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 L I G. RA RY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 U N I VERS ITY 
 
 or 1 LLl NOIS
 
 SAYI^pS AND DOINGS 
 
 LORD BISHOP OF MANCHESTER 
 
 ADMINISTRATION OP HIS DIOCESE, 
 
 BUT MORE PARTICULARLY WITH REFERENCE TO 
 
 RINGLEY CHAPEL. 
 
 EDWARD PELLOWS, B.A. 
 
 OF EXETER COLLEGE, OXFORD; ASSISTANT CURATE OF RINGLEY. 
 
 " Little shall I grace my cause 
 " In speaking for myself: yet, by your gracious patience, 
 " I \Till a round, unvarnished tale deliver 
 " Of my whole course." 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 JOSEPH MASTERS, 33, ALDERSGATE STREET, 
 AND 78, NEW BOND STREET. 
 
 TO BE HAD OF THE BOOKSELLERS IN MANCHESTER. 
 
 1852. 
 Pbice On£ Shilling.]
 
 m 
 
 To THE Lord Bishop of Manchester. 
 
 My Lord, — I think it right to inform you, that in a few days, a pamphlet will 
 appear containing a detailed account of everything connected with my ministration 
 in this place, including (for the edification of the Clergy of this Diocese) the 
 opinions which your Lordship has expressed on various Church matters. 
 
 I make no apology for the publication, because I think that all impartial persons 
 will, after a perusal of it, admit that no apology is required. 
 
 I do not deny the right to dismiss me from this Curacy, any more than I deny 
 the right of a master to discharge a domestic servant ; but I do affirm — earnestly 
 and respectfully — that the exercise of that right in either case, without assigning 
 any reason, is an arbitrary and ungracious proceeding; because, as no oflfence is 
 pointed out, the curate in the one case and the servant in the other have no oppor- 
 tunity of amendment. 
 
 With the greatest respect for your Lordship's Episcopal ofBee, 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 
 Your Lordship's obedient servant, 
 
 EDWARD FELLOWS, 
 
 RingUy, near Bolton-U-Moors^ 
 January 22nd, 1852.
 
 SAYINGS AND DOINGS 
 
 LORD BISHOP OF MANCHESTER/ 
 
 It seeins to be a duty which devolves upon every Churchman at all times, 
 but particularly in the present perplexed state of things, individually to 
 endeavour to correct abuses, and, in case his personal exertions for 
 amendment and his private remonstrances fail, as a last resource, to 
 expose them openly, in order, if possible, to prevent their repetition. 
 The following statement of facts connected with Ringley, is written with 
 this intent; as well as to clear up a notion, now widely circulated in the 
 Diocese, that the Curate, or Curates, of that place have been excessively 
 overbearing towards their Bishop in the matter of Choral Service. I 
 earnestly hope that what is contained in these pages will not lay me 
 open to the charge of disrespect towards my Spiritual Superiors, for no 
 one has a more profound regard for the three orders of the ministry than 
 myself; so that what I have to say must not be considered as applied to 
 the office, but to the individual who fills it. 
 
 Ringley Chapel, in the parish of Prestwich, in Lancashire, was founded 
 and endowed by Nathan Wallworth, a steward of the Earl of Pem- 
 broke, and consecrated in 1634, but no district has ever been assigned 
 to it. The patronage has been exercised, it is believed in accordance 
 with the founder's will, by the Rectors of Prestwich, Bury, and Middleton, 
 for the time being. The Rev. James R. Lyon, the present Perpetual 
 Curate, was appointed iu 1817, but as in the following year he was also 
 appointed to the Rectory of Pulford, in Cheshire, he has for many years 
 
 * I wish it to be distinctly understood that no one but myself is in any way 
 responsible for the appearance of this pamphlet.
 
 resided at that place in preference to Ringley. Being non-resident, he 
 was of course obliged to keep a curate, and he appointed Mr. Barnsdall, 
 who died in 1847, having been curate for upwards of thirty years. 
 
 When the curacy of Ringley thus became vacant, Mr. Lyon, on the 
 application of some friends of Mr. Ramsbotham, gave that gentleman the 
 curacy. Before that appointment Mr. Ramsbotham had been curate at a 
 church in Manchester, which was looked upon by some as what in these 
 days is commonly called a Tractarian place of worship, and Mr. Lyon, 
 who was as averse to anything of that kind as he could be, must have 
 been aware of the circumstance at the time of his making the 
 appointment. 
 
 When Mr. Ramsbotham came to Ringley he found things in a most 
 unsatisfactory state ; told Mr. Lyon that his notions were entirely different 
 to those of the late Curate, and gave him plainly to understand that he 
 did not by any means intend to discharge his spiritual duties in the same 
 way, but at the same time promised not to introduce anything into the 
 Services of the chapel raslily. In his first year a great change was effected, 
 and the foundation of right Church feeling was being laid, in many cases 
 with very good results. By devoting himself entirely to his calling, he 
 soon gained the general esteem of the people, although they were rather 
 suspicious of him at first, having heard that he was a Tractarian. In the 
 winter of 1848-9 he was taken very ill, and was unable for some time to 
 take any duly at all. Under these circumstances his friends deemed it 
 advisable that he should, if possible, have assistance ; and his brother, who 
 was in no way connected with Ringley, very generously offered to pay the 
 stipend of an assistant curate, provided Mr. Lyon would agree to it. The 
 latter gentleman most willingly gave his consent, upon which Mr. Rams- 
 botham offered me the Assistant Curacy. I was at that time curate at the 
 Tractarian church which Mr. Ramsbotham had left, and singularly 
 enough a brother of Mr. Lyon also attended it, whose opinion of me, 
 though it was " not quite so favourable" as Mr. Lyon could have wished, 
 did not prevent the latter from sanctioning my appointment. 
 
 In July, 1849, Mr. Ramsbotham introduced into the chapel Choral 
 Service, but not raslily, for it was asked for by one of the chapel-wardens, 
 who, it may be presumed, well knew the feeling of the people upon the 
 subject, and three trial Services were given on week-days, as an experi- 
 ment, all of which were very well attended. The more musical part of 
 the congregation, indeed, thought the singing might be better — there cer- 
 tainly was room for great improvement — but the majority thought it good, 
 and liked it very miiL;h ; and such being the case, Mr. Ramsbotham 
 willingly complied with the chapel-warden's request, and shortly after 
 
 u,uc
 
 introduced it on Sunday, and so continued it till 1851, when it was 
 stopped by the Bishop. 
 
 During these eighteen months of Choral Service, we were raising money 
 to build a new church, for in our visits among the poor, when we asked 
 why they did not come to church, they answered — " Because we can't get 
 seats; people wont open their doors (i. e. of their pews) to us; if you 
 will find us seats, we will soon come." Knowing this answer to be really 
 true, we of course had no alternative; we had to choose between letting 
 the people go on in their reckless way, and providing them church accom- 
 modation. The conventional — for, as I have said, there was no legal — dis- 
 trict to the chapel, contains about 3,500 souls, consisting principally of 
 mining, manufacturing, and agricultural labourers, while the chapel would 
 accommodate but 270, and of this number only 40 seats were free. 
 It was no easy matter to raise £2,000. in so poor a neighbourhood, but 
 through Mr. Ramsbotham's astonishing exertions and perseverance, and 
 by sheer begging, the money was raised. But before anything could be 
 done, it was necessary to procure the sanction of the Incumbent and 
 Bishop, both of which were obtained, the former's by his signing the 
 petition to the Church Commissioners and the Incorporated Society, and 
 the latler's by a letter which will be presently noticed. A meeting of the 
 inhabitants was called, and the patrons invited the trustees of the chapel 
 to meet them. Three only of their number came — but came only to 
 oppose, for they declared that a new church was not wanted. These said 
 trustees, who, to be qualified, ought to reside " in or near Riugley," live 
 many miles away, and seldom, if ever, attend the chapel, as it is not their 
 proper place of worship. They of course, therefore, knew no more 
 about the requirements of the neighbourhood than any other absentee. 
 They would not work with us, so we determined to work ■without them, 
 and in July, 1850, the new chapel was commenced, the support of the 
 statute 8 and 9 Vict. c. 70, s. 1, being more powerful than the opposition 
 of the trustees. Not long after this, a storm began to spread itself 
 in the shape of the "Papal Aggression;" and Lord John Russell's 
 letter to the Bishop of Durham, followed by the behaviour of a 
 London mob at the chapel of St. Barnabas, created a notion that 
 Popery and Tractarianism were convertible terms, and accordingly 
 a neighbour (?) soon complained to our Diocesan that Mr. Rams- 
 botham had been circulating a tract — No. 72, new series, of the 
 " Tiaclsfor the Christian Seasons," — which contained the following objec- 
 tionable ])assage, viz : — " From what I said before, too, it follows with equal 
 certainty, that the voice of the Church is above every voice of man, in those 
 matters which Christ has entrusted to her charge. No one can teach men
 
 what is the true faith, or impart the grace by which men are kept steadfast 
 in that faith, hut the Church herself. The greatest earthly power is power- 
 less, when it arrogates to itself any portion of the Church's divine rights," &c. 
 The portion in italics was that principally complained of, but whether 
 with any justice, is left to the candid reader to determine. 
 
 Shortly after this — but whether on account of any suspicions that may 
 have been raised by the tract, it is impossible to say — the Bishop ordered 
 the Archdeacon to go to Ringley on the following Sunday, and see what 
 was being done there ; and from the subjoined Archidiaconal report, will 
 be seen what enormities were being committed : — 
 
 "TheDeyne, Prestwich, Dec. 30th, 1850. 
 
 " My Lord, — I yesterday attended Ringley chapel, in this parish, with 
 a view of ascertaining, at your Lordship's request, the mode of performing 
 Divine Service there, and have to report as follows : — 
 
 "The officiating Clergy consisted of the senior Stipendiary Curate, who 
 is licensed, and is in Priest's orders, and an Assistant Curate, who, I 
 believe, is not licensed, and is only in Deacon's orders.* Both appeared 
 to be properly habited. There was no lay Clerk, that officer being super- 
 seded by about twelve singing-men and youllis, and eight boys. 
 
 "On the clergy leaving the vesiry, a voluntary on the organ was per- 
 formed; the Senior Curate proceeding to the north end of the Communion 
 Table, and kneeling in private devotion with his face to the east wall ; the 
 Junior Curate proceeding, both a.m. and p.m. to the reading desk, to say 
 Prayers. 
 
 " Without introductory psalm or hymn, the latter commenced the Service 
 in a kind of monotone, with occasional cadences, which he continued 
 throu<i;hout, varied only by a more regular-)- mode of chanting of the 
 Lord's Prayer, the Responses, the Litany, &c. The Psiilms, and the usual 
 Chants after the Lessons, were chanted princi])ally by the choir, as were 
 the Responses after the Commandments in the Communion Service. The 
 Junior Curate bowed at the name of" Jesus" wherever it occurred, in the 
 Prayers or the Lessons, turned to the east wall in private devotions and in 
 repeating the Creed in the Communion Service, and assisted in collecting 
 the alms ; he preached in his gown without hood in the afternoon, using 
 
 * Before I entered Ringley I asked the Bishop's permission, because, as Mr. Lyon 
 would not give nie a formal nomination — which would have been a contract between 
 him and nie that was never intended— I, of course, could have no formal licence, 
 and the Bisliop, under tlie circumstances, allowed me to remain without one. 
 
 f The Priesfs part was taken ■precisely as Tallis gives it ; what the Archdeacon 
 means by a more regular mode of chanting I cannot understand.
 
 the ordinary prayers before and after Sermon, the congregation, rising at 
 the words 'Now to God the Father,' &c., and the Senior Curate, at the 
 conchision, repeating the 'Amen' from the Communion. 
 
 " The Senior Curate, turning to the people, intoned the Absolution, and 
 during Prayers knell, and in repeating the Creeds stood with his face to 
 the east wall ; he read the Lessons from a lectern, lately introduced, at 
 the entrance of the chancel, and gave out the number of the Psalm to be 
 sung ; he intoned the Communion Service, except the Epistle and Gospel, 
 and preached in the morning in his gown without hood, after which he 
 read the Offertory sentences during the collection for ' church expenses,' 
 and concluded with intoning the Prayer for the Church Militant and the 
 Benediction. 
 
 *• I must do all parties the justice to report, that the reading, intoning, 
 chanting, and singing, were audibly and distinctly performed, and the 
 congregations orderly and devout, although but very few seemed qualified 
 to join audibly in the responses. 
 
 " I have the honour, &c., 
 
 "J. RUSHTON, " 
 
 This report, it will have been observed, does not notice any breaches of 
 Rubric. It must not, however, on that account be supposed there were 
 none, for, I am sorry to say, there were too many. 'I'he " liberality" of 
 the present day, which claims — what it denies to others — unfettered free- 
 dom, renders it impossible uno motu to obey all the Rubrics, where all, 
 or nearly all, have been for years systematically disregarded. They 
 ere indeed so frequently disobeyed that many people think them 
 
 " More honour 'd in the breach than the observance." 
 
 With this exception the report, as might be expected from the Arch- 
 deacon's straightforward character, is a fair and candid statement of the 
 case; and on it I have to observe, that there was no " introductory psalm 
 or hymn," because the Rubric directs that " at the beginning of Mornino- 
 Prayer, the minister shall read," &c. ; that the Junior Curate bowed at he 
 name of "Jesus" in accordance with the 18th Canon ; that he collected the 
 alms because the Rubric requires Deacons to do so ; and that the Epistle 
 and Gospel were not intoned for the reasons assigned in a letter hereafter 
 set out. The other matters, such as chanting and intoning the Service, 
 turning to the east, turning to the people while pronouncing the Absolu-
 
 8 
 
 lion,* and reading from a lectern, are surely matters on which a person 
 may act up to his own honest opinion — whether it be against or in favour 
 of those ancient practices — without giving the least offence to any one who 
 may, with equal honesty, differ from him. With regard to the congrega- 
 tion being " qualified to join audibly in the responses," I will add, that 
 the "plain song" of Tallis was taken by the treble voices; and I fully 
 believe that nine out of ten in any congregation, however illiterate, could 
 sing it, if they chose, f Unfortunately the Archdeacon sat behind people 
 who did not make the attempt, because they did not like the Service ; and 
 not being accustomed to it himself, his ear probably, and very naturally, did 
 not catch the congregation's one-sounding voice, as a very great majority 
 did join. The uselessly high pews would also be much against hearing. 
 
 After this official visit, Mr. Rarasbotham and myself called on the 
 Bishop, and were with him nearly two hours ; and what passed at that 
 interview I will now relate as truly — not as memory will serve at this dis- 
 tant day, but — as ink and paper have preserved his Lordship's expressions. 
 
 The Bishop began by saying that he had received information, from a 
 person whose name he should not mention,^ and that there were certain 
 points necessary to be attended to. He told us that it was not illegal to 
 have no lay clerk — that that officer he should be the first to put away, if he 
 were to be a parish priest. His Lordship took up a Prayer Book, and 
 looked at the Rubrics, and remarked that the sentences at the beginning 
 of Morning and Evening Prayer were to be read; the Absolution ^pro- 
 nounced!, and he could not dream of intoning it. That the Rubric just 
 after the Benedicite, " Then shall be read in like manner the Second 
 
 Lesson and after that the Hymn following," might mean that "the 
 
 hymn following " was to be read in the same way as the Lesson.§ That 
 
 * As a Deacon was saying the Prayers, and as the Priest was at the Commanion 
 Table, it would seem more sensible to look towards those to whom he " declared and 
 pronounced" the Absolution. In the common intercourse of life, it is usual and proper 
 to look to the person to whom one speaks, and it is difficult to see why it is wrong in 
 church. 
 
 + I do not say this unadvisedly. I made church music a study, first as a pupil of 
 Dr. Elvey, of St. George's chapel, and afterwards of Dr. Elvey, of New College ; 
 both of them, I need scarcely say, most able men. 
 
 X I know the name — to borrow a phrase from King John — of this " meddling 
 priest," but I will give him a locm pcenitentice, and will not divulge it, though he had 
 not the courtesy to give us any inkling of his intention to inform the Bishop. How 
 unlike the Archdeacon, who gave us due warning of his visit, in the most open man- 
 ner, notwithstanding the difference which I believe there is between his and our 
 opinions. 
 
 § The Rubrics vary ; that in the Evening Service is, " Then shall be said or sung 
 
 the Psalms Then a Lesson And after that Magnificat, or the song," &c. 
 
 " Rsad '"is not used in this Rubric.
 
 the "Te Deiim," Creeds, Litany, &c., were ordered to be sung or said j 
 but thai it was better to break the letter of the Church's directions than 
 the spirit, which was not to sing them. That he had a great objection to 
 the Responses after the Cominandmenls being sung; that if he had a 
 private chapel he would have nothing sung but one metrical psaloa from 
 the New Version ; but if he were compelled to allow any singing besides, 
 it should just be the five Canticles and no more. His Lordship told us 
 that we knew his opinions about intoning; to which we replied that we 
 had no idea that he had any objection to it, because he allowed Mr. Joule's 
 " Directoriura Chori Anglicanum" to be dedicated to hira, the express 
 object of which work was to show the propriety, and so procure in Village 
 no less than in Cathedral Churches, the Plain Song of the Priest,'and the 
 responsive Plain-Song of the People ; for which remark he accused me of 
 folly, and said that I must not suppose that, because he allowed a book 
 to be dedicated to him, he therefore approved of every thing it contained.* 
 He then went on to say, that if all our musical service was not given up, 
 he should be quite ready to receive both our resignations. ' 
 
 The Bishop informed us that, when in London, he goes to St. Paul's 
 Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, and enjoys the " Te Deum " and the 
 rest of the Service, intoning and everything, because it is proper in such 
 places. That no one was fonder of Church Music than himself, when he 
 was at Cambridge. His Lordship remarked that the people of Ringley 
 were an " ignorant set," and could not understand singing, and he ridiculed 
 the idea of colliers and labourers taking a prominent part in the Church 
 Service. He coiisidered intoning stuff and trash, and said that choristers 
 were non-entities in any place, except where there was a Foundation pro- 
 vided for their support, and that it was absolutely wrong to have them in 
 ordinary Parish Churches,-}- as the people did not and could not join in 
 the service, and it was, in short, Romish, because it admitted of vicarious 
 worship. That Choral Service was proper in Cathedrals, because it was 
 well done and good ; but, however well done and good, in Ringley Chapel 
 it was wrong. He preferred a voluntary on the organ when the clergy- 
 man went into the pulpit, as it did not break the letter of the Rubric. 
 That turning to the east in prayer he did not think much about, because 
 we were then addressing God ; but doing so at the Creeds was the veriest 
 
 * I did not suppose so ; but I did, and do still think, that if a man allows a book to 
 be dedicated to him, we do not expect to find him totally opposed to the principle of 
 it. We had been using this very book at Ringley. 
 
 + If it be really wrong to have choristers in parish churches, why does not the 
 Bishop put a stop to them throughout his diocese ? His own chaplain has choral 
 service ! 
 
 B
 
 liO 
 
 nonsense in the world ; except perhaps at the Nicene Creed, when there 
 might be a little meaning in it, inasmuch as anciently it was customary 
 fur the Bishop to be seated behind the altar, wiih his face to the west, and 
 that when this Creed was said, all the congregation, as well as the clergy, 
 turned towards the Bishop and he towards them, thus declaring their 
 mutual belief. He then told Mr. Ramsbolham that he had a " graver 
 charge " against him, which was the tract already mentioned.* 
 
 The Bishop) then said ihat the Early Fathers contained the greatest 
 trash that ever men read ; they were, however, invaluable as witnesses, 
 just as six old women, who said that a mad dog had passed, would be as 
 worthy as the Fathers of belief to the fact that the dog had passed, and as 
 worthy if they were asked to explain what had made the dog go mad. 
 That between the last Canonical Writer and the Apostolical Fathers, there 
 was a gulph as immense as that which separated Lazarus from Dives; 
 that he had the profoundest contem])t for these said Apostolical Fathers — 
 their intellect as well as their writings —but he had not waded through all 
 the endless rubbish contained in them, although he had, perhaps, one of 
 the best collections of Patristic Theology in the country. 
 
 The Bishop then went on to say that we were not to think he knew 
 nothing ab )Ui parochial work, because he had been a schoolmaster for 
 eighteen or twenty years ; he was once a rector in Hertfordshire — for a 
 short lime, certainly ; but yet he had sufficient opportunity of getting an 
 insight into all matters comiected with a parish. His Lordship then 
 told us that a clergyman came to him, asking for permission to put up 
 sedilia in his church, having three seats, one above another ; he said it was 
 Popish, and alluded to the clergyman's ignorance in asking for such a 
 thing. He also told us that he had said, when a complaint was brought 
 by some persons against their clergyman for having put np a credence 
 table, "Pooh! pooh! what do I care about a credence table? it is 
 a matter of perfect indifference." 
 
 As the Bishop insisted on two plain Services, that is, without any 
 singing, we asked him to let us have four — two plain and two choral ; 
 but he said Mr. Ramsbotham must write to him, as he would give us no 
 answer then ; he hoped to part friends, and did not wish to visit us " with 
 the rod." As we rose to depart, his Lordship asked if we had heard of 
 his "discoveries at Broughton."f After this interview, although it is 
 
 * This " graver charge " lie said very little about, and we never heard any more of it. 
 
 + As to these " discoveries," very little need be said, as the facts have already 
 appeared in the Ecclesiologist of February, 1851; but it certainly appears to be a 
 most singular thing, that the Bishop should have officiated in Broughton church 
 without noticing the "crowned saints" in the east window, tho "box for the offer-
 
 11 
 
 somewhat strange that the Bishop, with his opinions on Church Music, 
 (lid not at once say, "No," Mr. Ramsbotham wrote, as desired, and the 
 following is the Correspondence which ensued : — 
 
 " Ringley Parsonage, January 1, 1851. 
 
 "My Lord, — After much anxious thought, I have come to the con- 
 clusion that no other course remains open to me, in order to meet your 
 Lordship's wishes, than deliberately to renew the proposal which I 
 suggested to your Lordship yesterday. The offer I then made to your 
 Lordship was to provide four Services on the Sunday ; — the two plain 
 Services, which your Lordship insisted upon, being at the usual hours, 
 with the exception of that in the morning, which will commence at eleven 
 o'clock instead of half-past ten, to enable us to have a choral one before it. 
 After the kind manner in which you received the suggestion, I venture to 
 hope that your Lordship will not refuse your consent to this arrangement. 
 
 " I remain, my Lord, 
 
 "Your Lordship's very faithful and obedient Servant, 
 
 "T. Ramsbotham." 
 
 " Sedgley Hall, Manchester, January 4, 1851. 
 
 "Rev. and dear Sir, — I have much and carefully considered your case. 
 You wish to be allowed to conduct two Services each Sunday at Ringley 
 with a 'choir, and intoning some and chanting other portions of the 
 Liturgy. The whole subject appears to me to lie in a narrow compass. 
 
 "The Rubric of the Church of England directs that certain parts of the 
 Liturgy shall be ' read,' others ' said,' and others ' said ' or ' sung.' 
 Nowhere in the Morning or Evening Prayer is any part directed to be 
 only 'sung,' except perhaps* (by implication) the Amhem after the 
 Third Collect, and that only in certain places. 
 
 "Now the language of the Rubiic always supposes the whole of 'the 
 people,' or congregation, to join in the Responses ; that is, all to sing, when 
 singing; all to say, when saying, any portion. 
 
 " In cathedrals the congregation contemplated in theory consisted of 
 the members of the choir, the calhedial clergy, the singing-men, and 
 
 ings for the dead," the "sedilia," the " Easter sepulchre," &c. It was not till after 
 Lord John Russell's Durham dirge that the Bishop interfered with what Mr. BajTQe 
 ("Saint Baj-ne," as it is said he called him) had done in that church. 
 
 * " Perhaps" leads us to infer that the Bishop is not clear that the Anthem — 
 which lexicographers interpret to be a " holy 5o«^"— may not also be mid; but if so, 
 why are anthems confined to " quires and places where they siiiff.^''
 
 12 
 
 singing-boys, who are on the foundation of the cathedral, and have a right 
 to a portion of its revenues. The Cathedral Service was performed in the 
 choir — their chapel, and the sermon was preached by a member of the 
 choir, in his surplice — their dress. 
 
 " But in Parochial Services the congregation consisted of all present; 
 not the clergy only or the servants of the church, but every individual 
 whatever there, the iStwrat of St. Paul in his Epistle to the Corinthians; 
 and for a portion of these, — dressed and trained, as mock choristers or 
 members of a choir, not being on the foundation of the church, — not having 
 a right to any portion of its revenues, — not trained in its school to a know- 
 ledge of church music, (as the cathedral real choristers were, in the 
 cathedral school, charged on the funds of the foundation,) to repeat the 
 Responses in cadences or intonation unpractised by, and unknown to, the 
 rest of the congregation, is in no way according to the spirit of the Church 
 of England. Nay, it is directly contrary to it, for it admits a vicarious 
 worship for the people, reconcileable easily with the Church of Rome, but 
 directly opposed to the Church of England.* 
 
 " You ask me to consent to an arrangement by which this may be done 
 in Ringley. I have considered, and cannot conscientiously do so, 
 
 "Let me call you attention to the Rubric after the third Collect. It 
 now stands — 'In quires and places where they sing, here foUoweth 
 the Anthem.' 
 
 "In the Books of 1549, 1552, and 1559, there was a Rubric,— ' And 
 (to the end the people may the better hear) in such places where they do 
 sing, there shall the Lessons be sung in a plain tone, after the manner of 
 distinct reading, and likewise the Epistle and Gospel.' In the Scotch 
 Liturgy and the Book of 1604 this is reprinted verbatim. 
 
 " In the Exceptions against the Book of Common Prayer presented by 
 the Ministers, May 4, 1661, the exception to the above Rubric is stated as 
 follows : — ' The Lessons, and the Epistles and Gospels, being for the most 
 part neither psalms nor hymns, we know no warrant why they should be 
 sung in any place, and conceive that the distinct reading of them with an 
 audible voice tends more to the edification of the Church.' 
 
 "The Bishops' reply to the above, was — 'The Rubric directs only such 
 
 * The Dean and Chapter of Westminster have lately provided numerous seats in 
 the Abbey, not for persons on their foundation, but for the public at large. The 
 worship of such persons in the Abbey would not he vicarious, because there m a 
 foundation ! ! but in Ringley Church it would be vicarious, because there is not a 
 foundation ! ! or if the worship of such persons would be vicarious in both churches, 
 it seems to follow that the Abbey congregation would consist of two classes— the 
 foundationers or non-vicarious, and the public or vicarious worshippers. This 
 apparently is a reductio ad absurdum.
 
 13 
 
 singing as is after the manner of distinct reading, and we never heard of 
 any inconvenience tliereby, and tlierefore conceive this demand to be 
 needless.' 
 
 " The soleinn decision of Convocation, ratified by Parliament in the 
 following year, 1662, was to expunge the above Rubric as to the Lessons, 
 Epistle, and Gospel, and to insert, for the first time, the Rubric after the 
 Third Collect. As the sense of the word ' singing' can hardly be supposed 
 to have changed in the minds of the same persons in one 3'ear, or less, v/e 
 must suppose that the Convocation and Legislature confined 'singing after 
 the manner of distinct reading' or chaunting, to the singing of such 
 portions of the Liturgy, e. g. the Creeds, Psalms, &c., in quires and places 
 where they sing, as Cathedrals or Collegiate Churches; a late anomaly 
 where the cure of souls often in parishes, as in Manchester, was transferred 
 from the rector to a body corporate, where they have regular choristers, or 
 a trained lay congregation; — which ' saying ' (which is to be of the whole 
 congregation, see Confession), or ' answering' (as ' Amen,' by the people), 
 or 'repeating' (as frequently) is to be after the manner of distinct reading 
 only, not ' singing after such manner,' or chaunting.* 
 
 " I regret, therefore, I cannot consent to the arrangement you propose. 
 I would gladly sacrifice much to comply with the convictions of any of 
 my Clergy, when I can do so ; but in this easel feel sure your convictions 
 are founded entirely in error, and I cannot concede to thera. 
 " With very kind wishes, I am, 
 
 " Faithfully yours, 
 
 " J. P. Manchester. 
 
 "The Rev. T. Ramsbotham, Curate of Ringley." 
 
 " Ringley Parsonage, January 10, 1851. 
 
 " My Lord, — I am much obliged by your Lordship's kind ofl^er to 
 'sacrifice much to comply with the convictions of any of your Clergy, 
 when you can do so,* but as in this case you ' feel sure that my convictions 
 are founded entirely in error,' I may, perhaps, be allowed to explain why 
 I had come to a conclusion different to that at which your Lordship has 
 arrived. 
 
 " I am aware that the Rubric directs 'parts of the Liturgy shall be read, 
 others said, and others said or sung,' and that ' nowhere is any part 
 directed to be only sung, except (as your Lordship suggests) the Anthem.' 
 It is, my Lord, the very circumstance of the Rubrics being thus variously 
 worded that led me to suppose that what it orders to be ' read ' shall be 
 
 * I have not been able to find this Rubric whicli prohibits chaunting.
 
 14 
 
 'read 'only; that what it orders to be 'said' shall be 'said;' and that 
 where 'saying or singing' is allowed, the officiating minister might choose 
 which it shall be. The subject of which these Rubrics treat, is the mode 
 of conducting the Service — all, therefore, may be said to treat of similar, 
 if not the sa7ne subject. 
 
 "Your Lordship has shown, that in treating such subject 'read, say, 
 and sing' are used j and Lord Chief Justice Abbott, in delivering a judg- 
 ment of the King's Bench, has laid down the rule of construction appli- 
 cable in such cases, by saying that ' the application of different words 
 to similar matters shows that they were intended to have a different 
 construction.' Your Lordship continues, that the Anthem is to be sung 
 'only in certain places,' which you subsequently define to be cathedral 
 and collegiate churches, where singing-boys are part of the foundation, 
 and entitled to some of its revenues. That is, no doubt, the meaning of 
 'quire;' but if singing is limited to 'quires,' what meaning is by that con- 
 struction left for the other part of the Rubric, viz., ' places where they 
 sing' ? I always understood that Rubric to mean, that there was to be an 
 anthem in all * quires,' and in all other ' places where they sing,' and your 
 Lordship certainly makes this applicable to 'quires' only if you will not 
 allow singing elsewhere ; but ' where the Legislature has used words of a 
 plain and definite import, it would be very dangerous to put upon them a 
 construction which would amount to holding that the Legislature did not 
 
 mean what it has expressed. The fittest course in all cases is 
 
 to adhere to the words of the Statute, construing them according to their 
 nature and import, in the order in which they stand in the Act.' 
 
 "Read, say, and sing are ' words of a plain and definite import,' and I 
 merely construed them ' in their ordinary and familiar signification and 
 iiTiport, having regard to their general and popular use.' Your Lordship 
 then refers me to the Exceptions and the Bishops' Answers, but the Bishops 
 were not then acling judicially ; they were, therefore, only matter of his- 
 tory, and Mr. Baron Alderson (in Mr. Gorham's case, when the reasons 
 for passing the Acts of Hen. VIII. were urged upon the Court by the 
 Bishop of Exeter's Counsel) said — 'The Courts do not construe Statutes 
 by history. When deciding Ryder v. Mills on the Factory Act, we did 
 not found our judgment on what we know of the proceedings in Parlia- 
 ment.* Your Lordship is aware, that if the Parliamentary proceedings — 
 the history of that Act — had been attended to, the Court must have de- 
 cided otherwise, for I will venture to say every member, and certainly 
 every operative, thought that the system of ' relays ' was abolished by it. 
 I would, therefore, suggest to your Lord-ship, whether confining chanting 
 to Cathedral and Collegiate churches is not, in effect, saying that the same
 
 15 
 
 Rubric has different meanings in different places — that 'say or sing* iu 
 Cathedrals and Colleges means ' say or sing' in the ' ordinary and familiar 
 signi6cation and import of those words,' and in other churches means 
 something else — or in other words, that an Ecclesiastical Court, if it could 
 not compel singing in the former, could, at any rate, prohibit it in the 
 latter — and this in the interpretation of the very same law. I always 
 thought that the Rubric applied to all churches indiscriminately ; and that 
 after the Communion Service, which mentions ' Cathedral and Collegiate 
 Churches and Colleges ' alone, in contradistinction to others, indicated, in 
 my mind, that such was the case, unless some were specially mentioned. 
 The congregations of those churches no longer, in practice, consist exclu- 
 sively of the members of the foundation, whatever they may do in theory j 
 so that if chanting * admits a vicarious worship,' it is, under the present 
 circumstances of cathedral congregations, 'directly opposed to the Church 
 of England,' quite as much in them as in any other church. But it appears 
 to me, I say so with all deference, that chanting is not open to that charge, 
 because people do join in it, aud because it is adopted in cathedrals, in 
 which I cannot suppose your Lordship would sanction ' vicarious worship ' 
 practically, merely because theoretically it has no existence. 
 
 " In conclusion, I may add, that your wishes shall in the present instance 
 be attended to, as I can obey my Bishop without disobeying the Church. 
 I fully understand that there is to be no singing of any kind whatever in 
 Ringley Chapel, although the inference which I drasv from the omission 
 of the Rubric requiring the Lessons* to be ' sung,' and the substitution of 
 the present Rubric is, that the Lessons were in future to be ' read,' but that 
 the other parts of the Service were to be 'said or sung' under the present 
 Rubric, as ihe Lessons had been under the old one. If any alteration had 
 been intended in any other part, it is but natural to expect that it would 
 have been made as it was in the case of the Lessons ; altering one and 
 not the other, clearly shows that one was intended to be altered and one 
 not. " I remain, my Lord, 
 
 " Your Lordship's faithful Servant, 
 
 " T. Ramsbotham." 
 
 " Sedgley Hall, near Manchester, January 11, I80L 
 " Reverend Sir, — I have received your letter, and do not think it 
 
 necessary to enter into the various errors aud misapprehensions which 
 
 it contains. 
 
 " My remarks were intended to apply, as was evident, to the liiturgy 
 
 and other Services contained in ' the Book of Common Prayer,' and uo- 
 
 * Tbia also applies to the Epistle and Gospel.
 
 16 
 
 where forbade 'singing of any kind whatever' in Ringley Chapel ; and if 
 you pervert a letter, written in a kindly spirit, to a meaning never 
 intended by me, I may be induced to take steps as regards both yourself 
 and Mr. Fellows, which I may regret being compelled to adopt, yet 
 shall not shrink from. " I am, Reverend Sir, 
 
 " Yours, &c., 
 
 "J. P. Manchester. 
 " Rev. T. Ramsbotham." 
 
 "Ringley Parsonage, January 17th, 1851. 
 
 "My Lord, — Allow me earnestly to assure your Lordship that nothing 
 was further from my intention than ' to pervert your Lordship's letter to 
 a meaning never intended by you ; ' but as it appears I have misconstrued 
 it, I think it my duty, in order to avoid all misconception of your wishes, 
 to request that your Lordship will be kind enough to inform me what 
 particular portions of the Service, in conformity with the Rubric, your 
 Lordship wishes to be sung; as the expression in your last letter, that you 
 ' nowhere forbade singing of any kind whatever,' contemplates, I presume, 
 that some portion, at least, of ' the Liturgy and other Services contained in 
 the Book of Common Prayer,' to which, your Lordship says, your 
 'remarks were intended to apply,' may be sung. 
 
 "lam induced to make this request, as I am really ignorant to what 
 singing your Lordship can allude ; and as I have promised ' so to minister 
 
 the discipline of Christas the Lord hath commanded, and this church 
 
 and realm hath received the same,' I do sincerely hope that, to obviate all 
 doubts on the subject, your Lordship will be pleased to enter more fully 
 into an explanation of your meaning. I am far from seeking any inno- 
 vations; and though I did introduce chanting at Ringley, and continued 
 it till your Lordship prohibited it — a period of 18 months —I did not 
 conceive that I was acting improperly, or that what has been for many 
 years practised without rebuke in many parish and district churches in 
 other dioceses, as also in this, was open to the objections which have been 
 urged against it. Praying that your Lordship may not judge my motives 
 unkindly, " I remain, my Lord, 
 
 "Your Lordship's most obedient Servant, 
 
 "T. Ramsbotham." 
 
 The Bishop did not reply to this last letter, though he certainly did 
 mention it once afterwards, when he said that he thought Mr. Ramsbotham 
 was angry when he wrote it, and therefore he took no notice of it ; one 
 way certainly of letting us know what to do about the singing. Under
 
 11 
 
 these circumstances, we had no singing at all on Sundays, aad we have 
 since continued to have " two plain Services," according to what, if it had 
 not been for the Acts of Uniformity, might be called the use of Manchester. 
 People can easily imagine the feelings of those who were perfectly con- 
 vinced that they were in the right, and only doing what the Church herself 
 allowed them to do, being hurt at having their Choral Service stopped, 
 while their neighbours, on all sides, were not interfered with. Whether 
 we acted rightly in thus stopping the Service, may be a question, but we 
 wished to be obedient, although it was far from being in accordance with 
 the views either of ourselves or our congregation. A memorial, i-equesting 
 Mr. Ramsbotham to use his bast endeavours to obtain the Bishop's sanc- 
 tion to have the Choral Service restored, was signed by a great majority of 
 those who attended the chapel; but Mr. Ramsbotham, not wishing to 
 provoke his Lordship, told the memorialists he could do nothing with it, 
 as the Bishop had not answered his last letter. The people, therefore, 
 said no more about the matter, but tried to endure the alteration, though 
 with an occasional expression of regret. In this unpleasant way things 
 went on, and we looked forward to the time when something would be 
 done to alleviate our troubles. But alas ! we waited in vain. 
 
 Out of evil, however, good often comes, and in this instance Daily Prayer 
 was the result; and as the Bishop had said nothing about Choral Service 
 except on Sundays, we had it in the mornings and evenings of the other 
 six days in the week. 
 
 In a country village many would think it impossible to muster a choir 
 twice a day, but this we managed to do. Our " mock choristers" consisted 
 of twelve boys and nine men. None of them could sing much, so we taught 
 them, and in return, they gave their services gratuitously for more than 
 two years, and attended tolerably regularly. We then thought it expedient 
 to give some of them a small remuneration, and tied them to attend so 
 many evenings in each week ; of course all the boys were present both 
 morning and evening, and we managed to get one bass voice for Morning 
 Prayer. They all lived in our district ; we were anxious to have it so, in 
 order that they might take an interest in their own church, and at the 
 same time carry forth, as far as could be, among their fellows, the notions 
 which we, from their being so constantly with us, were better able to instil 
 into them. We were not disappointed in our hopes : a few words dropped, 
 as it were, at their singing lessons, reached their homes, and spread 
 through the district. In this wa}' a great many people's eyes were opened, 
 whom we had no opportunity of otherwise reaching. I do not mean to 
 say that this was our only method of instilling Church pinciples into 
 the people, far from it ; wherever there was an opening we did our best, 
 
 c
 
 18 
 
 using all lawful, honest, and straightforward means to enlighten those 
 among whom we had to labour. 
 
 It may seem almost incredible to some who may chance to read this 
 pamphlet, how well our daily services were attended. Ringley itself is a 
 very small village, the principal part of the population living from half-a- 
 mile to a mile from the church, although a great many are more than 
 double that distance from it. At the Morning Service our average num- 
 ber was from eight to ten, not including the " mock choristers " or the 
 school children ; at the Evening from forty to seventy, — we liave had 
 more than one hundred, and very seldom less than twenty. Our Morning 
 Prayer was at a quarter to nine o'clock, the Evening at a quarter to eight. 
 
 Nobody can tell the pleasure and satisfaction it gave us to see so many 
 of all afzps, both male and female, taking a delight in thus serving the 
 Lord. These devout worshippers were among the number whom the 
 Bishop of Manchester designated as an " ignorant set." Was there any 
 objection, I ask, to our enlightening that ignorance, by endeavouring to 
 instruct them in the knowledge of church music, in order that they might 
 be able to appreciate the beautiful harmonies composed for the English 
 Church ? Did Tractarianism here show its rampant exuberance too 
 boldly ? or did Popery conceal itself in the organ ? The Bishop "enjoys" 
 church music, forsooth, and yet denies to his poorer brethren what he is 
 himself so fond of. Do unto others, my Lord, as you would they should 
 do unto you. 
 
 As regards the course that has been pursued at Ringley, no one will 
 for a moment contend that it might not have been better ; and had we to 
 do the work over again, we should probably set about it in a different 
 way in many respects. But taking things as they are, as regards myself, 
 I will say that I do not regret one single thing that I have done, for I 
 am more convinced than ever (and who can gainsay experience ?) that 
 our notions of the mode of conducting the Services of the Church are the 
 right ones to bring the mass of the people to a proper understanding of 
 Common Prayer. Some act as if they thought that a parson ought to 
 preach and fill his church ; but then, if there be no sermon, the people 
 will not go to Prayers. I do not wish to speak lightly of preaching, far 
 from it; as it is one of the Priest's most important duties; but to see 
 people all alive, with open ears, during the sermon, and lolling and 
 lounging in silence, if not asleep, during the Prayers, with a " lay clerk " 
 muttering the Responses, " is in no way according to the spirit of the 
 Church of England — nay, it is directly contrary to it, for it admits a 
 vicarious worship for the people, reconcileable easily with " Puritanism, 
 " but directly opposed to the Church of England."
 
 19 
 
 Time passed on and brought us to August, 1851, when troubles from 
 another quarter set in upon us. One difficulty was no sooner overcome 
 than another arose, and a stranger would really have thought that we were 
 working and building a church for our own aggrandisement ; whereas we 
 have no place to set our foot on which we can call our own. We have been 
 living in a strange land and among a strange people, trying our utmost to 
 serve God faithfully, teaching, attending, and watching a neglected, though 
 in many instances a grateful, people, for Christ's sake; building them a 
 church to worship in, and receiving as our earthly reward, dismissal by a 
 Pluralist Incumbent, with the approval of an inconsistent Bishop ! 
 
 When our church was almost finished, Mr. Lyon sent us word that he 
 should not sign the petition for consecration until we had raised five per 
 cent, on the whole outlay, to be set apart for a repair fund. Nathan 
 Wallworth has provided such a fund for the old chapel, and it would be 
 ample, if properly looked after and applied only to that purpose, to keep 
 the new chapel in repair; but it goes to the incumbent when no repairs 
 are needed. Hinc illm lachrymcB. 
 
 I was very objectionable to Mr. Lyon at the outset, because, for one 
 reason, I happened to be musical. The following letter shows what he 
 still thinks of me, though on what reasonable grounds I am at a loss to 
 conceive : — 
 
 " Pulford, Wrexham, August 8, 1851. 
 
 "Dear Sir, — In the letter which I addressed to you in the beginning 
 of last month, I urged the necessity of a new fund being raised in 
 addition to that provided by Nathan Wallworth, before a petition for the 
 consecration of the new church could be presented. I will thank you to 
 inform me whether any steps have been taken for that purpose. I wish 
 also to know whether Mr. Fellows still continues to assist you; and if so, 
 to request that you will, as soon as possible, dispense with his services. 
 I need not now repeat my objections to his being employed at Ringley, 
 and hope you will immediately comply with my wishes, 
 " I am, dear Sir, 
 
 "Yours faithfully, 
 
 "5. R. Lyon. 
 
 "Rev. T. Ramsbotham." 
 
 In reply to the latter part of this letter, Mr. Ramsbotham wrote as 
 follows : — 
 
 " With respect to Mr. Fellows, — who, though at present enjoying a 
 month's run among his friends, is still my coadjutor, — I would earnestly 
 entreat you to recall the wish which you express in your letter. Ringley
 
 so 
 
 Chapel is surrounded by a dense and growing population, scattered over a 
 very large area, into which no clergyman but ourselves ever sets foot. 
 For 1848, 49, and 50, — the three first years of my curacy, — the yearly 
 average of Baptisms was 268, of Burials 144. In Outwood there are 
 three Daily Schools, which it is clearly my duty both regularly and 
 actively to superintend. There are, too, always a great number of sick 
 here, which may perhaps be accounted for by the lowness of the situation 
 and the dense fogs which are continually rising from the river and canal. 
 Be this as it may, certainly the air of Ringley is very relaxing, and sick- 
 ness is very prevalent in consequence. During the past year the small-pox 
 has committed dreadful ravages, having raged among us for seven or eight 
 months, while typhus and other kindred fevers are frequent visitants. I 
 merely mention this to shew that a good deal of time and labour is required 
 here for the visitation of the sick. I think you will admit, therefore, that 
 there is scope enough for the energies of two curates; at any rate, I am 
 quite sure that a week's residence would convince you of the fact. If it be 
 said that one clergyman has done the work, and therefore might do so 
 again, I don't pretend to deny it. Still this does not disprove my assertion 
 that two would not only do the same work much better, but might easily 
 com])ass many other duties besides, which, however needful to be done, one 
 curate could not attempt. If therefore I feel, as I most assuredly do, that 
 I can fulfil the requirements of this curacy so much better with the aid of 
 an assistant than I could single-handed, is it nnreasonable to ask you to 
 sanction my having such help, provided I do not subject you to any 
 additional expense thereby P I trust then, my dear Sir, that you will not 
 seek to impose upon me any harsh restrictions, which would only cripple 
 my means of usefulness and render my position uncomfortable. I cannot 
 for one moment suppose that such a result would afford you satisfaction, 
 and therefore earnestly deprecate so stern a resolve as that which you seem 
 to have formed." 
 
 This civil answer brought the following very pithy and laconic reply : — 
 
 "Pulford, August 13, 1851. 
 " Rev. and dear Sir, — In accordance with the permission granted by the 
 Bishop of Manchester, I hereby give you formal notice to quit and give 
 up the Stipendiary Curacy of Ringley, within si.\ months of the date 
 hereof. 
 
 " I am. Rev. and dear Sir, 
 
 " Yours faithfully, 
 
 " The Rev. T. Ramsbotham." " J. R. Lyon.
 
 21 
 
 In that letter was an enclosure, of which the following is a copy :— 
 "Sedgley Hall, Manchester, August 15th, 1851. 
 
 "Rev. and dear Sir, — As I consider it of the highest consequence to 
 the well-being of the Church, that the most perfect confidence and har- 
 mony should subsist between an Incumbent and his Curate,* and having 
 had my attention called to the circumstances of the chapel at Ringley, 
 I have no hesitation in hereby giving you permission, as you request, to 
 give the Rev. Thos. Rarasbolham notice, under the Act 1 & 2 Victoria, 
 c. 106, sec. 95, to quit and give up his Stipendiary Curacy of Ringley. f 
 
 " I am, Rev. and dear Sir, 
 
 " Faithfully yours, 
 
 " J. P. Manchester. 
 " The Rev. J. R. Lyon." 
 
 After this fashion our labours at Ringley are put an end to by Mr. 
 Lyon. " Sic volo sicjubeo"h the just (!) and convenient principle on 
 which he seems to have acted throughout. When the fact of this notice 
 became known, some few of those who regularly attended the Daily 
 Evening Prayer, determined to ascertain the feeling of the people ; they 
 drew up, therefore, a memorial to Mr. Lyon, requesting him to allow Mr. 
 Ramsboiham to remain among them, and obtained seve)i hundred signa- 
 tures to it. They suffered no Dissenter to sign it, some of whom, I hear, 
 were rather disappointed because they were not allowed to do so. This 
 memorial was then sent off to Mr. Lyon, and his answer to it was, that he 
 and the Bishop had, the week before, appointed a gentleman to the Curacy 
 of Ringley. It is rather odd that Mr. Lyon shuuld have told one of the 
 Curates of Bury, who applied for Ringley, that the appointment would not 
 take place until February, and yet appoint a person in December. 
 
 I shall here quote a very promising letter that the Bishop sent to Mr. 
 Ramsbotham, in answer to one requesting his Lordship's sanction to build 
 anew church, and asking for aid. 
 
 * How could " harmony" have been expected, when Mr. Lyon, who is averse to 
 Tractanans, selects one Curate, and, after trial of him, allows another to come from a 
 Traciarian Church ? 
 
 + If the Bishop and Incumbent will turn to sec. 124, they will find that the Act 
 only applies to a " benefice with cure of souls." Ringley, though it is a " benefice' ' 
 under 1 Geo. I., stat. 2, c. 10, s. 4, in consequence of an augmentation by Queen Anne's 
 Bounty, has no " cure of souls," and therefore the notice is worthless. The contract 
 is simply one of "hiring and service,'' which Mr. Lyon cannot terminate before that 
 period of the year at which it originally commenced.
 
 " Sedgley Hall, Manchester, Dec. 14, 1849. 
 
 " Rev. and Dear Sir, — I am compelled at present, except in extraordinary- 
 cases, to limit my snbscripiions to local objects, nntil my purse shall have 
 somewhat recovered the heavy onslaught made upon it by the expenses of 
 my appointment. I shall be most happy, if able, at a future time to aid 
 your good work, and to recommend it to the Societies for assistance. 
 
 " Faithfully yours, 
 
 " J. P. Manchester. 
 " Rev. T. Ramsbotham." 
 
 The italics in " local" are the Bishop's own, and it is difficult to under- 
 stand their meaning, for Ringley and " Sedgley Ha 1" are in the very 
 same identical parish. The " future time " to which his Lordship 
 then alluded, is, I am sorry to say, even now also " future." So 
 much for aiding our good work, which, though it has been com- 
 pleted without his aid, and, is now ready for consecration, is as yet 
 unconsecrated, and odd to say, the Bishop will not fix a day (though 
 repeatedly asked) for the ceremony. He knows full well that we cannot 
 pay our work-people until we get the money from the two Societies, and 
 iheir rule is not to pay their grants until after the Church is consecrated. 
 
 Thus we are now circumstanced; a Church ready for consecration, and 
 nearly £700. to raise to pay the contractors with ; of this sum the two 
 Societies will give us nearly £500. 
 
 Now, I will ask, what have we done to receive such treatment at the 
 hands of the Bishop and Incumbent ? Nothing has been brought against 
 us, except the Choral Service and the Tract — which latter the Bishop 
 himself evidently did not think much about. 
 
 " The very head and front of my offending 
 Hath this extent, no more." 
 
 And for these — "reasons" I cannot call them — after four years' labotir 
 in Mr. Ramsbotham 's case, and three in mine, we are compelled to leave 
 Ringley. Seven hundred people having petitioned a non-resident Incum- 
 bent to allow Mr. Ramsbotham to remain. We have watched the Church 
 iu its building, seen almost stone laid upon stone, our hearts and souls in 
 the work, and now we are suddenly called upon to quit. In February 
 our time is up, and there appears to be no help for it.
 
 Such has been the language of a Bishop who, in a late Charge (I quote 
 from the Manchester Courier), said, " iMy younger fellow-labourers, I 
 would hope that we may long continue to take sweet counsel together in 
 every common labour as friends." 
 
 " Ah ! my good lord of 3fawchester, I thank you, 
 You are always my good friend ; if your will pass, 
 I shall both find your lordship judge and juror, 
 You are so merciful : I see your end — 
 'Tis my undoing : love and meekness, lord, 
 Become a churchman better than ambition ; 
 Win straying souls with modesty again, 
 Cast none away. That I shall clear myself, 
 Lay all the weight ye can upon my patience, 
 I make as little doubt, as you do conscience 
 In doing daily wrongs. I could say more, 
 But reverence to your calling makes me modest." 
 
 It is indeed melancholy to write in this strain of one whom we 
 ought to regard as our Spiritual father. In bis Episcopal ofHce I do so 
 regard him, but apart from it, can I look upon him as a brother, or even 
 as a friend ? 
 
 In conclusion, I must express a hope that no one will judge me un- 
 charitably for what these pages contain. In publishing them I have 
 done what I believe to be my duty, and I think every unbiassed reader 
 must admit that the Sayings and Doings which I have detailed, are not 
 what would have been expected from a Bishop of the Church of Eng- 
 land. Judge, then, leniently one who is heart-broken and sick at soul. 
 To see three years' work unceremoniously set at nought; and to be torn, 
 without any cause which would not equally have prevented my appoint- 
 ment to the Curacy, from a people clinging to one with Christian love and 
 gratitude, is indeed hard to bear. It is a trial which I sincerely hope may 
 never happen to any other. 
 
 Rickmansworth, Herts. 
 
 KSme tatd Sever, Primfers, Palccfine Buildings, Hvnts Bank, Manchetter.
 
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