While this little circle of devout ascetics was forming itself and shaping its ideal, the spirit of reform in the political world was moving in the opposite direction. The inherent rights of the bishops were in danger of being undermined. The Tractarians determined to stand in the breach. Their first endeavor was to in- doctrinate the laity as to the inalienable rights of the Church as such. Three points were made prominent: The idea of the Church ; the importance of the sacra- ments; the significance of the priestly office. These points were developed in popular catechetical form, and published under the title The Churchman's Manual in 1833. While this was in preparation Parliament abol- ished ten of the Irish bishoprics. This gave impulse to a conference at Hadleigh, July 25-29, of Hugh Rose, Froude, Keble, Newman, and Perceval, in view of a re- vision of the Manual, and of concerted action in defence of the Clnirch. The action agreed upon was directed to two points — to develop the significance of apostolical succession, which had been ruthlesslj' ignored in the abolition of the Irish bishoprics, and to defend the or- thodox interpretation of the Prayer-book against the
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Socinian views which the action of Parliament implied. In September Keble prepared a programme of action for the party, stating the doctrinal reforms they aimed at, and the means agreed upon to effect the end. The Churchman^ s Manual may be regarded as a sort of con- fession of faith of the party. It was sent to all the Scottish bishops, and was Avarmly welcomed by them and others. The archbishop of Canterburj' (Dr. How- ley) refused it his official sanction, but did not object to its publication. This Manual is " the first tract put forth to meet the exigencies of the times." Upon it followed ninety other small treatises, under the general title " Tracts for the Times." Hence the name of the party — Tractarian s.
The Tracts (1833-1841).— Though the tracts were the chief missionary agency of the party, their views found also expression in poetr}', tales, review articles, and sermons. Keble and Newman wrote the most of the tracts. Pusey wrote several of the most important. The first tract proper appeared Sept. 9, 1833; by No- vember, 1835, sevent}' had appeared, making two vol- umes. Most of them were original essays, though some were extracts from earlier writers. The later tracts were more lengthy and thorough, the last twenty mak- ing four volumes. At first these tracts were almost uni- versally welcomed. They carefully respected the Pray- er-book, and defended the rights of the clergy. They were an opportune ally of the establishment in a time of danger. They raised to fresh life the old High- Church party, and vigorously assailed evangelicals and dissenters. But the evangelical Church party soon became alarmed. The Christian Observer, in March, 1834, charged the Tractarians with being Eomanists. Newman resented the charge in his 17a media (tracts 38, 41), arguing that not his party, but the opposers had fallen away from the idea of the primitive Church, and declaring that the Thirty-nine Articles needed to be supplemented by a protest against Erasmianism and lat- itudinarianism, and by an additional article on the sa- credness of the priesthood. In 183G the Tractarians involved themselves in a violent personal strife. Dr. Hampden, a Broad Churchman, was nominated by the crown to a professorship of moral philosophy at St. Mary's Hall, Oxford. The Tractarians used petitions and all other practicable means to prevent the confir- mation. Dr. Thomas Arnold sprang to the help of Hamp- den in the Edinburgh Revieio (April, 1836). It was the signal to a general attack. The Tractarian movement became the order of the day. Though defeated in the Hampden matter, they lost none of their courage nor zeal. In 1838 they began a series of translations from the fathers, entitled "A Library of the Fathers of the Holy Catholic Church anterior to the Division of the East and West." The Bible is the foundation of the apos- tolical doctrine, but the fathers are the channel through which it has come down to us — so says the Preface. In 1837, and later, some of the tracts showed a marked advance towards Rome. Kev. Isaac Williams, in tract 80, enjoined " reserve" in the communication of religious truths. It was an effort to revive the Romish Disci- plina arcani; it discountenanced the preaching of all doctrines to the general public, as also the promiscuous distribution of the Hible. This and similar tracts ex- cited general dismay. It was in vain that Pusey, in a letter to the bishop of Oxford, attempted to deny the Romanizing tendency. Keble wrote tracts in the same vein as Williams. The Tractarians in general had taught their followers to look indulgently on the errors of Rome, and to bewail the Reformation as a blunder. What wonder, then, that certain young enthusiasts were on the point of actually going over to Rome? To pre- vent this consummation Newman wrote the 90th tract. It was a most ingenious piece of sophistry, the point of which was to make it easy for the conscience to sub- scribe to the Tliirty-nine Articles, and yet hold firmly aU the essentials of Romanism. No otlicr essay from the whole school made such a sensation as this. The