Among these was one adduced in support of a charge against Mr.
Wilson--that he denied the doctrine of eternal punishment. On this
the court decided that it did "not find in the formularies of the
English Church any such distinct declaration upon the subject as to
require it to punish the expression of a hope by a clergyman that
even the ultimate pardon of the wicked who are condemned in the day
of judgment may be consistent with the will of Almighty God." While
the archbishops dissented from this judgment, Bishop Tait united in
it with the lord chancellor and the lay judges.
And now the panic broke out more severely than ever. Confusion
became worse confounded. The earnest-minded insisted that the
tribunal had virtually approved _Essays and Reviews_; the cynical
remarked that it had "dismissed hell with costs." An alliance was
made at once between the more zealous High and Low Church men, and
Oxford became its headquarters: Dr. Pusey and Archdeacon Denison
were among the leaders, and an impassioned declaration was posted
to every clergyman in England and Ireland, with a letter begging
him, "for the love of God," to sign it.
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