THE Bishop of Manchester has taken nearly a month to consider a petition from 2,434 persons in his diocese with reference to his rule that licences to assistant curates are not granted by him in certain parishes in which the Mass vestments are in use. In the course of his reply, his lordship states the rule exactly: “Licences to curates are not granted in parishes where my predecessor did not grant them, nor in parishes where Eucharistic vestments have been introduced, since I gave warning in 1911 that, in future, licences would not be granted in parishes where they were introduced after that date.” It seems to us that it makes no difference of importance in what way the petitioners stilted the case about the licences; the point is that, in certain parishes, they are withheld. The Bishop’s defence is that the interpretation of the Ornaments Rubric is a doubtful matter. But of his own interpretation of it he has no manner of doubt, and therefore his complainants cannot expect to get the benefit of any doubt in a matter which is generally agreed to be disputable. It gives him great satisfaction to be able to refer to another address he has received from Manchester Churchmen, expressing their pleasure in the regulations imposed by his lordship for checking the introduction of Eucharistic vestments. We fear we can only say that the Bishop is a law to himself. He has to tolerate the use of the vestments, but he will prevent their introduction. This is a position that can only appear to be absolutely lacking in consistency.

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