Papurau Newydd Cymru

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REVIEWS OF PUBLICATIONS.

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REVIEWS OF PUBLICATIONS. CONTINUITY OR COLLAPSE?—[Is., by Canon McCave, D.D., and the Rev. J. D. Bren, B.A. edited by the Rev. J. B. Mackinlay,O.S.B.] The object with which this little book has been pub- lished is given by the eiitor in the preface. It seems that some members of the Church Defence visited Warwickshire, endeavouring to impress upon the minds of the simple and unlearned that the Established Church is the old Church, and therefore justly inherits the ancient endowments. Their object is partly religious—to prove Angli- canism a portion of the Holy Catholic and Apos- tolic Church: and partly political—to save the State Church from disestablishment anddisendow- ment." Two of the losal clergy, therefore, de- livered four lectures to prove that the ancient Church of this country was Roman Catholic," and thatHenry VIII. broke the chain of continuity Elizabeth shattered and annihilated it." We admit that the work has been very well done. The lectures, as published, are most readable, and should prove equally interesting and instructive to the scholar and to the unlearned. To those who have been used to hear of the historic and legal continuity of the English Church from the earliest times till now, this little book should prove wholesome reading. It conclusively shows on how slender a thread hangs the claim of the Anglican establishment to an unbroken con- tinuity of priesthood. We dealt last week in our review on li Britain's early faith with the earlier portion of the Church's history. The lectures now before us go still further to prrve how impossible it is to be a true Protestant unless it is on the ground, not of authority, but of individual and personal judgment. Though we admit that there was no break in the legal continuity in the reign of Henry VIII.. there was an undoubted break in doctrinal continuity as well as in continuity of priesthood in the reign of Elizabeth. The sturdy Protestants of Elizabeth's reign rejected with scorn the idea that their Church was the daughter of the Church of Rome. They cared nothing as to whether Bishop Barlow had or had not been con- secrated under Henry VIII. The Homilies taught that the old Church of England had been steeped in damnable "idolatry" for 800 years, and as for the ordination of priests they believed and said with Whittaker, keep your orders to yourselves. God is not so tied to orders, but that he can with- out orders, when the good of the Church requires it, constitute ministers in the Churches." There was no thought of continuity or any claim to the so-called" Apostolic succession." It was only when Laud, in the first instance, and the post- Restoration High Churchmen afterwards, came into power that these claims were put forward. These lectures not only prove this. but also— although incidentally—show how absurd it is to cry sacrilege" when the revenues of the Established Church are threatened. It quotes Drydale's Warwickshire to show that the parish church of Alcester was endowed with money and lands in order that the priest serving there might sing mass every day at six o'clock in the morning, and pray for the souls of the founders." The ministers who hold such endowments," it is added, "not only dare not attempt to comply with the conditions mentioned under pain of being unfrocked, but they are obliged to sign the article which binds them to the principle that any such saying of mass is a 4 blasphemous fable and a dan- gerous deceit. While, however, we agree in the main with the conclusion to which the lecturers come to, we must differ from them in one or two details. For example, as a preface to the first lec- ture, a quotation is given from the Black Book of Carmarthen, beginning with the words, I love to praise Peter." It is only fair to say that though some portions of the Black Book are of great antiquity, there are other portions of as late an origin as the reign of Henry II. or Richard I. The fact, therefore, that there is a couplet in the Black Book lauding Peter is no evidence in itself that the early British Church was submissive to the Holy See. We quite believe, also, that the alleged speech of Punawd, the Abbot of Bangor, to St. Augustine, is a forgery, but we cannot accept the Teasons which the lecturer gives for thinking so. It is utterly wrong to say that f was always used for r, and that 7: was unknown in the old Cambrian alphabet. Equally wrong is it to say that the fact that the writer uses duw for dduw, and gives both yn and ynn, is an evidence that the speech is a forgery. For in the oldest Welsh MSS. d is used for d and dd, and nothing strikes one more than the variety in orthography. On one more point we must beg to differ from the lecturer. The first article of Magna Charta provides that the iEnglish Church must be free." This undoubtedly meant freedom of election, and not freedom of appeal to the Roman See, which had been expressly forbidden by the constitutions of Clarendon. These, however, are only minor points of differ- ence, and we are glad to be able to recommend unhesitatingly this little book to such of our read- ers as take an interest in the question. The book is written from a partisan's point of view, but on the whole it is very fair a.nd impartial. The know- ledge of history displayed is both wide and accu- rate, and it would be well for others who pose as authorities on the question to make themselves as acquainted as the authors with the real history of the English Church—[Art and Book Company, 23, King Edward-street, London, E.C.] ANGLICAN* ORDERS.—[By J. D. Breen, O.S.B.] —This is a little pamphlet written to show that the Anglican orders are not valid. The question whether Bishop Barlow, of St. Asaph and St. David's, had been really consecrated or not, is very carefully gone into, and the facts are brought out very clearly. e regret that our space is too limited to deal exhaustively with this excellent little work, which displays great ingenuity, erudi- tion, and painstaking effort on the part of the author. CATHOLIC BELIEF.—[Bv the Very Rev. Joseph Foa di Bruno, D.D.]—" Catholic Belief is a most complete and useful Manual of the Doctrine and Devotion of the Roman Catholic Church, and should prove of benefit not only to those who wish to know more of the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, but to members of that Church themselves.—[Burns and Gates, Limited, Granville Mansions, Orchard-street, London, W.] Y GEXINEN.—[Is.]—The October number of the Geninen." the quarterly Welsh national maga- zine, is to hand. The place of honour is given to an insufficient answer by the Rev. Evan Jones to Deau Owen's article on "Welsh Disestablish- ment," which appeared in the last issue. Mr. Lewis Morris has a slight article on Ii Wales of to-day, Wales of the Future." Mr. Henry Owen has a short readable paper on Gerald the Welshman and the Welsh Church," and Ap Ffarmwr writes engagingly on the difficul- ties of being a patriotic Welshman. Mr. Charles Ashton, the policeman living at Dinas Mawddwy, who won the £ 50 prize at the Swansea Eisteddfod, lias an erudite article on Old Welsh Printers of Books,"and Principal M. D. Jones inveighs against the extinguishing of the Welsh language." The Row. J. Puleston Jones writes a characteristic article on Welsh Welsh," in the course of which he alludes to the fact that the old Welsh were proverbial for their use of "strong" language. But what is a shame of a nation is the glory of a language. For what is this power to convert ano-er but a small instance of the power of the Welsh language to denote feeling. This is what makes it the language of the bard. This is what makes it the language of yearning (' hiraeth ') and religious longing, till those who have let go their hold on it for every other purpose still choose it as the language to worship in." Mr. E. Anwyl begins a series of articles on Penillion Telyn y Cvmry and Gwenenydd contributes a short paper on the Old Ballad Singers of Dyved." The October number is one of the best we remember seein"- and it is a credit to the indefatigable editor. rW^Gwenlyn Evans, Carnarvon.] WALES AND WELSHMEN (6D.).—[By the Rev. T. D. Matthias.]—This is a little book which every Welshman and every Englishman who wishes to know something of Wales should read. It is written in the author's well-known genial and happy style. Its great charm lies in the fact that the reader can follov.-the author's inmost thoughts, and can see. not only the character the writer pourtrays, but the character of the writer himself. He discourses very pleasantly on a variety of topics-the Rev. John Morgan (Blaenffos), Caleb Morris, and the late Bishops of St, David's and Llanda'ff- Weddings, wakes, and wassails, Thos. Jones of Walter's-road, and Wm. Evans Tonyre- fail singers and singing from Jubal downwards to ballad singing in Welsh fairs; a strange talc of a wandering schoolmaster, who seems to have suffered from remorse Trades' unionism in the Principality Welsh rustics and literature, &c., &c. In fact, nothing comes amiss to the versatile writer, like Juvenal's, it is a farrago libelli." We refrain from any quotations it would be hard to know where to begin, and still harder to know when to -top. Our readers should get the book for themselves.—[63. Wind-street. Swansea.] CVSSELT/S STOREHOUSE OF (TEXERAL IXFOR- MATION (7d.).—The ninth part of this excellent little encyclopaedia is to hand, and fully bears out the promise of the previous numbers. The frontispiece of this number consists of a map of Europe, of seven different colours, showing the density of the population in different parts. The articles are characteristic by accuracy, pithiness, and shortness, and all are thoroughly up to date. The scientific articles are especially good and full, and illustrations that accompany them should prove most useful. The articles on bookbinding, botanv, and brain are especially good.—[Cassell -lIond Co., Ld., La Belle Sauvage, London, E.C.].

CORRESPONDENCE.

CONGL Y CYMRY.

ORIGINAL POETRY.

VOLUNTEER INTELLIGENCE.

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AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

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