In respect to the ancient Church, he shows that the primitive "Church had a very definite line by which she yielded full obedience to the temporal Sovereign, without giving up to them the trust committed to her."

"It is not lawful for me," writes the Emperor Theodosius, "not of the list of the most holy Bishops, to mingle in ecclesiastical questions." "It is not lawful," says the elder Valentinian, "for me, whose place is among the laity, to busy myself with matters of faith." When the Arian Bishop Auxentius, for whom Valentinian the younger wished to extort one of the churches of Milan, proposed to dispute with St. Ambrose before the Emperor and "selected Judges," the Emperor convened St. Ambrose before him by a tribune, requiring him to choose judges. The dispute was to be in the Emperor's Consistory, the Emperor to arbitrate. St. Ambrose declined, assigning as his reason, that in matters of faith where ecclesiastical persons were concerned, the judges should be both competent by office and qualified by profession; in other words, Bishops ought to be judged by Bishops. Who can deny, he adds, but that in matters of faith Bishops judge even Christian Emperors, so far are they from being judged by them? The Emperor Honorius declared that if anything was to be determined between prelates in matters of religion, the judgment ought to have been Episcopal." The language of the Emperor Basil isI say it is not permitted to any layman whatsoever in any manner to move questions as to ecclesiastical subjects."

Mr. Justice Watermeyer has quoted in court here the law of Valentinian II., Theodosius and Arcadius in the Theodosian Code. "Questions of the Christian religion ought to be litigated before that judge who is the chief (Præsul) of all the the priests in those parts." And has pointed out that Justinian forbade the cognisance of such causes on the part of secular tribunals (Nov. 83, C. I.) "If the offence be ecclesiastical, needing ecclesiastical chastisement and penalty, let the Bishop give decree; the judge of the province by no means mixing in the cause. For we will that the civil judges shall have no cognisance of such things, since it is meet that they should be ecclesiastically examined." And, again, "If the cause be purely ecclesiastical, let the civil judge have no connection with such inquiry, but let the Bishop finally decide;" and again, "Ecclesiastical causes shall be heard only by the Bishops, or Metropolitans, or the Synods, or the Patriarchs."

Such were the powers lodged in or claimed by the emperors of the primitive Church, or those who acted under them, which our canons declare to be the measure of the power belonging to the Crown in our day. After citing other precedents, he says, In accordance with this says Mr. Gladstone,-"It was a fundamental idea of the Reformation, that the spiritualty was the proper instrument, according to the Constitution, for the administration of Church affairs;" and again, "It was an understood principle and a regular usage of the Constitution that ecclesiastical laws should be administered by ecclesiastical judges." These were the securities on which the Church relied. He thus states the real issue: This"that a lay court, composed I know not how, or of whom, it may be of men of any religion or of no religion, summoned and selected by a Minister of the day, shall claim the right to send back, possibly in consequence of some informality or technicality, one condemned by the formal decision of the Church here, and the voice of the Church everywhere, of greater and more numerous heresies than have ever been imputed to a Bishop of the Church before-to rule over a portion of the Churchto ordain whom he will to its ministry-to witness against that faith which once he upheld. Were I to acquiesce in such an act, or the rightfulness of such a claim, how could I answer before that Lord, the custody of whose Church in this land has been chiefly committed unto me-but whose cause and truth I should have betrayed-in the Judgment Day? At any cost or hazard, this Church must be kept clear of all complicity with deadly heresy. It must not allow the wolf to devour the flock-false teachers in its name and with its authority to occupy its highest posts; it must, let who will gainsay. and let the consequences be what they may, openly and unflinchingly confess Christ before men. As the Church acted during the Arian heresy, so must we now, if called to do so. "They are wont to say," says St. Jerome, "the Emperor communicates with us-actest thou against the Emperor? Despisest thou the Emperor's mandate ?" They obeyed God rather than man in a matter wherein the faith was at stake, and we, I trust, are prepared to do the same."

Dr. Colenso now determined to return to his former Diocese, Natal. On the 27th of August, 1865, he sailed in the Verulam. Before leaving England, a private fund was raised for his benefit, amounting to £3,300, or over $16,000. Among the contributers, were the Dean of Westminster (Stanley)! Dr. Temple of Rugby, the Astronomer Royal; Mr. George Grote, Mr. F W. Newman, Sir John Bowring, Mr. Babbage, Lord Amberley, Lord Belper, the Rev. W. Rogers, of Bishopsgate; Sir J. Emerson Tennent, Sir B. Brodie, Bart.; Mr. Darwin, Mr. C. Dickens, &c.

Yet out of the whole number of contributors, comprising such avowed infidels as Newman and Darwin! there were only about forty clergymen. It should be noted, also. that Dr. Colenso has already commenced a suit in Chancery, to recover his salary from the "Colonial Bishopric's Fund." To help him prosecute that suit, his friends have contributed to a fund; and among the subscribers are Dr. Hinds, the ex-Bishop of Norwich; the Deans of Westminster and St. Paul's; Dr. Temple, of Rugby; the Revs. W. Rogers, Rector of Bishopsgate; S. Hansard, Rector of Bethnal-green; and Professor Jowett.

To show what sort of a Christian Missionary Dr. Colenso is, before leaving England, he read a long paper at the Anthropological Society in defence of Christian Missions; but he defends them on the ground of their civilizing rather than Christianizing influence, and complains of the attempts made to indoctrinate the heathen with the principles of the fall of man, the inspiration of the Scriptures, and the necessity of faith in Christ unto salvation. Mr. Windwood Reade considered that this was the only good missionary address he had ever heard. Dr. Livingstone replied very convincingly, though somewhat contemptuously, to the statements made by Mr. Reade and Captain Burton, at the meeting of the London Missionary Society.

Dr. Colenso reached Natal November 6th. The clergy of his former Diocese had already formally given their allegiance to the Metropolitan in the following action, and also repudiating Dr. Colenso as their Bishop:

At a meeting of the clergy (commonly known as the clergy of the Church of England in Natal) held at St. John's Church, Pine-town, in the county of Durban, colony of Natal, on the 31st of May, 1865-present the Very Rev. the Dean of Pieter Maritzburg (presiding), the Ven. Archdeacon Fearne, the Revs. Canon Callaway, W. H. C. Lloyd, F. S. Robinson, J. Barker, W. O. Newnham, J. Walton, W. A. Elder, W. Baugh, and J. J. F. Neville Rolfe; present also, J. W. Turnbull, registrar,-it was (1) resolved that

As at a meeting in the Palace of Lambeth, in the year of our Lord God 1853, of many Bishops of England and of her Majesty's colonies, presided over by the Most Rev. the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, it was resolved that the Churches in South Africa should be governed by the Bishop, commonly called Bishop of Capetown, as Metropolitan; and, further, as her Majesty the Queen, moved by pious zeal for the glory of God and extension of the Church of Christ. did, in letters patent dated December, 1853, declare her royal desire that the Bishop, commonly called Bishop of Capetown, should be Metropolitan Bishop over the Bishops, Clergy, and laity of the Churches in South Africa: and further, as by the late judgment of the Privy Council, the legal coercive powers supposed to have been conferred by the said letters patent are declared to be null and void: and further, as the spiritual power of the Bishop of Capetown, as Metropolitan, is in no ways affected by such judgment;

We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, being Priests and Deacons of the Holy Catholic Church ministering in the colony of Natal (commonly called Priests and Deacons of the English Church, or of the United Church of England and Ireland), in order to give validity in her Majesty's courts to the pious intention of her most gracious Majesty the Queen, and for the purpose of testifying to the Right Rev. the Bishop our consent to, and acceptance of, the Metropolitan government of the Bishop of Capetown, do, by these presents, declare and make known that we have received, and do receive, the most reverend father in God, Robert Gray, D.D., commonly called Bishop of Capetown, as our Metropolitan, and do and will render to him obedience in the same degree and after the same manner as the Priests and Deacons of the Church of England, in the ecclesiastical province of Canterbury, in the king

dom of England, are bound to obey the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, until such time as in a Provincial Synod the organization of the Church in South Africa shall have been settled, and such organization be approved and confirmed by the Lord Archbishop of the province of Canterbury.

James Green, M.A., Dean; Thomas Gleadow Fearne, Archdeacon of Durban; Henry Callaway, M.D., Canon; William A. Elder, Rector St. Thomas, Verulam; James Walton, Rector St. John's, Pine-town: W. O. Newnham, M.A.; Jos. Barker, Rector, Umzinto; Frederic Sydney Robinson, M.A., Priest; Walter Baugh, Missionary, Umlazi; John James Fawcett Neville Rolfe, Deacon, Curate of Bell Air.

2. Resolved

That the Very Rev. the Dean communicate the above resolution to the Most Rev. the Metropolitan, and to the Lords Archbishops of the United Church of England and Ireland.

3. Resolved

That the following declaration of the Clergy and lay members of the Church in Natal, whose names are hereunto subscribed, made in the cathedral Church of Pieter Maritzburg on the 19th May, 1864, when assembled in conference with the Most Rev. the Metropolitan, together with such other signatures as have been this day appended, be transmitted to the Lords Archbishops of the United Church of England and Ireland.

Declaration.

We, the undersigned. Clergy and lay members of the Church of England. being satisfied that Dr. Colenso has widely departed from the faith of the Church, and that he has been righteously deprived of his office by the Metropolitan. hereby deelare our fixed resolve that we will no longer acknowledge him as our Bishop.

James Green, M.A., Dean; Thos. G. Fearne, Archdeacon of Durban; Henry Callaway, M.D., Canon; W. J. Newnham, M.A.; W. A. Elder, Rector of Verulam; James Walton, Rector of Pine-town; R. Robinson, Priest; Walter Braugh, Missionary, Umlazi; Joseph Barker, Missionary, Umzinto; Alfred W. L. Rivett, Acting Colonial Chaplain, and Incumbent of Addington; J. W. Turnbull, Samuel Williams, Churchwardens of St. Peter's Cathedral Church; G. H. Wathen, Treasurer of the Finance Board of the Diocese; G. M. M'Leod, Churchwarden of Byrne; Henry Pinson, James Raw, Churchwardens of St. Andrew's; John Charles Earl, Churchwarden of Christ Church, Addington, Pieter Maritzburg, 19th May, 1864; Frederic Sydney Robinson, M.A., Priest; John James Fawcett Neville Rolfe, Deacon, Pine-town, 31st May, 1865.

On Dr. Colenso's arrival, the Dean of Maritzburg and the Churchwardens protested against his use of the Church, but Dr. Colenso applied to the Supreme Court, and obtained an interdict, by which the Dean and Churchwardens were compelled to open the Church on Nov. 17, to Dr. Colenso, at the usual hours. Full Services however were held at other hours by the Clergy. At Dr. Colenso's Service the scene was a most painful one. Of regular attendants few were present. The crowd had the aspect almost of a mob. A Mr. Tenneson, a Dane, is the only Clergyman who adheres to him The Clergy of the Diocese have again protested against his attempted exercise of Episcopal functions, as follows:

"To John William Colenso, D.D., by Letters Patent designated Lord Bishop of Natal,.

"We, the undersigned, understanding from your letter dated London, 9th of June, 1865, addressed to the Clergy and Laity of the United Church of England and Ireland in the Diocese of Natal, that, on your arrival in the Colony, you propose to assume Episcopal authority over the body of Christians therein commonly called by that name, and to which we belong, beg to state that we cannot recognize your claim to exercise such authority, or to interfere in any wise with our Clergy, ourselves, or the property of the Church. Her Majesty's Privy Council has judicially decided on your petition that we are in the Colonies of the Crown in South Africa a voluntary association only, in the eyes of the law, and that it rests with ourselves

to make and execute our own rules, provided only that in so doing we do not anything contrary to the law of the land. The Crown, however, in Letters Patent granted to our Bishops, marked out a course which, seeking the well-being of the Church, it desired us to follow. That course has been loyally followed by the Bishops of Capetown, Grahamstown, St. Helena, and the Orange Free State, and they have deposed you, on account of your teaching, from the exercise of your spiritual office, by a sentence in which we concur. That sentence has also been manifestly accepted by the Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of England, to whom we look with the greatest reverence and affection.

"This being the case, we must regard any attempt on your part to act in opposition to the judgment of the Church, expressed so frequently, so distinctly, and in such various ways, as an act interfering with those liberties as a voluntary associa tion, and those rights as loyal subjects of the Crown, so distinctly secured to us by the Privy Council.

J. Green, M.A., Dean; J. G. Fearne, M.A., Archdeacon of Durban; F. S.
Robinson, M.A., Priest; C. H. Dickinson; S. Williams; P. Paterson; C. H.
Jenkyn."

At last, the Bishop of Capetown, Metropolitan, has addressed to Dr. Colenso the following final letter:

Bishopscourt, Dec. 13, 1865.

My Lord,-The time has, alas, arrived, when, in accordance with the following resolution unanimously adopted by the Synod of Bishops of this Province, I am bound, after due and repeated admonition, to separate you by formal sentence from the Communion of the Church:

"This Synod is of opinion that, should the Bishop of Natal presume to exercise Episcopal functions in the Diocese of Natal, after the sentence of the Metropolitan shall have been notified to him, without an appeal to Canterbury, and without being restored to his office by the Metropolitan, he will be ipso facto excommunicate: and that it will be the duty of the Metropolitan, after due admonition, to pronounce the formal sentence of excommunication."

Before taking this last step, thus enjoined upon me, which I am sure you will do me the justice to believe must be on every ground a most painful one, I desire to express my readiness to adopt any of the following courses, which, if assented to by you, may enable me to escape it :

I will submit both the judgment and the sentence which I have pronounced upon the charges brought against you, and which have been agreed to by the other Bishops of this Province, for final adjudication either

1

I. To his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, to be heard by him, with the assistance of such Bishops of his Province, as he may see fit to summon.

I put this prominently forward, because it seems to have been the course decided upon by the Crown and the Church, at the foundatiou of the See, and marked out in the Letters Patent.

Or, II. To a Synod, or other gathering of the Bishops of England; or of the United Church.

Or, II. To a Synod, or other gathering, of such of the Bishops of our Communion throughout the empire, as can be assembled in London, for the hearing of the case, upon the invitation of his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury.

And I will use earnest endeavors to obtain a hearing of the case at the earliest possible period by which ever tribunal you may prefer.

I cannot consent to submit my sentence to any other body, except the Bishops of the Church:

I. Because I believe that they are the only persons who, by the Word of God and the Canons of the Church, are competent to set it aside.

II. Because it is expressly provided in the Letters Patent founding the several Sees of this Province, that the gravest Spiritual causes in this portion of the Church shall be finally decided by Bishops only.

III. Because there is no law, either of the Church or of the State, which empowers Her Majesty, either in person or by deputy, to hear and decide spiritual causes for Colonial Churches, which are declared to be purely voluntary religious associations.

Should you, within a week from the receipt of this letter, signify your readiness to the Dean of Maritzburg to abide by the decision of any parties whom I have named, he will stay the issue of the sentence. But if not, he will, under my instructions, publish without further reference to me the last sad formal document.

I remain, with the deepest pain and sorrow,

(Signed)

Your faithful servant,

R. CAPETOWN, Metropolitan.

EXCOMMUNICATION OF DR. COLENSO.-At last, as a fitting termination of these painful and mortifying scenes, but one which reflects the highest honor on the English Church, we record the following formal excommunication of Dr. Colenso, which took place on Sunday, the 5th of January.

At the Cathedral of Maritzburg, at the early service, the Dean read out the sentence as follows:

"In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: We. Robert, by Divine permission, Metropolitan of the Church in the Province of Capetown, in accordance with the decision of the Bishops of the Province in Synod assembled, do hereby, it being our office and our brief to do so, by the authority of Christ committed unto us, pass upon John William Colenso, D.D., the sentence of the greater excommunication, thereby separating him from the Communion of the Church of Christ so long as he shall obstinately and impenitently persist in his heresy, and claim to exercise the office of a Bishop within the Province of Capetown. And we do hereby make known to the faithful in Christ, that, being thus excluded from all Communion with the Church, he is, according to our Lord's command, and in conformity with the provisions of the 33rd of the Articles of Religion, 'to be taken of the whole multitude of the faithful, as a heathen man and publican.'-(Matt. xviii. 17, 18.) "Given under our hand and seal, this sixteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.

"R. CAPETOWN."

This unhappy affair has called forth several public papers of great value and importance. These we cannot give, for want of space. Among these, is an Address to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and another to the Metropolitan of South Africa, from the Provincial Synod of Canada, at its Sessions at Montreal, Sept. 13th-20th, 1865. Their Address to the Archbishop of Canterbury, opens up a new subject, of which we hope to hear more by and by,-" That in view of the recent decisions of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, in the cases of the Essays and Reviews, and of the Bishops of Capetown and Natal-decisions calculated to call in doubt the authenticity of the historical books of the Bible and the doctine of Future Punishment-his Grace, in order to comfort the souls of the faithful, would be pleased to call a General Synod of the Bishops of the Anglican Church, to be attended by presbyters and laymen learned in ecclesiastical lore, to take such measures as might best provide for the present distress; and that the Synod be presided over by his Grace."

Among these papers, are Letters from the Archbishop of Canterbury, to the Dean of Maritzburg, and to Dr. Colenso. In the former he writes,-"I do not see how you can accept Dr. Colenso as your Bishop, without identifying yourselves with his errors. * * As to the appointment of a Bishop, the Church in South Africa has been pronounced, by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, to be just as independent as any of the non-conformist communities; and under this view is, I conclude, competent to elect its own Bishop without reference to the authorities in England, either civil or ecclesiastical." In the latter, he says: "I have no hesitation in avowing that, according to my belief, you have been duly and canonically deposed from your spiritual office, and I must decline to hold myself responsible to you for entertaining such a belief. I have never obtruded this opinion upon others in my capacity as Primate; but I have not hesitated to avow my private opinion when it has been sought for. * No one can more deeply deplore than I do the present unhappy condition of the Diocese of Natal; but let God be the judge with whom rests the responsibility of this lamentable division in a regularly constituted branch of the Church of Christ."

*

Another of these papers is the response of the Bishop of Capetown to the action