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 CHARGE 
 
 DELIVERED TO THE 
 
 CLERGY OF THE DIOCESE 
 
 SALISBURY, 
 
 EDWARD DENISON, D.D. 
 
 BISHOP OF SALISBURY, 
 
 AT HIS SECOND VISITATION, SEPTEMBER, 1842. 
 
 lira (jflfition. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR J. G. F. & J. RIVINGTON, 
 
 ST. Paul's church yard, 
 
 AND WATERLOO PLACE, PALL MALL. 
 
 1842.
 
 TO THE REVEREND THE 
 
 CLERGY OF THE DIOCESE OF SALISBURY, 
 
 PUBLISHED IN COMPLIANCE WITH THEIR REQUEST, 
 
 IS 
 
 AFFECTIONATELY AND RESPECTFULLY 
 
 DEDICATED, 
 
 BY TIIF.IR FAITHFUL BROTHER AND SERVANT, 
 
 E. SARUM. 
 
 Palace, Salisbuut, 
 Sept. 23, IS42.
 
 ja^l 

 
 CHARGE, 
 
 My Rev. Brethren, 
 
 Three years have passed away since our last meeting 
 — three years during which our Lord and Master has 
 continued us, who are here present, in this our state 
 of trial — years, of which hereafter we shall have to 
 give account to Him, and as to which it much be- 
 hoves us, even now, in secret and searching enquiry, 
 to examine our own consciences, with the knowledge 
 that his eye is upon us. We may be well assured 
 that if we could read the secrets of our hearts as 
 they are seen by Him, many a fair outward appear- 
 ance would be changed into deformity — much that 
 has had praise of men, would fall under condemna- 
 tion ; and even that which has been best, would be 
 found to be so tainted with imperfection, and spotted 
 with sinfulness, as to be made meet for his accept- 
 ance, only through the cleansing of the blood of
 
 Jesus ; and capable of reward only through nis un- 
 bounded goodness, and for the sake of the same all- 
 sufficient Saviour. It is in order that we may profit 
 by his mercy that He has prolonged our probation, 
 while others have been taken to their account. 
 He has by the various workings of his Providence 
 essayed to quicken us in our calling, and to draw us 
 nearer to Himself. It may be that He has done 
 this by blessings which we have not deserved. It 
 may be by bitter sorrow — by sharp and cutting 
 anguish piercing as a sword through our very souls. 
 But it was his work. It was his fatherly hand : and 
 if we know not what He doeth now ; yet if we follow 
 on where He leadeth, and profit by his teaching, we 
 shall know hereafter. But that we may know this 
 hereafter, we must be learning the lesson now : and 
 it is well therefore to consider, whether we have 
 made any progress therein during the lapse of a 
 period of time, no inconsiderable portion of the life 
 of any man, and in the case of many of us, probably 
 a large part of what remains of our probation. 
 
 Let us not then, my brethren, deem this our Visi- 
 tation solely an enquiry into the outward exercise of 
 our ministry, and its effects ; but a season too, when 
 each is especially called upon to examine what his 
 state is as regards that life, which is hid with Christ 
 in God. It is as this is healthful and vigorous, tbat 
 all will be well. The real springs alike of personal 
 acceptance, and of ministerial usefulness, are those 
 which are hidden from the eyes of men, though
 
 known to God ; and which centre in and issue forth 
 from that Saviour, who is the sole source of our 
 spiritual life ; and from whom, by the influences of 
 the Holy Ghost, our comfort, and strength, and use- 
 fulness must be derived. In proportion as we are 
 sensible of our sinfulness and weakness, as we live 
 by faith in intimate communion with Him, seeking 
 the help of his Spirit by earnest prayer, and cherish- 
 ing his grace by heavenly meditation, and steady 
 obedience, his life will be ours : his strength will be 
 made perfect in our weakness : his ordinances will 
 be to us the sure and effectual channels of his grace: 
 and our ministry, being pervaded with his life-giving 
 Spirit, will be made the means of turning the hearts 
 of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just ; and of 
 building up in faith and righteousness a people 
 acceptable unto God. 
 
 Our first, therefore, and chief enquiry regards our 
 hidden life, whether this be indeed with Christ, and 
 whether it be continually so more and more, as we 
 advance in our trial. But this examination is to be 
 made by each man for himself. The outward and 
 visible marks and tokens of his ministry, though 
 ordinarily they will in some measure correspond with 
 the inward character, are yet no certain indications 
 of its state : for the exercise of mere gifts may be 
 made by God useful to others, though it is only when 
 they are sanctified, and so made graces, that they can 
 be truly blessed to ourselves. 
 
 The judgment of man, however, can only reach to
 
 8 
 
 what is external. It is of this that I must speak ; 
 trusting in faith that where the outward signs of the 
 work of God are seen, there his life-giving Spirit has 
 not been withholden : but that diligence in the work 
 of the ministry springs, as it ought to do, from a 
 heart devoted to Him. 
 
 And when in order to this I consider, both the 
 general aspect of things in the Church, and that of 
 my own diocese, so far as I am enabled to judge of it, 
 either from ordinary observation and report, or from 
 the more particular investigation which I have insti- 
 tuted with a view to this Visitation, I may be per- 
 mitted to rejoice that there does appear to be among 
 the Clergy a continually increasing appreciation of the 
 responsibilities of their holy calling, and a more dili- 
 gent endeavour to approve themselves neither faith- 
 less nor slothful servants of their heavenly Master. 
 
 The indications of this are plainly seen, as well in 
 what relates to the ordinary course of life, as in the 
 discharge of the peculiar functions of the ministerial 
 office. They are seen in the higher standard of 
 feeling which prevails as to the requirements of the 
 Clerical calling, and the consequent greater rareness 
 of offence given by such conformity to the world, as 
 that calling is rightly deemed to make unsuitable. 
 It is felt that the character of an ordained servant of 
 a heavenly Master, attaches to a Clergyman under 
 all circumstances and wheresoever he is ; and that 
 there is a certain sacred sobriety befitting it, which 
 is not only at variance with whatever is vicious, but
 
 9 
 
 which makes occupations unbecoming, and places 
 and scenes, and modes of amusement, altogether un- 
 suitable for the Clergyman, of which in other persons 
 the excessive use is perhaps alone to be condemned. 
 This is a matter in which no rules will supply the 
 place of that instinctive propriety of feeling, which 
 will almost necessarily exist in a heart duly impressed 
 with the sanctity and importance of the work of the 
 ministry, and with that love for the brethren which 
 will shrink from the idea of giving offence to one of 
 those for whom Christ died. Warnings on this sub- 
 ject are, I trust, now comparatively little needed, 
 even by the youngest of the Clergy : and yet, on 
 such an occasion as this, the suggestion of such 
 reflections, if unnecessary, may not be unprofitable. 
 Consideration may show some among us their appli- 
 cation to points which they had not before ' observed 
 to fall within their scope, and so lead them to tliat 
 more complete consistency in their walk and conver- 
 sation, which befits those who are pledged to endea- 
 vour to be in all things " wholesome examples and 
 patterns to the flock of Christ." 
 
 The due appreciation of the sanctity of the minis- 
 terial calling naturally tends to produce a corres- 
 ponding diligence in the discharge of its peculiar 
 duties : and of this, too, I am glad to believe that 
 proofs are everywhere to be seen around us. It is 
 in no inconsiderable degree to the impulse given by 
 zeal thus directed, that we may ascribe the efforts 
 which have been made of late to supply increased 
 
 8
 
 10 
 
 Church accommodation, as well as for the establish- 
 ment and better organization of schools, as nurseries 
 of Christian instruction ; while a like progress may be 
 observed in relation to all the other details of the 
 work of the ministry. This is to be seen in the 
 greater frequency of the celebration of divine ser- 
 vice, and the administration of the Holy Commu- 
 nion, in the more constant preaching of the word 
 of God, in the more careful preparation of the young 
 for Confirmation, in the unwearied visitation alike 
 of the sick and of the whole, in order to the reproof 
 of the sinner, the instruction of the ignorant, the 
 consolation of the penitent, and the building up of 
 the faithful ; and in all other modes in which the 
 servant of God is to approve himself to his Master 
 in that household over which he is set. 
 
 In corroboration of these remarks, I may observe, 
 that in this diocese there are now two services on 
 the Sunday in forty-two parishes, in which there was 
 only single duty at my last visitation ; that in sixty- 
 five parishes, in which there was only one sermon, 
 there are now every Sunday either two sermons, or 
 — what in country parishes is perhaps better — in- 
 struction is given at one of the services catechetically, 
 or by a lecture upon some portion of Scripture; that 
 the sacrament of Baptism is administered publicly 
 during divine service, either always, or on certain 
 definite occasions, in eighty-nine parishes, in which 
 this used not to be the case ; that in many parishes 
 the Holy Communion is celebrated much more fre-
 
 11 
 
 quently than formerly, the administration of it oc- 
 curring six, eight, or ten times a year, or in many of 
 the larger parishes, and in some even of the smaller 
 villages, once in every month ; that there is an in- 
 creasing sense of the propriety of distinguishing by 
 their proper services at least the more important 
 seasons of peculiar solemnity in the Church — Ascen- 
 sion-day and Ash-Wednesday I may name as in- 
 stances of days till of late (strange to say) almost 
 universally neglected, and now, I trust, in the way 
 of being before long universally observed ; while in 
 no inconsiderable number of parishes all the days 
 specially appointed by the Church to be kept holy 
 are marked by their appropriate services, and in 
 some the full order of the Church in the daily ser- 
 vice is maintained. I find too that in many quarters 
 increasing efforts are being made to effect that most 
 important as well as difficult object, the retaining 
 the younger members of your flocks under the in- 
 fluence of religious instruction beyond that age — 
 unhappily almost always a very tender age — at 
 which they quit the daily school. The importance 
 of this cannot be overrated : but it would be foolish 
 not to admit that it is one of the most difficult 
 points to which the attention of the parochial Clergy- 
 man can be directed. The answers to my inquiries 
 detail many painful disappointments, as well as some 
 instances of encouraging success. It is plain that 
 the results hoped for from evening or adult schools 
 are likely to be attained only under very careful and 
 well-considered regulations, and in cases where the
 
 12 
 
 Clergy are themselves able to give them at least 
 some measure of personal superintendence, and to 
 bring their influence effectively to bear upon their 
 management in all its details. 
 
 In some of the matters to which I have referred, 
 I have been rather stating facts than giving advice ; 
 as I much prefer that changes which must be deemed 
 more or less experimental, should originate from the 
 free will of those who are convinced of their ad- 
 vantage, rather than from any suggestions given by 
 myself. Nor, indeed, am I prepared, in my own 
 judgment, to lay down any rule, in some of these 
 points, as of universal application. But I rejoice to 
 see so many indications of an increasing sense of the 
 extent of the duty incumbent upon the Church. I 
 rejoice to see increasing efforts to provide as fully as 
 possible for the spiritual wants of the people, and to 
 meet the feelings and wishes of those who yearn for 
 more frequent opportunities of communion with God 
 in his house of prayer, as well as to call to their duty 
 the cold, and rare, and reluctant worshippers. The 
 Church is constituted to act upon minds of all cha- 
 racters, calling out from each the best amount of 
 religious service it is capable of rendering ; satisfying 
 with her fulness the high-wrought sensibilities of 
 feeling, while she chastens them by her sobering 
 influence, and turns to sound and healthful purposes 
 energies, which if not allowed an orderly exercise, 
 will seek for themselves an irregular and unwhole- 
 some development. In all evidences that the Church 
 is more impressed with a sense of these high respon-
 
 13 
 
 sibilities, and is strengthening herself in her great 
 conflict against the workl — is learning better to know 
 her office, and is regaining the power to discharge it, 
 I rejoice, yea, and I will rejoice. 
 
 True it is, that these things of which I have 
 spoken are outward things ; for of outward things 
 only, as I before said, can I with certainty judge or 
 speak. True it is, that they are but the forms 
 of godliness ; and forms may be separated from the 
 spirit which should animate them ; and then are, as 
 the salt which has lost its savour, " good for nothing 
 but to be cast out, and trodden under foot of men." 
 True it is, that services of prayer and thanksgiving, 
 the preaching and the hearing of the word, and the 
 administration and reception of the sacraments, may, 
 by the sinfulness of man, be made the savour, not of 
 life unto life, but of death unto death. True it is, 
 that there is a tendency in the heart of man to 
 the fatal delusion which results in this ; and there- 
 fore, in all increase of outward observances, it is 
 most necessary watchfully to guard against the para- 
 lysing influence of formality : not to force them, as 
 mere outward duties, on those who are incapable of 
 receiving them ; but to offer them, as means and 
 opportunities of spiritual edification, to those whose 
 hearts are prepared by Divine grace to accept and 
 profit by them. It is so much more easy to render a 
 formal service than to worship God in spirit and 
 in truth, that I trust that an allusion to this danger 
 may not be deemed misplaced. 
 
 But while I thus express my satisfaction at the
 
 14 
 
 general improvement of tone and habit which I 
 believe to be in progress among the clergy, yon will 
 perhaps expect that I should not pass over in silence 
 those diiferences of theological opinion which have 
 now for some years excited so much attention among 
 the members of our Church ; which in the course of 
 the last year have done so in a very increased de- 
 gree ; and which appear to many persons, for whose 
 opinions T entertain a very high respect, to threaten 
 the Church Avith most serious and imminent danger. 
 I cannot now attempt to enter into much detail 
 on these points ; though it would not be fitting to 
 leave you in ignorance of the general bearing of my 
 opinion on a subject of so great importance, and 
 which is in different quarters regarded in so different 
 a light. I have, indeed, already said something on 
 one branch of this controversy in a Charge at my last 
 Ordination, which has since been published ' : some- 
 thing again I have said in a sermon preached in St. 
 Paul's Cathedral at the Anniversary of the Society 
 for the Propagation of the Gospel, which, as it accom- 
 panies the Report of that Society, is now, I trust, or 
 soon will be, in all your hands ^. You will, however, 
 allow me to remind you that, three years ago, without 
 entering into particulars, I expressed a hope gene- 
 
 ' "The Obligations of the Clergy in preaching the Word of God." 
 A Charge delivered at his ordination in Lent, 1842, by Edward 
 Denison, D.D., Bishop of Salisbury. 
 
 * " The Unity of the Church the condition of the Conversion 
 of the World." A Sermon preached at St. Paul's Cathedral, 
 May 27, 1842.
 
 15 
 
 rally, that, whatever extravagancies of opinion might 
 be seen in some quarters, the theological movement 
 which has taken place in these late years, would, on 
 the whole, by eliciting and illustrating the truth, con- 
 jSrm the principles, and strengthen the position of 
 the Church. Nor do I even now see any sufficient 
 reason to change the opinion I then declared. And 
 believing, as I do, that the pious and learned men in 
 whose writings these controversies originated, have 
 been instrumental in bringing forward important 
 truths from comparative neglect, I cannot too much 
 deprecate the harsh and sweeping condemnation not 
 unfrequently passed upon them, as if their exertions 
 had been productive of unmixed evil. Much as I 
 dissent from some of their opinions, and disapprove of 
 the manner in which they have been expressed ; and 
 exaggerated as their views appear to me on many 
 points, I cannot refuse to acknowledge that in several 
 and weighty respects we are deeply indebted to them. 
 They have been the chief instruments in reviving 
 the study of sound theology in an unlearned age. They 
 have raised the standard of the ministerial character, by 
 teaching men to trace the commission of the Clergy, 
 through his Apostles, up to our Blessed Lord himself, 
 and to see in this the sure warrant for their work. 
 They have impressed upon the Clergy the obligation 
 of walking orderly, according to the laws and regula- 
 tions of the Church in which they are commissioned 
 to minister. They have successfully vindicated the 
 important truth of the nature and constitution of the 
 Church from the vague and lax notions which used
 
 16 
 
 too generally to prevail respecting it. They have 
 given the sacraments their clue place in the scheme 
 of our holy religion, as contrasted with those who 
 would make them little else than bare signs and 
 symbols, instead of channels of regenerating and 
 sanctifying grace. They have warned men not to 
 rest contented in the mere beginnings of the Chris- 
 tian life, but to endeavour still to go on to perfection, 
 encouraging them to aim continually at a higher 
 standard of holiness, devotion, self-denial, and good 
 works. 
 
 Now, I do not say that the teaching of the writers 
 in question has been free from all objection on these 
 subjects. On the contrary, it may be that there has 
 been throughout a disposition to exaggeration ; and 
 there is, perhaps, no one of the above points on which 
 statements more or less objectionable might not be 
 found in one or other of the writings of this school of 
 divines. Still, in the main, the tendency of their 
 works has been, in my judgment, to establish sound 
 views in the Church on the above important heads of 
 doctrine ; and for this they deserve our thanks. 
 
 On the other hand, the language which has been 
 used in various quarters on many of the points in 
 controversy between the Church of Rome and our- 
 selves, appears to me liable to much of the exception 
 which has been taken to it. The disapproval ex- 
 pressed of the mode in which these topics were 
 handled in the ninetieth number of the Tracts for the 
 Times was, as you are aware, the immediate cause of 
 the termination of that work : and I believe that the
 
 17 
 
 soundest and wisest members of our Church rejoiced 
 both that the Bishop of Oxford interposed, as he did, 
 on that occasion, and that his suggestions were at 
 once followed in so becoming a spirit and manner. 
 It would have been well if the evil had thus been 
 altogether repressed ; but I lament to say that the 
 pages of another periodical have continued to teem 
 with matter justly open to the most grave objections 
 both in point of sentiment and language, and tending 
 grievously to unsettle the minds of the members of 
 our Church. It is due to the distinguished indivi- 
 duals, whose names have been most prominently 
 brought forward in reference to these discussions, to 
 say that it is understood that they are not at all 
 responsible for the periodical in question, with which 
 they have not any connexion. But it much behoves 
 those who are concerned in it to consider carefully 
 how far various articles, which have, even of late, 
 appeared in its pages, are such as ought to proceed 
 from parties who owe allegiance to the Church of 
 England, and are bound by her protests against the 
 errors of Rome. 
 
 It savours of arrogance for men to presume to 
 place themselves in a position extraneous to the 
 Church to which they belong ; and, fixing their critic's 
 chair in the wide regions of Catholicism, from it 
 boldly and irreverently to examine, to question, and 
 censure, if they do not finally condemn, that Church 
 to which they owe, and, in general terms, profess to 
 pay, loving obedience, and filial respect. Who shall 
 
 B
 
 18 
 
 be surprised if teaching conceived in such a spirit, 
 has on some minds a different effect from that which, 
 I am bound to believe, its authors would desire : and 
 that the communion of the Church of England should 
 be quitted for that of Rome by men who have been 
 accustomed to hear whatever imperfections there may 
 be in the one industriously searched out, and invi- 
 diously magnified ; and to have the other presented 
 to them with all its deformities concealed, and 
 with whatever of good there may be in it carefully 
 brought forward, and placed in the most attractive 
 light ? 
 
 I can make much allowance for any occasional 
 intemperance of expression in parties who certainly 
 have been attacked in no measured terms. I am 
 aware that it appears to some persons allowable to 
 state opinions in an extravagant excess, in order to 
 arrest attention, and in the hope that thus some por- 
 tion, at least, of their views may be received. But 
 taking into account all that may be said of this 
 kind, and giving all due weight to it, as regards the 
 character of the writers, I cannot, therefore, alter 
 the opinion I feel it my duty to express as to the 
 language itself. 
 
 But history throughout its pages shows us that no 
 great movement of opinion was ever unaccompanied 
 by extravagancies. Even portions of the truth, if 
 held partially and exclusively, assume the character 
 of error; and it needs a discriminating judgment to 
 discern at what point principles, sound in themselves.
 
 19 
 
 when rightly understood, are in danger of being per- 
 verted by being made to lead to erroneous conclu- 
 sions, apparently, though not really, resulting from 
 them. Thus it is not to be denied that, at the time 
 of the Reformation itself, the truths which we believe 
 the Spirit of God then re-established in his Church, 
 were by some made the sanction for licentiousness. 
 And it may well be that even of those whose names 
 we justly hold in honour, as having been instruments 
 chosen of God to procure for us blessings which we 
 cannot too highly prize ; and whom we thankfully 
 acknowledge to have been gifted with the learning, 
 the judgment, the moderation, and the piety which 
 enabled them to effect their arduous task, — it may 
 well be that, amid the difficulties with which they 
 were surrounded, even some of these may have 
 expressed sentiments, or used language, which we 
 should not be willing altogether to adopt. 
 
 Again, in the torpor of the last century, a spirit was 
 awakened in the Church, by which many were turned 
 from sin to righteousness, and which in the main 
 we recognize as the work of the Spirit of Holiness ; 
 but I suppose that few even of those who most 
 admire the characters of the chief agents in this 
 work, will now say that all their statements, and 
 doctrines, and practices, are to be defended or 
 approved Those who respect them most highly 
 see many things in which it is better not to follow 
 them ; while others, who judge them less kindly, 
 have unconsciously derived from them much of the 
 
 b2
 
 20 
 
 truth most precious to their own souls, most influen- 
 tial upon their own conduct. 
 
 Now, in looking at our own times, I cannot lay 
 aside the recollection of what has been in former 
 days ; and I trust that, amid the present heat and 
 ferment of men's minds, God is purifying his chosen 
 instruments, and moulding them for his own pur- 
 poses. And thus, while the rash, and the heady, 
 and the high-minded, have, through presumption, 
 fallen into error; and the obstinate have been con- 
 firmed in their prejudices by the very opposition 
 raised to them : the moderate, and the teachable, 
 and the humble-minded, have, out of all this strife of 
 opinion and feeling, drawn for themselves more and 
 more by degrees the latent element of truth : they 
 have been led to search into their own opinions, and 
 to approach nearer to that — to which doubtless no 
 man in perfection attains, — the mind of God, as 
 revealed in his written Word, and the system of 
 truth and the mode of its communication, as estab- 
 lished by our blessed Lord and his Apostles. And 
 this, my Reverend Brethren, is the course which I 
 venture earnestly to commend to you : beseeching 
 you not to be led away, either by blind admiration, or 
 by a spirit of indiscriminate censure; to eschew party 
 feelings and party appellations ; to cleave to Catholic 
 truth, without arrogating to yourselves any distinc- 
 tive title as doing so ; and, remembering that the 
 channel through which we receive Catholic truth is 
 that of our own Church, and that our judgment re-
 
 •21 
 
 specting it is to be formed with deference to her 
 authority ; to prize the blessings and to maintain the 
 principles of the Reformation, knowing that these 
 were not the discovery of a new doctrine, but the 
 recovery of primitive purity ; to bear in mind that 
 not all differences of opinion are differences of belief, 
 or incompatible wdth unity both of faith and charity ; 
 to study to be quiet, and to do your own business, 
 labouring to bring up those committed to your 
 charge in the faith once delivered to the Saints, and 
 in filial attachment to the Church their holy mother, 
 that so when ye give account of them it may be with 
 joy, and not with grief. 
 
 I pass now to other topics. 
 
 At the time of my last Visitation we had but 
 recently established our Diocesan Board of Educa- 
 tion. Indeed, the impulse had then but just been 
 given, the effects of which, in the improvement and 
 extension of our national education, are now begin- 
 ning to be felt, and are, I trust, destined in their 
 development to work incalculable good. The 
 Church owes a deep debt of gratitude to those indi- 
 viduals of her zealous and enlightened laity, who 
 first conceived the idea of this educational move- 
 ment, and to whose unwearied efforts is mainly to 
 be attributed the measure of success which it has 
 hitherto attained. 
 
 The objects contemplated in this effort were, 
 the extension of education by the establishment of 
 schools, and its improvement by means of a supply
 
 22 
 
 of more competent instructors, and a system of 
 visitation by well-qualified inspectors. On each of 
 these latter points I wish to say a few words. 
 
 When simultaneous exertions were made in so 
 many quarters for the establishment of institutions 
 for the training- of masters, and this too by persons 
 as yet but partially acquainted with the difficulty of 
 forming such schools and the expense of supporting 
 them, it was not unlikely that more schools would 
 be opened than it would be found possible advanta- 
 geously to maintain, or than the present demand for 
 well-trained teachers would justify. The Board of 
 Education in this diocese exercised, therefore, in my 
 judgment, a very sound discretion, in abstaining at 
 first from taking any step in this matter, and then 
 in entering into an union with that of the adjoining 
 diocese of Winchester, with a view to the establish- 
 ment at Salisbury of a school for training mistresses, 
 — a branch of the general plan which the circum- 
 stances of this diocese make peculiarly important to 
 ourselves ; and which then appeared little likely to 
 be taken in hand in other quarters. We may con- 
 gratulate ourselves that this institution is now fully 
 answering our expectations. The ability, and judg- 
 ment, and care of the lady who conducts it, justify 
 the confidence we reposed in her. The exhibitions 
 are regularly filled up as soon as vacant ; and though 
 there is as yet a deficiency of applicants who are 
 prepared to bear their own expenses, we have had 
 for some time in the school, through the liberality of
 
 23 
 
 different individuals, as many pupils as, with our 
 present limited accommodation, we are able to 
 receive. The conduct of the pupils, as well as their 
 improvement in their studies, has been throughout 
 highly satisfactory: and the few who have as yet 
 gone out to their work as school-mistresses are 
 giving the best proof of the pains which have been 
 bestowed on them by entering upon their important 
 task both with a due measure of outward qualifica- 
 tion, and, what is far more important, with a religious 
 sense of the responsibility attaching to it, and with 
 an earnest desire to do their duty to their heavenly 
 Master in this their calling in his Church. 
 
 I regard with great satisfaction the commencement 
 we have been able to make in this respect. I ear- 
 nestly hope that the attention of the Committee will 
 be carefully directed to the consideration of the points 
 in which we are still deficient ; and that sufficient 
 funds will be placed at the disposal of the Board by 
 the piety of the members of the Church in this 
 diocese, to enable us to make such improvements as 
 observation and experience may show to be necessary. 
 
 But with a view to the improvement of our paro- 
 chial schools, the establishment of a well-organized 
 system of inspection is a step likely to be productive 
 of more immediate, and hardly less important results 
 than those to be looked for from the training of 
 instructors. This is a matter for which, as respects 
 this diocese, I am especially responsible ; and it is 
 with much regret that I am obliged to admit, that
 
 24 
 
 neither has any effective plan for carrying it on been 
 established in the Church at large ; nor one by 
 myself applicable particularly to this diocese. ' 
 
 This defect, however, is to be attributed neither 
 to the want of a due sense of the importance of this 
 subject, nor to inattention to it ; but to the difficul- 
 ties, arising chiefly out of the unsettled relations 
 between the Church and the civil authorities of the 
 State, which have hitherto prevented the establish- 
 ment of any general system for this purpose. Three 
 years ago it was proposed by the Committee of the 
 National Society, to retain in its service a body of 
 inspectors, who should periodically visit the different 
 dioceses, the salaries of such inspectors being paid by 
 the National Society, and only their actual expenses in 
 Visitation being borne by the Diocesan Boards. It 
 was under this system that we had the advantage of 
 an inspection of a large part of our Schools by a 
 most able Inspector : and it may be very satisfactory 
 to us to reflect, that the first experiment on the part 
 of the Church towards carrying out this important 
 object, was that made in the inspection by Mr. Feild 
 of the Schools of this diocese. This plan was adopted 
 by the National Society during those unfortunate 
 differences between the ecclesiastical and the civil 
 authorities of the State on this subject, to which I 
 do not now wish further to allude. As soon as these 
 differences were happily terminated by an arrange- 
 ment satisfactory to all parties, it appeared to the 
 Committee of the National Society desirable that
 
 25 
 
 the whole work of inspection should be devolved 
 upon the Inspectors, who were thenceforward to be 
 appointed by the Queen, on the conjoint recommen- 
 dation of the Archbishops of each province, and the 
 Committee of Council for Education, Communica- 
 tions were with this object opened between the 
 National Society and the late Committee of Council, 
 and were renewed with that which now exists ; and 
 I fully hoped to have been able to announce to you, 
 that we might shortly expect in this diocese the visit 
 of an Inspector under these auspices, with instruc- 
 tions framed in all respects in conformity with the 
 principles and order of the Church. 
 
 This expectation has, however, been disappointed 
 by the refusal of the Committee of Council to under- 
 take this office. I have therefore, since I was in- 
 formed of this, made arrangements for an inspection 
 of the Schools of this diocese, by an Inspector from 
 the National Society, on the same footing as that 
 carried on by Mr. Feild : and as I have endeavoured 
 that there should not be any unnecessary delay, I 
 have every reason to trust that this inspection may 
 take place in the course of the ensuing winter. 
 
 The visits of the Inspector will, as in the former 
 case, be confined to Schools which have been regu- 
 larly placed in union with the Diocesan Board. 
 And I therefore again earnestly invite all the Clergy 
 of my diocese, who have not yet done so, to use 
 their influence to place the Schools of their respec- 
 tive parishes thus in union, in order thereby both to
 
 26 
 
 secure for them the benefits of inspection, and, as far 
 as in them lies, to promote the uniform and harmo- 
 nious working of our whole educational system. 
 
 Were it not for one point to Avhich I wish to 
 refer, I should pass over altogether in silence the 
 most important alteration in the state of the Church 
 which has taken place since my last Visitation — I 
 mean that effected by the Act which has made such 
 great changes in our Cathedral establishments, and 
 has transferred so large a part of the revenues of 
 these bodies to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. I 
 should pass this over, because I do not wish to revive 
 bygone differences of opinion, or to cast reflections 
 upon a measure which has now received the sanction 
 of the legislature. You know that in my opinion it 
 might in some respects have been based upon sounder 
 principles — might have had more of the character 
 of reform, and less of that of spoliation ; and might 
 in various modes have been improved in its de- 
 tails. But I will not dwell on this subject. You 
 are aware that by an amendment, made during the 
 progress of the Bill through the House of Lords, 
 the non-residentiary dignities and prebends existing 
 in the Cathedral of this diocese, and generally in 
 those of the old foundation, which it had been pro- 
 posed to suppress, have been retained, though alto- 
 gether stript of their revenues. This alteration was 
 valuable, as preserving the essential character of our 
 Cathedral ; and as enabling it still to discharge the 
 office of a centre of unity in our system, through the
 
 27 
 
 connection which will be maintained with it by this 
 body of prebendaries, dispersed through every part of 
 the diocese. Nothing has tended so much hereto- 
 fore to lower the character of these preferments, and 
 to diminish their usefulness, as the allowing them to 
 be filled by persons residing in other parts of the 
 country, and who therefore rarely, if ever, attended 
 at the Cathedral in order to perform their stated and 
 statutable duty of preaching. I trust that in future 
 there will be a change in this respect, and that the 
 holders of these preferments will always be Clergy 
 of the diocese, who will prize them for their own 
 sake as a means of connection with the Cathedral, 
 and as a mark of the approval and respect of their 
 Bishop, by whom they will be bestowed. The period- 
 ical attendance at the Cathedral of these members of 
 our body, will be valued by the Chapter and myself, 
 not only for the sake of their services in the pulpit ; 
 but as a means of intercourse and communication 
 with men justly respected in their several districts, 
 and thus forming a valuable link by which the sense 
 of unity may be maintained, and the spirit of unity 
 promoted throughout this portion of our Church. 
 
 But it would be hard that the performance of this 
 duty, attended necessarily with personal inconve- 
 nience, should also be allowed to be a pecuniary 
 burthen to those who discharge it. If Clergy were 
 to be obliged to come, perhaps fifty miles or more, 
 at their own expense for this purpose, it would 
 make it impossible for me to offer such a mark of
 
 28 
 
 honorary distinction to any one, whose means would 
 not enable him conveniently to accept it. It ap- 
 peared therefore to me to be very desirable to provide 
 for those Prebendaries who should preach in their 
 turn, some small remuneration, just sufficient to 
 obviate this inconvenience. The Dean and Chapter 
 have very liberally resolved to appropriate for this 
 purpose an annual sum of seventy pounds, as a 
 means of providing for the present a payment to the 
 unendowed Prebendaries of five pounds for each 
 attendance at the Cathedral : and I have been able, 
 partly from my own means, partly from money placed 
 at my disposal by the pious feelings of an individual, 
 to invest a sum of six hundred and fifty pounds, as 
 the nucleus of a future fund, to which I hope that 
 such additions will be made by those whose hearts 
 may be disposed to co-operate in building up our 
 Cathedral system, as will suffice to secure the object 
 in view ^ 
 
 Another matter to which at my last Visitation I 
 referred, as then unsettled, was that of the establish- 
 ment of a more simple process for the trial of of- 
 fences against the Ecclesiastical Law, alleged to be 
 committed by Clergymen. I gave my reasons for 
 objecting to the mode in which it was at that time 
 proposed to effect this object : and I am glad to say, 
 
 ' An account for this purpose is opened under the head of 
 " The Prebendal Fund," with Messrs. Brodie and Co., Bankers, 
 Salisbury, by whom, as well as by the Bishop of Salisbury, any 
 contributions will be received.
 
 29 
 
 that the Act which has since jDassed has made a 
 great improvement in the law on this point, and is 
 not open to the objections which in my opinion 
 attached to the measure at that time contemplated. 
 
 I should hardly have adverted to this topic, but 
 for the relation in which it stands to another ques- 
 tion of great importance, which must shortly engage 
 the attention of the Church and the Legislature — 
 I mean the projected reform of the Ecclesiastical 
 Courts. 
 
 No person who has even a slight acquaintance 
 with the state of these tribunals — their vast multi- 
 plication, by means of the variety of subordinate and 
 peculiar jurisdictions — the nature of the subjects of 
 which they take cognizance — the admixture in them 
 of things temporal and spiritual — the cumbrous and 
 expensive methods in which the processes are carried 
 on, and the consequent difficulty, to say the least, of 
 satisfactory adjudication — can doubt that a very ex- 
 tensive change in the constitution and j)ractice of 
 these courts is greatly to be desired. 
 
 I am not, however, now going to enter at all into 
 this question, as to its general bearings ; but only to 
 point out to you that other matters besides those of 
 forms and legal processes — questions of higher prin- 
 ciple than any which arise in connection with the 
 succession of property and proof of wills, are neces- 
 sarily involved in the abolition or reconstruction of 
 these courts. 
 
 Whatever power of spiritual discipline exists in
 
 30 
 
 the Church is capable of being exercised only 
 through the intervention of the Ecclesiastical Courts. 
 As matters now stand, it is only by means of these 
 courts that spiritual offences can in any manner be 
 visited by the censures of the Church, or that, as a 
 last resource, unworthy members can be cut off 
 from the fellowship of the Body of Christ. Now I 
 presume that no one will deny that this power of 
 guarding holy things from profanation, by the exclu- 
 sion from them of unfit persons, is essentially inhe- 
 rent in every branch of the Church. The exercise of 
 authority in this respect is solemnly referred to in 
 the service appointed to be used in our Church at 
 the consecration of every Bishop to his office, as 
 being a duty committed to him not only by the 
 ordinance of this realm, but also by the Word of 
 God. Tt is true that, under the existing constitution 
 of our Ecclesiastical Courts, and the rules of law to 
 which they give effect, so great impediments are 
 placed in the way of the exercise of godly discipline, 
 even where it is most obviously needed, that it may 
 be almost said to exist in theory rather than in 
 practice. It is true, too, that much of the ancient 
 law of the Church on this subject is altogether 
 unsuited to present circumstances; that it has on 
 some points been practically overruled by State legis- 
 lation, and must in others be allowed to be obsolete. 
 It is true, that the subject is one of great delicacy and 
 difficulty, and is unhappily in some respects further 
 embarrassed by the relation in which we stand to
 
 31 
 
 those who are separated by their own act from our 
 Communion. But, fully admitting these things, we 
 must not forget that, at present, there exist at all 
 events the principle and theory of discipline, — there 
 exists a system which is a witness to the mind and 
 spirit of the Church ; and to the improvement of 
 which we may look forward whenever times of lei- 
 sure and peace give the opportunity, and circum- 
 stances make it possible to undertake the task with 
 advantage. In the mean time, rarely as they are 
 called into formal operation, the knowledge of the 
 existence of such laws, and even the very cumbrous- 
 ness and expensiveness of the modes of giving them 
 effect, indirectly secure many of the ends for which 
 they were enacted ; and exercise a powerful, though 
 vague and indeterminate influence on the members of 
 the Church. While, therefore, the difficulties with 
 which the subject is complicated supply very good 
 reasons for tolerating much that is anomalous in our 
 present condition, and for being very cautious in 
 acting where the result may be different from what 
 we might hope ; they do not make it less necessary 
 carefully to weigh the consequences of any alteration 
 that may be proposed, and to see that principles be 
 not sacrificed, as though they were in themselves 
 unimportant, because there may be, at present, impe- 
 diments in the way of their practical development. 
 
 Now, if the existing system of our Ecclesiastical 
 Courts were to be swept away, without the substitu- 
 tion of any other in its place (and I am obliged to
 
 32 
 
 imao-ine such a case as this, because the recommen- 
 dations of the Commissioners appointed to examine 
 into the state of the Ecclesiastical Law, in the year 
 1830, appear to me to go very nearly, if not alto- 
 gether, to this extent), it is undeniable that one of 
 two consequences must result, — either there will be 
 no mode at all by which unworthy members of the 
 Church can be removed from her communion ; or 
 the inherent power of the Clergy in this respect, as 
 committed to them at Ordination, will be left to be 
 exerted without the restraint of any of those cautions 
 and checks by which it has heretofore been deemed 
 rio'ht in everv branch of the Christian Church to 
 direct and restrict the exercise of this part of the 
 functions of the priesthood. The first of these posi- 
 tions is one in which no branch of the Church of 
 Christ has been placed, from the time of the Apostles 
 to the present day. It would, in fact, strike at the 
 very root of the Church, as an organized body : the 
 other would throw us back upon first principles, 
 doing away with all existing modes of orderly 
 government, and leaving us to reconstruct them as 
 best we might. 
 
 I earnestly hope that the Church will not be 
 placed in either of these positions. It is the duty of 
 her members to take care that, in making changes 
 in the administration of her system, her spiritual 
 prerogatives be not impaired. I trust that this duty 
 will not be forgotten ; but that, on the contrary, it 
 will be clearly recognized, and effectually discharged.
 
 33 
 
 But, in dealing with such subjects as these, it is 
 impossible not to feel it to be a great anomaly that 
 the Church is not permitted to speak her own sen- 
 timents through her rightly constituted organs, and 
 to exercise those functions of deliberation and judg- 
 ment which are entrusted to her by our constitution 
 in Church and State. It is impossible not to feel, 
 that it is unsatisfactory that the Church should not 
 have any recognized mode of deliberating on subjects 
 of whatever interest ; of adapting her system to new 
 exigencies ; or of recording her decisions on the 
 most important matters. This has now been the 
 case for above a century ; and we may well rather 
 be thankful that no greater evils have resulted from 
 it, than be surprised that some things have grown 
 obsolete, which yet there is no authority to alter ; 
 that anomalies have sprung up, which it will be 
 difficult to remove ; and that various functions of 
 high importance, which ought to be discharged by 
 the Church on its own authority, and in its own 
 sacred character, are carried on, with more or less 
 of irregularity, but most imperfectly at best, by self- 
 constituted societies, which have been almost com- 
 pelled to undertake offices, from which the Church, 
 in her proper character, is debarred. 
 
 I am not ignorant that much may be said in justifi- 
 cation of the state of incapacity in which the Church 
 has thus been placed. The history of the proceedings 
 in Convocation at the beginning of the last century is 
 in many respects a painful one : and though we may 
 
 c
 
 34 
 
 deem that its apparent resolution to uphold sound 
 principles was the immediate cause of the restraint 
 imposed upon it, it is perhaps not to be regretted 
 that its sittings were at that period discontinued. 
 
 It may be admitted, too, that there has not im- 
 probably been a providential compensation made to 
 us for the loss of positive advantages, in that the 
 Church has been restrained from evil action by the 
 very trammels which have prevented her from 
 making changes for good. It may well be imagined, 
 that if the Church had always possessed the power 
 of free deliberation and legislative enactment, she 
 might, in some period of her history, have exercised 
 such power in a manner unbeseeming her character 
 as keeper and witness of the truth of God. She 
 might perhaps have been drawn aside from the path 
 of Catholic verity ; and we might have had now to 
 mourn over some fatal error, which it might be im- 
 possible to repair. And thus the forced incapacity 
 of the Church for consultation may have operated, 
 by the goodness of God, as a means of preserving 
 from the faithless and wayward spirit of her members 
 the blessings we are thankful to enjoy. 
 
 It is, however, obvious, that any advantage of this 
 kind is dependent upon the fact, that this bondage 
 of the Church really preserves us from change ; and 
 that alterations, which the Church cannot make for 
 herself, are not made without her, either by the civil 
 power, or in any other mode. 
 
 But if this should not be the case, but, on the
 
 35 
 
 contrary, we should have all the evils of this state of 
 incapacity without its advantages ; — if the Church 
 may not have the power of making any changes, 
 however much she may need or desire them, and yet 
 may be committed to the most important changes, 
 without her consent, and perhaps contrary to her 
 ojjinion, — this state of things is one in which it is 
 impossible willingly to acquiesce, and which, in my 
 'udgment, is fraught with evils and dangers far 
 greater than any which are to be apprehended, be 
 those what they may, in the orderly discharge of 
 those functions which rightfully appertain to the 
 Church. 
 
 No doubt errors might be committed in the ex- 
 ercise of these, and evils might ensue. There might 
 be haste, and heat, and prejudice, and ignorance, and 
 incapacity, and party divisions, and extreme opinions, 
 and unsound judgments, and all the objections which 
 ever attach to assemblies of fallible men, and from 
 which Synods of Clergy cannot claim to be exempt. 
 But I trust that there would be found also prudence, 
 and calmness, and knowledge, and sound judgment, 
 and moderation, and impartial minds; I trust that 
 faithful attachment to God's holy law, and an earnest 
 desire to follow the guidance of the Spirit of wisdom 
 and truth would keep us, if not from the presence, yet 
 from the predominance of evil ; would restrain all 
 excesses of a rash and meddlesome spirit, and teach 
 us to repair what is defective, and to supply what is 
 lacking, without tampering with what is sound, and
 
 36 
 
 true, and established, through the teaching of the 
 Catholic Church, on the foundation of the Word of 
 God. 
 
 In this hope, and with this belief, I am free to 
 avow, that I desire to see the day when the Church 
 of England shall be permitted in a lawful Synod to 
 exercise free deliberation, and to form, as I trust by 
 the blessing of God she would form, a right judg- 
 ment on those matters, the decision of which deeply 
 concerns her character, her usefulness, and her 
 peace. 
 
 And now, my Brethren, having touched, however 
 imperfectly, upon all the topics on which at this 
 present time I propose to address you, I commend 
 you to Him, who is able to perfect, stablish, 
 strengthen, and settle you. May the Word of Christ 
 dwell in you richly in all wisdom ! May Almighty 
 God so replenish you with the truth of his doctrine, 
 and adorn you with innocency of life, that both by 
 word and good example you may faithfully serve 
 Him, to the glory of his name and to the edification 
 of his Church ! 
 
 THE END. 
 
 GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS, ST. JOHN's SQUARE, LONDON.
 
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