ABSTRACT

Word that the Privy Council would reverse the Lushington judgment began to leak out. The judgment was delivered on February 8, 1864, in a crowded Council Chamber, by Lord Westbury, its principal author. After the general observations, Westbury turned to Williams' case. On the question of'justification, the court concluded that the charge against Williams wrongly interpreted his meaning. With regard to Wilson, against whom only two charges remained, Westbury noted that the proposition that 'every part of the Scriptures was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is not to be found either in the Articles or in any of the Formularies'. The judgment was substantively a victory for the Essayists. Coupled with Lushingtons judgment, which had already stricken out most of the charges, it opened a large area of biblical criticism and theological inquiry to free discussion among the clergy.