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"IS THERE NOT A CAUSE!"

A LETTER

THE REV. E. B. PUSEY, D.D.
BEGIUS PEOFESSOE OF HEBREW,
AND CANON OF CHRIST OHURCp, OXFORIT,
OCCASIONED BY
HIS CIRCULAR
IN SUPPORT OF
THE REV. ISAAC WILLIAMS,
(author op THE TBACT.S ON RESERVE IN COMMUNICATING RELIGIOUS KNOVVLBDQE,)
AS A CANDIDATE FOR
THE POETRY PROFESSORSHIP.

BY
THE REV. W. SIMCOX BRICKNELL, M.A.
¦ III '
OF WORCESTER COLLEGE, INCUMBENT OF GROVE, BERKS,
AND ONE OF THE OXFORD CITY LECTURERS.

OXFORD,
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY J. VINCENT ;
AND F. BAISLER, LONDON.
1841.

LETTER.
Rev. AND Dear Sir,
The attention of the Members of Con
vocation having been, as I believe, first publicly
directed to the approaching vacancy in the Poetry
Professorship, with reference to its bearing upon
" our recent unhappy divisions," by a pamphlet which
I ventured to put forth at the close of last term,^ I
feel myself in some measure entitled to offer a few
remarks upon the Circular which has appeared with
your signature attached, in support of the qualifica
tions of the Rev. Isaac Williams.
And here allow me to observe, that I have been
induced to address these remarks directly to your
self, under the persuasion that such a course is most
consistent with the respect due to the position which
you occupy in the University, as well as most in
unison with those feelings of esteem and, (when I
recollect your kind exertions for the spiritual welfare
of the people entrusted to my care,) I must add, of
gratitude, which I cannot but entertain towards you
as an individual.
It is not my intention to institute a comparison
° Resignation and Lay Communion : Professor Keble's View
ofthe Position and Duties of the Tractaridns, as described in
his " Letter to Mr. Justice Coleridge," &c. June 19, 1841.

between the " poetic talents" of the two rival candi
dates : in this respect, the one may be as fully quali
fied as the other for the office in question. Neither
will I pretend to determine to what extent, within
the walls of the University, Mr. Williams has been
" marked out" as Mr. Keble's successor ; though
upon this point I may be allowed to state a. fact
which fell within my own observation, viz. that while
many, and some of them very influential resident
Members of Convocation — so far from having heard
of that gentleman's expectations — were not even
aware of the approaching vacancy in the Professor
ship, the votes of electors living in a distant part of
the country had been secured on behalf of the Trac-
tarian candidate.
To the question of non-residence, now raised, I
believe, for the first time in the history of this Pro
fessorship, and so fully disposed of by Dr. Gilbert in
his reply to your Circular, it must be quite unneces
sary to make any further allusion. I will therefore
confine myself to two points, which I conceive to be
of far greater importance than either of the pre
ceding, viz.
, I. . *
1. The cause to which, in the last paragraph of
your Circular, you attribute the origin of the
approaching contest ; and
2. The description which you have given of the
character and tendency of Mr. Williams'
theological writings.

I. Little need be said upon the first of these points.
"The Gallios of this world, who 'care for none of
these things,' cannot understand that others should
be deeply concerned about them ; they cannot then
but ascribe any earnestness about such things io party
spirit, personal animosity, or the rest of the human
passions." '' But that you. Reverend Sir, whom none
can reckon among the "Gallios of this world," — that
you, who have already claimed for yourself the credit
of being influenced by purer motives " in the cause
of truth," — that you should be disposed to withhold
from others, under similar circumstances, the same
indulgence, is indeed matter for disappointment and
surprise. There was a time when you undertook " an invi
dious task," which you " would gladly have been
spared ;" "events brought it into your way, so" that
you "could not shrink from it." "Convinced," as you
were, " that a crisis was impending over our Church,
upon which her efficiency as an instrument in God's
hand, or her very existence" might " depend," you
" dared not regard any obloquy," — you were prepared
to "take cheerfully any imputations which might
meet" you "in the cause of truth.""
Convictions of danger to our Church, no less strong
than yours, have driven others, in the same "cause of
" Dr. Hampden's Theological Statements and the Thirty-nine
Articles compared. By the Rev. E. B. Pusey, p. 36.
' Ibid. p. 36.

6
truth," to adopt proceedings the principle of which
was once fully recognised by yourself : and if, in the
conscientious discharge ofwhat they deem to be their
duty, they "meet with imputations" upon the sin
cerity of their motives, — if from quarters whence
such a charge might least have been expected,
they incur the odium of being influenced by "party
strife," they must follow the example which you have
set them — " hold on, ' through evil report and good
report,' and count as nothing the praise or the cen
sure of man." "^
II. With reference to Mr. Williams' theological
writings, permit me, in the first place, to express my
conviction, that ofall the "Tracts" to which theatten
tion of the public has been directed, the two of which
Mr. Williams is the author have been less than any
others the subject of " newspaper controversy," while
they have drawn forth some of the most earnest and
pointed "admonitions" from " those who have autho
rity in the Lord's vineyard." And, so far from hav
ing had " the uniform eflTect of calming men's minds,"
I firmly believe that — with the exception, perhaps, of
your own views upon the subject of " Sin after Bap
tism" — no publication vvhich has emanated from the
party to which Mr. Williams belongs, has tended
more to disturb the minds of men than the Tracts
^ Dr. Hampden's Theological Statements compared with the
Thirty-nine Articles. Bp the Rev. E. B. Pusey, p. 36.

upon " Reserve in communicating Religious Know
ledge." That, in the judgment of every Protestant Bishop
who has hitherto alluded to this important subject,
the writings of Mr. Williams are not calculated " to
promote the sound principles of our Church according '
to the teaching of her Liturgy," no one, who has
read the charges of the Prelates in question, will,
I conceive, venture to deny. Nor will the eflTect of
this episcopal testimony to the unsoundness of his
views, be much diminished by the attempt which
Mr. Williams has just raade to prove, that, in the
case of one Bishop at least, his sentiments have been
wholly misunderstood.
" A recommendation to use reserve in preaching
the doctrine of our Lord's Atonement," is one of
those " newly propounded theories " upon which
the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol expressly states
that he has had " competent means of irforming
himself: " ° and they who have attentively consi
dered the uuhole of Mr. Williams' two Tracts upon
this subject, cknnot fail to observe how carefully, in
his recent extracts, he has avoided the objectionable
details of his system, and confined himself to the
exhibition of a general principle, which, if it be in
deed nothing more than " reverence,^ or seriousness,
" Charge of the Lord Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol,
1841, p. 32.
<¦ We are told, that there is a rvant of reverence in speaking

or religious caution," ^ must influence every "faithful
and wise steward," in giving unto the household of
God " their portion of meat in due season."
That something more, however, than mere ^^re
verence or seriousness " is intended, appears plainly
from the very passage selected by Mr. Williams as
an answer to the Bishop's Charge. "Do we then
maintain, that the doctrine of the Atonement is to be
intentionally and designedly withdrawn from all public
mention ? Nothing of the kind has been ever sug
gested or practised by us. Surely the doctrine may
be taught in all .its fulness on all occasions, and at
all seasons, more effectually, more really and truly,
according to the proportion of the faith, or the need
of circumstances, without being brought out from the
context of Holy Scripture into prominent and ex
plicit mention,"^ Now it is just this "Reserve in
communicating religious knowledge," — this caution
openly and often of our Lord's Atonement. God forbid that any
one should thus sin against the marvellous goodness of the
Lord! But how can it be irreverent to speak of the Lord
Jesus, the Mediator between God and man, and yet reverent
to speak of the awful Majesty of the Father? — And yet this is
not forbidden us : on the contrary, we are told to prepare men
for hearing of the Atonement, by awakening in their minds a
due sense of the terrors of the Lord : a direction which destroys,
therefore, the objection to suj)port which it is urged." — Arch
deacon Wilberforce's Ordination Sermon. Published by
desire ofthe Bishop of Winchester. Dec. 1839.
^ Tracts for the Times, No. 87, p. 46.
" Ibid. p. 52, -53.

9
against the "prominent and explicit mention" ofthe
doctrine of the Atonement, — this " holding back of
the" most "sacred and iraportant truths" of the
Gospel, — " as if the knowledge of them were inju
rious to persons unworthy of them,"' — against which
the Bishop of Chester cautioned his Clergy in 1838 5''
which the Bishop of Gloucester " considers most in
excusable ;"' and which the Bishop of Exeter has de
clared fo be " inconsistent, not only with the general
duty of the Christian Minister, . . . but also with
the special and distinct requirement of our own
Church."^ It is of the persons who inculcate this
principle of Reserve that the Bishop of Ripon is
speaking, when he says, " earnestly indeed do I pray
my Reverend Brethren, that you will not listen to
those who would bid you be cautious and sparing in
doing that which our obligations as Christian Ministers
bid us to do, in all the various branches of our mi
nisterial office.""
But the "tendency" of Mr. Williams' "writings
and influence" is not to be determined only by the
Tracts of which he is the author. "Noscitur a
sociis" is a rule by which he may be fairly tried :
and if, upon such a trial, the testimony of " those
' Tracts for the Times, No. 80, p. 3.
' Charge by the Lord Bishop of Chester, p. 2.
' Charge, &c. 1841, p. 33.
"" Charge to the Clergy of th6 Diocese of Exeter, 1839,
p. 83, 84.
" Charge to the Clergy of the Diocese of Ripon, 1841,
p. 23, 24.

10
who have authority in the Lord's vineyard " is to have
any weight, then — unless Mr. Williams will come
forward and disclaim for himself the views and prin
ciples of the party of which he is believed to be a
leading and influential member — he must be num
bered among those whose "writings and influence"
tend rather to subvert than " to promote the sound
principles of our Church according to the teaching
of her Liturgy," and whom the University is there
fore bound, in justice to itself and to the country, to
declare " ineligible to any of its offices."
I have, on a former occasion, collected at some
length the recorded opinions of several of our Bishops
upon what they deem to be the erroneous doctrines
and practices of the Tractarian party." Many similar
and important testimonies might now be added to the
list, but at present it is impossible to do more than
merely refer to their respective evidence.
I. The Archbishop of Canterbury, alluding to "the in
troduction of novelties in the celebration of Divine Service,"
has declared, that it " is much to be deprecated;'' and that " even
the revival of usages which, having grown obsolete, have the
appearance of novelties to the ignorant, may occasion dissatis
faction, dissension, and controversy." ^
II The Archbishop of Armagh has been delivering, in
the course of the past summer, a charge condemnatory of No.
90, and vindicating the censure pronounced upon it by the
Hebdomadal Board.
" The Ordinance of Preaching considered, with Reference to the Tracts for the
Times, Appendix A.
[¦ Charge of liis Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, 1840, p. 36.

II

III. The Archbishop of Dublin speaks ofthe Tractarians
as having been "led to adopt very heartily some most erroneous
views, through the combined attractions of antiquity and
novelty:" and of their system, as tending to ''revive but a
small portion of neglected truth, combined with a great mass
of obsolete error." '^
IV. The LATE LEARNED Archbishop OF Cashel has left
behind him an elaborate exposure of Mr. Newman's mystic
theory of justification, by the " habitation in us of God the
Father, and the Word incarnate through the Holy Gliost."'
V. The Bishop of London has forbidden Mr. Ward to
officiate in his diocese ; and has j-ecently refused to license
another member ofthe same party.
VI. The Bishop of Calcutta regards your system as one
wliich tends to " generate an inadequate and superficial and
superstitious religion :" a system which will, in the end, " make
way for an apostacy in our own Cliurch, as in that of Rome, —
unless, indeed, the evangelical piety, the reverence for Holy
Scripture, the theological learning, the forethought and fidelity
of our divines of dignified station and established repute, in
terpose by distinct cautions to prevent it." '
VII. The Bishop of Chester, long since, detected in
Tractarian views " a revival of the worst errors of the Romish
System."^ And has asserted in his recent charge, that " it
does certainly require an elaborate system of argument, such as
is attempted in the writings referred to, in order to prove that
persons holding the opinions here excepted against, are con
sistent members ofthe Church of England.""
VIII. The Bishop of Chichester has recorded his " pro
test against a system of doctrines recently attempted to be
revived, and which had ever appeared to him to be founded
1 Essay on the Danger of an erroneous Imitation of Christ's Teaching, note c,
p. 183.
¦¦ Visitation of the Saxon Reformed Church, &c. — with remarks on Mr. New
man's *' Lectures on Justification."
» Charge to the Clergy of the Diocese of Calcutta, 1838, p. 7S, 76.
' Charge to the Clergy of the Diocese of Chester, 1838, p. 2.
" Charge to the Clergy of the Diocese of Chester, 1841, p. 79, 80.

12
upon mistaken views of the general tenor and cliaracter of
Scripture." "^ His Lordship has since spoken still more strongly
of the same system, as " a strong and extensively organized
effort, if not openly to controvert, at least to weaken the evi
dence and practically to supersede the doctrines of justifica
tion through Faith, — the free Pardon of shi, through the
Gospel Covenant, — and the entire sufficiency of Scripture, as
our guide to salvation."''
IX. The Bishop of Exeter has publicly " lamented" the
leniency with which the Tractarians are disposed to treat " some
ofthe worst corruptions of Rome;' — "the encouragement given
by the same writers to the dangerous practice of prayer for the
dead-" — "the rashness which has prompted them to recommend
to private Christians the dedication of particular days to the reli
gious commemoration of deceased inen;"- — their views "of the
effects of sin after baptism ;" — " the tendency of their language
to encourage the pernicious and perilous habit of distinguishing
between such sins as m,ay destroy our state of grace, and such
as we may think still leave that state secure." He " lameiits,
and raore than laments, the tendency at least, if not the direct
import of some of their views on ' reserve in communicating
religious knowledge,' as ' inconsistent not only with the general
duty of the Christian Minister, . . but also with the special and
distinct requirement of our own Church.'" '' -
X. The Bishop of Durham, after stating that " the effect of
principles, either expressly laid down by these writers, or col
lected as a natural inference by their followers, has been not
merely to recommend a variety of antiquated forms and cere
monies, but to uphold them with such earnestness as to threaten
a revival of the follies of by-gone superstition," — does not hesi
tate to assert, that " an elaborate attemjit has been made" by
the same parties " to explain away the real meaning of our
Articles, and infuse into them a more kirtdly spirit of accom-

* Not Tradition, but Scripture. Adv. to 3rd edit. p. 7.
> Three Sermons, before the University of Oxford, 1840. Adr. p. 5.
' Chiirge to the Clergy of the Diocese of Exeter, 1839, p. 77-^84.

13
modation to the opinions and practices of the Church of
Rome." "
XI. The Bishop of Ripon regards the same attempt as likely
to " endanger the integrity of subscription." '
XII. The Bishop of Gloucester declares, " the perusal of
the ' Remarks upon the Thirty-nine Articles' has filled me with
astonishment and concern. The ostensible object of this Tract
is to shew that a person adopting the doctrines ofthe Council
of Trent, with the single exception of the Pope's supremacy,
might sincerely and conscientiously sign tiie Articles of the
Church of England. But the real object at which the writer
seems to be labouring, is to pr-ove that the differences in doctrine
which separate the Churches of England and Rome will, upon
examination, vanish.'' Upon this point much ingenuity, and, I
am forced to add, much sophistry, is exerted." ^
XIIL. The Bishop of Winchester — in a Charge which
is not yet published — has expressed his sentiments no less
plainly than his Right Reverend Brethren.
XIV. The Bishop of Lichfield, in his primary Charge,"
declared his conviction of the dangerous tendency of Tractarian
views, and described the system as one which saps the founda
tion of Protestantism, assails the character of the Reformers,
and depreciates the Reformation itself.
XV. The Bishop of Lincoln, who seems to have foreseen
the present controversy, has spoken strongly on the subject of
Tradition, and the defence due to the authority ofthe Fathers.'
And now, to this evidence of opinion, — which I
venture -to commend to the serious attention of every
" reverential son and minister " of our Church, —
¦ Charge to the Clergy ofthe Diocese of Durham, 1841, p. 11, 12.
l" Charge to the Clergy of the Diocese of Ripon, 1841, p. 25.
" " In doctrine — as Mr. Newman, Mr. Oakley, Mr. Ward, the British Critic,
and others, have abundantly shewn — there is absolutely no difference between
them." Wackerbarth's Tuba Concoedi.e, p. 4.
<¦ Charge to the Clergy of the Diocese of Gloucester and Bristol, 1841, p. 35, 36.
« Sept. 1841,
' Charge to the Clergy of the Diocese of Lincoln, 1840.

14
let me add the evidence o^ facts in proof of the real
tendency of " the writings and influence " of Mr.
Williams, and the School to which he belongs.
When, in your " Letter to the Bishop of Oxford,"^
you " thankfully " acknowledged it as " a great mercy
of God," that "no case had yet been shewn in
which " the supposed " tendency " of Tractarian
views " had been followed out, " — you perhaps as
little anticipated,- as I am sure you raust now deeply
deplore, the events which have since occurred.
Mr. Biden's conversion to the Church of Rome
followed soon after the publication of the last edition
of your Letter.
Mr. Sibthorp, having renounced the Protestant
Faith, will probably be ordained a Romish Priest.
And though this act of consistency on his part has
been attributed, in certain quarters, to imbecility and
fickleness of mind, yet, estimate his character as you
please, count him lighter than vanity itself, his
secession marks the tendency of the views which he
has lately adopted, for feathers tell which way the
wind blows.
Mr. Wackerbarth, of Queen's College, Cambridge,
author of the " Tuba Concordice,"^ has followed
« Page 235.
" " Tuba Concordise : a Letter to the future Prime Minister,
relative to the Pacification of Ireland, and the condition of the
Church. By the Rev. F. D. Wackerbarth, A.B. Priest of
the Anglican Cliurch, &c. Dated Lichfield. Feast of St.
Raymwul, 1841.''

15
in Mr. Sibthorp's steps, and taken up his abode at
Oscott. A very few notes ' will suffice to shew that
this gentleman's " Trumpet," at all events, gave no
"uncertain sound." ^
It has been formally asserted by " A Master
of Arts," in a letter which I am glad to find has
at last attracted the attention which it deserves, that
more than one resident Fellow in our University has
been in "stealthy intercourse with some of the
inmates " of this same Romish College.''
Dr. Wiseman, referring to this Pamphlet, in his Letter to
the Earl of Shrewsbury, says, " It well deserves serious atten
tion ; but the author's expressions concerning myself are too
personally kind to allow me to speak, as I might wish, con
cerning his production." p. 20.
' " Tlhefoul leaven of Protestantism." p. 5.
" I maintain that the Acts of Parliament which stand in the
way of our re-union with Rome, are high treason against God,
and must be henceforth blotted from the Statute Books.
" I maintain that these Acts unchristianize the state, and
entail schism on the nation ; and in the name of the souls of the
people I demand their immediate repeal." p. 6.
" However the state may choose to harry and oppress, it
Hannot long keep the English Church from the arms of our
loved but long-lost mother." p. 7.
J " If the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare
himself for the battle ? " Motto of the Tracts for the Times.
" " Now, sir, that I may be chargeable neither with injustice
nor want of generosity, I do not ' insinuate,' but I assert, that
there is good ground for supposing that there are about ten
members of this University, who, instead of fighting ' under
their proper banner,' have hoisted the flag of Anglicanism, and
under these false colours are taking advantage of their respective
positions, as Fellows of Colleges and Clergymen of the Esta-

16
While I write these pages, the sad intelligence has
reached me that another instance of conversion has
occurred in the person of a young man about to enter
the ministry as a Clergyman of the Established
Church, but now induced, by the study of the
"Tracts for the Times," to seek his orders from
Rome. "It is a sad blow to his family," says the
gentleman who communicates this painful fact : "his
poor mother has talked to me about him, bathed in
tears." The congregation which I have, at stated periods,
the privilege of addressing, has been told from the
pulpit, by the Savilian Professor of Geometry, speak
ing, as he declares, "not from loose reports, but from
the testimony of facts which have been brought to his
knowledge, that attempts have been recently made

Wished Church, to propagate ' Romanism,' and oppose, ' pri
mitive views;' and, if duly called upon to do so, I am
ready to produce strong grounds for my supposition in another
letter. " Meanwhile, I think it of importance that the public should
know that the Rev. W. Ward, Fellow of Balliol College, has
been a visitor at Oscott College, the residence of Dr. Wiseman,
during the last long vacation ; and that the individual who
introduced Mr. Sibthorp to that far-famed controversialist is
the Rev. J. Bloxam, Fellow of Madgalene College. Pre
viously to his visit to Oscott, Mr. W. Ward, had expressed
opinions which induced the Master of Balliol to deprive him
of his mathematical lectureship, and the Bishop of London to
forbid his officiating in his diocese." Letter to the Editor
OF the Standard, Nov. 12, 1841.

17
in Oxford, by Ministers of the Established Church,
to enforce what is termed " auricular confession" on
those under their influence." ' If report be true, one
of the Ministers in question is a gentleman recom
mended by yourself to instruct the junior class of
Hebrew students. This surely is a charge which
demands investigation : hitherto, I believe, it has
been passed over in silence.™
I have yet to notice one other fact, indicative of
the tendency of the Tractarian System, and it is, to
my mind, the most painful of them all. I refer to
Mr. Newman's vindication of himself from the charge
of having violated the rubric by mixing water with
the wine used at the administration of the Sacrament
of the Lord's Supper. I lay no stress upon the
practice itself; I put out of the question the violation
of the rubric ; but I ask, what can be thought of the
tendency of a system which must have so far clouded
Mr. Newman's perceptions of right and wrong, as to
suffer him to adopt the explanation to which he has
had recourse in this matter? The case, as it has
1 The Protestant's Warning and Safeguard in the Present
Times : a Sermon, preached before the Mayor and Corporation
of Oxford, at St. Martin's Church, Nov. 7,1841, p. 17/18.
"" " The divinity of the Oxford Tracts has been as completely
refuted, in all its parts, as any erroneous opinions can ever be
refuted ; and it is a sign of the discretion, if not of the candour
of these writers, to treat these answers ge-r^er ally as -ifthey had
never been written."- — Charge of the Bishop of Chester,
1841, p. 20.

18
been already laid before the public, is as follows, and
can need no further comment.
" I published last year some Strictures upon Dr.
Pusey's Letter to the Bishop of Oxford, in which I
charged Mr. Newman at St. Mary's, and his Curate
at Littlemoor, with violating the rubric by mixing
water with the wine at the Eucharist. In Mr.
Newman's own Letter" to the Bishop 'on occasion
of No. 90,' he makes the following reply :
" And here, with your Lordship's leave, I will make al
lusion to one mistake concerning me, whieh I believe has
reached your Lordship's ears, and which I only care to explain
to my Bishop. The explanation, I trust, will be an additional
proof of my adherence to the principle of acquiescing in the
state of things in which I find myself. It has been said, I
believe, that in the Communion Service I am in the practice of
mixing water with the wine, and that of course on a religious
or ecclesiastical ground. This is not the case. We are in the
custom at St. Mary's of celebrating the Holy Communion
every Sunday, and most weeks early in the morning. When
I began the early celebration, communicants represented to me,
that the wine was so strong as to distress them at that early
hour. Accordingly I mixed it with water in the bottle. How
ever, it became corrupt. On this, I mixed it at fhe time. I
speak honestly when I say, that this has been my only motive.
I have not mixed it when the Service has been in the middle of
the day.
" Now admitting that the very small quantity of
wine which we receive at the Eucharist administered
early in the morning, might be more distressing to a
weak stomach than the same quantity of wine and
water, it may be asked, ¦¦" Page 42.

19
" Ought not Mr. Newman to have consulted his
Diocesan before he ventured to depart from the
rubric, especially when by so doing he knew that he
was reverting to a practice discarded at the Refor
mation ?
"Again, 'the vvine,' he says, 'became corrupt
upon his mixing it with water in the bottle.' Indeed !
Water mixed with wine on Saturday night become
corrupt on Sunday morning! But if so, what pre
vented his mixing it beforehand in the vestry? Surely
it is quite unaccountable that Mr. Newman should
have allowed himself to make such an excuse.
" But why has he made no allusion to his Curate
at Littlemoor f He says himself that he does not
depart from the usual practice * when the service is
in the middle qf the day.' But his Curate did at
Littlemoor ; and if Mr. Newman knew it, I must
maintain that his silence here is as unaccountable as
the foregoing excuse." "
And now, if any regard be due to the recorded
judgment of the Bishops of our Church, so far as it
has been hitherto expressed; if their "godly ad
monitions" demand any reverence at our hands; if
any importance is to be attached to the facts which I
have adduced, — facts which are daily multiplying
" Brief remarks upon No. 90, second edition, and some sub
sequent publications in defence of it. By the Rev. C. P.
Golio-htly, M.A. of Oriel College, and Chaplain to Lord de
L'Isle and Dudley.

20
around us in every direction, — shall they who view
the present state of things with apprehension and
alarm be deterred, by the imputation of " party
strife," from resorting to such measures as they may
deem best calculated to avert the impending danger?
May tJtey not also in sincerity adopt your motto
upon a former occasion, and say " Is there not a
Cause?"
The motives which actuate the Tractarians in at
tempting to secure to their own party the Poetry
Professorship, have been so fully developed by them
selves, that further allusion to the subject is super
fluous. Mr. Keble — in a passage ° which has been
for some time before the public, and which furnishes
an unanswerable reply to those who would fain per
suade themselves and others that there is no con
nexion between Mr. Williams' theological views and
the office which he seeks — has laid bare the secret
spring of their exertions. The contest has been
provoked in the most plain and unequivocal terms.
The British Critic has thrown down the gauntlet,
with a challenge,'' that ill becomes a party professing
° " Considerate Catholics well know, that there is practically
no separating the high and comprehensive views, which that
name imports, from any of the moral branches of education.
Silence them as you may on directly theological questions, how
are they to deal with ethics, or poetry, or history, so as not to
guide their disciples by the light which the Church system re
flects on all?"— Letter to Judge Coleridge, p. 17.
^ " Give us this divine auxiliary (i. e. poetry) on our side.

21
the highest reverence for Episcopal authority, and
glorying in the title of " reverential sons and ministers
of our Church." It is but another movement of the
original "conspiracy " "^ it is the carrying out of
what Mr. Froude too truly calls " the poisoning
system'"^ Poetry, as well as "Biography," may
be a good " means oi infusing principles against the
reader's will." ''
And are the Members of Convocation to look
calmly on, and see the poison spread, and make no
effort to administer the antidote which they pos
sess? Shall they commit the suicidal act of yielding,
without a struggle, a post which is confessedly of
such great importance ? If the approaching election
assume the character of religious controversy ; — if it
be raade, as assuredly it will be raade, a contest for
the maintenance of the pure principles of our Pro
testant Faith, as established at the Reformation, —
"Is there. NOT a Cause?"
Let me conclude with inviting the attention of
Convocation to the following extracts from a Circular '
bearing the signatures of yourself and Mr. Newraan,

and we will let you dictate, denounce, proscribe, and even per
secute, as you please. Providerice has placed in our hands
powers that laugh to scorn your petty dominion." — British
Critic, October, 1841.
' Froude's Remains, vol. i. p. 377, 311, 321.
' Address to the Members of Convocation, adopted in the
Common Room of Corpus Qbristi College, April 27, 1836.

OO

and setting forth, in the plainest and most appro
priate terms, the duty of our University at the pre
sent painful and momentous crisis.
" The University of Oxford, as charged with the
maintenance of all sound doctrine, and especially with
the education of the Clergy, is bound by a solemn
duty — a duty not merely suggested by precedents,
but naturally imposed by its situation in the country,
and expressly enjoined by its Statutes — to prevent
any principles, detrimental to the Christian Faith,
from circulating uncondemned, under the sanction
of its name. And with such principles the publica
tions of" the Tractarians " are conscientiously be
lieved to abound.
" No past forbearance (for much has been exer
cised) can preclude the present discharge of this
duty ; and however erroneous are the assumptions
which have been founded on the past silence of the
University, they involve two facts of the greatest
importance : That a sincere reluctance has prevailed
to provoke a distressing controversy ; and, That
continued silence will be interpreted as a proof of
approbation. "Until the University itself has pronounced some
decisive condemnation, nothing effectual will have
been done to obviate the danger.
" Harsh as it may seem to keep alive a question
so full of pain to both parties alike, it is yet impos
sible to acquiesce in any thing short of a formal ex-

23
pression of distrust, without exposing the sacred
interests contended for to imminent risk.
"But the chief considerations are these: That,
until some warning has been given by the University
itself, there exists no authority which can save its
Students from a false system of instruction ; that the
obloquy still rests upon it of countenancing mis
chievous doctrines ; that no steps can be taken by
other authorities to counteract their influence ; that
if they are now overlooked, all future check to their
promulgation will naturally be precluded ; and that
to refuse, at this moraent, to come forward, and
raaintain the fundaraental safeguards of the Church,
is to abandon that Church in its crisis, and to abdi
cate our noblest function of holding up before the
country the light of truth, when truth most requires
our support.
" With these views, and under this necessity, it is
earnestly hoped that a final decision on this painful
question may be obtained in the ensuing Convoca
tion. Opinions may differ on the form" to be " se
lected by the proper authorities, as most practicable
for giving expression to the sense of the University.
But unanimity in the end will, it is trusted, produce
unanimity in the means.
" The promoters of the present proceedings come
forward with deep reluctance, without one feeling of
bitterness, or arrogant desire to condemn others ;
but under a keen sense of the duty which they owe

24
to the character and office of the University ; to the
Students placed under their care ; to the rising
generation of Clergy ; to the Nation, and to the
Church. " They could not expect to undertake such a task
without exposing theraselves to many misapprehen
sions from some who, placed at a distance, raay be
supposed not fully to understand either the nature of
the University's responsibility, or the ground of its
alarm. "But as no motive of animosity suggested their
proceedings at the first, no resentment," it is hoped,
will be "felt at their close ; and they fervently trust,
that a final decision will soon restore tranquillity to
the University ; a tranquillity unembittered by the
consciousness that it was purchased by the sacrifice
of duty, and the endangerment of Christian Truth."
I remain. My dear Sir,
With every sentiment of personal esteem and respect,
Very faithfully and sincerely yours,
W. SiMCOX Bricknell.
Grove Parsonage,
Dec. 4, 1841.

Also by the same Author.
I.
PREACHING : ITS WARRANT, SUBJECT, AND EFFECTS ; Considered
with reference to "the Tracts for the Times." In Two Sermons, puhliehed
at the request of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Councillors of the City of Oxford ; and
A Sermon preached before the University at St. Mary's. With an Appendix,
containing copious Extracts from the Writings of the Archbishops of Dublin and
Cashel; the Bishops of Calcutta, Chester, CHchester, Exeter, Lincoln, and Ohio ;
the Dean of Salisbury; the Archdeacons of Ely and Surry; Professors
¦ Hampden, Turton, Faussett, Blunt, and Scholefield ; Canons Benson, Faber,
Hawkins, Townsend, and Wilson ; with reference to various doctrines promulgated
by the Tractarians, &c. &c. — Svo. pp. 213. in cloth, price 5s. Gd.
"A. Book which ought to have a place iu every Protestant's Library."— Pro^eftenf
Magazine. IL
RESIGNATION AND LAY COMMUNION: Professor Keble's View ofthe
Position and Duties of the Tractarian.s, as described in his Letter to the
Hon. Mr. Justice Coleridge. Respectfully submitted to the consideration of
THE Members of Convocation, with reference to the approaching vacancy in the
Poetry Professorship. — Svo. pp. 36. price Is.
" We strongly recommend this Pamphlet to our readers." — Protestant Magazine.
III.
THE GRIEVANCE OF CHURCH RATES: A Letter to Philip Pusey, Esq.,
M. p. In which the arguments of the Abolitionists are examined, their misrepre
sentations exposed, and their conduct towards the Establishment compared with
that of honest and conscientious Dissenters. With an Appendix ; containing a
correspondence between the Author and Dr. Bennett, of Silver Street Chapel,
Cheapside, upon the desecration of the Lord's Supper, and the " sin committed " by
the members of the Establishment in the " affair " of Church Rates, &c. &c. —
Svo. pp. 72. price Is. IV.
A WORD TO HIS PARISHIONERS, on their Duty to the Church, with re
ference to the Church-rate question. — Svo. pp. 16. price Zd, or 25 for 4s.
V.
THE DUTY OF WALKING IN THE LIGHT. A Sermon, preached at St.
Martin's, Oxford, before the late Corporation, on Sunday, January Uth, 1S35, the
day following the election of W. Hughes Hughes and Donald Maclean, Esqs., the
Protestant candidates for the representation of the city in the second Reformed
Parliament. VI.
NATIONAL JUDGMENTS THE CONSEQUENCE OF NATIONAL SINS.
A Sermon, preached as above, on Friday, January 30th, 1S35, being the anni
versary of the Martyrdom of King Charles the First.
N.B. Tlie above Sermons are published in n-wmhers 3 a-nd 42 of the "Protestant
Preacher •" a -work the proflis of -which are devoted entirely to the promotion of
Scriptural Education in Ireland.
London ; F. Baislek, 124, Oxford Street.

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