CO885-(2-3) — Page 223

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

C.O.8

Reference:

885

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

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any proceeding shall be instituted against any of the said Bishops of Graham's Town and Natal, when placed under the said Metropolitan See of Cape Town, such proceedings shall originate and be carried on before the said Bishop of Cape Town, whom we hereby authorize and direct to take cogni- zance of the same.

And if any party shall conceive himself aggrieved by any judgment, decree, or sentence pronounced by the said Bishop of Cape Town or his successors, either in case of such review or in any cause origi- nally instituted before the said Bishop or his succes- sors, it shall be lawful for the said party to appeal to the said Archbishop of Canterbury or his successors, who shall finally decide and determine the said appeal."

The Letters-Patent which constituted the Sea of Natal, and appointed the Appellant to that See. were sealed, and bear date on the 23rd November, 1853, fifteen days before the grant of the Letters Patent to the Bishop of Cape Town.

The Letters-Patent creating the See of Natal recited the Patcut of September 1847, which created the original Diocese of Cape Town, and appointed Dr. Gray the Bishop thereof, and that he had since resigned the office of Bishop of Cape Town, whereby the said See had become and was then vacant. The Patent also recited that it was expedient and desirable that the said diocese should be divided into three or more distinct and separate dioceses, to be styled the Bishoprics of Cape Town, Graham's Town, and Natal, the Bishops of the said several Sees of Graham's Town and Natal to be subject and subordinate to the See of Cape Town, and the Bishop thereof, and his successors, in the same manner as any Bishop of any See within the Province of Canterbury was under the authority of the Archiepiscopal See of that Province and the Archbishop of the same; and the Letters-Patent proceeded to erect, found, make, ordain, and con- stitute the district of Natal, to be a distinct and separate Bishop's See and Diocese, to be called the Bishopric of Natal. And after appointing Dr. Colenso to be the Bishop of the said See, and granting that the said Bishop of Natal and his successors should be a body corporate, the Letters- Patent contained the following passage :—

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"And we do further ordain and declare that the said Bishop of Natal and his successors shall be subject and subordinate to the See of Cape Town, and to the Bishop thereof and his successors, in the same manner as any Bishop of any See within the Province of Canterbury, in our Kingdom of England,

is under the authority of the Archiepiscopal See of that Province, and of the Archbishop of the sanie: and we do hereby further will and ordain that the said John William Colenso, and every Bishop of Natal, shall, within six months after the date of their respective Letters-Patent, take an oath of due obedience to the Bishop of Cape Town for the time being, as his Metropolitan, which oath shall and may be ministered unto him by the said Archbishop, or by any person by him duly appointed or autho- rized for that purpose."

The Letters-Patent then proceeded to confer on the Bishop of Natal and his successors Episcopal jurisdiction and authority over all rectors, curates, ministers, chaplains, priests, and deacons within the diocese, and directed that, if any party should conceive himself aggrieved by any judgment, de- cree, or sentence pronounced by the Bishop of Natal or his successors, he should have an appeal to the Bishop of Cape Town, who should finally decide and determine the appeal.

Under these Letters-Patent, the Appellant was consecrated on the 30th November, 1853, and he took an oath of canonical obedience to the Metro- politan Bishop of Cape Town, which oath was administered to him by the Archbishop of Canter- bury, and was in these words:" I, John William Colenso, Doctor in Divinity, appointed Bishop of the See and Diocese of Natal, do profess and promise all due reverence and obedience to the Metropolitan Bishop of Cape Town and to his successors, and to the Metropolitan Church of St. George, Cape Town.” At this time there was not in reality any Metro- politan See of Cape Town, or any Bishop thereof, in existence.

These several Letters-Patent were not granted in pursuance of any Orders or Order made by Her Majesty in Council, nor were they made by virtue of any statute of the Imperial Parliament, nor were they confirmed by any Act of the Legislature

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