chloride, and the sulphuric and antimonial salts decomposed to a great extent. The amalgamation is performed in barrels, where the powdered copper is mixed with a quantity of saline water, some more salt, and for every 1500 lbs. substance about 100 copper balls. If much free acid is in the mass, quicklime is added for neutralization. After some revolutions, quicksilver is added, and then the casks revolved for eighteen hours, after which the usual way is to wash the amalgam and treat it further. The amalgamation of the "speiss" is performed in nearly the same manner, with additions of crude lime to the charge. AMERICA. The great task which, during the year 1866, occupied the attention of the. Government and people of the United States, was the work of reconstruction. It soon be came apparent that the views of the President and the majority of Congress on the subject widely differed. The latter embodied its views in the Civil Rights and Freedmen's Bureau Bills and in a new Constitutional Amendment. The President expressed his disagreement with the amendment, and vetoed the two bills, both of which were, however, passed over his veto by Congress, and declared to be laws. The Thirty-ninth Congress, during its first session, admitted Tennessee, after its Legislature had ratified the Constitutional Amendment. The elections, held during the year, resulted in every Northern State, and in West Virginia and Missouri, in favor of the Republican party, while in Maryland and Kentucky the conservative opposition was triumphant. The late secession States, with the exception of Tennessee, were unanimous in rejecting the Constitutional Amendment. (See UNITED STATES.) British America was greatly excited by invasions of the Fenians, which, however, were, without great difficulty, suppressed. In order to carry through the Confederation scheme, delegates from all the provinces went to England to confer with the Home Government, and it was understood that a bill concerning the projected Confederation would be laid before the Imperial Parliament early in 1867. (See BRITISH AMERICA.) France, for purposes of her own, resolved to withdraw from Mexico the French forces in three detachments, the first to take place in November, 1866, and the last in November, 1867. The failure of the French Government to withdraw the first detachment at the time caused it to make then the necessary preparations for recalling all the troops by March, 1867. In consequence of this new turn of the war, the Liberals made rapid progress in the repossession of the country. Maximilian, at first, intended to abdicate, but subsequently resolved to fight for his crown at the head of the Conservatives and Church party. A new split arose, however, among the Liberals. Gen. Ortega disputing the claim of Juarez to the presidency after the expiration of his legal term. (See MEXICO.) The war of Spain against the republics of Chili and Peru continued throughout the year. The Spanish fleet bombarded the port of Valparaiso, inflicting considerable damage, and subsequently the port of Callao, where they were repulsed. Their strength then seems to to have been spent, for they refrained from committing any further hostilities. The alliance between Chili and Peru was joined by the republics of Bolivia and Ecuador, while the United States of Colombia, and other states of South and Central America, declined it. The allied republics expelled all the Spanish residents from their territories. (See BOLIVIA, CHILI, ECUADOR, PERU, SPAIN.) On the Atlantic side of South America, Paraguay bravely defended herself against the united forces of Brazil, the Argentine Republic, and Uruguay. Toward the close of the year the armies of the Argentine Republic and Uruguay were withdrawn, and it was believed that the alliance was at an end. The Presidents of both the allied republics were threatened with dangers at home, and Paraguay was expecting aid from Bolivia. (See ARGENTINE REPUBLIC, BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, PARAGUAY, Uruguay.) The successful laying of the Atlantic cable brought North America into telegraphic communication with the Old World. This communication remained free from interruption throughout the year. The rapid progress of the Russo-American telegraph will soon give new guaranties for the permanency of this communication. The total population of America exceeds at present 80,000,000, of whom about 48,000,000 belong to North America and Mexico, 2,500,000 to Central America, 3,970,000 to the West Indies, and 26,000,000 to South America. ANGLICAN CHURCHES. The general statistics of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States in 1866 were, according to the "Church Almanac" for 1867, as follows: Dioceses Bishops.. Priests and Deacons. Whole number of Clergy. Parishes Ordinations-Deacons 66 Priests. Candidates for Orders. Churches consecrated.. Baptisms-Infants.. Confirmations 66 Present number. Marriages 66 66 Contributions Scholars. 34 44 2,486 2,530 2,305 98 86 226 38 23,974 6,527 808 19,296 14,138 161,224 9,900 16,828 17,570 157,813 .$3,051,669.64 The following table exhibits the number of clergymen, parishes, communicants, teachers and scholars of Sunday-schools, and the amount of missionary and charitable contributions for each diocese: The movement for a reunion of the Southern dioceses with the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States, which began at the close of the year 1865, made rapid progress after the beginning of the year 1866. The diocesan convention of Alabama voted in favor of reunion in January, those of South Carolina and Florida in February, and those of Virginia, Mississippi, and Louisiana in May, thus completing the restoration of the national unity of the Church. In most of the diocesan conventions the vote was unanimous in favor of reunion; a notable opposition being made only in that of Virginia, in which fifty-four clerical and thirty-six lay delegates voted in the affirmative, and seven clergymen and eleven laymen in the negative. The bishops of the dioceses notified the presiding bishop of the Church in the United States of the fact, and the president bishop in his turn officially announced to the Church the consummation of the reunion. Bishop Wilmer, of Alabama, who had been elected and consecrated while the Southern dioceses formed a separate organization, complied on January 31st with the conditions provided for his recognition by the triennial General Convention of 1865, namely: first, that he should transmit in writing (to be signed by him in the presence of three bishops of the Church) to the presiding bishop of the House of Bishops, the promise of conformity comprised in the office for the consecration of bishops; and, secondly, that he should also transmit to the said presiding bishop the letters of his consecration, or, in default of the existence of such letters, other sufficient evidence as to the fact of his consecration, and the bishops by whom it was done, and the other persons by whom it was witnessed. The presiding bishop thereupon officially announced that the necessary regulations having been fulfilled, "the acceptance and recognition of the Right Rev. Richard Hooker Wilmer, D. D., as the Bishop of Alabama, is now complete." The annual meeting of the Board of Missions was held in October, in Providence. The receipts of the domestic committee for general purposes amounted to $54,645, and those of the foreign committee to $71,000. The "American and Church Missionary Society" held its seventh anniversary at New York, in October. The society employed during the past year 38 missionaries, of whom 12 were new appointments, and 24 recommissioned; seven resigned. The receipts were $56,412.38, and the expenditures $54,227.62. The balance on hand October 1, 1866, was $2,184.76. It was resolved at the anniversary meeting that "a committee of five be appointed to confer with the Evan gelical Educational Committee, already existing, ANGLICAN CHURCHES. with power, in connection with them, to organ- The Church of England continued to be greatly agitated by the case of Dr. Colenso, who, in the latter months of the year 1865, returned to his diocese of Natal. The Bishop of Capetown, as Metropolitan of the Anglican Church in North Africa, had offered to Colenso to have the sentence of deposition, which had been passed upon him by a synod of the South African bishops in 1865, revised either by the Archbishop of Canterbury, or by the bishops of the United Church of England and Ireland, or by such bishops of the Anglican communion throughout the British empire as could be assembled in London for the hearing of his case. As Colenso refused to avail himself of this offer, the metropolitan issued a formal sentence of excommunication, reading as follows: In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, We, Robert, by Divine permission, Metropolitan of the Church in the province of Capetown, in accordance with the decision of the bishops of the province, in synod assembled, do hereby, it being our office and our grief to do so, by the authority of Christ committed unto us, pass upon John William Colenso, D. D., the sentence of the greater excommunication, thereby separating him from the communion of the Church of Christ so long as he shall obstinately and impenitently persist in his heresy, and claim to exercise the office of a bishop within the province of Capetown. And we do hereby make known to the faithful in Christ that, being thus excluded from all communion with the Church, he is, according to our Lord's command, and in conformity with the provisions of "to be the Thirty-third of the Articles of Religion, taken of the whole multitude of the faithful, as a heathen man and publican." (Matt. xviii. 17, 18.) Given under our hand and seal this 16th day of December, in the year of our Lord 1865. R. CAPETOWN. The Metropolitan of Capetown notified the Anglican bishops of Great Britain, the British colonies, and the United States of this step. In England some of the bishops disapproved of the measure, while, as far as is known, those of the British colonies and the United States were unanimous in sanctioning it. From the senior bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States the following reply was received: BURLINGTON, VT., May 4, 1966. To the Most Reverend Robert Gray, D. D., Lord Bishop of Capetown, and Metropolitan : MY DEAR LORD BISHOP: Your official statement of the greater excommunication formally pronounced by you on John William Colenso, D. D., late Bishop of Natal, and addressed to me as the senior bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, has been received and placed on record. On my own part, this painful and afflicting work of discipline is perfectly approved, as an act of solemn and imperative duty to the Church of God, and to her divine Head and Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. our last General Convention. With my earnest prayer that the Holy Spirit of Presiding Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal At the session of the convocation of Canter- 22 tion, it is the judgment of this house that the acceptance of a new bishop does not impair the connection or alter the relations existing between the members of the Church in the province of Natal and the Church of England, provided: 1. That the bishop be canonically consecrated according to the use of the Church of England. 2. That there be no invasion of the title of the Bishop of Natal conveyed by her majesty's letters-patent." As regards the third question (the proper measures to be taken to secure the election of a new bishop), the Bishop of Oxford proposed that the House of Bishops should recommend: 1. That an instrument should be prepared declaratory of the doctrine and discipline of the Church of South Africa, which every priest and deacon appointed to any office should be required to subscribe. 2. That a godly and well-learned man should be chosen, with the consent of the communicants of the Church, to be the bishop. 3. That the person so selected should be presented for consecration either to the Archbishop of Canterbury or to the bishops of the Church in South Africa, as might be hereafter deemed most advisable. The Bishops of London, St. Davids, and others declared themselves opposed to the appointment of a new bishop, but after being submitted to some verbal alterations, the first resolution of the Bishop of Oxford was carried by six to four. The second resolution was also agreed to. The lower house assented Notwithstanding these to both resolutions. proceedings against him, Colenso continued to perform his episcopal functions in his diocese. Of the seventeen clergymen of the diocese, only one sided with him; but, on the other hand, the secular authorities of the colony gave him all the support that was in their power. Colenso also obtained, in October, a decision in his favor by the Master of the Rolls (Lord Romilly), who decided that the trustees of the Colonial Bishopric's Fund were obliged to pay to Dr. Colenso the arrears of his salary which they had deemed themselves authorized to cut off. But about the same time when this decision was rendered, the majority of the clergy and laity of Natal took the last step for a complete severance of their ecclesiastical connection with Colenso. On October 25th a meeting was held of the clergy of the diocese of Natal, to consider the replies sent out by the English convocation to the queries forwarded through the metropolitan, in 1865, from the Church in Natal, and, in accordance with the advice tendered, Fourteen to elect a bishop for the vacant see. clergymen and about fifty communicants were present. The two clerical supporters of Colenso were present, but not allowed to vote. A letter was read from the Bishop of Capetown, urging them to elect a new bishop, and, as regards the mode of election, giving this advice: "The clergy elect; communicants assent. They alone have to do with the matter. All communicants have a right, I apprehend, according to the customs of the primitive Church, to express their assent, if they so will." The Bishop of Grahams Another controversy in the Church of Eng- the Archbishop of Canterbury declared his determined opposition, and Earl Russell (in reply to Lord Ebury, February 12th) stated that the Government, "anxious to promote peace and good-will, and not to open the way to discord," had, after communicating with the Archbishop of Canterbury, declined to propose the forming of a commission. The friends of "church ornaments" had accordingly (February 3d) presented a memorial to the Archbishop of Canterbury, signed by 36,008 communicants, of whom 24,133 were laymen, and 2,970 clergy of the Church of England, against any alterations being made in the Book of Common Prayer respecting the "ornaments of the Church, and of the ministers thereof;" and the mode and manner of performing divine service "according to the use of the Church of England." The archbishop, in his reply, while repeating his declaration that he would never consent to any alteration in any part of the Book of Common Prayer without the full concurrence of convocation, at the same time declared his decided opposition to many of the ritualistic innovations. The lower house of convocation, at its session in February, after a long and animated discussion, agreed to the following resolution: "That this house, recognizing the evils which may arise from an excess of ritualism, deprecates, nevertheless, any attempt to avert those possible evils by the introduction of changes in the prayer book; that in coming to these resolutions the house by no means intends to express approval of any alteration from church order not included in the expression excess of ritualism.' That this resolution (the first paragraph) be communicated to their lordships of the upper house, with a humble request that they take the subject into their consideration, and adopt such measures as they shall see fit, in conjunetion with the house, for clearing the doubts and allaying the anxiety that exists upon it." The bishops, in return, desired the lower house to appoint a committee of inquiry. The report of this committee was made by its chairman, Dr. Goodwin, Dean of Ely, in July. The report gives a history of the ritualistic usages which the party tries to introduce, and deprecates any attempt at a judicial settlement of the question of ritualism, urging moderation on both sides. The report of the committee was adopted by a vote of 38 to 9. The monastery of the "English Order of St. Benedict," at Norwich, was dissolved in consequence of the long absence of its founder, the Rev. Mr. Lyne ("Father Ignatius"), and from want of support. Mr. Lyne, toward the close of the year, received an appointment as a curate in the diocese of London. A monastery of the "Third Order of St. Benedict" was still in existence at the close of the year, at Bristol. The efforts for bringing on a closer union between the Anglican churches on the one hand, and other religious denominations possessed of an apostolical succession on the other, were actively pursued. The societies chiefly instrumental in pursuing these efforts on the part of the Anglican churches are the "English Church Union," the "Association for the Promotion of the Unity of Christendom," and the "Eastern Church Association." The latter confined its efforts to the Eastern Churches, while the two former have a more general tendency, and in particular keep in view the establishment of closer relations with the Roman Catholic Church. An interesting correspondence between a number of Anglican clergymen and Cardinal Patrizi took place in the latter months of the year 1865, but was only made public in 1866. The letter of the Anglican clergymen (written in Latin) was signed by 198 66 66 deans, canons, parish priests, and other priests," and addressed to "the Most Eminent and Reverend Father in Christ, the Lord Cardinal Patrizi." As regards the relation of the Anglican Church to that of Rome, the writers say: "Whatever may have been less perfect in the faith of the flock, in Divine worship and in ecclesiastical discipline, we have improved beyond our hope; and, not to be forgetful of other things, we have shown an amount of good-will toward the venerable Church of Rome, which has rendered us suspected in the eyes of some." The cardinal, in his reply, which is dated November 8, 1865, salutes the writers as Worthy and Very Dear Sirs," and he assures them that their letter has inspired the "sacred congregation with a most pleasing hope." But he declines to admit their claims to the name "Catholic," and describes their condition as an "inherited state of separation." He concludes with the hope that they will "no longer hesitate to throw themselves into the bosom of that Church which, from the Apostolic See through the succession of its bishops, while heretics have barked in vain, has attained the pinnacle." The views of Dr. Pusey, concerning a union between the Churches of England and Rome (see ANNUAL CYCLOPÆDIA for 1865, p. 26), were supported by the "English Church Union," of which society Dr. Pusey has become a member. At a discussion on the subject, Dr. Pusey stated that as the basis of such a union he proposed "the decrees of the Council of Trent and the Thirty-nine Articles, both documents being properly explained." As regards the movements for a closer intercommunion between the Eastern and the Anglican Churches, the Convocation of Canterbury was requested by the Russo-Greek committee of the lower house, for an enlargement of their powers. They were appointed originally "to communicate with the committee appointed at the general convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States as to intercommunion with the Russo-Greek Church, and to communicate the result to convocation." They now requested permission to consider the question of "intercommunion with the Oriental churches generally;" and the request was granted. The "Eastern Church Association" |