Untitled - Electric Scotland

1852-56] THE PROTESTANT ALLIANCE 183
It may be well to quote one or two letters of this
period, showing his disinclination to identify himself with
some of the religious movements then rife, movements
undertaken with the view of uniting in a common cause
the scattered efforts of various denominations, but tending,
as he thought, to limit practically the legitimate width of
the Church of England, and to narrow the sympathies of
her members.
The strange agitation raised in 1850 and 1851 by what
was known as The Papal Aggression took shape, not
only in Lord John Russell s panic-stricken Ecclesiastical
Titles Act, but in the formation of various societies of an
anti-Roman character, for the enforcement or exposition
of this or that department of Protestantism. At an
enthusiastic and influential meeting held in June 1851,
1
The Protestant Alliance was founded, under the pre
sidency of Lord Shaftesbury-
"
Not as its
only," prospectus stated,
"
to oppose the recent
aggression of the Pope . . . but to maintain and defend, against
all the encroachments of Popery, the Scriptural doctrines of the
Reformation. This was to be effected (i) by awakening
British Christians of various classes ... to regard the interests
of Protestantism as the paramount object of their concern ; (2)
by uniting the Protestants of the Empire in a firm and persevering
demand that the national support and encouragement given to
Popery of late years shall be discontinued . . . and (3) by
extending as far as may be practicable the sympathy and support
of British Christians to those in foreign countries who may be
suffering oppression for the cause of the Gospel.
The new Alliance at once received a wide support,
and its first list of members included scores of the fore
most clergymen in England. Dean Tait s known sym
pathy with Evangelical opinion led to his being early
invited to become a member of the .Alhance. His
x
answer to the invitation was as follows :
: