Reference may also be made
to Stoughton's "History of Religion in England," for the incidents in
greater detail.
Perhaps the most remarkable defence of Liberty, as against the
prevailing view in the English Church, is Dean Milman's speech before
the Clerical Subscription Commission, of which he was a member. It is
printed in _Fraser's Magazine_, March, 1865, and is included in the
criticism of the _Quarterly Review_ article, already quoted.
The Dean's Resolution submitted to the Commission was as follows:--
"Conformity to the Liturgy of the Church of England being the best and
the surest attainable security for 'the declared agreement of the Clergy
with the doctrines of the Church'; with many the daily, with all the
weekly public reading of the services of the Church of England
(containing, as they do, the ancient creeds of the Church Catholic), and
the constant use of the Sacramental offices and other formularies in the
Book of Common Prayer, being a solemn and reiterated pledge of their
belief in those doctrines, the Subscription to the thirty-nine Articles
is unnecessary. Such Subscription adds no further guarantee for the
clergyman's faithfulness to the doctrines of the Church; while the
peculiar form and controversial tone in which the Articles were compiled
is the cause of much perplexity, embarrassment, and difficulty,
especially to the younger clergy and to those about to enter into Holy
Orders.
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