CONGRESS HALL, TUESDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 30TH, 1884. PRESENTATION OF PASTORAL STAFF TO THE PRESIDENT, AND WELCOMING OF THE CONGRESS BY THE CORPORATION OF CARLISLE. A LARGE number of members of the Church Congress and others assembled in the Congress Hall, at Ten o'clock, to witness the presentation of a Pastoral Staff to the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Carlisle, President of the Congress. The Mayor and Corporation of Carlisle took advantage of this opportunity to present an address of welcome to the Church Congress. The Right Hon. LORD MUNCASTER, Lord Lieutenant of Cumberland. MY LORD BISHOP-The duty has been committed to me-the pleasing duty, which I am peculiarly gratified to perform-of presenting to you on behalf of the clergy and laity of this diocese this Pastoral Staff, which we offer to you for the use of yourself and your successors in the See of Carlisle; and we desire it to be received by you as a grateful recognition of the untiring zeal with which you for fifteen years have performed the labours of your pastoral office. The duties of which this staff is and has been from the earliest ages of Christianity the symbol are so happily expressed on the monumental brass in our cathedral erected to the memory of Bishop Robinson, a prelate of the reformed branch of our Church, that I may be permitted to quote the words on this occasion. The words are engraven on the Pastoral Staff which he holds in his right hand :-Corrigendo, Sustentando, Vigilando, Dirigendo. I think, my lord, I may venture to say that in fulfilling those duties you have striven earnestly to correct whatever has been amiss; that you have by hearty help sustained every good work; that you have watched over the interests committed to your charge; and that you have ever striven to direct those who have sought your counsel. That you may long preside over us, that we may have the advantage of your labours in this diocese, and so earn a place amongst those distinguished prelates who have preceded you in this See, and whose effigies form one of the principal adornments of this staff, is, I venture to say, the wish of a large number of persons, both within and without your diocese, who have profited by your counsel. Mr. ALDERMAN F. P. DIXON, the Worshipful Mayor of Carlisle. MY LORD BISHOP-I beg to call upon the Town Clerk to read the address of the Corporation to the President and members of the Church Congress. THE ADDRESS. To the Right Reverend Harvey Lord Bishop of Carlisle, President, and the Members of the Church Congress meeting at Carlisle. We, the Mayor, Aldermen, and Citizens of the City of Carlisle in Council assembled, desire, on behalf of ourselves and the inhabitants generally of this ancient city, to offer to your lordship and the members of the Church Congress meeting here a cordial welcome, and to express our satisfaction that Carlisle should have been selected as the place of meeting of the Congress in this year of grace 1884. We would sincerely hope that though Carlisle is situate within a few miles of the northern boundary of England and of the Scottish Border, and distant from the residences of many who are in the habit of attending the meetings of the Church Congress, this present meeting may not be less fruitful in interest and abiding benefit and blessing to the Church of England and the Churches in communion with her, and indeed to the whole Church of Christ at large, than previous meetings have been, and more especially that this city and diocese may reap a large blessing, and be animated to increased exertion in all Christian and philanthropic work. In welcoming the members of the Church Congress to this city, we would advert to one circumstance which distinguishes this diocese from all other English dioceses, except the recently-formed one of Newcastle, namely, its immediate proximity to the sister kingdom of Scotland, in which is established as the National Church another and distinct branch of Christ's universal Church, differing from the Church of England in Church organisation and government, but one with her in all essential doctrine, so that our beloved Sovereign is able, without compromise of principle, to belong to both Churches, and to worship in the sanctuaries of each; the two Churches agreeing also in professing, as declared by the articles and Act of Union between the two kingdoms, "the true Protestant Religion," which every Sovereign of these realms is bound by law to take and subscribe a solemn oath inviolably to maintain and preserve. In former times, under different Sovereigns, the inhabitants of the two countries, though professing the same form of religion, and belonging to one and the same Church of the Roman obedience, were deadly and inveterate foes, so that Scotsmen were not allowed to settle or trade in this city, then a frontier fortress. Now, under the same Sovereign, the inhabitants of the two countries, though belonging for the most part to different visible Churches, with different forms of Church government, form one united people, and numbers of our Scottish brethren are settled within this city, and are amongst its most active and valuable citizens. They have here also large and flourishing congregations connected both with the Scotch Established Church and with other Presbyterian Churches, and they unite, as do also the members of the numerous and influential Wesleyan body, and of the various congregations of Nonconformist Christians, with the members of the Church of England in fraternal intercourse, and in common objects of Christian work for the spiritual benefit of mankind and the spread of the Christian religion, as well as in the support of hospitals and other institutions for supplying temporal relief. These various bodies regard with much interest the meeting now about to take place, and have, both ministers and people, shown their kindly feeling in offering hospitality to and receiving as guests various members of the Congress attending the meeting. As a Corporate Body, we regret that we are unable to follow the example of Newcastle in placing at the service of the Congress a Hall large enough for the holding of the meetings. We have gladly, however, given such assistance in the way of accommodation as we are able, and we have now only to express the earnest wish that the meeting may be in every way a success, and be conducive to the best interests of the Church of England and of religion in general. Given under our Common Seal at the Guild day of September, in the year of our Lord one four. (Seal) Hall of the said City, this Thirtieth F. P. DIXON, Mayor. MY LORDS, LADIES, AND GENTLEMEN-Before I say one word on the subject of the address which you have heard read, it is my desire to take this earliest opportunity on behalf of the Corporation and citizens to give the Church Congress a hearty welcome to our old border city, and to express the hope that the meeting which commences to-day will be a successful and profitable one in every respect. The address which I hold in my hand, I doubt not, derives some value in the eyes of your lordship and of the other members of this Congress from the fact that it has been unanimously passed by the Corporation of Carlisle. And I think I may further say it heartily represents the opinions regarding the Church Congress of the whole of the inhabitants of this ancient and royal city. My lord, for something like fifteen years you have been Bishop of this northern diocese, and during that time you have admirably discharged the numerous duties appertaining to your office; you have taken the liveliest interest in all public affairs in Carlisle; and the admirable manner with which you have supported our various charitable institutions will never be forgotten by the citizens of Carlisle. I am glad, indeed, to have this opportunity of testifying their respect and admiration for you by presenting you with this address. I trust that the meeting over which you are about to preside will be a successful one in every respect; and I am sure you will derive peculiar feelings of gratification from presiding over this Congress in this your own beloved diocese. I will only further express the hope that your valuable life may long be spared, and that you will be blessed with health and strength, and may be able to do much more work for the good old Church of England, of which you are so distinguished an ornament. I have the greatest pleasure, as Mayor of this city, in presenting you with the address of the Corporation. The Right Rev. the PRESIDENT. MY LORD-Your lordship will easily believe me when I say that this is to me, not only a most interesting and touching occasion, but almost an overwhelming one. Your lordship has been kind enough to use words concerning myself and my ministry, which, if I could for one moment attempt even in my mind to appropriate in their fulness to myself, would be the best demonstration that I was altogether unworthy of them. I do not deny that during the fifteen years which you and the Mayor remind me I have presided over this diocese, it has been my humble effort to do my duty in that station of life to which it has pleased God to call me. On the first occasion that I had to address the inhabitants of this diocese, I stated that my intention in coming here was to be Bishop of the whole diocese, and not the Bishop of any particular portion of it. I promised then, that if I found any man in any part of the diocese doing his work according to his ability, and with a full sense of his responsibility to our common Master, I would to the best of my power support that man in his work, whether he happened to agree with me on all theological points or not. I trust I may appeal to the diocese that I have acted upon that principle ever since. I sincerely thank all the members of the diocese, to whatever school they may be supposed to belong, for the loyal and kind manner in which they have ever worked with me, and in which they have always attended to the wishes expressed by me to them. Therefore, my lord, my time of office in this diocese, whether it has been as useful as you are kind enough to believe and to say, or whether it has been, as I rather believe, much less conspicuous for its usefulness than your kindness is willing to suppose-still it certainly has been to me a time of much joy and happiness; and all my labours, whatever they may have been, and all my anxieties, which necessarily must be somewhat considerable in the episcopal office-all have been softened and made sweet to me by the thorough love and sympathy which I have enjoyed at the hands both of the clergy and of the laity. My lord, it cannot possibly be otherwise than a pleasing thing to me to find that the affection of the clergy and laity of this diocese has taken such a form as that which you have given to it in presenting to me this Pastoral Staff. What shall I say of the staff itself? It needs no words from me. That it is beautiful exceedingly will go without saying, but I cannot help just remarking, that it seems to me to have been exceedingly felicitous that some of the great men connected with this diocese, and this part of the world in times past, have been rendered in effigy on this beautiful staff. The names of St. Cuthbert and St. Kentigern can never be forgotten in these northern regions, and they may well be an example to all of us in these days, who, under different circumstances, and in a very different position of things, are nevertheless called upon to do the same work for Christ which they did in their time. I cannot help believing and hoping that the representation of those men upon this Pastoral Staff may at least have some little humble tendency to keep their memory green amongst us. My lord, in presenting this staff, you have alluded to a more modern occupant of the See of Carlisle. You referred, and if I may venture to say so, with great felicity, to the effigy of Bishop Robinson in our Cathedral, which bears upon the Pastoral Staff those four very emphatic words which your lordship quoted. I have a copy of that monument at Rose Castle; I often look at it, and I often think that those words do, as you have wisely said, express in a very concise, emphatic, and striking manner, the duties which belong to a Bishop; duties common to those who occupied the office in the earliest times, to those who occupied it in the middle ages, and to those who occupy it now in these post-reformation days. I was glad that you referred to the period of that effigy-1616-showing as it does that the Pastoral Staff has always been considered a good symbol of the episcopal office. Indeed, I can scarcely conceive any condition of things which should render the Pastoral Staff-in fact the Shepherd's Crook--other than a touching, striking, and useful symbol of that which a Bishop has to do. My lord, I thank you, and through you the clergy and laity of this diocese, for the beautiful staff which they have presented to me and my successors, and still more for the love which has dictated the gift. Mr. Mayor, I have received with great satisfaction the address which it has pleased yourself and the rest of the Corporation unanimously to pass to myself and the Church Congress assembled in this place. It has been a great comfort to me, and to those who have worked with me throughout the whole of our not inconsiderable labours in preparing for the Congress, to have had the hearty co-operation which we have had from yourself and those who are bound up with you in municipal affairs. In the address which you have been kind enough to present, you refer at some considerable length to the geographical position of this diocese, and to certain consequences which follow from that position. I don't think it necessary to remark upon each point which you have brought before me in your address, but I will say in general how much I sympathise with the desire that our Scotch brethren and ourselves should live together in cordial and kindly co-operation. I do not think there has been any difference between Englishmen and Scotchmen in the warmth with which this Congress has been received. I trust that our Scotch brethren, even those who differ from us in church government, may take an interest in what passes during this week, and that it may be not without profit to them. And, Mr. Mayor, in connection with this subject, you also stated that the coming of this Congress at Carlisle has had the kindly feeling, not only of those who professedly belong to the Church of England, but of many of those who conscientiously differ from her; and you stated that they have shown the reality of their sympathy by offering hospitality to some of the members of the Congress. I assure you I speak the feeling of every member of the Congress when I say that we have received that kindness with all thankfulness. It may be, perhaps, that one great blessing of such gatherings is, that they bring together persons who in some respects differ one from another, and it may be, when they are brought more closely together, and see how much there is that is common in the objects they have in view-that, even though they may not be united on external points of Church fellowship, their hearts may nevertheless be brought more nearly together, and they may see that the Church which, for some reason or another-it is not for me to discuss those reasons-they feel themselves unable entirely to join, is nevertheless doing a great and good work in which they can sympathise, and in which they desire it may have the most entire success. Mr. Mayor, you were good enough to apologise in the address that has been presented to me for not having offered us a room adequate to the wants of the Congress. I think the apology was abundantly sufficient. It very much reminds one of the famous apology made to Charles the Second why the bells had not been rung in a certain town which his Majesty visited. I think it is stated there were thirty-nine reasons, the first one being that there were no bells to ring. You, Mr. Mayor, studying brevity and pithiness in your address, have not troubled us with any other reasons, but have simply told us that you have no room in the town suitable for the purpose, and that that is the reason why you have not offered us a room. I may say, on behalf of the Congress, that we entirely accept the apology. But if, as connected with this city, I may just make one passing observation by way of improving that apology which you have been kind enough to make, I would venture to say this-Take care that before another Church Congress comes, this city of Carlisle has possessed itself of that which it requires, not only for the Church Congess, but for a variety of other useful purposes-take care that this city does possess an adequate public room. Mr. Mayor, I think I have now said all that it is necessary for me to say on an occasion of this kind. Many things come to one's mouth because one's heart is full, but I content myself with the remarks which I have made, only adding, in conclusion, how sincerely thankful I feel to you and the city authorities for all you have done in default of this public room, and how much I sympathise with your desire that the meeting of this Congress may be of great profit, not only to the Church of England, but to the whole Church of Christ in this country. The Right Rev. the President and the members of the Congress then went in procession to attend morning service at the Cathedral, St. Cuthbert's and St. Mary's. "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."- WHEN Richard Rothe has to consider the doctrine that prophecy and miracle are the two criteria of a revelation, the two tests of its truth, he is led to inquire whether there could be conceived a divine revelation without these two. "Miracle and prophecy are not, to my eyes, two criteria added to a revelation that exists without them, and only given to prove that it is credible, but they are the constituent elements of a revelation itself. I regard as incomplete and erroneous the idea of the old theology which treats a miracle as a divine action by which God means to accredit His servants to those to whom they are sent. The purpose of God in working miracles is to manifest Himself plainly to man, whose eyesight is obscured by sin. There where miracle and prophecy are is the evident manifestation of God, and God cannot reveal Himself in any other manner." Thus speaks Rothe. The distinction is of capital importance. If the primary purpose of miracles were to attest a divine commission, then the more public the scene, and the more in number the witnesses, the more valuable as evidence. "If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down from the pinnacle of the Temple," that all may see Thee, believers and unbelievers alike. Or if the object of prophecy be to attest the prophet, show us minutely the order and the details of the things that are to come. Say not "that day and hour knoweth no man;" give us the exact chronicle of the remaining days of Thy ministry, and as |