[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—You will have heard
that the S. P. C. K. yesterday voted a grant of 2,000/. to Mr. Green, the Dean of Maritzburg, and the "Church Committee" in Natal. Perhaps you will allow me to give a few particulars of the meeting ; your readers may find them interesting and instructive.
It had been arranged that the meeting and the "farewell ser- vices" to the Bishop of Capetown should be held on the same day, so that the friends of Dr. Gray might muster in strength. As the "Evangelical" clergy were most of them engaged at a Church Conference in Manchester, things were additionally convenient. Add to this that circulars were issued, private meetings held, and every inducement held out to country clergy to come up, and all will agree that the organization was complete. And thus, when the hour of meeting arrived, some 230 people were crowded into the room.
The debate was opened by a Mr. Ernest Fitzroy, in a pathetic speech, on which I forbear to comment. He was listened to with- out interruption, as I believe was every speaker on the same side. An amendment was moved by the Head Master of Merchant Taylors (as might be expected) in very moderate language. Except that he was met with bursts of derisive laughter when he pleaded for moderation, for fair hearing, for Christian forbearance, there was nothing to be objected to. But afterwards the scene baffles description. Every speaker on the other side was simply yelled and hooted down. A barrister of long standing, whose name, if I mentioned it, would be familiar to your readers for a hundred deeds of philanthropy and goodness, and whom I know to be a regular communicant, spoke on the lam of the case, and was received with cries of " Colensoite !" and was told by a succeeding speaker that he was on the side of Antichrist ; and this although a London incumbent bad been required by a per- sistent clamour to withdraw the words that "a schism would be perpetuated." The same clergyman was told, on appealing to the chairman on some point of order, that he was "neither a Christian nor a gentleman." A dozen similar amenities of language rise to my memory, but I need not quote them. The climax was reached when a gentleman who is nearly related to the accused bishop spoke words as nearly as possible to this effect :—" He [Colenso] was unable to recognize the Court which condemned him. He asked for a fair hearing. He refused not to be tried, nor, if it should be right, to be condemned. Therefore he appealed unto Cmar." Simple words, and perfectly true ones ; but not another word was he allowed to utter. Cries of "Shame !" hisses, thump- ings of umbrellas continued without intermission till he sat down. Mr. Morgan Cowie, who followed, pleaded for a hearing for him, expressing sympathy with his feelings. This also was received with great laughter, and his dignified rebuke of it was the most satisfactory feature of the day's proceedings.
I was not present at the St. James's Hall meeting, but I suppose all this is no worse than what took place there at the bare mention of the names of " Russell " and "Gladstone." What will the laity think of all this ? If you could poll those laymen who reverence and love and study the Bible, I believe that they would vote by a hundred to one that the Bishop of Capetown has outraged law and justice ; and if they could only have seen how my brethren acted yesterday, the hundreds would be changed to thousands. It is a very serious look-out for the Church of England.—I am, Sir, &c.,
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