THE BISHOP OF CARLISLE AND THE ORNAMENTS RUBRIC.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR.-] SIR,—If I may be allowed another word on this subject, I would say that a specific statute is not to be set aside even to convict a poacher. Mr. Harper admits that this has been done in the Ridsdale Judgment, therefore the Ritualists are justified in being "immovably convinced of the unrighteousness " of that judgment. The Ornaments Rubric which the Judicial Committee have set aside is a specific statute, declared by the Bishop of Carlisle to be " the rule which governs the matter, a rule which was deliberately made, and has never yet been repealed."
Whether, as good citizens, the Ritualists ought to follow the advice of the Bishop of Carlisle, and obey a judgment which they know to be illegal, is a question which they alone are com- petent to decide. Their disobedience will entail much suffering, but they think it will also win the victory. Our fore- fathers secured the liberty we now enjoy by refusing to obey unjust judgments ; we will strive to preserve our liberties, which are really in great danger, by treading in their steps. Our rulers may trample upon Ritualists, but they will never "stamp
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