him very little help.

The final propulsion was to come from an entirely different
quarter. In November, 1847, the Reverend Mr. Gorham was presented
by the Lord Chancellor to the living of Bramford Speke in the
diocese of Exeter. The Bishop, Dr. Phillpotts, was a High
Churchman, and he had reason to believe that Mr. Gorham held
evangelical opinions; he therefore subjected him to an
examination on doctrine, which took the form partly of a verbal
interrogatory, lasting thirty-eight hours, and partly of a series
of one hundred and forty-nine written questions. At the end of
the examination he came to the conclusion that Mr. Gorham held
heretical views on the subject of Baptismal Regeneration, and he
therefore refused to institute. Mr. Gorham, thereupon, took
proceedings against the Bishop in the Court of Arches. He lost
his case; and he then appealed to the judicial Committee of the
Privy Council.

The questions at issue were taken very seriously by a large
number of persons. In the first place, there was the question of
Baptismal Regeneration itself. This is by no means an easy one to
disentangle; but it may be noted that the doctrine of Baptism
includes: (1) God's intention, that is to say, His purpose in
electing certain persons to eternal life--an abstruse and greatly
controverted subject, upon which the Church of England abstains
from strict definition; (2) God's action, whether by means of
sacraments or otherwise--concerning which the Church of England
maintains the efficacy of sacraments,' but does not formally deny
that grace may be given by other means, repentance and faith
being present; and (3) the question whether sacramental grace is