed there
are only tw^ bishops, namely, Ruperts Lnnd and Sierra Leone wlio
nominally rpceive but £600, but tliis is nearly doubled by each hold-
ing a GovernHaQnt Colonial Chaplaincy at the same time — to these
iacomes allowances to a consiJerable amount are to be added.

At the bottoni of page 11 of the pastoral, Mr. Darling repeatA
again a false cmotation from my " letter to the Protestant* of Canada,"
because I thereyi state my conviction that " the doctrines (or articles)
and formularifls are upon the whole Scriptural and admirably au.tpted
to the wants ymd feelings of mankind." And > I deliberately repeat
in my opink^ they are ; but mind, Mr. Darling in quoting my words
always oiy^ one important reservation namely, " taken as a whole^
How tlij[s can happen so frequently I cannot say, it certainly must be
done dflteignedly or through gross carelessness, in either case it shews
that littJe dependence can be placed upon the extracts he produces
from o^er authorities. ]3ecause I consider there are objectionable
wor^a and phrases in the prayer book which I should gladly see
remedied, and they are but few, but still they disfigure that noble
conjpilation, and are a source of much , misunderstanding and some-
times contention, am I for thus thinking to be considered an enemy
^of ray church and order — far from it — Mr. Darling knows well that
maTiy^pf the most eminent divines of the Church of England have
wishe^ these things amended, but diflBculties have always stood in the
>\ay, which it is t-^ be hoped before long will be removed by tlie
churchienjoying synodal action. • . •

In qpnclusion I can only express ray regret that any controveroy
should, have arisen between Mr. Darling and myself, but I cannot
allowjfira to declare that he " teaches honestly and truly what the

{

V V J '

. 10

Church of England holds to be true." If his teaching is in accord-
ance with the doctrines and practices defended by him in his letter he
has no businebs to remain a single day longer a member of the Church
of England ; he has nothing in common with her, for where will ho
find the doctrine of individual Apostolical Succession in the articles
or prayer book ? AVbere will he find the real presence in the sacra-
ment of the Lord's supper ? Where will he find his definition of the
Church ? Where will ]ie find directions to turn from the people 'i
Where to wear the surplice in the pulpit? Where the peculiar holi- y
ness of the chancel ? Search these things my friends like the noblf'^
Bereans of old, and see if they be so. AH these doctrines and pni(<*
ticos are held and practised by the Church of Rome but not by tU*
Church of England. Indeed to use the words of that great and g^Bd
man the present bishop of Calcutta, " The attempt to set up Catholic
tradition, and the teaching of the Church, as the joint rule of ^ith,
directly tends to bring in, what the Apostle terms, another GSspel.''^
(Galatians 1. 6.) /

" A fearful charge this, and which I am persuaded the leaders in
this new way are far from, designing ; but which appears to m^from
an attentive perusal of their writings, to be the inevitable restolt of
the course they are pursuing." f

" The whole hangs together — it institutes another gospel — ^it*otnakes
man his own Saviour — it repeata the very errors of the Gklatian
churches, which drew forth St. Paul's awful denunciations-^it over-
turns the grand peculiarity and centre tenet of all the^reformed
churches — it is a covenant of works, not a salvation by grajbe through
faith — it is a sort of mitigated law, in which sincerity, good intentions,
and imperfect works, done through grace, are accepted^^y virtue of
Christ's merits, in the place of perfect obedience." ^ ^.m-^i^

" JSTor is it diflScult to trace the steps of the processf in their minds.
When once we get into a false way, we are never 8af(^one moment.
The Spirit of God is grieved, and leaves us to an in^tuated under-
standing ; and there is nothing which man may not(' then embrace
and defend. So it is here." :..»„■... V .,..,

" I. The traditions of men having gone on working, ac I have pre-
viously described, till they brought in a detrimental 4«ligion ; the
descent to another gospel was gradual and not easity obsiwred. It
sprang naturally from the darkness of the human mind aniff an in-
creasing neglect of the one inspired rule of faith — the bible — the
inevitable result of the whole scheme." V

" II. The settlement of our church at the blessed Reformatio^ would
not long stand in the way. A perverted taste soon learned to under-
value the Reformers, to disown the name of Protestant, and to a^ow
a preference for the imperfectly purified formularies of Henry VlII.'
All this has accordingly been done, and don*^ openly." ^

" III. Charitable concessions to the apostate Church of Rom^^ fol-
lowed; and as many as possible of her tenets ^nd practiceafWere
commended and restored, notwithstanding that oui' Reformeri had
swept them away as fond and superstitious." /

" IV. The result, as to the charitable and affectionate regar(f which
our first Reformers entertained for their sister churches on the continent,
may be anticipated. Rome, and not the Reformed Churches, is the
object of veneration. Episcopacy is accounted, in the teeth fef our

articles (nineteenth nnd twenty-second), to be absolutely, and under all
circumstances, essential to the very existence of a church, and the vali-
dity of the sacrainonts. A great stress is laid upon a visible and
unbroken material succession to the apostolic ofice, on which kind of
succession our articles are silent ; whilst succession to the apostolic
doctrines^ on which <]octnnes they largely insist, is taken for granted,
without proof, to bo uniformly maintained. It follows that all the
Reformed Churches and communities of Christians, though embraced^
and intended to bo embraced within the limits of the articles to which
I have alluded ; yet if, from whatever causes, they have not retained
the exact episcopal polity, are treated not with the consideration of
our great Reformers, but in the exclusive and condemnatory temper
of ^ later age. Charily and the communion of the saints are thus aa
muc^ violated, as the fundamental truths and simple worship and
ordef-pf the gospel of Christ."

"V^One obstacle remained: our noble thirty-nine articles of reli-
gion, dJ^wn up on purpose to oppose and condemn the chief errors in
(loctrin* and practice of the Romish Church. Porte.: tous as is the
fact, , they have been openly assailed by one of the most dishonorable
efforts, of sophistry which, I must say, has ever been witnessed in the-
ological discussions ; and which forms a melancholy proof of what a
learned^nd e.vrnest and able writer is capable, when under the baneful
influen(i<5 ^^ ^ Iheory." (Ordination Sermon, 1841.)

This ii^a lon.g extract, but I cannot forbear inserting it ; and when
I assure you the present Archbishops of Canterbury, York and
Armagh, with the Bishops of Manchester, Hereford, and many others,
use language precisely to the same effect, I leave it with you, my
friends, to thtpk whether I or Mr. Darling, to use his words at page 9
of the Pastoral Letter, " have counted so largely upon what he must
suppose your ignorance, that he would persuade you that these i e
the doctrines and practices of the Church of England." We have
here a fearful and melancholy proof liow false doctrines and the desire
to support a favc^-ito tlieory will lead a man astray. Never, I assure
you, and you hAve the means to judge for yourselves, has it been my
lot to review £V document so full of erroneous statements and garbled
quotations ; but I wish to say ns little as possible on the subject — it is
too painful. The prayer book is in the hands of you all ; judge
prayerfully', calmly and dispassionately.

It is n^t iny intention to notice any further attacks on my pamph-
let ; but if Mr. Darling, or any other person properly qualified, shall
desire it^I am willing to meet such person in public discussion in any
part of Uppei' Canada, for one qf more days, to prove — First, That
the doctrines ;nid practices mentioned by Mr. Darling are not those of
the Church of England, — Secondly, That they are all maintained by
the Church of Rome, — and Thirdly, That they receive no support
from the bible, but are all opposed to it.

I deeply regret to say that in my opinion Mr. Darling is one of the
number of those "rash teachers who seem to think it enough, here
and there to protest against certain popish con-uptions ; but they love
to lead tlieir disciples to the very confines of that treacherous ground —
fellowsl^'p with Rome — they encourage a taste and liking for the pros-
pect — tqcy Biiidy to make its boundaries less distinct and perceptible,
and they^secm intent upon smoothing the w ay and affording facilities

1;.

for passing on from our own side to tho other. If this be not dan-
gerous to the purity of our church, and of the faith which has been
established among us by the blood of martyrs, it is hard to say what
is ; and if it be reconcilable with that allegiance to which all her min-
isters have over and over pledged themselves, then have we cleanse<l
our sanctuary in vain." Bishop of Landaflf's charge 1842. But my
friends I hope we have not so learned Christ. " The whole history of
the church, in every age, tends to prove the utter inefficiency of a
ministry which is not faithful in honouring the Saviour by a full exhi-
bition of his grace and love, in pointing to the light which beanyl
from the cross, and in proclaiming openly, ' Behold the Lamb of Godt*
Tho experiment has been often tried. It has been tried upon indivi-
duals ; it has been tried upon parishes ; it has been tried upon whole
countries; and many a conscientious pen has been constrain^ to
write the record of its utter failure." Bishop of Winchester's clf^rgo,
1841. Applying indeed the language of the celebrated Juniusf-wben
speaking of our political rights, to our present subject : " W^ owe it
to our ancestors, to preserve entire those rights, which they hate deli-
vered to our care. We owe it to our posterity, not to sutfef their
dearest inheritance to be destroyed. But if it were possible for «a to
be insensible to these sacred claims, there is yet an obligation binding
upon ourselves, from which nothing can acquit us ; a personal fcaterest
which we cannot surrender. To alienate even our own rightl would
be a crime — but if life be the bounty of heaven, we scornftmy reject
the noblest part of the gift, if we consent to surrender, that certain rule
of living, without which the condition of human nature^ris not only
miserable but contemptible."

Let us, (then) my dear friends, " stand fast in one sjplrit, with one
mind," striving for the faith of the gospel. It is only by such union that
we can reasonably hope to " put to silence the ignorance of foolish men."
When will we forget to " strive about words to no profit, but to the
subverting of the hearers." When will we forgeu to enter upon
" foolish questions which, as of old, do but gender Strifes." Let u;^
strive to "hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bon(!hof j^eace, and
in righteousness of life." " Dwell not upon the exterrtal and ritual
parts of our religious service, and lose sight of their inner meaning
and spiritual life ; deface not the brightest glory of the^urch, by
forgetting the continual presence of her Lord ;" substitute not for tlio
worship in spirit and in truth, the observance of "days and| months,
and times and years" — for the freedom of the gospel, a spirit of bond-
age — for the ways of pleasantness and the peace which paaeeth all
understanding, the valley of Baca and a body of death. Let*^ your
Christianity be a living active principle, looking alone to the a^athor
and finisher of your faith, " for the Lord God is a sun and shield ,^iind
no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly ;" taill,
having finished your course with joy, " an abundant entrance may be
ministered unto you, into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ." ■ ''

N Believe me, my dear friends, '^

Yours faithfully, ^

W. H. NORRIS.
Scarboro', May 14th, 1863. ♦

"--**