MR. MIALL AND THE CHURCH.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—Allow me a very brief reply to " Fair Play's" letter. That letter divides itself into two parts,—an attack on me, and a quasi- defence of Mr. Miall. The attack on me consists of a charge of falsehood, or, as "Fair Play" puts it, "playing the game of suggestio falsi," followed by a sneer at so obscure a man as myself for presuming to " constitute myself " the champion of the Church, for being deficient in " moral weight," and for attempting to " pin Mr. Miall to his present position." I am, of course, "Infolis pner atque impar congresens Achilli."
The questions here raised would hardly interest your readers, and I can the more easily pass them by because " Fair Play " is an anonymous assailant, and because their true value as tricks of con- troversy is fully appreciated by readers of the Spectator, whatever may be the case in the Nonconformist.
The quasi-defence of Mr. Miall is again divided into two parts. In
the first place, I am told that I must not quote Mr. " Non- conformist's Sketch-Book," because in the preface to the second edition Mr. Mall says that if he had to write the book again, he would modify some of the expressions. But (1) Mr. Miall does not say explicitly what those passages are, but only that they would be chiefly such as relate to the clergy as a body of men, and not to the Church as an institution. Now, the passage I quoted re- lates to the Church as an institution. 2. He complains that passages are made more bitter by separation from their context. The lines I quoted, on the contrary, form part of a whole page of unexampled invective. 3. The _Nonconformist points to the publi- cation of the second edition of the " Sketch-Book " as a proof that Mr. Miall has no wish to recall it. Are we to understand, then, that the book is, as a whole, approved of for the use of the faith- ful, while the apologetic second preface acts as a vague disclaimer of everything that can be quoted by opponents? This is the view taken by " Fair Play," and if Mr. Miall is not offended at the imputation, it would ill become me to be dissatisfied.
Secondly, it appears that I must not quote the words of Mr. Miall's Leicester speech of 1871, because, forsooth, a year after- wards he repudiated their plain meaniug ! My object was to show that he had once projected a scheme which ho has since had to withdraw. I gave you his words, and told you he had repudiated them. It is no answer to me, but rather a confirmation of my statement, to give you the very words in which the repudiation was couched. Here you have them side by side :—
MR. MIALL IN 1871. Ma. MULL IN 1872.
"Give them [the parish] the Church "I never in my life contemplated, building, give them whatever property even as a remote possibility, detach- the Church had in her own right,— ing from the Church of England, as give them the tithe, give them the such, any of the churches built, or any glebe ; let them be parish property, of the endowments given, out of pri- to be used for the moral advantage vete resources, since the period of of the parish in all future time, but the Toleration Act. With regard to not to be used in such a way as that ancient parish churches, I think, one denomination of Christians should and have always thought, that they obtain the benefit of them to the ex- are truly national property, and may elusion of others." be dealt with by the Legislature as such ; but I have uniformly con- tended for a generous and indulgent consideration of the congregations who have worshipped therein. But I have never desired that they should be alienated from religious uses or from the performance of divine worship."
My first point is that in 1871 Mr. Miall proposed, without ex- ception or qualification, to secularise all Church property, and to hand over all Churches for unsectarian uses. My second point is that he has since denied having ever done so. I have supplied proof of the first point. " Fair Play " has supplied proof of the second. I hope he thinks he has done Mr. Miall a service.—I am, Sir, &c., GILBERT `ENABLES. P.S.--Having put my case beyond possibility of misapprehen- sion and having set forth my evidence, I shall not trouble you again on this matter.
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