7^>frp"^ THE CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT A HANDBOOK OF FACTS AND ARGUMENTS li\ oUPPORT OF THE CLAIM FOR RELIGIOUS EQUALITY. 1894. SIXPENCE. SOCIETY FOR THE LIBERATION OF RELIGION | FR©M STATE PATRONAGE AND CONTROL [ 16, Caxton House, Westminster, S.W. j ■*^ 6Mr/ IP THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES THE CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. THE CASE EOR DISESTABLISHMENT A HANDBOOK OF FACTS AND ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT OF THE CLAIM FOR RELIGIOUS EQUALITY. NEW EDITION -REVISED AND ENLARGED. LSOCJETY for the LIBERATION OF RELIGION FROM STATE-PATRONAGE AND CONTROL, 2, Serjeants' Inn, Fleet Street, London. 1S94. 1 MQV.1920 5157 PREFACE ^2 The aim ot this volume is to present, in a brief eJ> compass, a statement of the principal facts and ^ arguments on which the advocates of Disestablish- g ment base their case. ^ The present edition has been revised through- out, and to a large extent re-written, with the view of embodying all the most recent informa- tion on the subject. Several new chapters have also been added, dealing with topics that were o only incidentally referred to in the previous 2 edition. ^ One of the special features of the volume is the ^ abundance of its information derived from Acts ^ of Parliament, Parliamentary papers, and other official sources, respecting the constitution and working of the several departments of the Church Establishment. It also contains much important testimony from dignitaries, clergymen, and lay ^ members of the Established Church, who, while M opposed to Disestablishment, have condemned P^ almost every feature of the Establishment system. \i PREFACE. The work has been prepared with great care, and contains, it is believed, a larger amount of well authenticated information respecting the position of the English Establishment, the pro- gress of the movement for religious equality, and the results of Disestablishment in Ireland, the Cclonies, and America, than has yet been presented to the public in any single volume. Jamiary, 189.}. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION pp. 1-4 CHAPTER I. Establishment and Disestablishment defined. Misconception as to fact of Establishment — Hooker's position — Wai- burton's Alliance of Church and Stale — Paley's view of Establish- ments—Coleridge's National Clcricy — Dr. Chalmers' definition — Mr. Gladstone's early views — Professor Freeman's explanations — Lord Selborne, the Quarterly Review, and the Guardian — The broader meaning of Disestablishment ... ... ... ... pp.5 — ^^ CHAPTER n. The Religious Argument. The argument from principle -P^undamental objection to Chuicli Establishments — Churchmen and State-favours — The Scriptural argument —Church Establishments not supported by the Old Testament— Tlie Jewish Tithe system— No authority for the use of compulsion - The New Testament argument -Practical religious objections to Church Establishments -Deprives the Church of self- government — Loss of Discipline — Dean of LlandalYand Canon McColl —Demoralises it— Rev. Baptist Noel and efiects on the Bishops and Clergy— Bishop Sclwyn — Discourages the liberality of Church- men — Liberality for chmch building admitted— Lord Selborne, iii CONTENTS. Bishop Harold Browne, Church Times, Rev. B. King, and Dean Alford — Adverse to Christian union— Bishop Ridding and Canon McColl — Tends to persecution — Persecution of Dissenters in rural districts — The "parish priest" and the "sin" of schism — Hostile to Protestantism — Cardinal Vaughan and Romish principles and practices of Ritualists— The " bulwark of Protestantism," pp. 13 — 30 CHAPTER in. The Political Argument. Church Establishments necessarily unjust- Principle of equality — Mr. Disraeli and Mr. Gladstone — Religious inequality civil in- justice — Hostile to liberty — Hume, Lord Macaulay, Mr. Lecky, and LIr. John Morley — Opposed to progress— Mr, Bright — Lord Sel- borne's contention refuted— Dr. Arnold, Mr. George Harwood, Archdeacon Farrar — Resistance to Reform — Canon Molesworth — The Establishment and the education of the people — Origin of National School .Society— Eail Russell — The Clergy and School Boards — The Establishment and the agricultural labourers — Admissions of clergymen— Canon Girdleslone and Rev. C. W. Stubbs — The labourer's view of the case — The result of ICstab- r.shment — The Times — The "National" Church anti-national — The Record — Parliament and the Church pp 31-48 CHAPTER IV. Historical and Lkgal Po.sition ov the Chlrcii ]':.sta1ilishmknt. The " National " Church dates from the Reformation — The ancient Jiritish Clmrch — Mr. Freeman — First establishment of the Church in England — Dean Hook — The early English Church not "National" but Catholic— Biihop Stubbs, Mr. Gilbert W. ChM—Ecclesia COXJEX'TS. IX Anglicana — The pre-Reformation Church Romdn Catholic — Mr. Child, Dean Milman, and Bishop Kyle— Origin and growth of the present EstabHshment— Bishop Short— The Statute of Citations — The Submission of the Cleroy— Appointment of Bishops— Peter's pence and Dispensations— The Supreme Headship— Founding of new Bishoprics and Cathedral bodies — General effect of Henry the Eighth's legislation— Mr. Froude— Church in England first becomes Church OF England— Legislation of Edv/ard VI.— The first English Prayer Book— Rooting out of (he old religion— King Edward's second Prayer Book— EU/abeth's Act of Uniformity— Dr. T. W. Mossman— Penalties for adhering to the Catholic religion— En- forced attendance at Church — Act of Uniformity of 1662— Mr. J. R. Green— Place and power of Convocation— The Coronation Oath— " Established by law "—Membership of the Church of England pp. 49—75 CHAPTER V. The Bishops of the Establishment. Rank of the Archbishops and B'shops— The present Episcopate : date of appointment, stipend. Church views, and by whom nominated — Recent extensions of the Episcopate — Cost of new Bishopiics — Hindrance to further extension — Sir John Mowbray — The appoint- ment of Bishops — Nomination by the Crown — Bishops and Prime Ministers — The Church 'rimes — Bishop Wilberforce's disclosures^- "Election" by the Dean and Chapter— The prayer for divine guidance — "Confirmation "of the "election" — T\\e English Church-^ /;/a«— Appointment to new Bishoprics — The Truro Act and its s-ignificance — Dr. T. AV. Mossman's " Bishops by Act of Pailiament and Letters Patent" — .Suing for the Temporalities — The Oath of Homage — The Bishops in Parliament — The Manchester Bishopric Act — The Bishops as legislators — Bishop Ryle and Dean Plumptre COXTENTS. — Removal of the Bishops from the House of Lords — Mr. "Willis's motion — The rail Mall Gazelle— The votes of the Bishops— Bishops' resignation Act — Bishops and their wealth — Bishop Ryle— Records of the Trobate Court— Bishops " shamefully rich " ... pp. 76 — 91 CHAPTER VI. Thk Cathedral Systea:. The Cathedral in popular estimation — Cathedral bodies of ill repute — Rev. R. Whiston — Cathedral establishments " an entire and dead failure" — Original design of Cathedrals — Charters of Chester and Ely Cathedrals — "Old'' and "new" foundations — Abuses and reforms — Present Organisation — The governing bodies — The Cathe- dral staff" — Non-residence and its results — Mr. Freeman and Canon Norris — The Cathedral revenues — Lord .Selborne and the Church revenues return— Cathedral dignitaries and their stipends — Duties of Deans and Canons — Archbishop Tait, Bishop Goodwin, and Canon Trevor — Sydney Smith— Bishop Ryle on Deans— Tiie Cathe- dral system — Cathedral services — Cathedrals useless in Diocesan work — Evil inlluence in Cathedral towns — The Cathedrals as aids to learning — Failure of Cathedral system — Future of Cathedrals pp. 92 — 102 CllAPTEK VH. The Parochial Clergy. Xuniter of the Clergy— Legal conditions of entrance to the ministry— The si ,ju/s—Kc\. Baptist Noel and Bishop Ryle— Oaths and sub- scriptions reipiiied— The parochial system— Its growth— Church building by law— Position in great towns— Yorkshire and Birmingham parishes— " The Parson's freehold "—Rev. Dr. Jessopp— The for- bidden Exeter Hall services- Lord Shaftesbury— The law unaltered CONTEXTS. XI — Parochial system in rural districts — Bishcp Ryle — Wliat disestab- lishment will do — Clergy discipline — The Clayton-le-Moors and Bilston cleiical scandals —The Clergy Discipline Act of 1892 —Clerical disabilities and relief ]■[■ :o^ — 117 CHAPTER Vin. Chukch Patronage. Origin of patronage — Blackstone, Archbishop Theodore — Originally of no money value — Bishop Gibson and Lord Coke — Simony— Oath and declaration against — Act of 1865 — Sale of patronage sanctioned by law — Distribution of patronage — Number of livings held by public patrons — Administration of public patronage — Patronage of the Crown — Lord John Russell — Episcopal patronage — Cathedral and College livings — Private patronage — The traffic in livings — Sale of livings by public auction — Bishop Ryle — Public enquiries — The " Clerical agency " business — Demoralisation of the Clergy — Mr. Emery Stark and Bishop Magee — Bishop Magee's evidence — Private patrons — Roman Catholics and patronage — ^Ir. Herford and the living of Wilmslow — Reform of Church patronage — The real difficulty of refoim — Ineffectual measures— The J/(;r«///^'-/'t)j^ and the Peers — Archbishop of Canterbuiy's Bill of 1893— The Rt'co/d -The only real remedy pp. 118— 132 CHAPTER IX. Church Property. riie defence of the Establisiimcnt a mere struggle fur the endowments — The Church property return — Aggregate summary of Church revenues — Gives revenue from permanent endowments only— Nature and distribution of the property — Misleading statements as to its value — Church Defence Institution, Lord Selbome — Relative amount x-.i CONTEaWTS. of public f.nd private endowments — Tithes — Origin of the tithe system — Bishop Stubbs and Dean Milman — The " pious ancestor" theory — Tithes due at " common law " — Mr. Chancellor Dibdin and Lord Selborne — Tithe a tax — Lord Campbell, ]SIr. Freeman, and Sir "Walter Phillimore — Nature of tithe and tithe rent-charge — The Tithe Acts — Apportionment of tithe rent-charge — Tithes and Ihe poor — Blackstone, Mr. Kemble, Sir Robert Phillimore, and Professor Brewer — The Episcopal and Capitular estates — Mr. Freeman's admission - Glebe lands — Extent and value of glebe lands— The Glebe Lands Act — Glebe lands and allotments — Mis- cellaneous property — Cathedrals and churches — Lord Hampton's and the Duke of Westminster's returns — The Ecclesiastical Com- mission — The "Bishops Act"— Summary of the work of the Commission — Parliament and "Church property" — Sir Robert Inglis and Dr. Hook — Transfer of Church property at the Reforma- tion — Sir Robert Peel— Church property National property— Mr. Freeman and Loid Selborne — Mr. Gladstone and "State-pay" — Church property intended for the Nation — Recent private endow- ments — Lrclevant and misleading jileas — The Dissenters' Chapels Act — The Church and the "annual estimates" — The Church's "right" to its property — Why the Church should be disendowed and not Dissent — The Irish Church precedent — Finance of Irish Disestablish- ment — Mr. Gladstone's anticipations and actual results— Irish curates %cd.\\^a\.— Belfast News Zc/Ztr advertise ment — Application of the Irish surplus — The lesson for England— ]Mr. Gladstone's ^90,000,000 — Justice to the Nation essential... ... ... ... pp. 133 — 170 CHAPTER K. TllK Church ok Englan'i> in Walks. Consists of " four dioceses of the Province of Canterbury "—Contempt for Welsh nationality— An "alien Church"— Dean Edwards and Canon Pryce— How Wales became Nonconformist^" The Methodist revival"— Gross degradation of the Welsh clergy— Canon Powell CON TEN IS. x:ii Jones and Archdeacon Howell— ^\'hat Nonconfoimit}- has done for Wales— Dean Edwards and Archbishop Tait— Provides for spiritual needs of the entire population— The late Bishop of Bangor— Practical results of Nonconformity— Rev. J. Morgan and Rejiort of Committee on Intermediate education — Has given AVales its National literature — Rev. D. AVilliams — Freedom from serious crime — Ecclesiastical revenues of Wales— Episcopal and Capitular estates — Lord Selborne's statement— English dignitaries and Welsh tithes — Tlie Parochial endowments- Some Welsh parishes — Ihe demand (or Disestablishment— Mr. Gladstone's argument—" The Church of the few against the Church of the many"— Sir G. O. Morgan and Archdeacon Howell — "The Church of the rich against the Church of the comparatively poor " — Proselytism and persecution — Air. Henry Richard — Alleged Church progiess^Condemned by the people^= Welsh Members and Disestablishment ... pp. i" [ — 188 CHAPTER XT. Scottish Disestablishment. Demand for Disestablishment largely based on local circumstances — Pecularity of the Scottish case — The people mainly Presbyterian and one section alone established — What would be a parallel case in England — The three Presbyterian Churches — The Estabhshed Church— Based on antagonistic principles of freedom and State- control — Patronage and its results— Early secessions and Disruption of 1843 — The United Presbyterian Church —The Free Church of Scotland — The ten years' conllict — Lord Brougham and Lord Camp- bell — The Disruption — Dr. Chalmers — Wonderful progress of Free Church— The Patronage AboHtion Act of 1874— Relative positions — Census of 1851— Newspaper Census of 1881-2— The Establish- ment's claim as to membership —Census at Dundee and Aberdeen — State-Churchism and Voluntaryism in large towns — The Establish- ment and the Free Church in Highland parishes — Injustice of xiv CONTENTS. present position —Revenues of the Establisliment — State-support and Voluntaryism compared — Cliurclies provided by each — Sunday, schools — Contributions to foreign missions— The Poor and the Establishment — Misappropriation of funds — Village populations — Closed churches — Archbishop of Dublin and Iiish .case — Pres- byterian reunion and compromise — Concurrent endowment — The Free Church and Disestablishment — No hope for reunion excepting by Disestablishment — Disestablishment essentid and inevitable — Liberal opinion in Scotland— Lord Hartington and Mr. Gladstone — Scottish Members and Disestablishment pp. 1F9— 204 CHAPTER XIT. The Practical Failure of the English Estaklishment. Church Establishments wrong in principle and productive of evil results — English Establishment has failed of its professed objects — Object of the Acts of Uniformity — "Catholic" and "Protestant" services— Bishop Ryle on antagonism of Church parties — 7'he Times and the " impassable gulf" — The Establishment false to Protestant- ism — The Church's duty to the Nation— Lord Cross's contention — Church accommodation provided — Failure to win the people — Religious Census of 1851 — The Religious Census question — News- paper Religious Census of 1881-2 — Failure with the working classes — Bishop Ryle and Liverpool parishes — Loss of intellectual supremacy — Mr. H. W. Massingham on altered position of clergy — The penalty of privilege PP. 205 — 218 CUAPIER XIIL What is, and what is not, involved in Diskstadllshment. Grotesque misconceptions — Bishop Ryle and " Libeiationists' wishes " — What Establishment it>elf involves— Oiiginal establishment of C0NTEN7'S. XV the Church in England — Essential distinction between Established and non-Ebtablii^hed Churches — What is involved in Disestablish ment — Loss and {^ain — What the Church will lose by Disestablish, ment — The loss of public property — Mr. Gladstone and "starving" the work of the Church — The Church will gain liberty by Dis- establishment — Its present bondaj^e disastrous — The Guardian — Bishop Perowne — Mr. ]\Iackonochie's anticipations — Disestablish- ment and the Nation— Lord Selborne and "national apostasy"^ The example of America — Dr. ^lacaulay and Mr. Bryce — The welfare of the poor — The legal posilion of non-Established Churches — Privy Council decision in Long v. Bishop of Capetown — Law courts protect and guard the freedom of the Free Churches — Methods of Di- establishment and Disendowment ... pp. 219 — 233 CHAPTER XIV. Thr Test of Expfrif.ncf. The results of Disestablishment the best argument in its favour- Lord Selbourne's position untenable— Establishment and Dis- establishment in America— Dr. Lyman Beecher — Fice Church system in America— Testimony of Rev. Dr. Reed, Mr. Ban- croft, and Mr. Bryce— The expeiience of the Colonics— The Rev. Dr. Hatch and Mr. Goldwin Smith on the results in Canada— The Austialian Colonies— Mr. Anthony Forster— The Tiiiws—KQ^ Zealand — South Africa— Bishop Merriman at the Croydon Church Congress- The West Indies— Bishop Jilitchinson- Ceylon— General results in the Colonies -Disestablishment in Ireland— Prognostica- tions of evil and actual results — The Christian Observer, the Record, and the Church Tim:s~T\\Q. National Church and the Irish Ecclesiastical Gazette— 1\\& Western Mail Commissioner- Archbishop of Dublin's testimony— The Bishop of Cork in Review of the Churclus TP- 234— 245 xvi COXTEXTS. CHAPTER XV. Progrkss of the MoVF.MENT. Practically commenced with the Toleration Act — Reaction under Queen Anne — Repeal of Test and Corporation Acts— Catholic Emancipation — Marriage and Registration Acts — Withdrawal of English Regiiim Donioii — Admission of Jews to Parliament — Burial law reform — The Church-rate struggle — Opening of the Grammar schools — Qualification for Oflices Act— Official attendance at places of worship — Lord Chancellorship of Ireland — Opening of the Universities to the nation— Disestablishment of Irish Church- Disestablishment inevitable — Dean Alford — " God's arm is thrusting it on, and man's power cannot keep it back." ... pp. 246— 25O CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND EOUALITY MEASURES pp. 257 to 262 NOTICE Since the publication of this volume there has been fresh legislation on Marriages, Burials, and Education. For information up to date on these subjects apply to the Secretary, Liberation Society, i6, Caxton House, Westminster, S.W. ERRATA Page 5. — In second footnote, for p. 203 read p. 219. „ 136. — In lastcolumnof table, for 5 5 5,948 read 564,525; for 269,856 read 269,855; and for 132,456 read 324,496. ,, 180. — In second table, for 4,262 read 1,262. ,, 194. — In total of the second column of table, for 1,834,805 read 1,834,745. ,, 202. — In bottom line of first column, for 217 read 267. INTRODUCTION, ON all sides there are indications that the close of the great struggle for religious equality is approaching. Events within the Established Church, equally with the progress of public opinion outside of it, are pressing the subject of disestablishment into the front rank of urgent questions of practical politics, and it is inevitable that, with the least possible delay, decisive action will have to be taken in regard to it. No better evidence could be given of the great advance of public opinion on the subject than the fact that, at the General Election of 1892, the number of members returned who were favourable to disestablishment, not only in Wales and Scotland, but in England also, was far larger than on any previous occasion. The Parliament of 1868, which disestablished the Irish Church, had a large majority in favour of that particular object, but when, in 1871, the late Mr. Edward Miall moved a resolution in favour of general disestablishment he was supported by only eighty-nine votes, and in the previous year a resolution for disestablishment in Wales separately, obtained only forty-five votes. But the Liberal party as a whole is now pledged to disestablishment in Wales and Scotland ; and a large majority of its members in the House of Commons are in favour of disestablishment in England also. This is an immense gain, and, taken in connection with the enthusiasm which the movement for disestablishment excites among the great body of the people, it shows that the reign of ecclesiastical privilege is surely coming to an end. It is now nearly fifty years ago that th^ Anti-State- 2 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. Church Association^ began its work. It was founded by earnest-minded Christian men, who, while deeply sensible of the injustice of religious establishments, and of the social and political evils to which they give rise, were yet chiefly influenced by religious considerations. Their views are clearly expressed in a resolution passed at the Conference at which the Society was formed, in April, 1844. It declared — "That this Conference, while emphatically disclaiming all intention to assail any church apart from its connection with the State, is constrained l)y a deep sense of obligation to Jesus Christ, the sole head of the Church, to express its solemn determination to persevere in its opposition to the principle on which .State-establishments of religion are founded ; and, consequently, distinctly disavows the scriptural authority of all State-establishments of religion, and of all State-endowments of religion, under any of its denominations, and explicitly asserts the entire independence of the Church of Christ, which is to be secured only by the practical admission of the principle of self-support and self-extension, as imperatively demanded by the authority of the New Testament." ^ But that the members of the Conference took no narrow view of the question of Church establishments is apparent from the resolution which was adopted, as con- stituting the basis of the Association, namely : — " Thai this .Society be based upon the following principles : — That, in mattcis of religion, man is resjionsiblc to (rod alone; that all legislation by secular governments in affairs of religion is an encroachment upon the rights of man, and an invasion of the prerogatives of (iod ; and that the application by law of the resources of the .Slate to the maintenance of any form of religious worship and instruction is contrary to reason, hostile to liberty, and directly opposed to the word of God." ^ The motives and principles thus explicitly avowed by the founders of the Society are those of the great majority of its present supporters. The Society has, however, from th(.' first, known no other bond of union than the desire to accomplish the one object at which it ^ This was the original name of the Society now popularly known as the "Liberation .Society;" its full title being "The .Society for the Liberation of Religion from .Statc-l'atronage and Control"; the change of name having been made in 1853. ' Proceedings of the first Anti-State-Church Conference, p. 43. ^ Ibid. INTR OD UCTION. 3 aims — namely, the separation of Church and State, or disestablishment ; and although, as the pursuit of that object has broadened into a great national movement, the purely political aspects of the question have necessarily come into greater prominence, the essentially religious character of the movement remains unchanged. The marked change in public sentiment which has taken place on the question of Church Establishments, since the Society was formed, makes it difficult, at the present time, to realise the circumstances under which it began its work. It was then thought, not by Churchmen only, but by many Nonconformists, that the Society was entering upon a perfectly hopeless en'.erprise. It had, in fact, to create the public opinion by which alone it could succeed. In the course of the Reform Bill discussions of 1 83 1 and 1S32 there had been vehement attacks upon the Establishment, and Lord Grey was supposed to have menaced its existence by his celebrated warning to the bishops, to "set their house in order." But this feeling soon spent itself, in so far as the public at large were concerned, in connection with the Church reform measures of the time — the reduction of the Irish Estab- lishment, the partial rearrangement of the revenues of the English Establishment, resulting from the appointment of the I'xclesiastii ;il Commission, and the passing of the Tithe Commutation Act. In fact, for some years before 1844, all thought of putting an end to the Establishment, and of aiming at an equality of civil rights for all citizens, irrespective of their religious opinions, appears to have wholly passed away. It is true the favourite watchword of the Liberal party was "civil and religious liberty"; but the idea of " religious equality " was practically unknown. The Church Estab- lishment was tacitly assumed to be a necessary part of our political system. Some politicians, indeed, appeared to be incapable of understanding that it was even possible the ilstablishment should cease to exist. Eor in 1S47, when Mr. Wiall contested Halifax with Sir Charles Wood (afterwards Lord Halifax), the Whig statesman asked, with an air of triumphant incredulity, "Can any man tell A2 4 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. me what he means by the separation of Church and State?" — evidently believing that no intelligible answer could be given to the question. In the presence of such a state of public sentiment the Liberation Society for some years confined itself wholly to the work of teaching. The principles of the essentially spiritual character of the Christian Church ; of its in- compatibility with State-patronage and control, and of the necessary injustice of Church establishments, were freely promulgated, both from the platform and the press, and with a highly encouraging response from a constantly increasing portion of the nation. In dealing with Parlia- ment, the Society, from the first, acted upon the policy suggested by the fable of " the faggot of sticks." I'ablic opinion rot being ripe for breaking the faggot whole, it set about breaking it stick by stick. In selecting its point of attack the Society has been guided by public opinion and the circumstances of the time. It has worked some- times alone, and sometimes in connection with other public bodies, or with individuals, interested in the success of particular legislative proposals ; and the result of this action has been a most gratifying measure of success. Most of the more obvious and palpable " grievances" of which Nonconformists had to complain have now been swept away ; and one after another the various outworks of the Establishment have been demolished. In Ireland the work has been completed by the actual disestablishment of the Church ; and in Scotland, as well as in England and Wales, public opinion has been educated and prepared for the complete extinction of the Establishment system. In our colonies the success of the movement for religious equality has been still more decided. In India and in some of the smaller colonies, the system of State-aid to religion, in one or other of its forms, still survives. But in our great self-governing colonies, and many of the others also, all Churches have long since been placed on an equality before the law; and, as will be seen in a subsequent portion of this volume, with results so eminently beneficial as to tell powerfully in favour of the adoption of a similar course in the mother-country. Chapti-r I. ESTABLISHMENT AND DISESTABLISHMENT DEFINED. One of the most curious features of recent discussions of the disestablishment question is the anxiety of some of the supporters of the Church of England to show that there really is no l^stablished Church to be disestablished ; or, that if any Church be established, all Churches are established alike. The Quarterly Rtviav, which supports the Church Establishment, describes these eccentric partisans on its own side as "indiscreet writers, who imagine that they are somehow defending the Establishment by denying its existence," and says their arguments are not only "histori- cally unsound," but " laughably ineffective." ' It is obvious, however, that the misconceptions of these writers are due to a confused idea of what is involved in establishment and disestablishment ; and it is important, therefore, that those points should be made clear. The subject is dealt with more in detail in a subsequent chapter;''' but much light is thrown upon it by the definitions of establishment and disestablishment which have been given by various writers of eminence. Hooker s Tluory of Church and Stale. — The well-known passage in the eighth book of Hooker's "Ecclesiastical Polity" is rather an assertion of the identity of the Church and the nation, and of the right of every citizen to be regarded as a member of the National Church, than a formal definition of establishment, as such : — "Wo lioUl that there is not any man of tlio Church of KnylanJ but the same man is also a member of the Commonwealth, nor any man a ' Quarterly Rci-uiv, October, 1SS7, pp. 4S0. ' Sec p. 203. 6 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. memlier of the Commonwealth who is not also of the Church of England. , . . The Church and the Commonwealth, therefore, are in this case personally one society." ^ In recent years attempts have been made in certain Acts of Piirliament to restrict the membership of the Church of England for particular purposes to persons who declare themselves to be '■'■bond fide members" of the Church. But that limitation is not recognised by the law generally, which, in accordance with Hooker's theory, treats every ciliztn as a member of the National Church. ^ Warhiir/oiis " Alliance of Church ajid Stale.'" — Bishop Warburton, in his " Alliance between Church and State," proceeds on totally different lines from those of Hooker. Instead of regarding Church and State as identical he describes them as two separate societies, " each sovereign and independent of the other," which enter into union for their mutual benefit. He says : — • " TTie care of civil society extends only to the body and its concerns, and the care of religious society only to the soul. It necessarily follows that the civil magistrate, if he will improve tliis natural in- fluence of religion, must seek some form of union or alliance with the Church. . . , And the Church's province not extending to the body, and consequently being without coercive power, she has not in herself alone a power of applying that inlluence to civil purposes. The conclusion is, that their joint powers must co-operate thus to apply and enforce the influence of religion." ^ A variety of "motives "are assigned why the Church and the State should enter into such an alliance ; one of them being that, as such an alliance would lay "an obligation on the State to protect and defend the Church, and to provide a settled maintenance for its ministers," the Church, "out of motives both of gratitude and interest," would be "most zealous in its labours for the service of civil government." It will be seen that, in Bishop Warburton's view, the two main elements of the supposed " alliance " between ^ Ecclesiastical Polity, Book viii., sec. 2. ^ .See Jifemhcrship of the Estmblished Church, p. 74. 3 Alliance of Church and State, p. 86. ^ Ibid, p. 102. ESTABLISrrMF.NT AND DISESTABLISHMENT. 7 Church and State are (i) the application of the " coercive power" of the State to the purposes of the Church, and (2) the provision by the State of a "settled maintenance" for the ministers of the Church. Pakys vii'W of Eslablishmcnls. — In Paley's view, a Church establishment comprehends three things — "a clergy, or an order of men secluded from other profes- sions to attend upon the offices of religion ; a legal provision for the maintenance of the clergy ; and the confining that provision to the teachers of a particular Church." And he argues that — " If any one of these thinfjs be wanting; if there be no clergy as amongst the Quakers, or if the clergy have no other provision than what they derive from the voluntary contributions of their hearers ; or if the provision which the law assigns to the support of religion be extended to various sects and denominations o( Christians, there exists no national religion or Established Cluirch according to the sense which these terms are usually made to convey." ^ What is meant by " a legal provision for the mainten- ance of the clergy " is clearly shown by its being described as "a public burden"; and it is argued that neither " pretences of conscience " nor " dissenting from the national religion" should be allowed as an excuse for not sharing in that burden. Coleridge's " N'alional Chricyr — In S. T. Coleridge's " Constitution of Church and State according to the idea of each," the National Church is, in the widest sense, a great civilising agency, in relation to which, Christianity is only " a blessed accident " ; and its ministers, the "national clericy," comprehend the learned in all de- partments of knowledge and art, working together for the general good of the community. But dealing with the actual Church, he says : — "The National Church was deemed . . a great, venerable estate of the realm, but now . . it has been determined to be one of the many theo- logical sects, ciiurches, or communities, establislied in the realm, but distinguished from the rest by having its priesthood endowed durante bene placito by favour of the Legislature."* * Moral aUil Politioil Phil., BooU vi., chap. 10. - Constitution of Church and State, 1830, p. (13. 8 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. It is clear that the word " established " in this passage has not the special meaning which is here discussed, and is ec[uivalent to " founded" or " set up," as a tradesman's business is said to be founded or established. This is shown by the fact that in other passages Coleridge speaks of " ///^ Church established in this nation," thus directly implying that there is only one Church so established ; and by what follows the term in the passage quoted, where the Established Church is said to be distinguished from all other Churches " by having its priesthood endowed by the Legislature." Dr. Chalmers's definition. — The definition of establish- ment given by Dr. Chalmers is very simple. He says : — " We assume, as the basis of our definition for a religious es- tablishment, or as the essential property by which to specify and characterise it — a sure legal provision for the expense of its ministra- tions. We are not saying at present whether the legal establishment of religion be a good or a batl thing, we are only telling what we understand such an establishment specifically to be ; and saying, that wherever we have a certain legal provision for the maintenance of Christianity, there we have an establishment of Christianity in the land. It is this which forms the essence of an Establishment." ^ It is immaterial in Dr. Chalmers's view whether the " sure legal provision" comes from public or from private sources. Even though the provision should be wholly made by " private acts of liberality," the Church so pro- vided for, he says, " is not less an establishment than if supported by a direct allowance from the national treasury." But, on the other hand, he claims that " even although the Church should be wholly supported by the State" it ought to be left "entirely unfettered by any dictation or control on the part of the civil authority." - Dr. Chalmers, however, speedily discovered that statesmen were wholly at variance with him as to what is involved in establishment ; and it was that discovery which led to the disruption of the Scottish ]''.stablishment and the formation of the Free Church of Scotland in 1843.^ ^ Lectures on Nationat Cfiurc/ies, 1838, p, 9. ^ IbiJ., p. I2. * See chap. xi. ESTABLISHMENT AND DISESTABLISHMENT. 9 Mr. Gladstone s early views. — The work in which ^Tr. Gladstone, now more than fifty years ago, embodied his views on the question of Church establishments, "The State in its relations with the Church," contains no formal definition of establishment, and the main argument of the book he has long since abandoned, as being no longer tenable. But it is important to note that, in discussing the question as an advocate of establishment, IMr. Gladstone throughout uses language which distinctly implies that one of the elements of establishment is pecuniary support from the Slate. Thus he insists on the " insufficiency of the voluntary principle " ; on the need for " Government aid " ; for " the assistance of the State," and its "pecuniary support"; and he argues that it is within the right of the Government to aid in "the advancement of religion by devoting thereto the money of the State. "^ In those early days, therefore, when Mr. Gladstone was an ardent supporter of Church establish- ments, his position on one point was substantially what it was in 1S68, when, in proposing the disestablishment and disendowment of the Irish Church, he uniformly spoke both of the Irish and the English Church as " supported by the income of the State," by " public or national property," by "State endowments," by "a great system of State-endowment." ^ Professor Freeman s explanations. — No writer is more frequently quoted by the supporters of the Church Establishment than Mr. Freeman, and it is important, therefore, to give what he has said on this subject at some length. In answer to the question " What is an Estab- lished Church?" Mr. Freeman, in his "Disestablishment and Disendow mfnt," says: "the popular notion seems to be" that, amongst other things — " The Cliurcli receives a special protection, and a larye measure of patronage fiom tiie State, while, on the other hand, it has to submit to a large measure of State-control. The State accordingly jiroceeds to " establish " the C luirch ; to make it in a special way the Church of * Tlie State in its relations icttJi titc Cliurcli, 2nd edition, 1S39. p. 41. ' Speeches in House of Commons, March 30th and May 7th, 1S68. lo CASE FOR D/SESTAnLISrnfENT. the nation, while . . . all other religious bodies liold a less dignified and favoured position. The ministers of tiie ICstablished Church hold a definite legal position which does not belong to the ministers of other religious bodies. In return for these favours the Church gives up a certain portion of its natural freedom. . . . The State exercises a power of legislating for the Established Church in a way in which it does not tliink of legislating for other religious bodies. Other religious bodies can settle their own forms and discipline as they please; they can legislate as they will for their own members. . . . But the ecclesiastical assembly of the Established Church cannot even enter on any business without a licence from the Crown ; its decrees are not binding on the clergy themselves till they have received the royal assent, nor on the laity until they are further confirmed by Parliament. Meantime, Parliament can legislate in any ecclesiastical matter ; it can alter ecclesiastical ceremonies and ecclesiastical dis- cipline without consulting the ecclesiastical assembly at all." ^ All this, and more (which it is unnecessary to quote), Mr. Freeman gives as being involved in the " popular notion," of what is meant by " establishment." He objects, however, that such a statement involves what he terms " the delusion " that there are " two distinct bodies called Church and State, which are capable of bargaining with one another," and various other misconceptions, as he regards them, on points of history. But, notwithstand- ing this, he distinctly says that the foregoing statement " by no means unfairly expresses the actual relations between Church and State in England." - And, having thus explained what is meant by "estab- lishment," Mr. Freeman summarises what is involved in disestablishment by saying : — " By disestablishment must be understood the repeal of all laws which, whether for purposes of privilege or for purposes of control, make any difl'crencc between the Established Church . . . and other religions bodies. . . . Discstablisl\nienl, to be fair, must cut both ways. If it abolishes privilege, it must abolish bondage. . . . To disestablish the now Established Church [is] to deprive it of the State- privileges, and to set it free from the State-control, which distinguish it from other religious botiies. . . . The one essential thing is that disestahlishmoit should cut both ways ; that while it cuts away erery shred of special privilege, it should also cut away every shred of special control.^' -^ ^ Disestablishment and Disendowment, pp. 26-29. ^ Ibid,, p. 30. " Ibid., pp. 56, 62 .64. ESTABLISHMENT AND DISESTABLISHMENT. ii Lord Selbonie, the " Quarterly Review T and the " Guardian.'' — Lord Selborne in his " Defence of the Church of England against Disestablishment," ' gives the following definition of establishment : — " The establishment of the Church by law consists essentially in the incorporation of the law of the Church into that of the nation, as a branch of the general law of the nation, though limited as to the causes to which and the persons to whom it appHcs ; in the public recognition of its courts and judges, as having proper legal jurisdiction ; and in the enforcement of the sentences of those courts when duly pronounced according to law by the civil power." * But even the Quarterly Review takes exception to this definition, as being both inadequate and misleading. " We mean more by establishment," it says, " than the recognition by law of the Church's jurisdiction," and, after mentioning several things which have to be added for any practical definition of the word, it says : — " Every ' recognition ' of the Church by the State is a part of establishment by law, for the Stale cannot act except by law, and establishment, thcrefDrc, represents the results of these recognitions, •wJietJier tliey td/:e ttie form of privilege granted to tlic Cliiirch, or of control asserted oa'er tier.'''' ^ The Quarterly Revieiv agrees, therefore, with iNTr. Freeman, that establishment consists essentially in privi- leges granted to the Church by the State, and in control exercised by the State over the Church. The Guardian (Oct. 1 2th, 1S87) takes precisely the same view. It says: — " The essence of establishment is the recognition of a right of inter- ference in ecclesiastical matters on the part of the civil authority. An established Church in the modern sense of the term ... is simply a religious boiiy to zcliich the State concedes certain rights, dignities, and possessions not enjoyed by non-established Churches, and ircer which the State, in return for tfiis concession, exercises an authority from which non-established Churches are free. . . . The essential element of an established Church is everywhere the accept- ance of control by the Church in return for advantages securoil to her by the State." ' This work is intended as a reply to the first edition of "The Case for Disestablishment," and will frojuently be referred to in the follow- ing pages. Except when otherwise stated, the references will be to the fourth edition. » Defence, p. 10. ■' Quarterly Rex'iew, October, 1887 p. 481. 12 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. These passages from the two leading supporters of the Establishment system in the Press accurately describe in what establishment consists ; and the Quarlerly Review is equally explicit in describing what disestablishment means. It says : — " The changes which are being agitated for under the name of disestabhshment . . . apart from disendowment . . . are the repeal of all laws by which the Church of England, as such, has been helped or hindered, privileged or controlled ; the removal of all official status and responsibility from the bishops and clergy ; the abolition of Church courts as legal tribunals." ^ The broader meaning of disestahlishnieni — In so far, therefore, as the Churches now established are concerned disestablishment means the withdrawal from them of all special State-favour, and the liberating them from all special State-control. But the term "disestablishment" has practically a broader meaning. In its larger sense it implies the definite abandonment on the part of the State of all attempts to regulate and control the religious life of the nation, and the practical admission that, wholly irrespective of religious belief, every citizen is entitled to an equality of civil rights. The question of disestablish- ment, therefore, is no petty dispute between Churchmen and Dissenters, but a great question of national policy ; and the object of this volume is to show that the State- Church sy&tem is not only wrong in principle but injurious in its results, and that the abandonment of the system and the practical application of the principle of religious equality, will be equally advantageous to the cause of religion, and to the social and political interests of the whole community. ' Quarterly Revieiv, October, 1887. Chapti':r ir. THE RELIGIOUS ARGUMENT. Now that disestablishment has become a question of practical politics, it is inevitable that its political aspects should occupy the most prominent place in the public discussion of the subject. But as the movement against Church establishments sprang from religious conviction, and is still largely, and in many cases almost exclusively, advocated on religious grounds, the religious argument against the Establishment system occupies the first place in this volume. ARGUMENT FROM PRINCIPLE. The fundamental objection to Church establishments is one of principle, which underlies both the religious and the political argument. It is clearly set forth in the reso- lution previously quoted from the proceedings of the Con- ference of 1844, which originated the disestablishment movement. The principle is that in matters of religion men are responsible to God alone, and that in founding or maintaining a Church establishment, the State steps beyond its proper province, and not only does violence to the rights of conscience, but invades the prerogative of God Himself. It is not denied that in ref»ard to the public exercise of their religious rights, by both individuals and communities, the State has a kgitimate authority, and is bound to use it. It is bound, for example, so to frame its laws and exercise its authority as to secure to its subjects entire freedom of religious faith and worship ; wliile carefully providing that the freedom so secured shall not be used 14 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. by any to the detriment of the rights of others. But all that directly concerns religion itself lies between the individual conscience and God alone, and no secular authority is entitled to interfere. "The whole jurisdiction of the magistrate," says John Locke, " relates only to civil concernments" ; or as M. Guizot puts it, " Temporal affairs are the State's domain — -spiritual affairs do not belong to it. It has neither the mission nor the right to teach religion, or to cause religion to be taught in its name." And the reason is obvious. The civil magistrate can have no proper authority in religion, because the only power which belongs to him is in its essence coercive, and coercion is inconsistent with the very nature of religion, and is really incapable of being exercised in its behalf. "The principle of State-religion," says Dr. Cunningham Geikie, " is force ; that of Christianity love. The State is compulsion ; Christianity persuasion. The sword and the shepherd's crook are contrasts, not allies. The sword is the symbol of earthly kingdoms ; but Christ's kingdom is not of this world." ^ This principle was recognised at one time almost exclusively by Nonconformists, with whom it has always constituted one of the main grounds of their separation from the Church Establishment. IJut with the growth of spiritual life within the Church of England of late years, and the increasing sense of thraldom which the restrictions of the Establishment system have induced, a new light appears to have dawned on many of its members ; and the great principle of the spirituality and independence of the Christian Church, and the incompatibility with it of the authority of the civil magistrate in matters of religion, is now almost as freely proclaimed within the Establishment as among the Eree Churches. There is this marked contrast, however, between the utterances which come from without and those which proceed from within the J^stablishment. The Eree Church position is that the principle which forbids the interference of the civil power with religion prohibits it as much from * Lecture, 1866. THE RELIGIOUS ARGUMENT. 15 conferring favours upon the Church, as from placing it under restraint and control. But within the Establishment, the position, tacitly assumed for the most part, is that, while the civil government ought on no account to interfere with the internal affairs of the Church, it may confer upon the Church any amount of favour and special privilege. In accordance with this view, demands are continually made for freedom for the Church of England to manage its own affairs, by those who most tenaciously cling to the special favours which the Church enjoys as a National Establishment. This, however, is clearly an inconsistency due to an imperfect apprehension of the principle involved ; and Churchmen are slowly but surely learning the lesson, which other sections of the Christian Church learnt long ago — that spiritual independence is to be obtained only by the abandonment of everything in the shape of special favours from the State. Mr. Miall clearly foresaw that the time would come when Churchmen generally would recognise this truth ; and his forecast of the result was that " one day we shall see that the Church will kill the Establishment." Till!: SCKUTUKAL ARC. L'.M K N T. The argument from the Uid Testannnt. — The supporters of Church establishments have sought in days gone by to justify their position by an appeal to the Scriptures J]ut that is a course which is now but rarely taken, and with good reason ; for neither the Old Testament nor the New gives any real countenance to the Establishment system. It is practically admitted, indeed, that there is no authority for an established Church in the New Testa- ment, and recourse is therefore had to the Old Testament and the institutions of Judaism. J>ut in all that concerns the Christian Church it is clearly not the Old Testament, but the New, which is the supreme authority. In reality, howevi-r, there is no more authority for Church establish- ments in the only forms in which they arc now possible, in the Old than there is in the New Testament. The Church of i6 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. the IMosaic economy had nothing in common with the State- Church system as it now exists ; and, instead of furnish- ing any authority for that system, it contrasts with it, and by implication condemns it, in almost every particular. The Jewish Church, according to the Old Testament, was founded directly by God Himself, and was ordered throughout according to His express command. The nation was merged in the Church, and the whole adminis- tration of its affairs was placed in the hands of rulers chosen by God Himself, and they acted under His direct and immediate authority. It is clearly impossible in such an institution to find any warrant for a modern Church establishment; which is a human contrivance, subordinate to the civil authority, and wholly governed by secular law. Nor is anything gained for the cause of Church estab- lishments by turning from the express provisions of the Jewish economy to what is recorded in the Old Testament, approvingly or without condemnation, as to the proceedings of the pious kings of Judah and other rulers in promoting the worship of God.^ For such cases, if they prove anything, prove far too much, and sanction despotic government even more explicitly than they sanction Church establishments ; while by a similar process of reasoning to that which finds in them support fortheEstablishmcnt s> stem, the authority of the Bible may be pleaded for slavery, concubinage, polygamy, and even aggressive and exterminating war. Nothing in the Old Testament is more frequently appealed to in support c f the Establishment system than the fact that the giving of tithes for the support of the priesthood is enjoined by Divine authority. But the tithes of the Jewish economy were purely voluntary ofterings. It is true that, according to the account in Leviticus (xxvii. 30, 34) the Hebrews were expressly required by God Himself to devote the " tithe of the land," and " the tithe of the herd and ihe flock" to sacred purposes, and \2 Cliron. xvii. 7, 10; 2 Cliron. xxxi. 20, 21; 2 Chron. xxxiv. 33 ; Ezra i. 2 ; vi. 8, 9, 10, 22 ; Ezra vii. I1-2S, &c. THE RELIGIOUS ARGUMENT. 17 the withholding of the tithe was condemned as "robbery of God." ^ But there is no suggestion, from one end of the liible to the other, that anything more than appeals to the conscience was permitted, in order to secure compliance with the divine command. The only case of compulsion in connection with the services of God which is mentioned in the Old Testament is that of the sons of Eli,- and in that the compulsion was not only unauthorised, but is emphatically condemned. And this total absence of any authority for the use of force in connection with the Jewish tithe system is in perfect harmony with the accounts which are given of the means adopted to raise the Tabernacle in the wilderness,'' and to build the Temple at Jerusalem.^ In neither of these cases was any compulsion employed or permitted. On the contrary, in both alike, it was only from those "who gave willingly from the heart" that offerings for the work were allowed to be taken ; and it is impossible to read the narratives without being struck with the reiteration and emphasis which are employed to mark the importance attached to the fact that all was to be done willingly and without constraint. The Ntw Testament argunuiU. — But if Church establish- ments find no real sanction or support in the Old Testament, still less are they countenanced by anything contained in the New. Not a hint or suggestion can be found in the recorded utterances of Christ himself, the founder of the Christian Church, and its only Head and Lawgiver, which justifies its subjection to the control of the civil magistrate, or authorises its support by the coercive power of public law. On the contrary, all the teaching of the Saviour expressly, or by direct implication, condemns those essential elements of the Establishment system. The broad distinction which he drew between "the things that are Ciusar's " and the "things that are God's" (Mark xii. 17), the rebuke he administered to the disciples, who would have called down fire from heaven ' Mill. iii. 8. - I SamiRl ii. 10 ami 17. ' Exodus xxv. z; XXXV. 5, 2i.jy. * 1 Chron. x.xix. i, ly. B l8 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. upon the Samaritans that did not receive him (Luke ix. 55), his declaration as to the nature of the kingdom he came to set up (Luke xvii. 20, 21), as to those who were to compose it (John iii. 3), and those who should conduct its affairs (Luke xxii. 25-27), and his final declaration before Pilate (John xviii. 36) both as to the nature of his kingdom and his emphatic repudiation of the use of force in its behalf, all point to the conclusion that the Christian Church, as it was founded by its Lord, is wholly different from what it necessarily becomes when it is converted into a political establishment. And the teaching of Christ himself in this respect pervades the entire New Testament. The idea of the Church being an institution regulated by public authority, and deriving the means of its support from forced contri- butions from the community at large, is wholly foreign to its pages ; which uniformly represent it as a purely spiritual body, governed by its own laws, and sustained solely by the spontaneous offerings of its own members — each and all of whom give as God has prospered them, and as they are moved by the Spirit of God to aid in the support and extension of his kingdom. In this representation of the Christian Church by Christ himself and his immediate followers, there is not only no sanction given to the Establishment system, but by direct implication it is con- demned and forbidden. PRACTICAL RELIGIOUS OBJECTIONS TO CHURCH ESTABLISHMENTS. This condemnation of the Establishment system, which is based on its violation of sound principle and its conflict with the teaching of the Bible, is emphasised and enforced by the practical religious evils to which the system gives rise. I. The establishment of the Church deprives it of the power of self- gave Dime lit. In the case of the English Church this deprivation is absolute and complete, and its far-reaching consequences are of the most disastrous character. The Church, as a Church, is bound hand and THE RELIGIOUS ARGUMENT. 19 foot by its connection with the State, and practically can do nothing for itself. It cannot appoint its own officers, regulate its own services, or extend its organisation, or effect the most necessary reforms, simply because as an Established Church it is bound by State-authority, and statutes of the realm. The archbishops and bishops and other dignitaries of the Church are the nominees of the Crown, and have often been appointed, and may be again, with but little regard for the welfare of the Church, and mainly to suit the political convenience of the prime minister of the day. The parochial clergy are appointed, not by the people to whom they minister, or by the Church as a body, but by the "patrons" of "livings," who may be, and often are, utterly unfit to be entrusted with the duty of selecting the spiritual guide of a whole community. ^ What is worse, by an abuse of this system of patronage, which has lasted for ages, and seems practically incurable so long as the Establishment endures, a large proportion of these patrons regularly sell their patronage rights ; so that, as the Bishop of Liverpool says, " a cure of souls can be sold like a flock of sheep or a drove of pigs."'" And the Established Church has no more liberty in ordering and regulating its public services than it has in the appointment of its chief officers. The Book of Common Prayer is a schedule to the Act of Uniformity of 1662, and not a jot or tittle of it can be altered without another Act of Parliament. The Scripture "lessons" which are read in the public services of the Church are all prescribed, chapter and verse, by Act of Parliament (34 &: 35 Vict. c. 37, J 871), and in 1872, when a desire was widely felt for shorter and simpler services for special occasions, it was again by Act of Parliament (35 & 36 Vict. c. 35) that the change was made. And it is only in this way that any change can be made in the Church's organisation or methods. " Nothing can be done," as the Bishop of Liverpool says, "without an Act of Parlia- ment"; or, as Dr. Perowne, now the Bishop of Worcester, ' Sec Church Patronage, p. 118. - Church R<-fonn Papers, p. 164. n 2 20 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. has forcibly said, " We must go to Parliament, simply because we are an Established Church." ^ In nothing, perhaps, has the loss of liberty which the Church suffers, as the result of its establishment, been more injurious to it as a spiritual body than in its im- potence in the matter of " godly discipline." The discipline of the clergy is provided for by law. But it will be seen in a later chapter, - that while the Establishment system is so lax as to afford no adequate security that only suitable men shall be admitted to the ministry of the Church, owing to the fact that the clergy have a " free- hold " in their livings, the greatest difficulty has been experienced in removing unfit men from their position, and clerical discipline has, in consequence, always been most imperfect. In the case of the laity, however, matters are far worse ; for, practically, there is no discipline at all. The Dean of Llandaff (Dr. Vaughan) admits that although the Church at Lent regularly prays for the restoration of discipline, " every year makes us feel more and more strongly that the thing is im- possible " ^ ; and Canon McColl, in a paper read at the Newcastle Church Congress (1881), gives the reason : — "The Churcli herself once a year solemnly and publicly deplores her loss of discipHne, and j)leads for its restoration. But she pleads in vain as long as the connection between Church and State subsists. The law assumes that the Clunch is coextensive with the nation. In matter of fact, however, a large ]ivoportion of the nation yield no allegiance to her authority or laws, hut claim, nevertheless, their legal rights of membership whenever it suits their purpose to do so. The result is a relaxation of discipline to such a degree that it has prac- tically ceased to exist." ' 2. The cstahlisliment of ihc Cliurcli also demoralises il, and dimniishes its spirilual poiver. — It is sometimes urged that the union of Church and State tends to make the State religious. But the result has commonly been, not to make the State religious, but to make the Church corrupt and indifTcrent to its sacred duties. It was thia aspect of the subject which largely influenced the Hon. \ Speech at Westminster, Febiuary 5th, 1890. ^ See pp. 104, 1 10, 115. ^ Reriiion of the Liturgy, p. 72. * OJficial Report, p. 175. THE RELIGIOUS ARGUMENT. 21 and Rev. Baptist Noel in seceding from the Establishment in 1848 ; and in his "Essay on the Union of Church and State," he points out in detail how greatly the Church as a spiritual body is injured by the connection. In many respects, no doubt, the Church has greatly improved since Mr. Noel's time ; but he was exceptionally well placed for judging of what he calls the " disastrous in- lluence" of the Establishment; and much of what he says is as true to day as it was in 1848. {(I) Effects on the Bishops. — Referring to the effects of the Establishment system on the bishops, Mr. Noel says : — " They are first put by the State in the possession of a palace and ;{r5,ooo per annum ; * in the next place they are made peers, and then arc tempted to make lliemselvcs accomphshed politicians and skilful debaters by bein^ called to share in tlic numerous politico-religious debates which now occupy the attention of Parliament. " The State has laid another snare for each prelate. As if wealth and dignity, aristocratic association, and political excitement were not sufficient obstacles to his humility ami spirituality of mind, it has surrounded him with numbers of needy clergymen, and invested him with a large amount of patronage," which, while it tends to depress the clergy into a degrading sei-vility of temper, tempts the prelate to undue self-exaltation, and is likely to create in him an imperious and arbitrary temper towards those who so much depend upon his favour for their subsistence. " On the other hand, the State has thrown in his way an opposite temptation to servility towards the ministers of the Crown by offering him the prospect of^ translation to a richer see, and by visions of Lambeth and of IMshopsthorpe, where he may feel on a level with the proudest of the lealm " (pp. 266-269). "The smile of a statesman," ^Ir. Noel adds, "has made [the bishop] at once a peer, the master of a p.alace, the owner of a lordly revenue, the successor of Apostles. If a man under these circum- stances is not deteriorated, lie must have extraordinary wisdom and virtue " (p. 274). {b) Effects on the Clergy. — The "injurious influence" of the Establishment upon the clergy generally is, according to Mr. Noel, no less marked. "The torpedo touch of the State," he says, " has paralysed them." ' The recently created bishoprics have endowments of only /'3,ut that is not so. It is only of the Church as a National Esta'jlishinenl that tliat principle is asserted ; and after disestablish- ment the ])roperty which the Church may accjuire will be no more public property than is that of the existing Free Churches. 2 Defence, p. 264. •' Official Report, p. 551. THE RELIGIOUS ARGUMENT. 25 history of the Church of England." ^ The result is, as the Bishop of Liverpool told his Diocesan Conference in 1883, that Churchmen " require to be educated in giving money to the Church and the cause of Christ" ; and the Bishop added : " When he knew what Nonconformists were doing, when he saw the wealth of the Church of England, he could not but think how little was given by Churchmen for religious objects and the cause of Christ. He felt that upon this question Churchmen wanted educating as to what liberality should be." To the same effect is the statement of the Church Times a few years since that — " In view of the future disendow- mcnt of the Church, the first duty of her sons is to learn how to give." And quite recently a correspondent of the same journal (who says he has "for years taken con- siderable trouble to get at a fair estimate of the extent of the evil ") declares that " about seven-tenths of the members of the Church give practically nothing." And the writer adds: "Were it not for the handle that such information gives to the Church's enemies, I could cite cases which are simply appalling." - Still more emphatic is a statement of the Rev. Bryan King, vicar of Avebury, Wilts, in a remarkable pamphlet published in 1SS3, entitled, "Disestablishment the present hope of the Church." He says : — " No people contribute so little to the support of their religion as the members of the English Chinch. . . . Their contributions in support of the ministry of the Church is absolutely nothing when compared witli the contributions of the membeis of the ditVerent religious sects. ... I must insist that all this miserable parsimony is the efl'ect of that deadening paralysis of establishment in which they have been nurtured, and which meets us at every turn and eveiy step." ^ The late Dean Alford goes further; he not only recog- nises that the establishment of the Church is the " chief * Speech at meeting of Additional Curates Society. ' Church limes, January 1st, iSi)2. This writer says of these non-givers that " then- names never appear in any subscription list, and their entirely involuntary ' ofTcrings ' in the bags consist of mere pence and halfpiiico, and desultory shillings and sixpences from many who are absolutely rolling in wealth." * Disestablishment, ^c, v>. II. 26 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. hindrance to the liberality of Churchmen," but he argues that disestablishment and disendowment will greatly promote that liberality. He says : " The chief hindrance to the liberality of Churchmen for Church purposes now is the semblance of self-sufficiency which the Church has put on by reason of her union with the State. Remove this hindrance, and the fountain of private liberality will flow as it has never flowed before." ' In the face of such testimony it is impossible to doubt that the Establishment system does discourage the libera- lity of Churchmen ; and there is good reason to believe that for all directly religious purposes, even financially, the Church will practically gain rather than lose by disestablishment. 4. 77/6' Estallishmcni hos/ile to Chn'slian Union. — One of the strongest arguments against the Establishment system is that it violates the spirit of Christian brotherhood, and renders any cordial co-operation in religious work between the Church favoured by the State and other Churches well nigh impossible. The Church at large is thus divided and weakened, and its power for good greatly diminished. The Bishop of Southwell (Dr. Ridding) has truly said : — " AVe cannot exaggerate the loss to the great Cliiistian warfare caused by the loss of unity between the Cliurch and Nonconformity. Its disastrous effects are patent everywhere. The principal evil is the distraction of spirit which wastes the energies of good people upon divisions, which, but for those divisions, would be devoted to the great duty of Christians — the warfare against sin and misery." - The Bishop adds, " People sometimes speak as if this was all the fault of the Church, but that is not true." No ; it is not "all the fault of the Church," but it is very largely the fault of the Establishment ; which aggravates and embitters religious differences, and practically separates the Christian community into two hostile camps ; the one fighting to retain the unjust privileges which estab- lishment confers, and the other to obtain that equality of ^ Essays and Addresses, ■p. 180. - 6'/^(r/(//a//, June 6th, 1888. THE RELIGIOUS ARGUMENT. 27 civil rights which they are now denied. It is inevitable tliat this should be the case so long as the Establishment exists ; and its effects, therefore, are, not only to prevent all possibility of Christian union on a large scale, but to aggravate and intensify the tendency to separation and exclusiveness which arises from other causes, and to give to it an added element of bitterness. The Rev. Canon McColl points out another aspect of the same evil. Speaking at the Newcastle Church Congress in 1881, as a clergyman to clergymen, he said : — "Our privileged position, as, in a sense, State-officials, has a ten- dency to infuse imperceptibly something of the spirit of Pharisaism into the charac-ter of the clergy, by which I mean the spirit which looks with scorn on those who are outside the privileged circle. I sometimes read and hear language applied to Dissenters by clerical speakers and writers which seems to me to breathe the very spirit of him who thanlced God that he was not as other men were, nor even as this publican." ^ The spirit here described, and rightly attributed to the baneful influence of the " privileged position " of the clergy, has greatly increased of late years, and in the rural districts especially it displays itself in an arrogant and narrow sectarianism which is hostile to the very existence of religious liberty. 5. Estdhlisluncnl tends to pcrscculion. — Thi truth is, State- Cliurches have always and everywhere been persecuting Churches, and, according to the measure of their power, have striven to slille and repress everything contrary to their own distinctive teaching and exclusive privileges. It is unnecessary to go back to past times, or to other countries, in proof of the fact. The petty persecution, and the more serious social oppression, of Nonconformists in the rural districts of England and Wales at the present time art; evidence enough. No one who is at all familiar with the village life of England can be unaware that this modern persecution has long been operating to the detriment of Nonconformity, and that in many parts of the country it has been so severe that Nonconformity has ' Oljlcial Report, p. i -<). 28 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. hardly been able to maintain its existence. The late Dr. Gervase Smith, a former president of the Wesleyan Conference, many years since stated that, to his personal knowledge, there were hundreds of English parishes in which religious liberty practically had no existence, and where Methodists, simply because they were ]\Iethodists, were continually exposed to the most galling and harass- ing treatment. The late Rev. Hugh Stowell Brown, of Liverpool, bore similar testimony as to the treatment of the Baptists ; and Dr. Dale, of Birmingham, and the late Dr. Conder, of Leeds, have more than once pointed out that Congregationalists also suffer in like manner, and that this social oppression, carried on in the interest of the Church Establishment, is leading to the actual exter- mination of Nonconformity in some districts. But until comparatively recent times this crusade against Nonconformity, in the interests of the Church Establish- ment, was carried on by means which were almost ex- clusively social and secular. It was by the denial of all benefit to Nonconformists from the local charities, the withholding of custom from Nonconformist shopkeepers, the refusal of farms to Nonconformist farmers, and by other means of that character, that Dissent has always been marked out as an offence and punished. But with the recent development of sacerdotalism in the Estab- lishment, practically a new element has been imported into the warfare. The old methods of punishing Non- conformists in their material interests are continued ; but now, in addition, the "parish priest" appears upon the scene, armed with the terrors of the spiritual world ; and Nonconformists are told that they are guilty of " schism," and that schism is a deadly sin, which places them outside the pale of salvation. It is bad enough that Nonconformists should be sub- jected to social pressure and worldly loss for their fidelity to principle ; but it is immeasurably worse that their deepest religious convictions should be outraged and insulted by the men who are invested with legal authority and influence as ministers of the National Church. The attempt of the rural clergy to wield this spiritual terrorism THE RELIGIOUS ARGUMENT. 29 is an abuse of the public position they occupy', which heither law nor reason can justify, and has done much to produce that strong revulsion of feeling against the Church ]'".stablishment in the rural districts, which is one of the most noticeable features of the present time. 6. 77/1? Eslahlishment hostile to Protestantism. — This brings into view another argument on the religious side of the question which at the present time is very influen- tial in alienating from the privileged Church ihe sym- pathies of a large number of those who have hitherto supported it. The Establishment has always been de- fended as the " bulwark of Protestantism," and there can be no doubt that the security which it has been supposed to give against the advances of Romanism has in past times been one of the main sources of its strength. But the revolution which has taken place within the Establishment in recent years has not only destroyed whatever force there may once have been in that argument, but has made it obvious that the greatest danger to Protestantism now lies in what is being said and done, with the connivance or open encouragement of the archbishops and bishops, in the Church of England itself. P>y a large section of the clergy indeed, the very name of Protestant is now repudiated ; and the English Church- man (May 23rd, 1890) declares that nearly every bishop on the bench is hostile to Protestantism. There is no dispute as to the facts of the case ; and Cardinal X'aughan, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, thus enumerates the principles and practices of the Roman Catholic Church which are now widely adopted in the Engl'sh I'lstablishment : — "The very Establishment which was set up in ii\alry to the Catholic Church, with a Royal supremacy triumphantly pitted a^'ainst a Papal supremacy — that very EstablishuiLMU had chanj^cditstempei and attitude. Its bishops, ministers, and pcoiile, were busily cnj^aycd in i>^norinj^ or denouncing' those very Articles w hich were drawn up to be their eternal protest aj^ainst tiie okl relij,'ion. The s.icranicntal power of orders, the need of jurisdiction, the Real Presence, the daily s.acrifice, auiicular confession, prayers and ollices for the dead, belief in purj^ator)-, the invocation of the Blessed Virgin and the Saints, reliijious vows, and the institution of monks and nuns— the very doctrines stamped in the Thirty- 30 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. nine Articles as fond fables and blasphemous deceits, all these were now openly taught from a thousand pulpits within the Establishment, and as heartily embraced by as many crowded congregations. Nay, more, the statue of the Blessed Virgin had been put up with honour over the principal side entrance to Westminster Abbey, and she had recently been enthroned under the great dome of St. Paul's. Though there were 20,000 ministers and preachers throughout the land pledged by their profession to denounce the Catholic Church, they found the Archbishop of Canterbury claiming with eager jealousy Catholic descent and continuity with the Church of St. Gregory, St. Augustine, St. Anselm, St. Thomas, and St. Edmund. .Societies were formed, tracts and books were written, and lectures were delivered all over the country, to prove to the public that the past 300 years had been a dismal mistake, and that the Church of England after all was not a Protestant Church, but the true hereditaiy Catholic Church and nothing less." ^ It is not surprising that in this state of affairs (aggra- vated as it now is by the formal sanction given by the judgment of the Privy Council in the Bishop of Lincoln's case, to certain Romish practices which had previously been declared illegal) many of those who were once zealous supporters of the Church Establishment have become indifferent or positively hostile to its continued existence. The Bishop of Gloucester years ago declared that the Romanising party within the Church of England were " digging the grave of the Establishment" ; and the Bishop of Liverpool now says that there are many Churchmen who, while " for a Protestant Establishment they would fight to the last, for a semi-Popish Establish- ment I doubt if they would strike a blow."" It is outside the scope of this volume to enter into any discussion as to the merits or the demerits of either Pro- testantism or Roman Catholicism. But it is undeniable that the overwhelming majority of the British people are deeply attached to the Protestant faith, and look upon it as the parent and guardian of their liberties, civil and religious ; and there can be little doubt that when once they recognise the fact that the Establishment, so far from being a "bulwark of Protestantism," is now a train- ing school for Rome, its day of doom will be close at hand. ^ Address at meeting of the Catholic Truth Society, 1890. '^ Address at Diocesan Conference. October 25th, 1892. Chapter III. THE POLITICAL ARGUMENT. The same fundamental objection to Church Establish- ments applies, as already stated, to both the political and the religious side of the argument. It is based upon the principle that the care of the religious interests of the people forms no part of the duty of civil governments. And as, in interfering with religion, governments neces- sarily step beyond their own proper province, invade the prerogative of God, and do violence to the rights of con- science, so they infringe upon the civil liberty of the citizen, and deny to him the full enjoyment of his political rights. CHURCH ESTABLISHMENT NECESSARILY UNJUST. The very existence of a Church Establishment is, there- fore, of necassity a political injustice. And the English Establishment was at one time surrounded and buttressed by so many safeguards that, until comparatively rec^^nt times, all who refused to submit to its authority were deprived of half their civil rights. ' But the removal of these civil disabilities only diminished, it did not put an end to, the injustice of the I^stablish- ment system. Nor does that injustice consist in the * No one who did not take the sncranient of the Lord's Supper in his parish church could, before 1828, hold any civil or municipal orticc. Up to 1829 no Roman Cathohc, and up to 185S no Jew could enter Parhament. Before 183O no one could be married elsewhere than at the iCstablislied Church ; and not until 1880 could Dissenters be buried with their own services in ]iarish churchyards. The public Grammar Schools were closed ajjainst the chiKlren of Dissenters until i8C)0, and it was not until 1870 that the Universities were rendered " freely accessible to the nation." (See also chap, xv.) 32 CASE FOR DISESTABLiSHMENf. circumstances that the Churches established are the Churches of only a minority of the population, and that they are largely supported by public property. Those facts aggravate the injustice of establishment, but do not constitute the essence of that injustice. It is establish- ment itself, apart from these accidents, which is incom- patible with the principles of justice. The State represents the whole community, and acts justly only when it deals on equal terms and with strict impartiality with every subject of the realm. In effect this principle is generally admitted. Lord Beaconsfield (when Mr. Disraeli), for example, said : — " I hold that civil equality — that is, equality of all subjects before the law — a law which recognises the personal rights of all subjects — is the only foundation of a perfect commonwealth." ^ Mr. Gladstone has still more emphatically insisted on the same principle. In his speech on the Affirmation Bill, on May 3rd, 1883, he said : — " Wc will take care that full justice, nothing more and nothing less, shall be awarded to every citizen of England. ... I am convinced that on eveiy religious ground, as well as on every political ground, the true and the wise course is not to deal out religious liberty by halves, quarters, and fractions, liut to deal it out entire, and to make no distinction between man and man on the ground of religious difference from one end of the land to the other." This argument is fatal to Church establishments ; for the establishment of a Church, whatever may be the form the establishment takes, is the conferring of some favour upon the Church by the authority of the State ; and for the State to confer favour upon one part of the community, on the ground of its religious faith and worship, is to violate the fundamental principle of equality, and to be guilty of injustice to every other part. Arclibishop Magee frankly admits that the Establishment is " founded on the principle of religious inequality";- and Bishop Harvey Goodwin contends that establishment is "an infinite advantage to the clergy."^ But, however that ^ Address to students of Glasgow University, Nov., 1873. ' Charge, 1875, p. 20. '' Address at Leeds, November, 1877. The political argument. 33 may be, it is enough to insist that "inequality" under such circumstances is only another name for injustice ; and that the measure of the "advantage" on the one side is the measure of the injustice on the other. THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH HOSTILE TO LIHERTV. It has sometimes been urged that the English Estab- lishment is the parent and guardian of public liberty ; but that is in direct conllict with the testimony of history. The historian Hume, writing of the Tudor period, says: " So absolute was the authority of the Crown, that the precious spark of liberty had been kindled and was preserved by the Puritans alone ; and to this sect the lOnglish owe the whole freedom of their constitution." Lord Macaulay is equally explicit. Referring to the times of the Stuarts, he says : — " The Church of England continued to be for more than a hundred and fifty years the servile handmaid of monarchy, the steady enemy of pubhc liberty. Tiie divine ri^jht of kin^js, and the duty of passively obcyin):^ all their command>, were her favourite tenets. She held these tenets lirmly throu<;h times of oppression, persecution, and licentious- ness ; while law was trampled down ; while judf^ment was perverted ; while the people were eaten as though they were breatl. Once, and ijwt once, for a moment, antl but for a moment, when her own dignity and prosjierity were touched, she forgot to practise the submission she had taught." ' Mr. Lecky also in his " History of Rationalism " says : — "It is to Puritanism that we mainly owe the fact that in England religion and liberty were not dissevered ; amongst all the lluctuations of its fortune it represented the alliance of these two principles, which the predominating church invariably pronounced to be incompatible. "The attitude of this latter church forms indeed a strange contrast to that of I'uritanism. Created in the lirst instance by a court intrigue, pervaded in all its parts by a spiiit of the most intense Erastianism, and aspiring at the same time to a spiritu.d authority scarcely less absolute than that of the chuich which it had supcricded, Anglicanism was from the beginning at once the most servile and most ethcient agent of tyranny ; endeavouring by the assistance of temporal authority, nnil by the display of worldly pomp, to realise in England the same jiosition as Catholicism had occupied in Europe, she naturally thing ' Essays, vol. i., p. 60 (pop. ed.). 34 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. herself on every occasion into the arms of the civil power. No other church so iiniformily betrayed and trampled on the liberties of her country. In all those fiery trials throuf^h which English liberty has passed since the Reformation, she invariably cast her influence into the scale of tyranny, supported and eulogised every attempt to violate tlie constitution, and wrote the fearful sentence of eternal condemna- tion upon the tombs of the martyrs of freedom." ^ To the same effect is the testimony of Mr. John Morley, who says : — "There is not a single crisis in the growth of English liberties in which the State-Church has not been the champion of retrogression and obstruction. Yes, there was one. In 1688, when her own purse and privilege were threatened, she did for a short space enlist under the flag which the Nonconformists had raised in older and harder days ; immediately after, when with their aid and on their principles the oppressor had been driven out, she reverted by a sure instinct to her own base doctrines of passive obedience and persecuting orthodoxy. Yet this is the brightest episode in her political history. In every other great crisis she has made herself the ally of tyranny, the organ of social oppression, the champion of intellectual bondage. "Nobody pretends that the State-Church alone is answerable for all the inicjuities and follies of legislation and policy in which she has taken a leading part during the three centuries of her existence. The active leaders of the State-Church had no monopoly of intolerance, or coarseness, or ferocity, or hatred of light. No one asserts anything so extravagant as this. What is true, and a very important truth, is that the State-Church has never resisted or moderated these coarse, ferocious, intolerant, and obstructive political impulses in the nation; that, on the contrary, she has stimulated and encouraged them, and where she could, has most unllinchingly turned them to her own profu." Mr. Morley freely admits that the Establishment has not been wanting in " high forms of spiritual life or noble sons"; but he adds: — "Alas! they have been too few and too weak. Their names are rightly held in honour among men of all persuasions, but they have been neither numerous enough nor powerful enough to turn aside the verdict of the impartial student that the political history of our episcopal establishments, alike in i'^ngland, in Scotland, and in Ireland, has been one long and unvarying course of resolute enmity to justice, enlightenment, and freedom." * ^ Histo)-y of Rationalisjn in Europe, vol. ii., pp. 193-4. ^ Struggle for Na/ional Education, pp. 3, 5, and 6. THE POLITICAL ARGUMENT, 35 THE ESTABLISHMENT OPPOSED TO PROGRESS. The experience of recent times is in harmony with these lessons of the past ; the clergy of the Established Church having, with but ftw exceptions, acted as a standing army of obstructives, which, to the extent of its power, has resisted almost every forward movement. "There is no trace in our modern history," says Mr. Bright, " of the influence of the bishops, or of the clergy, in favour of those great reforms which we now look back upon with intense satisfaction," and he added, " the Establishment does nothing to guide the State in the ways of righteousness." ^ Lord Selborne endeavours 19 meet this grave impeach- ment of the Established Church, both in past and present times, by saying that the statements quoted are marked by " a bitterness and virulence which goes far to answer itself, by the indication which it affords of hostile moti\e." * But such an answer is futile in view of the fact that the complaint against the Establishment comes quite as strongly from its friends as from its foes. No more zealous Churchman or supporter of the Church Estab- lishment could have been found than Dr. Arnold, of Rugby, and yet be said fifty years ago : — " It is vain to deny that the Church of England clergy have been a party in the country from Elizabeth's time downwards, and a party opposed to the cause, which, in the main, has been the cause of improvement," At the Newcastle Church Congress (1S81) the Rev. T. J. Lawrence spoke still more plainly. He said : — " No one can read tlie history of the last two hundred years without coming mournfully and sadly to the conclusion that the clerg)- of the Established Church, as a body, have resisted most of the great political and social reforms that have made the country a lit place to live in." ^ ' Speech at Metropolitan Tabernacle, 2nd May, 18S3. « Z»f/fmv, p. 308. " Official Report, Y). 181. C 2 36 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. And at the Carlisle Church Congress (1884) Mr. George Harwood, of Bolton, the author of a work in support of the Establishment, said — " It makes one almost sink with despair to reflect that during this century the influence of the Church of England, in so far as it has publicly manifested itself, has for the most part been nearly always on the wrong side ; on the side of privilege against right, on the side of ignorance against knowledge, on the side of restriction against freedom, on the side of the few against the many ... I will not go into details, but I venture to guess it is true of Cumberland, as I know it is true of Lancashire, that in almost every political con- flict the great bulk of the clergy are found on one side, and that the side least associated with sympathy for the people." ^ And much to the same effect is the statement of Arch- deacon Farrar, in a sermon at St. Margaret's, Westminster (February 14th, 1892), that — " To us English Churchmen, to me, at least, it is a humiliating lesson to observe how few of the great moral and humanitarian reforms were wrought by English Churclimen ; how our bishops and clergy have been often lukewarm or hostile to changes which were asked for the advance and happiness of the human race ; how there is scarcely one English clergyman whose name has been immortally identified with the maiming of monsters, the slaying of dragons, and the casting out of devils," Here is ample testimony to the truth of the charge that Lord Selbornc disputes, and testimony which it can- not be alleged is prompted by " hostile motive." Resistance lo reform. — But there is no difficulty in sub- stantiating the general statement as to the opposition of the Church Establishment to most of the great measures of reform of recent times, by reference to particular instances. It is notorious, for example, that the abolition of the slave trade and of slavery owed next to nothing to the bishops and clergy, but, as Sir W. Ilarcourt has insisted,'^ was mainly due to the Nonconformists. Sir Samuel Romilly, in his diary (May 30th, 1810) complains .-)f the servility to the Government of the bishops in the House of Lords, in attending the House to throw out his Bill for the abolition of the death penalty for stealing ^ Official Report, p. 597. ^ Speech in House of Commons, February 23rd, 1892. " Life, Pop. ed., vol. ii., p. 150. THE POLITICAL ARGUMENT. 37 property from shops to the value of five shillings. The movement for Catholic Emancipation was resisted in the same way; the Bishop of London, in 1S21, opposing the measure expressly on the ground that it would be danger- ous to the Established Church. It was the same with respect to the first great movement for Parliamentary reform in 1831-2. Canon Molesworth, the historian of that movement, and himself a clergyman, says — " The clergy, remembering the fate of the French Church, were ahnost unammous in their hatred of the proposed innovation. Already highly unpopular, partly on account of the determined opposition whicli, as a body, they had offered to every proposal for the extension of civil and religious liberty, and partly on account of the vexations and disputes attendant on the collection of tithes, they rendered them- selves still more odious by their undisguised detestation of the new measure, which the nation fondly and almost unanimously desired." ^ The opposition to Jewish emancipation was equally bitter; the Archbishop of Canterbury (Howley), in 1833, resisted the proposal to admit Jews to Parliament, on the insulting ground tliat the "moral and intellectual capacities of the Jews were not such as to entitle them to any share in the Legislature." In the agitation for the repeal of the Corn Laws the bishops and clergy were almost unanimously in favour of retaining the tax on the people's bread. In 1842 Mr. Cobden declared that they were " almost lo a man guilty of causing the distress " which jirevailed " by upholding the corn laws ; having themselves an interest in the high price of bread." " And in j-843, when a great conference of the ministers of religion was hekl in ALinchester in aid of Corn Law repeal, although there were more than 600 ministers of the Eree Cluirehes present, there was but a single clergyman of the JCstablished Church among them. In respect to almost all the great reforms of the last half-century, substantially the same story has to be told ; the action of the bishops and clergy, as a body, has been one either of cold neutrality and indilTcrencc; or of open and active opposition. ' History of the Reform Bill o{ 1S32, p. icf). • Morlefs Life of (Jobdoi, vol. i., p. 231. " 38 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. THE ESTA]iLISHMENT AND POPULAR EDUCATION. It is often contended that the Established Church has been of immense service in promoting the education of the people ; and no one denies that, of late years, many of the clergy have done much in that direction, and often at great personal sacrifice both of time and money. But, while making full allowance for this, it is impossible to look broadly at the facts of the case without being led to the conclusion that the Church Establishment has been, and still is, the chief impediment to the adoption of a really effective system of national education. The truth is, the clergy were at first opposed to popular education, and supported it only when they found it could be turned to account for the maintenance of their own privileged position. In 1807, when Mr. Whitbread carried a Bill through the House of Commons for the establish- ment of parish schools out of the local rates, it was opposed in the House of Lords by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and rejected expressly on the ground that it did not give sufficient authority to the clergy. It was about this time that Joseph Lancaster was attracting general attention, by his endeavours to provide for the children of the poor a more efficient education than had previously been given them, and one free from sectarian bias ; and no better indication can be given of the unchanging hostility of the bishops and clergy to all movements for popular education not under their own control than the course they pursued in regard to the efforts of this pioneer of educational reform. The Rev. Dr. Bell, the founder of the National School system, writing on March 30th, 1807, to Dr. Barton, chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury, says — "It cannot be dissembled that thousands in various parts of the kingdom are drawn from the churcli by tlie superior attention paid to education out of the churcli. The tide is setting fast in one direction, and, if not speedily stemmed, it may run faster and faster." Wiiting again to Mrs. Trimmer, Dr. Bell says — "What you say of preventing the spread of this scheme against the church [that is, the Lancastrian schools] is what some years ago occurred to me, and I then said what I shall never cease to repeat, THE POLITICAL ARGUMENT. 39 that I know of but one way effectually to check these efforts, and that is by able and well-directed efforts of our own hands. A scheme oi education patronised l)y Church and State, originating in Government aid, and superintended by a member of the Establishment, would effectually promote our views." ' The spirit of these passages is sufficiently evident ; and it was in that spirit that the National School Society, which is the organisation through which the bishops and clergy have ever since carried on their educational work, was established. Origin 0/ ihe A^alional School Society. — The circumstances connected with the establishment of this Society are detailed in an article in the Qiuxtterly Revitiv for Sep- tember, 1812; and no reader of that article can doubt that the main objects with which the Society was founded were, first, to check the progress of the Lancastrian schools, and, next, to control popular education in the interests of the Established Church. The Quarierly says : — "At that time (181 1) tlic system of Mr. Lancaster, aided by exalted patronage, was rajiidly spreading throughout the kingdom, while the number of schools which had been organised by Dr. Bell was com- paratively small. Various attempts hatl been made to explain the consecjuences to whicli the general adoption of the Lancastrian system would ultimately lead, but nothing seemed to be capable of arresting its progress, and there was reason to apprehend that a system of education would become general in the kingdom in which no provision was made for the established religion. " The friends of the Establishment very soon perceived the necessity of active measures to restore the established religion to that place in our system of education which it had been accustomed to occupy, but was then in danger of losing. The impulse being once given, a num- ber of zealous and real patriots, whose names have been modestly concealed frt)m the public, formed a plan for a general association throughout the kingdom, in support of the established religion. For this purpose a prospectus was drawn up and communicated to the archbishops and bishops of both provinces, who expressed their approbation of it, anil promiscil co-operation ; at the same time the Archbishop of Canteibury consulted llie Prince Ivegcnt, wlio likewise expressed his .ipprol)ation of tlie intended institutii)n, and afterwards became its supporter and p.itron, Jn this prospectus it is stated that :— " ' It is indeed essential to the preservation of the Constitution both in Church and State, that the national religion should be made the > Soi4lh,ys Life- of Dr. Bell vol, ii., p. 150. 40 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. foundation of national education; and it is evident that if the children of the poor, who constitute so large a portion of the population of the country, should be generally educated in other principles than those of the Established Church, the Established Church in the course of another generation would have a majority against it. That this result, with the consequent downfall of the church itself, is really to be apprehended, unless some speedy measures be taken to prevent it, is manifest from the rapid progress which is now making towards the diffusion of the mechanical part of this system detached from the religious part of it as promoted by Dr. Bell. , . . The friends therefore of the Establishment throughout the kingdom are earnestly requested to associate and confer, for the purpose of promoting the education of the poor in the doctrine and discipline of tlie Established Church.'" Earl Russell has briefly epitomised this passage of our educational history, in a letter written from Cannes, in February, 1872. "The clergy," he says, "were in those days — even the Liberal clergy — generally opposed to the education of the poor ; but, finding the cause of educa- tion made progress, they agreed, in 181 1, to set up a society for founding and maintaining schools," That the National Society continues to be animated by the same spirit which led to its formation is shown by the fact that in its monthly paper of May, 1881, the Society is described as a "School Defence and thus a Church Defence Society." 71ie Clergy and School Boards.— Th^ hostility of the clergy to the extension of the School Board system is another indication of their traditional attitude in respect to popular education. It is well known that in all parts of the country the clergy as a body have been — and still are — determined opponents of School Boards, and Board Schools. This has especially been the case in the rural districts, and the result is that there are nearly 10,000 rural parishes still without School Boards, and in which the only schools available for the use of the whole population are the privately managed, but publicly supported, de- nominational schools, the great majority of which are Church schools, managed in the inierest of the Church Establishment. But while the clergy have opposed the formation of School Boards and the establishment of Board Schools, they have very generally striven to get THE POLITICAL ARGUMENT. 41 elected as members of School Boards, and in that position have, as a rule, endeavoured to protect their own sectarian schools, to the disadvantage of the Board Schools, and even at the cost of lowering the standard of education for the community at large. The education of the country has thus been largely sacrificed to the supposed interests of the Established Church. The Education Act of 1870 (^n &: 34 Vict., c. 75) gave great and most unfair advantages to the Church of England, in the facilities it offered to that Church for monopolising to a large extent the education of the country ; but, notwithstanding that fact, the clergy have never forgiven I\Ir. Forster for the establishment of the Board School system, and the spirit they have commonly displayed in regard to the Act was well expressed by Dr. Gregory, the Dean of St. Paul's, when he said : — " Nothing had done more to sap the religious faith, to injure the moral condition, and to lower the social status of the people of this country than the Education Act of 1S70." ^ THE ESTAliLI.SIlMENT AXD THE AGRICULTURAL LAHOURERS. In nothing, perhaps, have the rural clergy as a body been more unmindful of the responsibilities and duties of their position as the ministers of a professedly National Church, than in regard to the condition of the agricul- tural labourers. It is well known that, until the labourers themselves began an agitation for the improvement of their position, their condition, as a rule, was the saddest and most forlorn imaginable. But even then the clergy for the most part stood aloof from the movement, and one of the bishops, at a public dinner, so far lorgot himself as to suggest that its leaders should be treated to the " horse- pond." * Those leaders were generally Touud, as was pointed out at the time by Lord Sydney Godolphin ' Speech in (JonvDcalion, l""el)iuaiy 4II1, iSqi. - The speaker was JMslioji ElHcol, whi) afterwards explained that his reference to the horse-pond was a mere pleasantry, 42 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. Osborn, the well-l\zxch, 181S5. 44 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. Mall Gazette "there was an unmistakably severe, if vague, feeling that the parson and the squire were at the bottom of all their grievances, and they cheered for disestab- lishment like mad." The Rev. A. D. Taylor, rector of Churchstanton, Devon (one of the delegates to the con- ference), accounts for, and to a large extent justifies, the antipathy of the labourer to the rule of the parson, and indicates what it is that has led the clergy wrong. He says — " If we parsons could only get rid of our haunting fear of disestab- lishment, and consider the position and claims of the labourers on their merits, without troubling ourselves about the possible ulterior consequences of granting those claims to the political status of the Church, we should soon find ourselves on good terms and more than good terms with Hodge.'' ^ THE RESULT OF ESTABLISHMENT. " The political status of the Church," and the " haunting fear of disestablishment " ! In those facts lie the real secret, not only of the failure of the rural clergy with respect to the agricultural labourers, but of the resistance which the bishops and clergy generally have made to almost every project of reform. And the more clear- sighted and candid of the clergy have long recognised the fact. In effect, that was the meaning of Dr. Arnold's complaint against the clergy fifty years ago. And the fact was admitted by Canon McCoU at the Newcastle Church Congress in 1881. "Undoubtedly," he said, "the ten- dency of our ecclesiastical establishment everywhere is to identify the Church with the Conservative party." * On the same occasion the Rev. T. J. Lawrence was still more explicit : " I hold," he said, " that by our position as an Established Church, our interests are bound up so strongly with the existing order of things, that a tendency is pro- duced in the clergy as a body to resist even the most necessary reforms, and to range themselves on the side of unjust i)rivileges and ancient wrongs, instead of obeying the divine command to undo the heavy burden, and let the oppressed go free."" ' Nineteentli Century, May, 1892. ^ Oficial Report, j). 180. 'i/^/c^., p. 181, THE POLITICAL ARGUMENT 45 Even the Times, apologist for the Establishment, as it is, substantially admits the truth of the charge. On October 9th. 1876, it made the following statement : — "The ' Church of England ' was in favour of the alliance of con- tinental absolutists against constitutional government ; it was against the amelioration of the criminal code, and in favour of the principles of vengeance and prevention as against that of reformation ; it was in favour of hanging for almost any olTence a man is now fined for at the assizes ; it was in favour of the slave trade, and afterwards of slavery ; it was against the repeal of the Test and Corporations Acts ; it was against Catholic emancipation ; it was against Parliamentary reform and municipal reform ; it was against the commutation of tithes, though it has since had to acknowledge the Act a great benefit; it was against the repeal of the corn laws and navigation laws; it was against free trade generally ; it was against all education beyond the simplest elements, and even religious instruction ; it was against public cemetries and extra-mural interment ; it was against the divi-iion of parishes. Indeed, it is hard to say what it has not been against in the way of improvement." The Tillies qualifies this " lamentable indictment," as it properly terms it, by saying that the obstructives in all these cases were not the laity, nor the bishops, nor the clergy of the Church of England ; but — " In all these cases it was a worldly clerical oligarchy, combined for mutual advancement, and working for high jireferment, that took the name of the (Church, and lent the name of the Church of Kngland to leaders of party. The Church of England all this time was helpless, because misrejiresented, duped, and betrayed by that which called itself the Church party." In other words, it was not the Church, but the Estahlish- vu>il, which, ihrougli its leaders, hindered the progress of national improvement. It is an almost inevitable result of the Establishment system that its leading authorities should be thus opposed to projects of reform. They are the oflicers of a privileged Church, and reform is hostile to privilege, and threatens its existence. Almost instinctively, therefore, the clergy are temjjted to look with disfavour upon every proposal for reform, lest it should hasten the extinction of their own privileged position ; and one of the great advantages which disestablishment will bring is, that it will put an end to this insidious bias, and leave the clergy open to 46 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. the influence of their own better judgment with respect to the merits of all public questions. THE " NATIONAL CHURCH," NOW ANTI-NATIONAL. It is becoming more and more evident that, owing to the inherent vices of the Establishment system, coupled with the prevailing ecclesiastical temper of the Church of England, the so called "National Church" is every day growing less national, more narrow and sectarian, less in touch with the people, and less in sympathy with the broad currents of the national life. The statement may seem paradoxical, but it is strictly true, that the Church of England has to a large extent lost whatever nationality of character it may once have had, by the very effort which it has made to retain its legal position as the Church of the Nation. The instinct of self-preservation has in fact driven it, as a privileged body, into anti-national courses. In days gone by, when the position of the Church as a national establish- ment seemed assured, when Nonconformity was weak, and under legal ban was shut out from the national seats of learning, and from all public offices, the Church, in a certain true sense, was a national institution, and com- ported itself as such ; although very inadequately dis- charging the duties which such a position involved. But gradually, as Nonconformity has grown to be a religious and political power, claiming for itself the full rights of citizenship, and continually winning from the Legislature more and more of its claims, the attitude of the Church towards broad national questions has perceptibly changed for the worse, until now it seems to have lost almost all sense of its obligations as a national organisation, and is chiefly concerned with the defence of its privileged position, and the preservation of its interests as such. It is not denied that there are many individual clergy- men and some of the bishops who, with popular sym- pathies and unselfish aims, zealously strive to give to the action of the Church a broader and more generous complexion. But they are too few to greatly modify the THE POLITICAL ARGUMENT. 47 general result ; and those who are most competent to judge will be the least disposed to deny that, in regard to almost all the great social and political questions of the time, the Church as a whole is out of harmony with the prevailing sentiment of the people. This is admitted by the Riiord newspaper, one of the most zealous supporters of the Establishment. In a review of the Life of the late Archbishop Tait, it says : — "The peculiarity — at any rate, the superficial peculiarity — of the last fifty years in Church and Slate has been an apparent divergence in the lines of development of the nation and the Church of England. The nation has made the most decided progress in one direction, destroying privilege of every sort and kind, popularising the franchise, equalising education, extending to all what were the luxuries or enjoyments of the few, endeavouring to abolish even the inequalities of nature, or, at least, to minimise them by handicapping laws. The spirit of the age shows itself (juite unmistakably in these things. But, all the time. Church feeling and opinion have been making more and more definitely in another and almost a contrary direction. The exclusiveness of the Church, its antagonism towards other Christian bodies, its jealousy of State-control, its tendency to recur to old methods, old names, and old dresses — these are the notes of modern Church history in England." ^ A Church of this reactionary character, with narrow and intensely sectarian aims, and not in sympathy with the aspirations of the great body of the people, is wholly out of place as a National Establishment. l'ARLI.\MENT AND THE CHURCH. But this widening gulf between the Church and the nation brings into view and adds greatly to the weiglit of another argument against the Establishment, which appeals with special force to practical politicians. It is the absurdity and impolicy of attempting to manage the alfairs of a body like the Anglican Church by means of an assembly constituted as the House of Commons now is, and overburdened as it is with the other duties it has to discharge. It was never a fit or right proceeding ; but the increasing narrowness and sectarian isolation of the Church on the one hand, ^Record, June 5lh, iSyi. 48 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. and the absolute freedom from all religious tests of the House of Commons on the other, now render the existing system positively grotesque in its absurdity. But so long as the Church remains established there is no escape from the difficulty ; for it is clearly impossible that a body which annually receives between five and six millions of public property, ^ whose bishops sit in the House of Lords, and whose parochial clergy are invested with public authority, should be allowed to govern itself like a private religious society. There is no business, however, for which the House of Commons is less fitted or inclined than that of ecclesiastical legisla- tion. Its members ^ery generally feel that it is not the work for which they have been sent to Parliament; and they resent being withdrawn from their own proper busi- ness to attend to matters with which they have no rightful concern. The result is that ecclesiastical legislation has become increasingly difficult and well-nigh impossible. And there is now this further objection to it, that the time of Parliament cannot be spared. Canon Fremantle states that from 1832 to 1888 the Acts relating to Church affairs which have been passed " amount to 229, or more than four annually " ; " and it is obvious that, with the time spent on measures that have been discussed, some of them again and again, without being passed, this represents a very large expenditure of Parliamentary time. With the multiplicity of questions relating to the temporal affairs of the nation urgently pressing for attention, that is a most serious matter ; and it clearly points to the conclusion that, with the least possible delay. Parlia- ment should divest itself of all responsibility for the management of Church affairs, by passing a measure for disestablishment and discndowment. ^ Siic C/ai/r/i r/oJ)i://j',[). 133. '^ C}iitic]i Reform, \).\\2. Chapter IV. HISTORICAL AND LEGAL POSITION OF THE ENGLISH ESTABLISHMENT. The Church of England is established by law as the National Church. In this character it owes its origin to the changes made at the time of the Reformation. Before that time separate and independent national churches were unknown ; the organisation and authority of the Church of Rome extending over the whole of Western Christendom. But at the Reformation a great disruption took place ; and in all of what are now the Protestant countries of Europe the authority of the Church of Rome was thrown off, and the various local churches were re- organised as separate and independent national institutions. The anciiiit Brilisli Chinch. — It is sometimes urged that the existing Church in England is the direct lineal descendant and representative of the ancient British Church. But the facts of history give no countenance to that view. The language of Mr. Freeman on this point is most e.xplicit. In a review of the "Councils and Ecclesiastical Documents of Great Britain and Ireland," edited by Mr. A. W. Iladden, B.D., he says: — "Not one wonl will he found in this volume to (latter the ilreani of an luiily British Church from which the existing Christianity of Kn};land is ilcrivcd. A\'c see a Riitish Church and wo see an Knglish Church, but they stand to one another in no relation of identity or even of parentaf^e ; the relations between the two Churches are the shadow which inevitably follows the relations l)etwecn two nations. The tale is a tale ol contiuest ; of conijuest which puts on a milder shape as it jjocs on, but whicli is still concpiest fiom bejjinninj; to end. There is not a word to show that a single soul among the heathen conquerors was won to tiie faith by the con(iuercd Christians. Between British and English Christianity there is absolutely no continuity. D so CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. British Christianity is first displaced by English heathendom, and it is then conquered by the Christianity which England learned direct from Rome." ^ IMr. Freeman admits that " a large share in the conversion of England belonged to the independent Scots" ; but, he says, "England deliberately preferred the Roman to the Scottish usages, and those parts of England which were converted by the Scottish teachers formed parts of one spiritual whole with those whose Christianity came from the earlier mission of Augustine." - THE EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH. Its origin. — The origin of the Church in England really dates from the mission of St. Augustine (a.d. 597). " The Church of England," says IMr. Freeman, " is, above and beyond all other Churches of Europe, the child of the Church of Rome. It is the child of the Church of Rome in a sense in which the Churches of Gaul and Spain are not. We are the spiritual children of Gregory the Great." ^ The facts as to the first planting of the Church in England are set forth in the following passage from the "Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury," by Dean Hook : — "About this time [June, 597] probably the "VVitan assembled. At the convention of the great authorities of the realm, cuia concilia sapicnliiim, the laws known as the dooms of Ethclbcrt were enacted. These laws recognise Christianity and the Christian priesthood, and the Church was established in the Kingdom of Kent, altliough t!ie idols and their temjilcs were not destroyed. When Christianity had been sanctioned by the King and the Witan, the whole mass of the people rushed to the waters of baptism, accej^ting individually the religion which had been adopted by the nation in its corporate capacity." * The establishment of the Church in the Kingdom of Kent was followed, at longer or shorter intervals, by its establishment, under circumstances substantially similar, ^ I'uiinigJit/y Rct/cw, SeiHember, 1871, p. 329. > IbiJ., p. 330. ■' Erom an unsigned jKiper in the Guard fan (Eebiuary 8th, 1888), which has been attributed to JMr. Cardner, but is obviously by Mr. Freeman. * Lives of the Archbishops^ vol. i., p. 59. HISTORICAL AND LEGAL POSITION. 51 in the other Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms, until, within little more than a century, Christianity became the established religion of all the Anglo-Saxon peoples. The early English Church not " National" hut Catholic- — The Church in England was not only first planted by Rome, but, notwithstanding frequent protests from the English Kings and Parliament against the attempts of the Popes to interfere in the temporal affairs of the Kingdom, it continued in obedience to the see of Rome, and formed part of the undivided Church of Western Christendom, of which Rome was the recognised head, until the time of the Reformation. This view of the case is sustained by the Historical Appendi.K to the Report of the Royal Commission on Ecclesiastical Courts (1883), notwithstanding a laboured attempt which is there made to prove the " continuity "' of the existing Church of England with the Church of pre-Reformation times. It shows that before those times the Church in England was completely incorporated with the Church of Rome. It says : — "As a part of the Catholic Church, the English Church was constantly diawing in elements of novelty and growth, which, however good or mischievous they may now seem, became part of its constitu- tion by reason of its organic connection with foreign churches. , . . The Church of England was not, even in Anglo-Saxon times, merely the religious organisation of tlie nation, but a portion of a much greater organisation. The exact limits of its relation to foreign churches were possibly dispulal>lc, but the fact of the incorporation was admitted on ail sides." ' Dr. Stubbs, the Bishop of Oxford, who drew up this Appendix, has, in his " Constitutional History," still more clearly defined the position which the Church in England occupied prior to the Reformation. lie says : — •' In tlie general legislation of the Ciiurch, liio English Church and nation iiad aUkc but a small sliare ; the promulgation (A llie successive portions of the Decrct.ds [the letters written by the I'opes for deter- mining matters of controversy, and having the autluJiity of law] was a papal act to which Christendom at large gave silent aciiuic>cence ; the Crown asserted and maintained the right to forbid the introduction ' Report oj Royal Commission, pp. zz, 23. D 2 52 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. of papal bulls without a royal licence, both in general and particular cases ; and the PInglish prelates had their places, and the ambassadors accredited by the king and the estates had their right to be heard, in the general councils of the Church. But, except in the rare case of coUision with national law, the general legislation of Christendom, whether by pope or council, was accepted as a matter of course." ^ The relations of the Church of pre-Reformation times to the see of Rome are discussed with great fulness by Mr. Gilbert W. Child, M.A., in the introduction to his " Church and State under the Tudors " ; and he strongly insists that the Church in England was in no true sense " national," but was completely identified with the Western Church under the authority of Rome. He says : — " The Western Church was, and remained until the Reformation, one and indivisible, and the fact that it had its own laws and its own organisation prior to and independent of the veiy existence of any nation of modem Europe, was in itself enough to prevent its becoming, in any intelligible sense of the word, " national." It extended into all the nations of Europe, and was national in none of them." "It was just because the Church in England was not in truth the Church of England, but was an organic portion of the one great Western Church, and able to carry on its own diplomacy and enter into its own alliances, that it was enabled to occupy the position of independence, and sometimes almost of supremacy, in whicli we find it. It is this double position of the Church which alone makes intelligible the history of England, and indeed of most other European nations, during the centuries preceding tlie Reformation. The Church was at once in the nation and not of it ; it formed a part of a vast organisation extending throughout — nay, even beyond — the civilised world. Its oflicers, while in every nation numbered amongst the great ones of the earth, belonged at the same time to an independent theocratic State, whose sovereign, as such, was the earthly equal of earthly kings, at the same time that, as the declared vicegerent of God, he claimed superiority over the highest of them. It was thus, and thus only, that the rivalry between Church and .State in so many countries, and in England especially, arose and was maintained. Had the Church been in truth the Church of England it would liave been a mere iinpcrlum in iiiipcrio, anil would never have been able to hold its own, generation after generation and century after century, against the State, often represented by powerful and able monarchs such as Henry II. or Edward III. It was just because it was not the Church of England, but a mere extension into England of the powerful Western Church, having its rights and its interests and its oflicers in every nation, and its independent seat of empire at Rome, and thus enable^ * Co7i. Hiit., vol. iii., p. 348. HISTORICAL AND LEGAL POSITION. S3 to enlist one nation against another, or a nation against its own rulers, that it became in a greater or less degree, and for periods varjing in different countries, independent of the State, and a rival of the State." I It has been contended that the independence and nation- ality of the early Church in Kno^land is shown by the famous clause in Magna Charta — Libera si'i Ecclesia Angli- cana ("The Church of ICngland shall be free"). But the freedom which the Great Charter claims for the Church is freedom, not from the spiritual authority of Rome, but from the oppression of the English Crown ; and no better illustration could be given of the actual relations at the time between the Church in England and the see of Rome than the circumstances attending the appointment to the Archbishopric of Canterbury of Stephen Langton, the leader of the barons in the conflict which extorted the Great Charter. On the death of the preceding Archbishop, the monks at Canterbury elected their sub-prior to the vacant office; but after- wards, at the bidding of King John, they elected the Bishop of Norwich; and when the two rival claimants appealed to Rome, Pope Innocent III , being "resolved to free the Church of England from the royal tyranny, quashed both the contested elections, and commanded the monks who appeared before him to elect in his presence Stephen Langton to the archiepiscopal see." '" Mr. Child insists that " from Innocent III. downwards to the age of the Reformation there is not the slightest ground for maintaining that the Church in England was less papal than elsewhere in Europe." Dean Milman is equally explicit, and declares that "with all the Teutonic part of Latin Christendom the belief in the supremacy of the Pope was coeval with their Christianity, and was an article of their original creed as much as the Redemption itself."* The complete submission of the Church in I'.ng- land to Rome is further shown by the fact that every arch- bishop received his jurisdiction from the Pope, and every * Church and Statt-, Sec, p. 9-1 1. * Green's Short History^ p. 1 19. ' Church and State, Sec, p. 20. * Luttn Christianity, vol. iv., p. 4. 54 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. bishop recognised that his authority was derived from the same source ; while all alike took an oath that they would be " faithful and obedient to the Holy Apostolic Roman Church and our Lord the Pope." ' Even Dean Hook, who stoutly contends for the independence of the Church in England up to the time of Pope Martin ¥.(1417), admits that " from that time the Church of England, to the time of the Reformation, was to be accounted only as a branch of the Church of Rome." ' The Bishop of Liverpool states the case more correctly and in a more popular form thus : — " The three hundred years which immediately preceded the Re- formation is a period when tlie Church of this land was thoroughly, entirely, and completely Roman Catholic ; when the Bishop of Rome was the spiritual head of the Church ; when Romanism reigned supreme from the Isle of Wight to Berwick-on-Tweed, and from the Land's End to the North Foreland ; when the ministers of religion in England and the people were all alike Papists." ^ ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF THE PRESENT ESTABLISHMENT. In England the breach with Rome was the result, not, as in the other Protestant countries of Europe, of a widespread acceptance of the principles of the Reforma- tion, but of the quarrel between Henry VHL and the Pope on the subject of the King's divorce and his marriage with Anne Boleyn. It was this which led to the formati'on of the English Church as at present constituted. " The existence of the Church of England as a distinct body," says Bishop Short, "and her final separation from Rome, may be dated from the period of the divorce." ^ Mr. Lecky also, in a passage previ- ously quoted, speaks of the Anglican Church as having been " created in the first instance by a court intrigue." The Report of the Royal Commission on Ecclesiastical Courts sustains the same view. For as to the general effect of what it calls the "innovations" which were ^ Cardinal (then Bisliop) Vaughan, Manchester Guardian, October 8, 1888. 2 i^i-ugs qJ Archbishops, vol. v., p. 103. ^ Principles for Churchmen (1884), p. 357. * History of the Church 0/ England, p. 86. HfSTORICAL AND LEGAL POSITION: 55 made at the time of the Reformation, it shows that these changes were so fundamental in character as wholly to separate the English Church from the organisa- tion of which it had previously formed an integral part ; and to give it, in law, jurisdiction, courts and procedure, a new and essential modified constitution. The Report, indeed, gives fresh point to the old contention that the Church of England is "an Act of Parliament Church," built up and regulated throughout by statutes of the realm. Reconslniclion of the Church.— 'Y\it successive steps in the reconstruction of the English Church are clearly marked in the legislation of the Reformation period. At the commencement of that period the Church of England as a separate organisation had no existence ; it was simply a local branch of the Church of Rome.^ At the close of the same period it had become transformed into a separate and independent National Church, having no connection with the Church of Rome ; declaring in its articles that some of the distinctive doctrines of that Church are " blasphemous fables and dangerous deceits," and regu- lated in all its procedure, as it was founded, by the action of the Legislature. The first of the measures by which this fundamental change was effected was one of no great importance, although it foreshadowed all that was to follow. It was the '* Statute of Citations" (23 Henry VIII., c. 9), passed in 1532. It enacted that thenceforth the king's subjects should no longer be cited from all parts of the country, ofttn at great expense, to the Archbishop's court in London, except at the rccjucst of the bishop of the diocese. The Act tlms put an end to the direct and immediate jurisdiction of the archbishop, which he had previously exercised in virtue of his ollicc as "legate" or papal representative in tliis country. 'Lord Sclborne {Defence, p. 5) says the words, "a local branch of the Cluircli of Rome," are " unmeaning and mislcadinj;." lint tlicy are a simple slutenient of fact, and are practically identical with those quoted above from Dean Hook. S6 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT . The reslraint of appeals to Rovie. — The next Act attacked the authority of the Pope himself. It is the " Act for the restraint of appeals" (24 Henry VIII., c. 12, 1533). It was passed for the special purpose of preventing the appeal of Queen Katherine to the Pope. But its effect was general, and introduced a most important change. It enacts that " all causes testamentary, causes of matrimony and divorces, rights of tithes, oblations, and obventions," and matters of "divine service" "shall henceforth be determined within the King's jurisdiction and authority, and not elsewhere." The Act therefore sweeps away what had hitherto been the Supreme Court of Appeal, or, as the Report of the Royal Commission puts it — " all appeals to Rome, thus, are to cease." It is worth noticing that this Act incidentally refers to the clergy as " that part of the body politic called the spirituality, noiv being usually called the English Church!'' The Submission of the Clergy. — The next great measure is the famous " Act for the submission of the clergy," passed in 1534 (25 Henry VIII., c. 19). It consists of two parts. One extends the provision with respect to appeals established by the previous Act to "all manner of appeals, of what nature or condition soever they be" ; and it sets up a new Civil Court of Appeal instead of the Spiritual Court, by enacting that, in future, all persons shall make their appeals "immediately to the King's Majesty of this realm in the Court of Chancery, in like manner as they used afore to do to the see of Rome." The Act also gives the only legal validity which is now preserved to the old canon law, by providing that " such canons and constitutions," &c., " which be not contrariant or repugnant to the laws, statutes, and customs of this realm, nor to the damage or hurt of the King's prerogative, shall now be still used and executed as they were afore the making of this Act," ^c. But by far the most important part of the Act is that which relates to the submission of the clergy, and its consequences. The Act in effect ratifies the bargain between the King and the clergy, in virtue of which the HISTORICAL AND LEGAL POSITIOY. 57 clergy retained their benefices, and, in return, formally surrendered to the King, in the name of the English Church, and as binding it for the future, not only the initiative, but the whole po.ver of ecclesiastical legislation. The story of this memorable transaction is told by the Act itself It begins by reciting how the clergy had submitted to the King, and " promised, in verho sacenlotii, that they will never from henceforth presume to attempt, enact, put in use, promulge, or execute any new canons or constitutions," unless the " King's assent and licence " had been granted for their so doing ; and it then proceeds : — "Be it therefore now enacted by authority of this present Tarlia- ment, according to the said submission and petition of the said clergy, that they, nor any of them, from henceforth shall presume to attempt, allege, claim, or put in use any constitutions or ordinances provincial or synodal, or any other canons, nor shall enact, promulge, or execute any such canons, constitutions, or ordinances provincial, by whatsoever name or names they may be called, in their convocations in time coming, which alway shall be assembled by the King's writ, unless the same clergy may have the King's most royal assent and licence to make, promulge, and execute such canons, constitutions, and ordin- ances jirovincial and synodal, upon pain of every one of the said clergy doing contrary to this Act, and being thereof convict, to sulVer im- prisonment and make fnie at the King's will." The appointment of Bishops. — Immediately following the Act for the submission of the clergy, was passed the Act for restraining the payment of annates, or first-fruits, to the Pope (25 Henry VIII., c. 20). But, again, the most important part of the Act deals with a matter wholly different from that from which it takes its name. It is this 25 Henry VHI., c. 20, which prescribes to this day, as the Act itself expresses it, "in what manner and fashion archbishops and bishops ."-hall be elected, presentctl, in- vested, and consecrated within this realm.'' It provides that— " At every avoidance of every archbishopric or bisliopric within this realm, or in any other the King's dominions, the King, our sovereign lord, his heirs and successi)rs, may grant to the dean and chapter of the cathedral churches or monasteries, where the sec of such arch- bishopric or bishopric shall happen to be void, a licence under the great seal, as of oKl time hath been accustomeil, to proceed to election S8 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. of an archbishop or bisliop of the sec so being void, with a letter missive containing the name of the person which they shall elect and choose : by virtue of which licence the said dean and chapter, to whom any such licence and letter missive shall be directed, shall, with all speed and celerity, in due form elect and choose the same person named in the said letter missive to the dignity and office of the said archbishopric or bishopric so being void, and none other." The Act further provides that if the dean aftd chapter delay the election above twelve days after the receipt of the licence and the letter missive, the Crown shall " nominate and present by letters patent under the Great Seal such person as it shall think convenient — to be invested and consecrated in like manner as if he had been elected by the dean and chapter." If the dean and chapter do not elect the person named in the letter missive, and signify the election to the Crown within twenty days after the receipt of the licence and letter missive, " or if any of them admit, or do anything contrary to the Act, then every such dean and particular person of the chapter so offending, and their aiders, counsellors, and abettors, shall incur the dangers, pains, and penalties of the statute of pnvmunireP These are thus described in Blackstone : — From the moment of conviction the defendant is out of the King's protection ; his body remains in prison during the King's pleasure, and all his goods, real or personal, are forfeited to the Crown — he can bring no action, nor recover damages for the most atrocious injuries, and no man can safely give him comfort, aid, or relief. ^ It may be noticed, in passing, that the solemn mockery of this election, in which there is no choice or refusal permitted, was recognised from the first. In the reign of Edward VI. an Act (i Edward VI., c. 2, 15+7) was passed abolishing the election, and substituting a naked appoint- ment by the Crown. It provided that — " Forasmuch as the elections of archbishops and bishops by the deans and chapters be as well to the long delay as to the great cost and charges of such persons as the King giveth any archbishopric or bishopric unto ; and -.o/iereas the said elections he in very deed tio elections, but only by a writ of conge d\'slire have colours, shadows, or ^ Com., Book iv., c, 8, HISTORICAL AND LEGAL POSITION. 59 pretences of elections, serving, nevertheless, to no purpose, ;ind seeming also derogatory and prejudicial to the King's prerogative royal, to whom only appertaineth the collation and gift of all archbishoprics and bishoprics : It is enacted that henceforth no conge d'eslire be granted, nor election by the dean and chapter be made, but that the King, by his letters patents, may collate," Sec, This statute was repealed by Queen Mary, and the pro- visions of the Act 25 Henry \'iil., c. 20, were revived, and still remain in force. Peters pence and dispensalions. — The Act 25 Henry VHL, c. 21 (153+), "concerning Peter's pence and dispen- sations," deprived the Papacy of one portion of the revenue it had derived from England from early Saxon times, and stopped all future appeals to Rome for licences, dispensations, *N:c. It provides that "from henceforth" neither the King, " nor any your subjects of this realm shall sue to the said bishop of Rome, called the Pope," for any such licences, Oirc, " but that from henceforth every such licence, dispensation," &c., "shall be granted within this your realm, and not elsewhere in manner and form following," &c. It then enacts that the Arciibishop of Canterbury " shall have power and authority to give, grant, and dispose all such licences," &:c. , which power is " vested in archbishops, more especially in her [the Church's] character as an establishment." ' The Supreme Headship. — In another session of Parlia- ment, in 1534, the Act 26 Henry VHL, c. i, was passed, nuikmg the King Supreme Head of the English Church. It runs : — " Albeit the King's majesty justly and rij^htfully is and ought to be supreme head of the Ciuircli of Knglantl, and .^o is recognised by the clergy of this realm in their convocation : yet, nevertheless^ for corr./buration and conrnmation thereof, and for increase of virtue in Christ's religion, iL'c, i'c, be it enacted by authority of this present Parliament that the King our sovereign lord, his heirs and successors, shall be taken, accepted, and reputed the only supreme head on earth of the Church of England ; and shall have full power and authority to visit, repress, redress, reform all errors, heresies, abuses, &c., &c." The Report of the Royal Commission on Ecclesiastical ' Hook's Chun It Dictionary. 6o CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. Courts states that this Act " contains a large interpretation of the supreme headship, and involves as a consequence the exercise of almost unlimited powers of ecclesiastical jurisdiction." ' The Bishop of Oxford also, in his " His- torical Appendix "to the Report, states that the power vested in the King by this statute "verges and abuts closely on the undefined supremacy assumed by, and henceforth denied, to the Popes" " In other words, the relations of Church and State had been fundamentally changed. The Pope had been deposed from the headship of the Church in England, and " for increase of virtue in Christ's religion " the King had taken his place. The chief magistrate of the State had assumed spiritual authority, and had become the supreme judge in respect to the doctrine, discipline, and government of the Church ; which thenceforth, for all practical purposes, became a department of the civil government. Founding of new bishoprics and caihedral bodies. — The 31 Henry Vlil. c. 9 (1539) is " an Act authorising the king's highness to make bishops by his letters patent." It recites that the inmates of the monasteries had led a "slothful and ungodly life"; and, in order that the revenues of the same " might be turned to better use," it provides that the king shall have " full power and authority" to establish "more bishoprics, collegial and cathedral churches, instead of the aforesaid religious houses, and to endow them with such possessions" as the king shall think necessary. Under the authority of this Act in ad. 1541-2, Henry founded, and endowed. out of the possessions of the monas- teries, the bishoprics of Gloucester, Bristol, Peterborough, Chester, and Oxford, and also a bishopric of Westminster (which was soon afttr suppressed). He also fojnded and endowed cathedral bodies in each of the new dioceses/* 1 Report, p. \xix. - Jhid., p. 38. ^ It is often asserted that none of the endowments of the suppressed monasteries and other religious houses arc now in llie possession of the Established Church, but the above facts show how entirely mis- taken is any such statement. HISTORICAL AND LEGAL POSITION. Gi GENERAL EFFECT OF HKXRy's LEGISLATION. Allered position of Ihe clergy. — The revolution in the position and pover of the clergy, which was effected by the legislation of Henry \'III., is thus described by INIr. Froude : — " The clergy for four centuries had been the virtual rulers in State and Church ; their authority had extended over castle and cottage; they had monopolised the learned professions, and every man who could read was absorbed under the privileges of their order; supreme in the cabinet, in the law courts, and in the legislature, they had treated the Parliament as a shadow of Convocation, and the House of Commons as an instrument to raise a revenue, the administration of which was theirs ; their gigantic prerogatives had now passed away from them ; the Convocation which had prescribed laws to the State endorsed the legislation of the Commons, even on ihe Articles of the Faith ; the religious liouscs were swept away ; tlieir broad lands had relapsed to the laity, with the powers which the ownership conveyed with it ; the mitred abbots had ceased to exist ; the temporal lords had a majority in the House of Peers; and the bishops battled in- efl'ectually to maintain the last fragment of their independent grandeur."' The Church i\ Etii^laiul first becomes the Church of England. — Mr. Child in describing the results of Henry's legislation in regard to the position of the Church, says : '•These Acts for the fust time made the Church in luigland a National (Jhurch, but as tiiey incurred the excommunication of the Pope, ,made it also, in ecclesiaslical jiarlance, schismatical. . . . Thus when Henry died a complete revolution had been efVected in the position of the Church. Instead of the Church //; England, it had become in good trutli the Ciuirch of England; insteatl, that is, of an integral part of the great western jirovince of Cluistendom, to which it owed its first conversion, and with which it had been one ever since — for nearly a thousand years — it had become for the first time in its history a separate Christian community." * LKCISLATIOX OF F,D\VARl)'i> KFIGN. The first Act passed in the reign of Edward \'I. was that for restoring comnuinion in both kinds (i Ed. VI., c. I, 15+7). It contains the provision, which still regu- lates admission to the Lord's Supper in the I'^stablished ' History of England, vol. iv., p. 186. " Church and State, ^'c, pp. Z^M-zd^. 62 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT , Church; namely, that "the minister shall not, without lawful cause, deny the same [ i.e., the Lord's Supper"] to any person that will devoutly and humbly desire it." The first English Prayer Book. — In 1549 the first Book of Common Prayer was issued for use in the public ser- vices of the Church. Before the close of Henry's reign something had been done to provide an English service book, but the old Latin mass books and breviaries con- tinued for the most part to be used in the churches with no other change than the simple erasure of the collects for the Pope and some of the saints, whose days, by the order of the king, were then no longer to be observed.' But in the second year of Edward VL the Book of Common Prayer — the original form of that now in use — was issued, and its use made compulsory by the Act 2 & 3 Edw. VL c. I. This Act, which declares that the new Prayer Book was prepared " by the aid of the Holy Ghost," provides that — "All ministers in any cathedral or parish church within this realm shall be bouuden to say and use the matins, even-song, celebration of the Lord's Supper, commonly called the mass, and administration of the sacraments, and in such order and form as is mentioned in the same book, and none other, or otherwise." The penalties for non-compliance with the Act, or for using any other rite or ceremony, or form of prayer " than is mentioned and set forth in the said book," are, for the first offence, the forfeit of one year's profits of the benefice and imprisonment for six months ; for the second ofi"ence, "imprisonment for one whole year," and depriva- tion of the benefice; and for the third ofi'ence, imprison- ment for life. Rooling-oul the old religion. — According to Strype, the Catholics now first raised against the reformed Churcli the objection to which it has ever since been oi)en that it was a " Parliament Church," and the religion it professed a " Parliamentary religion."^ ^ Phillimore' s Ecc. Law, p. 940. * I Eccles. Me7norials, vol. ii., part i, ji. 137. HISTORICAL AND LEGAL POSITION. 63 But the hand of the law was soon heavy upon them ; for in the following year (154.9-50) " an Act for the abolish- ing and putting away of divers books and images" (3 & 4 Edw. VI., c. 10) was passed. It provided that all the old service-books previously in use, whether in Latin or English, should be " utterly abolished, extinguished and forbidden for ever to be used or kept," on the ground that they " only give occasion to such perverse persons as do impugn the order and godly meaning of the King's Book of Common Prayer, to continue in their old accus- tomed and superstitious service." The Act, therefore, provides that any person who failed to deliver up all condemned books and images "to be openly burned or otherwise defaced and destroyed," was to forfeit to the king for the first offence, 20s. ; for the second oflence, £<\ ; and for the third offence was to "suffer imprisonment at the king's will." And that these provisions were no meaningless forms is shown by the fact that the Act further provides that all " mayors, bailiffs, constables, and others " who failed, within three months to deliver up the same books to the archbishop or bishop of the diocese, and any archbishop or bishop who, within forty days after receiving such books, failed to destroy them, was to forfeit to the king, / 40, the half of which was to be given " to any of the king's subjects that will sue for the same in any of the king's courts of record." King Edccard's second Prayer Book. — The first Prayer Book of I'Mward VI. being regarded as too favourable to the old religion, a new one was prepared, and its use, instead of the other, enforceil by the 5 & 6 VAw. VI., c. i (1552). The Act provides that the new book is to be " accejited, used, anil esteemed," and to be of " like force and authority," with the former book, "as by the Act of Parliament made in the second year of tlie king's reign was ordained and appointed,'' all the penalties imjiosed by that Act for neglecting to use the lirst I'rayer Hook, or for using any other, being re-enacted by this 5 »S: 6 Edw. VI., c. I, in support of the new book now sub- stituted for it. But the new Act goes a step further than 64 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. the former one. It provides that " all curates shall upon one Sunday every quarter of the year " next following the passing of the Act, " and likewise once in every year follow- ing, read this present Act in the church at the time of the most assembly." This second Prayer Book is described in the Forty-two Articles of Religion agreed on by Con- vocation in 1552-3 as recently " delivered to the Church of England by the authority of the King and Parliament." LEGISLATION OF ELIZABETH'S REIGN. As the reactitjn under INIary revived the authority of the Pope, and undid almost all that had been done in the way of reforming the Church under Henry and Edward, the first Act of Elizabeth's reign (1558) was one for " restoring to the Crown the ancient jurisdiction over the State ecclesiastical and spiritual, and abolishing all foreign power repugnant to the same." It revives the various " good laws" passed in the reign of Henry VIII., which had been repealed in the reign of INIary, and specially restores to the Crown its supremacy over the Church and all its affairs. The Act provides that : — " Such jurisdiction, privileges, suj^eriorities, and pre-eminences, spiritual and ecclesiastical, as by any spiritual or ecclesiastical power or authority hath heretofore been, or may lawfully be, exercised or used for the visitation of the ecclesiastical state and persons, and for reformation, order, and correction of the same, and of all manner of errors, heresies, schisms, abuses, &c., shall for ever, by authority of this present Parliament, be united and annexed to the imperial crown of this realm." On only one point did this revival of the authority of Henry VIII. stop short. Out of regard for the scruples of the reformers, the Queen refrained from re-enacting that the sovereign should be styled the " Supreme Head" of the Church. As the language of the Act just quoted shows, all the powers conferred by the Act of Henry were revived ; and, having thus secured the power and authority, the Queen was content to surrender the name ; and the Act therefore substituted for the title " Supreme Head," that of "Supreme Goveniory' which title our sovereigns still retain. HISTORICAL AND LEGAL POS/TIOX. 65 ElizahetKs Act of Imiforniity. — The Act i KHz., c. 2 (1559), is the famous "Act of Uniformity" of Elizabeth's reign. It was passed, not only without the concurrence, but in spite of the vehement opposition, of the bishops and clergy. Not one of the bishops voted for it, and the Act itself bears witness to this fact ; for while all other Acts of Parliament arc declared to be passed with the assent of the " Lords spiritual and temporal and the Commons," this Act simply recites that it was passed with the "assent of the Lords and Commons." It re-imposes the use of the second Prayer Book of Edward VI., which had been set aside by an Act of the previous reign, and provides that — "The said ]iook, with the alterations and additions therein added and appointed by this statute, shall stand, and be, from and after the Feast of the Nativity of St. John Baptist, in full force and efl'ect, anything in the foresaid Statute of Repeal to the contrar)- notwith- standing." The meaning and the effect of this measure are well set forth in tlie following passage by Dr. T. \V. Mossman, late rector of Wragby, Lincolnshire : — " In the fust place, it meant that on Midsummer-day, in the year of our Lord 1560, the 12,000 clergy of the Church of England should, at the sole bidding of the State, and against the solemn protest of all their bishops, cease to worship God and minister the sacraments of Christ, and all other rites and ceremonies of the Church Universal, in every cathedral and parish church of l-Ingland and Wales, after the manner and according to tiie forms by which they and tlieir predecessors had worshipjieil God, and aiiniinistcrcd 1 lis lioly sacraments, for nigh a thousand years. "In the second place, it meant tha* these same 12,000 clergy must thenceforward conduct the worship of Almighty li and in spite of the solemn protest of the whole representative spirituality of tlie Churcli of England. The sequel was, as we all know, th.it every existing diocesan bishop in England was deprived of his See, and cvciv beneliced clcrgvman wlu) declined to substitute the new .Seivice Ilooic, resting as it then did upon ti,- person who *' shall say or sing mass," " shall be com- mitted to prison for the space of one year, and pay the sum of two hundred marks;" and "every person who shall willingly hear mass shall forfeit the sum of one hundred marks, and suffer imprisonment for a year." Enforced attendance at church. — But, not satisfied with these severe penalties against all who adhered to and practised the old religion, the Act proceeds to force people into the adoption of the new religion then estab- lished by law. It is, therefore, provided that — "Every person above the age of sixteen who shall not repair to some church or chapel, or usual place of common prayer, shall forfeit for every month which he or she shall so forbear, twenty pounds of lawful English money ; and that, over ai'.d besides the said forfeitures, ever)' person so forbearing for the space of twelve months shall for his or her obstinacy be bound with two sureties in the sum of ^200 at least, and so continue bound, until such time as they do conform and come to church." The Act imposes a number of other penalties of a like kind, and provides that the money forfeited under it shall be appropriated one-third to the Queen herself, one-third " to the poor in tlie parish where the offence is com- mitted," and the other third to such person as will sue for the same ; the whole scope and purpose of the Act being to suppress the old faith and form of worship, and to enforce compliance with, and attendance at, the new form of "divine service," which, as the Act expresses it, "is established by the law of the realm." THE ACT OK UNI FORM I TV OK 1 662. The only other measure to which it is necessary to refer in this sketch of the reconstruction of the l"'nglish Church is the Act of Uniformity of the reign of Charles II. (13 and 14 Charles II., c. 4, 1662), which made the last im- jiortant modifications in the character and constitution of the Church of l*"ng!and, and i)laced it substantially on the basis on which it stands at the present day. Thi- Prayer Book had again been revised, and many of the alterations made were introduced with the avowed design of making the book less acceptable to the Puritan clergy. E 2 68 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT . while the new Act by which it was imposed, and to which it was attached as a schedule, now for the first time required that every beneficed clergyman should publicly declare his "unfeigned assent and consent to all and everything contained in and prescribed by the book," and should also be episcopally ordained. It is well known that some 2,000 of the Puritan clergy were unable to comply with the rigid requirements of the Act, and were, in consequence, forced out of the Established Church. In reference to this turning point in the history of the English Church, Mr. J. R. Green, in his "Short History of the English People," well says— ' ' The rectors and vicars who were driven out were the most learned and the most active of their order. . . The bulk of the great livings throughout the country were in their hands. They stood at the head of the London clergy, as the London clergy stood in general repute at the head of their class throughout England. They occupied the highest posts at the universities. No English divine save Jeremy Taylor, rivalled Plowe as a preacher. No parson was so renowned a controversialist, or so indefatigable a parish priest as Baxter. And be- hind these men stood a fifth of the whole body of the clergj'men, whose zeal and labour had diffused throughout the countr)' a greater appear- ance of piety and religion than it had ever displayed before. With the expulsion of the Puritan clergy all change, all efforts after reform, all national development, suddenly stopjicd. From that time to this the Episcopal Church has been unable to meet the varying spirituil needs of its adherents by any modification of its government or its worship. It stands alone among all the religious bodies of Western Christendom in its failure, through two hundred years, to devise a single new service of prayer or praise."^ PLACE AND POWER OF CONVOCATION. Convocation is the deliberative body of the Church Establishment. It consists of two branches, the Convoca- tion of Canterbury and that of York, each having two houses — an upper house of the bishops of the province, and a lower house, consisting partly of e.x-officio members, and partly of members elected by the clergy. It is commonly spoken of as the Church's Parliament, and it so far resembles Parliament that it is summoned and prorogued only by the Queen's writ, and that its ^ Short History, p. C09. HISTORICAL AND LEGAL POSITION. 69 elected part has to be chosen afresh with every new House of Commons. But Convocation has had no real power since the famous Act of Submission of i534> already referred to.' It is now unable even to meet except by permission from the Crown ; it cannot so much as discuss any alterations in the Church's laws except by the same authority ; and " its decisions," as the Bishop of Liverpool says, "are null and void and useless without the consent of the Crown and Parliament." '■ The position of Convocation in respect to all legislation affecting the laws and regulations of the Established Church, is clearly shown by what took place in 1865, on the occasion of the alteiation in the law of clerical sub- scription and the oath against Simony. On the recom- mendation of a Royal Commission, the Government introduced a Bill (now the Act 28 and 29 Vict. 122) dealing with the subjects named. The Convocation of Canterbury thereupon presented an address to the Queen, "praying that Her Majesty would be graciously pleased to grant them htr Royal Licence to make a new canon, and to alter others on the subject." Sir George Grey, the Home Secretary, replied on June 2nd, as follows — "Assuming that the object for which the Royal Licence is asked lor on this occasion is to enable the Convocation to alter the said canons, so as to make them conformable to the alteration of the law which is now under the consideration of I'arliament, as to the matters to which these canons relate, Her Majesty's Government are willmg to advise Jler Majesty to comply with the prayer of Convocation for the j^rant of a Royal Licence for this jjuipose. But, as it is not yet known what may be the ileci;»ioii of I'ailiamenl as to the Bill now before it, for giving ell'ect to liie recommendation of the Royal Commission on clerical subscri|)iion, iter Majesty's Ciovernment cannot advise Her Majesty to grant her Royal Licence to Convocation to make a specific alteration in these canons, in a form and in terms alreatly agreed upon, nor can Her Majesty be atlvised to give her sanction by anticipation to a canon prescribing a new form of declaration ami subscription to be made by tlie clergy, until it is known whether such form is in accord- ance with the statute law, as it may be altered by I'ailiamcut on this subject."^ * See ante, page 56. « Church Rejonn Papers, p. 48. ^ Parliamentary Paper, 430, Session 1865. 70 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. On June 26th, the Bill, which had already passed the House of Lords, passed through Committee in the House of Commons ; and on the following day, when Parliament had determined what should be done, the Home Secretary again wrote, saying, " the Queen had been graciously pleased to comply with the prayer of the humble address of Convocation," and the Royal Licence was accordingly sent. The "Chronicle of Convocation " records that on June 28th the Royal Licence was read, and that on the same day both Houses of Convocation concurred in the changes which Parliament had made.^ Substantially the same thing happened with regard to the alteration in the canon with respect to the hours of marriage. In the single-sessioned Parliament of 1886 Mr. Carvell Williams secured the passing of an Act which extended the marriage hours fiom twelve to three o'clock ; and in 1887, after Parliament had altered the law of the land on the subject, Convocation was permitted to alter the canon law, so as to bring it into harmony with the Act of Parliament. And in the session of 1892 the alteration in the law of clergy discipline was first made by Parlia- ment, and permission was then given to Convocation to enact a new canon on the subject. The truth is, as even the Quarterly Rcviciv admits, "the modern Convocation is an academic Debating Society, without a shred of power except in administration, and exercising no influence over legiirlation except to ensure the defeat of any measure in which it is interested by means of its recommendation." THE CORONATION OATH. The Act I William & Mary, c. 6 (1688), entitled " An Act for Establishing the Coronation Oath," imposes a new form of oath, in which the sovereign swears, amongst Other things, that he or she "will maintain the laws of God, the true profession of the Gospel, and the Protestant reformed religion established by law." Put in the following reign, when the union with Scot- ' Chronicle of Convocai ion, 1864-5, j)]!. 2353-7. 2 Qtiar. Rev., July, 1892, p. 282. HISTORICAL AND LEGAL POSITION. 71 land, wiih its Presbyterian Church P^stablishment, was effected, this form of oath, simply binding the sovereign to the maintenance of the " Protestant Reformed Religion," was not deemed sufliciently explicit, and an Act (5 Anne, c- 5i 1705) was passed, adding a new clause to the oath. The Act is called an "Act for securing the Church of England as by law established." The preamble recites that, in view of the union with Scotland, "it is reasonable and necessary that the true Protestant religion, professed and established by law in the Church of England," "should be effectually and unalterably secured " ; and it is therefore enacted that all future sovereigns shall, at their coronation, "take and subscribe an oath to maintain and preserve inviolably the said settlement of the Church of England, and the doctrine, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established " ; and the new clause thus added forms part of the oath as it still .stands in the Coronation Service. " ESTABLISHED UY LAW." This formula dates from the times immediately following the Reformation, and obviously refers to the changes which were then made. At first the expression "established by law" was applied exclusively to the new doctrines or practices enjoined, or to the documents in which they were set forth. Thus the 5 & 6 Edward VI., c. i, refers to the "establishing of the Book of Common Prayer." The 23 Eliz., c. I, extends the application of the phrase, and speaks of " the nligion now by her highness's authority established," as well as of the "divine service which is established by the law of this realm." Before long', ho.v- ever, the phrase came to be applied indiscriminately to the formularies of the Church, and to the Church itself. The formula "the Church of England by law established" seems to have been first used in the Canons of 1603, which speak both of " the Church of England by law established;" and of "the Church of England and the orders and constitutions therein by law established" 72 CASE FOR DISES7 ABLTSHMENT. (Canons 3 and 10).' In the same year (1603) in a De- claration of James I. the form is used " the ecclesiastical State established by the laws ; " while in another declara- tion of King James, which is prefixed to the Thirty-nine Articles in the Prayer Book, and was first issued in 1628, the form occurs " the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England now established." The declaration issued by CharlesTL, in October, 1660, speaks both of " the Church of England as it is estab- lished by law," and of " the liturgy of the Church of England, contained in the Book of Common Prayer, and by law established ; " while in the Act of Uniformity of 1662 the form used is " the liturgy of the Church of England as it is now by law established." In 1689, both Houses of Parliament (including the " Lords spiritual") presented an address to William III., thanking him for his gracious declaration to " maintain the Church of England estab- lished by law ; " and the king, in his reply, repeats the assurance that he " will maintain the Church as by law established." The Journals of the House of Commons show that, in 1703, the Lower House of Convocation thanked the House of Commons for the consideration it had shown to " the Church of England as tioiv by law established." One of the earliest Acts of Parliament in which the formula, as now commonly used, appears is the 12 «Sc 13 Will. III. c. 2 (the "Act of Settlement," 1700-1), which speaks of "the Church of England as by law established." The 13 Will. III. c. 6 (1701), has the same language; and from that time onward the formula constantly occurs in the Statute Book. The 2 & 3 Anne, c. 11 (1703), the Act which founded "Queen Anne's Bounty," speaks both of "the Church as by law established," and of " the liturgy and rites of the Church of England as now by law established." The latter of these two forms is repeated in many subsequent Acts relating to the augmentation of small livings. The * This lOth Canon also speaks of " another Church not by law established," of course referring to the Catholic Church. mSTORICAL AND LEGAL POSIliON 73 S Anne, c. 5 (1705), which is called "An Act lor securing the Church of England as by law established," has been referred to in a previous section. The 10 Anne, c. 2 (171 1) is entitled "An Act for preserving the Protestant religion by better securing the Church of England as by law established," and in its preamble referring to the Acts 13 Chas. II. Stat. 2, c. i, and 25 Chas. II. c. 2, it sa)s, " both which Acts were made for the security of the Church of England as by law established;" while the 12 Anne c. 7 (1712), is "An Act to prevent the growth cf schism, and for the further security of the Churches of England and Ireland as by law established." The 58 Geo. III. c. 45 (1818) granted /'i, 000, 000 for the building of churches " for the celebraiion of Divine service according to the rites of the United Church of England and Ireland as by law established ; " while the 6 & 7 Will. I\^ c. 77 (1836), which appointed the Ecclesi- astical Commission, is entitled "An Act for carr)ing into effect the reports of the Commissioners appointed to con- sider the .'•tate of the Established Church in England and Wales," and it provides that all the members of the Com- mission, other than archbishops and bishops, shall sign the following declaration : — " I do hereby solemnly, and in the presence of God, testify and declare that I am a member of the United Church of England and Ireland as by law established." The Irish Church Act (32 & i}, Vict, c 42, 1869) is entitled "An Act to put an end to the establishment of the Church of Ireland," and its preamble begins thus : — " Whereas it is expedient that the union created by Act of Parlia- ment between the Churches of Enj^land and Ireland as by law establislicd should be dissolved, and that the Church of Ireland as so separated sliould cease to be established by law, Ci:c., kc^ And the secoml clause is as follows : — "On and after the 1st day of January, iSjl, the said union created by Act of Parliament between the Churches of En-^land and Ireland sliall be ilissolved. and the said Church of Ireland . . . shall cease to be estabUshcd by law." 74 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENI. Then, lastly, the 2nd clause of the Clerical Disabilities Act of 1870 {^11 & 34 Vict. c. 91), says — "In this Act the term 'the Church of England' means the Church of England as by law established." MEMBERSHIP OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND. To the question, " What constitutes membership of the Church of England } " the law knows no other answer than that of Hooker in the " Ecclesiastical Polity," — '" that there is not any man a member of the Commonwealth which is not also of the Church of England."^ Black- stone takes the same view. He says the laity of the Church of I^ngland are " such of the people as are not comprehended under the denomination of clergy. "'- The Times has put the case thus — " The fact is, that all Enghshmen are, by law, members of the Church. It is about as difficult for any Englishman to separate himself from the Church of England as it is for the Chuich of England to separate itself from him. Indeed, practically, there is no sucli act, form, or way of separation."^ The late Dean Stanley strongly insisted on this view, and was in the habit of speaking of Dissenters as " Non- conformist members of the Church of England." Lord Selborne, however, endeavours to show that this idea is inconsistent with the Toleration Act ; and he cites a decision of the House of Lords in the Ilminster Grammar School Case (i860), in opposition to the view that courts of justice do not recognise any distinction between members of the Church of England and Nonconformists.'^ It is also true that in some Acts of Parliament persons are required for certain purposes to declare themselves member.'} of the Church of England, e.g., the 6 & 7 William IV. c. 77 (1836). The Public Worship Regulation Act (37 & 38 Vict. c. 85, 1874) also requires that the complainant shall solemnly declare that he is " a member of the Church of England as by law established." But these are e.Kcep- ^ Eciies. Polity, Boole VIII., sect. 2. * Blackstone' s Com., Book I., c. 11. ^ Times, Oct. 7th, 1876. * Defence, p. 196. HISTORICAL AND LEGAL POSITION. 75 tional cases, and contrary to the general spirit of English law ; which recognises the parishioner as such as being, for all practical purposes, a member of the National Church. It is, therefore, substantially correct to say that — " In law every parishioner is a Cliurchman ; so that, if ihey will, Jews, Turlis, Heretics, and Infidels can attend a vestry meeting, and vote on questions of vital importance to the Church." ^ Mr. Chancellor Dibdin puts the same fact in another form when he says, " So long as the Church is established, every citizen has a right to a voice in her business " '" ; \\\{\\^\.\\^Quayltrly RcvHW speaks of "the National Church" as an institution "into which every man is born just as he is born an Englishman." * Rev. F. A. Macdona, rector of Cheadle, in Manchcsler Guardian, Sept. 24th, 1889. * Record, July 14th, 1893. ■' Qidir. AV7'., July, 1892, p. 259. Chapter V. THE BISHOPS OF THE ESTABLISHMENT. The Archbishops and Bishops are the official chiefs of the Church Establishment, and the rank, authority, and emoluments attached to their offices mark distinctly its privileged position. The Archbishop of Can'crbury is the first peer of the realm, and has precedence, not only of all the other bishops and clergy, but of all the nobility and great officers of State; ranking next to the Princes of the royal blood. The Archbishop of York has pre:edence over all dukes, not being of the blood royal, and also of all the great officers of State except the Lord Chancellor ; and the Bishops have precedence over all barons under the degree of viscount.' Ecclesiastically, England and Wales is divided into two provinces — the Province of Canterbury, comprising the twenty-four southern dioceses, and the Province of York, comprising the ten northern dioceses ; each province being presided over by its Archbishop as Primate and Metro- politan. But the Archbishop of Canterbury is styled Primate of all England and Metropolitan, and has authority in granting faculties and dispensations in the provinces of both Canterbury and York. The Archbishop of Canterbury has also the privilege of crowning the Sovereign (King or Queen) ; while the Archbishop of York has the privilege of crowning the Queen Consort and of being her perpetual chaplain.* ' Phillimore's Ecclesiastical Law, p. 37. * Ibid. 7HE BISHOPS OF THE ESTABLISHMENT. 77 THE BISHOPS AND THEIR SALARIES. The following table gives the names of the present bishops, with the date of their appointment, and their official stipend ; while the letters in the last two columns indicate (i) the Church parties (High, Kvangelicil, Broad) to which the several bishops are commonly regarded as belonging, and (2) the Prime INIinister (Gladstone, Salis- bury, Disraeli-Beaconsfield, Palmerston) who nominated them to their present positions :— PROVINCE OF CANTERBURY. DiOCKSE. Bishop. Ap. pointed Stipend. Ecc. Party. Ap- poiuted by. £ Canterbury Dr. Benson 1883 15,000 H. G. London Dr. Temple 1885 10,000 B. G. Winchester Dr. Thorold ... 1891 6,500 E. S. Bath and Wells ... Lord A. C.Hervey 1869 5,000 H. G. Chichester Dr. Durnford ... 1870 4,200 H. G. Gloucester & Bristol Dr. EUicott 1863 5,000 E. P. Ely Lord A. Compton 1 88b S.500 H. S. Exeter Dr. IMckerstcth . 1885 4,200 E. G. Hercrord Dr. Allay 1 868 4,200 H. D. Lichfield D.. l.c-t^o 1891 4,000 H. S. Lincoln Dr. Kin- 1885 4,500 H. G. Norwich Dr. Sheepshanks 1893 4.500 H. G. Oxford Dr. Stubbs 1 888 5,000 H. S. Peterborough Dr. Creighton ... 1891 4.500 H. S. Rochester Dr. Davidson ... 1891 3,100 B. S. St. Albans Dr. Festing 1890 4,500 IL S. Salisbury Dr. Wonlsuorth 1881; 5,000 H. s. Southwell Dr. J<.idding ... 1884 3.500 H. G. Truro Dr. (iott 1891 3.109 IL S. Worcester Dr. Perowne 1890 5,000 B. S. Bangor Dr. Lloyd 1890 4,200 B. S. LlandalV Dr. Lewis 1883 4,200 IL G. St. Asaph Dr. Ldsvards 1889 4,200 H. S. St. David's Dr. Jones 1874 4.500 L. D. 78 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. PROVINCE OF YORK. Diocese. Bishop. p„hft"ed ^t'l^^'-'- Ecc. Party. Ap- pointed by. York Durham Carlisle Chester Liverpool Manchester Newcastle-on-Tyne Ripon AVakefield Sodor and Man ... Dr. Maclagan ... Dr. Westcott ... Dr. Bardsley Dr. Jayne Dr. Ryle Dr. iNfonrhouse ... Dr. Wilberforce Dr. Carpentei ... Dr. How Dr. Straton 1891 1890 1891 1889 1880 1886 1882 1884 1888 1891 £ 10,000 7,000 4,500 4,200 3-500 4,200 3.500 4,200 3,000 2,000 H. B. E. H. E. B. H. B. H. E. s. S. S. S. D. S. Ct. G. S. S. RECENT EXTENSION OF THE EPISCOPATE. There are nowthirty-fourbishopricsin theEnglish Estab- lishment. Of these eighteen date from pre-Reformation times ; six were founded by Henry VIII., and endowed out of the revenues of the suppressed monasteries ; and ten have been created in recent times. In 1836, the 6 & 7 William IV. c. 77, created the see of Ripon ; and, in 1847, the 10 & II Vict, c, 108, created the see of Man- chester. In 1875, the 38 & 39 Vict. c. 34, created the see of St. Albans ; in 1876, the 39 & 40 Vict. c. 54, that of Truro; and in 187S, the 41 & 42 Vict., c. 68, authorised the creation of the sees of Liverpool, Newcastle, South- well, and Wakefield, which have all since been founded. In 1884 an Act (47 & 48 Vict. c. 66) was passed to disunite the sees of Gloucester and Bristol, and revive a separate bishopric of Bristol. Bat the necessary funds have not yet been obtained, and the Act is in abeyance. Cost of recent Bishoprics. —In all these recent exten- sions of the I'^piscopate, by far the larger part of the expense has had to be met by the voluntary contributions of Churchmen themselves. In each case some assistance has been derived from the property of the older bishopric or bishoprics, out of which the new see has been formed ; THE BISHOPS OF THE ESTABLISHMEXl . 79 but the amount which has had to be provided by voluntary ofTerings has still been very large. The Bishoprics Act, 1S78, which regulates this matter, provides as follows : — " Whenever the Ecclesiastical Commissioners certify to Her Majesty with respect to the endowment fund of any new bishopric that the annual value of such fund, together with the annual sum [to be derived from the older bishopric], is not less than ^"3,500 a year, Her Majesty, by order in Council, may found the new bishopric." The result of this is that the voluntary contributions necessary for the founding of a new bishopric are about ^ qo.ooo ; which, under the circumstances, acts as a serious hindrance to the extension of the Episcopate. For, while Churchmen have to tax themselves thus heavily to obtain a new bishop, they have not the least voice or authority in his appointment. Sir John Mowbray, speaking in the House of Commons in 1S76, on the "Increase of the I^piscopate Bill," said: — '• In the reign of Henry VIH., six sees were created and ten more were promised, but during the last 330 years, notsvithstanding tiiat our Church population has become five or six times larger, practicallyonly one addition has been made to the number of our bisliops. What was the case of the I'rotcstant b'.piscopal Church in the United States .' It was a voluntary Church, and the number of its bishops was more than twice the number of the bishops in the Ciiurcii of England, whose members were five times the number of the members of the i'rotcstant Episcopal Church in the United .States. What has happened in the Colonies during the same time ? Fifty years ago there were, perhaps, half-a-dozen bishops in the Colonics, now there were ujiwards of sixty Colonial bishops." ' Sir John Mowbray addcHl, " Tiiat showed what voluntary organisation could do to promote the eOiciency of the Ctiurch and to increase the number of bishops." It certainly does ; but it shows more. It shows how much the I'lnglish Church, as a ChunJi, is hampered and injured by its }»osilion as an l.stablishmcnt. TlIK APPOINTMENT OF lUSHOPS. Sihdion of <7 nav Bisho}<. — The first step in the ap- pointment of a bishop is the selection of the person to till the vacant see. Nominally this rests with the Crown, |)Ut the initiative and the lesponsibility rest with the ' Speech, Eebiuaiy 15th, 1876. 8o CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. Prime Minister for the time being ; who may or may not be a Churchman, or even a professing Christian ; and yet it is to him that the Church of England has to look for the choice of the men who are to fill its highest and most responsible positions ! It is well known that in times not very remote the lowest and most mercenary considerations have often determined the selection made ; royal favourites, or some political partisan of the Minister, having been chosen, with but the smallest regard for the interests of the Church.^ And although the revived spiritual life of the Church, and the strength of public opinion, have now made it practically impossible to repeat such scandals as the public were familiar with in past times, the law which permitted those scandals remains unchanged, and there is no guarantee that under altered circumstances the gravest abuses may not recur. A curious light is thrown on this subject by certain passages in the diary of Bishop Samuel Wilberforce. In 1868 the Bishop writes : — "Nov. iph {Blenheim). — The Duke told me of Disraeli's excite- ment when he came out of the Royal Closet. Some struggle about the Primacy. Lord Malmesbury also said that when he spoke to Disraeli, he said, ' Don't bring any more bothers before me ; I have enough already to drive a man mad.' " ^' Nov. 2?>th. — ]\Iuch talk witli the Dean of Windsor. //er of which is — "Grant us, by the same spirit, to have a right judgment in all things" ; and, if that be so, the prayer is clearly one for divine guidance in the business the Dean and Chapter then have in hand, the "election" of a bishop. And the use of such a prayer, under the circumstances, justifies the language in which the proceed- ing is condemned by the clergymen above quoted. Confirmation of the election. — But if the "election" itself is " a shameless farce," the ''confirmation" of the election is little, if at all, better. Lord Grimthorpe, who, as Chancellor of York, is perfectly familiar with the whole proceeding, has described it in detail in a letter to the Times {\\vciQ, loth, 1891), and he pronounces it to be " a semi-religious imposture from beginning to end." All the leading facts in connection with the "election " of a bishop, and its subsequent " confirmation," have been brought under public notice on three occasions ^ Ttie Congi d' Elite, 5. CASE FOR DISESTABLTSHMENT. result of this strong disapproval of the action of the bishops in the House of Lords, motions have on several occasions been made in the House of Commons to relieve them from their attendance in Parliament ; and, when on March 21st, 1884, Mr. Willis moved a resolution with that object it was defeated by only eleven votes. The Pall Mall Gazette, on the eve of the debate, opposed the motion for the following, among other, reasons:— "The chief reason why the Bishops should be allowed to remain in the House of Lords is to illustrate before the eyes of the nation some of the evil consequences of an Established Church. As long as the lawn sleeves remain in the gilded chamber we need never lack for proof of the political mischief of a Church Establishment. They are such useful illustrations, elevated on so lofty a pedestal, of the evil political influence of an Establishment that all who really wish for a free Church in a free State would do well to think twice and even thrice before supporting Mr. AViUis." THE VOTES OF THE BISHOPS. The following is a record of some of the principal votes given by the bishops in recent times : — Bishops. For. Against. i8ro Reform of Criminal Law / 1839 Education Bill 3 15 1821 Catholic Disabilities Removal 2 25 1829 Catholic Emancipation 10 19 1831 Reform Bill 2 21 1832 Reform Bill 12 15 1833 Repeal of Jewish Disabilities 3 20 1858 Ditto / It 1834 Opening of Universities 2 22 1867 Abolition of Tests in Universities 2 4 1867 Ditto 3 1858 Church Rale Abolition 24 i860 Ditto 16 1867 Ditto 7 i860 Paper Duty Repeal 9 4 i860 Qualification for Office (Abolition of "muzzling" declaration) 4 1862 Ditto I 12 1863 Ditto 8 1865 Ditto I 12 1876 Nonconformist Sei-vices in Churchyards ... I 16 1877 Ditto 1 *5 THE BISHOPS OF THE ESTABLISHMENT. 89 Bishops For. 3 4 10 Against. II 8 6 22 17 1877 1877 1880 1883 1883 1883 I89I Nonconformist Sen-ices in Churchyards . Ditto Ditto Marriage with Deceased Wife's Sister . Ditto Abolition of payment of wages in public-houses ... Factories and Workshops Bill (inchision of laundries) THK I'.ISHOPS RESIGXATIOX ACT. In 1869, the 32 and 33 Vict. c. 1 1 1 was passed " for the reliefer Archbishops and Bishops when incapacitated by infirmity." It provides that — " On .1 representation being made to Ilcr ^fajesty . . . th.at any archbishop or bishop in ICnglnnd is desirous of resigning ... by reason that he is incapacitated by age or some mental or permanent physical infirmity fiom the due performance of his duties, it shall be lawful for Her ^lajosty, if satistied of such incapacity, and that such archbisho]! or bishop has canonically resigned, by Order in Council, to declare such archbishojiric or bishopric to be vacant, and thereupon such vacancy may be lillcd u]i in the same manner, and with tlie same incidents in all respects, as if such anhliishop or bishop were dead." The Act then provides that the retiring prelate shall receive yearly "out of the revenue of the archbishopric or bishopric, and as a first charge thereon," not less than £1,000, or more than one-third of the income previously enjoyed. Under the provisions of this Act several bishops have resigned. BISHOPS AND TIIKIIi WEALTH. The Bishop of Liverpool, in his Church Reform Papas, insists that " if the English dioceses were properlv diminished in size, a salary of ;^2,ooo a year, with a residence, would be sufficient for each bishop," with an additional / 1,000 a year to those who have seats in the Ilouse of I.ords. But in his " Disestablishment Papers," go CAS£: FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. published in 1885, the Bishop says that, as things now are, " the bishops have so many demands on their purses that they can hardly make both ends meet." This is so contrary to common belief on the subject that it occasioned great surprise; and, with the view of testing its accuracy, the Rev. Mercer Davies, M.A., a clergyman, collected from the records of the Probate Office the facts as to the amount of personal property which had been left by the bishops who have held office in the Established Church from 1856 to 1885, the year in which Bishop Ryle's statement was made. Mr. Davies gives the result of his investigations in the following table, in a pamphlet entitled, " Bishops and their Wealth," published in 1886. Nomimal Amount crated. Namo. See. Died. Income of See. of per- sonalty. - £ £ 1827 Percy Carlisle 1856 4,500 90,000 1830 Monk G. and B. 1856 5,000 140,000 1824 Blomfield dies. Lon. (Res. 1856) 1857 10,000 60,000 1824 Bethell Bangor 1859 4,000 20,000 1831 Maltby Chich., Durham 1859 8,000 120,000 1813 Murray... Rochester 1860 5,000 60,000 1837 Musgrave Here. York ... 1860 10,000 70,000 1840 Pepys Worcester 1660 5,000 50,000 1856 Villiers Durham 1861 8,000 20,000 1826 Sumner Chester, Cant. 1862 15,000 60,000 1845 Turton... Ely 1864 5,500 40,000 1839 Davys Pcterboro' 1864 4,500 80,000 1848 Graliam Chester 1865 4,500 18,000 1860 AVigram Rochester 1867 5,000 45,000 1843 Lonsdale Lichfield 1867 4,500 90,000 1849 Hinds Norwich (Res. 1857) 1868 4,500 — 1848 Hampden Ilerefortl 1868 4,200 45,000 1864 Jeunc Pcterboro' 18G8 4,500 35.000 1836 Longley Ripon, Cant.... 1868 15,000 45,000 1854 Hamilton .Salishuiy 1869 5,000 14,000 1831 Philpotts Exeter... 1869 5,000 60,000 1860 Waldegrave . . . Carlisle 1869 4,500 20,000 1848 Lee Manchester ... 1869 4,200 40,000 THE BISHOPS OF THE ESTABLISHMENT. 91 Conse- crated. Name, See. Died. Nominal I Amount Income of per- of 8ee. sonalty. 1 £ £ 1842 Gilbert Chichester 1870 4,200 12,000 1847 Auckland B & W. (Res. 1869) 1870 5,000 120,000 1841 Short St. Asaph (Res. 1870) 1872 4,200 14,000 1845 Wilberforce ... Oxford, Winch. 1873 7,000 60,000 1826 Sumner Winch. (Res. 1S69) 1874 10,000 80,000 18 JO Thirl wall St.David'sfRes. 1874) 1875 4,500 16,000 1841 Selwyn... N. Z., Lichfield 1878 4,500 16,000 1856 Baring G. and B., Dur. 1879 8,000 120,000 1856 Tait London, Cant. 1882 15,000 35.000 1849 Ollivant Llandafi" 1882 4,200 30,000 1857 Bickerstcth Ripon... 1884 4,500 25,000 1865 Jacobson Chester 1884 4,500 65.000 1853 Jackson Lincoln, Lond. 1885 10,000 72,000 1868 Wordsworth ... Lincoln iss.) 5,000 85,000 1869 Moberly Salisljiiry iss.-) 5,000 29,000 1870 Fraser Manchester ... 1 885 4,200 85,000 1873 Woodford lily 1885 5,500 19,000 The averag:e value of the personal property left by the above tliirty-nine bishops is about /'si, 000. It is very prol)able, of course, that some, perliaps many, of these bishops were in possession of considerable private means, irrespective of their ollicial incomes. But there is no suggestion in the above figures that any of them had a dilliculty in "making both ends meet"; while some of them, considering that there must have been in their dioceses many brother clergymen suffering from positive destitution, certainly appear to have died " shamefully rich." Chapter VI. THE CATHEDRAL SYSTEM. A CATHEDRAL ha5 been described as " the luxury of an Establishment rather than the complement of a Church " ^ ; and there appears to be a widespread impression among Churchmen themselves that the Cathedral system is little better than an ornamental figure-head to the Establish- ment, which, while it looks imposing, is of little real use. The truth is the Cathedrals are out of place in the existing ecclesiastical system. In pre-Reformation times it was otherwise ; they had th«n a distinctive function of their own, in harmony with the pomp and stately ceremonial of the Catholic Church. But the simpler forms of Protestant worship "rattle in them like dry bones in a coffin "-'; while in popular estimation the Cathedral is " a museum of curiosities with the verger for a showman."^ It is not surprising that, richly endowed and with no special duties to discharge, the Cathedral bodies grew negli- gent and corrupt, displaying abuses of a graver kind than are to be found in any other part of the Establishment system. And those who knew them best were the loudest in their complaints. Haifa century ago, the Rev. R. Whiston, of the Cathedral Grammar School, Rochester, declared that, "If Christianity had not been founded upon a ro:k, against which the gates of hell could not prevail, such advocacy as that of cathedral bodies had been might well have overwhelmed it." And although the hand of the reformer has been busy since then, and in a few exceptional cases Cathedral bodies have displayed some energy and zeal, yet so little has been done to improve the condition of the cathedral establishments generally, that the Bishop of Liverpool declares that, "as a rule they have ^ Essays on Cathedrals. Edited by J. Howson, D.D., Dean of Chester (1872), p. 77. « /^/^/_^ p_ 7, s /^^-^^ p_ ^^ THE CATHEDRAL SYSTEM. 93 proved an entire and dead failure," and " on the whole have done far more harm than good to the cause of Christianity in England." ^ ORIGINAL DESIGN OF CATHEDRALS. •• The original design of the earliest Cathedrals was that they should be missionary colleges, where the bishop and his clergy should live together, supported by common funds, and whence the clergy were to go out into the surrounding country to convert the inhabitants to the Christian faith. In later times, when parish churches had become numerous, the cathedral clergy almost wholly lost this missionary character, and their duties were con- fined to the Cathedral itself and its daily services. In the old Cathedrals, however, a certain number of the stafif were enjoined to be always in residence, and in the new Cathedrals of Henry VIII. the same rule was laid down by the original statutes. The charters of Chester and Ely Cathedrals, which, in substance, are similar to those of the other cathedrals of the new foundation,'- thus set forth the purpose of the foundation — "That true religion and the genuine worship of God may be therein wholly restored and reformed alter the primitive or pure standard of sincerity, and that I'rum henceforth the truth of Holy Scripture may be taught, the sacraments of uur saving rehgiun rightly athninistered, good moral discipline maintained, youtii freely instructed in letter's, the old and infirm suitably provided for, and lastly eleemosynary largesses to the poor, the repair of roads and bridges, and all other ollices of piety may from thence be abundantly dill'used into all the adjacent region, to the glory of Almighty God and the common advantage and happiness of our subjects." The preamble of the Statutes of those Cathedrals more briclly describe their objects thus: — " That the pure worship of God may be maintained, and tlie Holy * Chun/i K if or in Pupets, ed. t87o, p. 7t. ' Cathedrals are classed as of the "old" or of the "new " foundii- tion, according as their governing bodies have retained practically their original constitution, or were remodelled, or first fornuHl at the Refor- mation, or since. The terms "old" and "new" have no reference therefore to the date of origin of tiie fabrics; some of the oldest cathedrals being of the new foundation. 94 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. Gospel assiduously preached ; and besides this that, to the advance- ment of the Christian faith and piety, the youth of our realm may be trained up in sound learning, and the poor for ever maintained." ^ The Canons of 1603 (.fjrd) also direct that the cathedral clergy " shall not only preach [in the cathedral] so often as they are bound by law, statute, ordinance, or custom, but shall likewise preach in other churches of the same diocese where they reside, and," it is added, " especially in those places where they or their church receive any yearly rent or profit." ABUSES AND REFORMS. In 1835 the Church Enquiry Commission reported that the gross revenue of the Cathedrals was /"iS^,!^:, and the separate estates of the cathedral dignitaries, /"75,854 ; making a total gross annual revenue of over /"36o,ooo. It was found that thtre was the most extravagant ex- penditure, and extremely little useful work rendered in return. The Deans were in the receipt of incomes such as these: Durham, /'8,o66 ; St. Paul's /"s.iso; Oxford, £s,i 12 ; Westminster, /"2, 978 ; Salisbury, £2,6-]^ ; Wind- sor, /'2,229, The Canons were also highly paid, and were required to keep only a brief residence, and their sole duties consisted in preaching in the Cathedral once or twice in the year ; while the prebendaries were not required to be in residence at all, or to perform any duty beyond that of preaching once or twice a year, or, in some cases, one sermon in two years. It was also found that, besides the revenues they derived from the Cathedral estates, the members of the Cathedral body held livings of great value, and in many cases held other offices. The result of these disclosures was the passing of the Cathedral Act of 1840 (3 & 4 Vict. c. 113) and other measures of reform, which put an end to some of the more glaring abuses of the Cathedral system. A number of useless offices were abolished, and the stipends of those that remained were cut down, especially those of the deaneries ; and the funds thus saved were appropriated to ^ First Report of Royal Commission on Cathedrals, 1854, pp. 9, 10. The cathedral system. 95 the relief of the spiritual needs of the people; "a vast proportion " of whom, the Commissioners state, " were left destitute of the opportunities of public worship and Christian instruction, even when every allowance is made for the exertions of those religious bodies which are not connected with the Established Church.'" But the changes made by these reform measures were prospective only, all life interests being saved ; and the result was that many of the grossest abuses continued to exist for years afterwards." PRESENT ORGANISATION. The govfrninq bodies. — The governing body of a Cathedral is the Dean and Chapter ; the latter consisting of the Canons. Its head is the Dean, who has the custody of the fabric and the superintendence of the whole institution. Originally the Bishop was the head of the Cathedral body, and the Cathedral is so named from containing the Bishop's cathedra or official seat. But the Bishop's authority has long since gone, and the Cathedral is now the one church of the diocese in which the Bishop has less authority than in any other ; the whole manage- ment having passed into the hands of the Dean and Chapter. In the Cathedrals of the new foundation the number and variety of officers, each with his separate duties and revenues, is much less than in those of the old foundation. The influence of the Crown is also much greater in the new foundations than in the old ; their Deans having always been appointed by the Crown, and in several of them the Canons also are appointed by the Crown or the Lord Chancellor. In the old foundations the Canons and ' Second Report, l^!j(>, p. 57. ''■ As .-xn illustration, it may be mentioned that Dcin (then Canon) (ircgory is reported to have stated, at a meeting of the Enj^lish Church Union on March Stii, l^tiij, that a liiend of his had enjoyed a prebend of /'5,ooo a year for sixty years ; "his wiiole duty," >aid the Canon, " beinj; to preach two sermons a year, which was done lor liim by a minor canou for a jjuinca each ! " g6 CASE FOR DISES1ABLISHMEN7. Other dignitaries, except the Dean, have always been appointed by the Bishops ; and in the Welsh dioceses the Deans also have always been, and still are, appointed by the Bishop/ The Cathedral staff. — In addition to the Dean and Canons rebidentiary, the Cathedral staflf includes a large number of other salaried officers, clerical and lay — differing, however, in different Cathedrals, and in some cases the same person holds more than one office. Among the officers is a sub-dean, a chancellor, a treasurer and a sub-treasurer, an almoner, a precentor, a sub-chanter, an organist, a chapter clerk, a registrar and a deputy registrar, a librarian and a sub-librarian, choristers or singing boys, and a number (varying from four to eight) of minor canons, vicars choral or priest vicars, who are responsible for the daily services of the Cathedral, together with a number of subordinate secular officials." No n- reside nee and its results. — One great abuse of the Cathedral system is the non-residence of the so called "residentiary" canons. Mr. Freeman has traced the growth of this abuse in the Cathedrals both of the old and the new foundation in "Essays on Cathedrals." He says: — " One might have expected that Rebidentiarics, choscU from among their brethren for the express purpose of lesiding, would have resided. Yet exactly the same process which went on in the Chapters at large has gone on again in the smaller bodies which arose within them. Residentiarics were appointed because the duty of residence could not be enforced on all the mendjcrs of the Chapter. TI.e Residentiarics presently began to shirk the duty of residence, just as the Canons at large had formerly done. The strange notion began to prevail that the Chapter was sufficiently represented by the presence of one Canon at a time, and thus arose that anomalous being, ' tlie Canon in residence.' He is supposed to represent for a term, never, I believe, exceeding three months, the whole residentiary body just as the resi- ^ Freeman's Cathedral Church of Wells, p. 54. ^ In 1854 the Chapter of Durham stated that in addition to the Dean and nine Canons, "the whole number of oflkers " then "con- nected with the Cathedral was \\()."— Report of Cath, Com.., p. 47. THE CATHEDRAL SYSTEM. 97 dentiary body itself was designed to represent the whole capitular body. One man, in short, is set to discharge the duties of perhaps fifty. Residence is strangely construed to mean nine months' absence from the place of residence. In some places, indeed, it has sometimes meant a perpetual absence." ^ Another writer in the " Essays," Canon Norris, declares that from this one abuse of non-residence " are deduciblc all the misdoings which have undermined and threatened with ruin the Cathedral system of the English Church." And he adds : " The abuse of patronage, the political jobbery, the neglect of the fabrics, the decay of reverence, the comparative uselcssness for diocesan purposes — all is traceable to the absenteeism of those who are, or ought to have been, most interested to avert these evils."'" THE CATHEDRAL REVEXUES. It is impossible to say with any certainty what is the amount of public property which is now spent annually on the maintenance of the Cathedral establishments. Lord Selborne, indeed, states that " the aggregate amount of the stipends of the caydtular clergy as now fixed by law" is— deans and canons, ^ i+'J.'^i'-' " minor canons, &c., £ i\,i%i? But how misleading that statement is as to the total cost of the cathedrals will be seen by the fact that the recent Parliamentary return on the revenues of the Establishment,'' gives the annual income of fourteen only of the Cathedral bodies at ^192,460, or over ^21,000 a year in excess of the / 171,221 which Lord Selborne states is the " aggregate income " of the whole body of the Cathedral clergy.^ ' Esiays on Cathedrals, p. 157. * Essays^ &c., p. 45. * Dc'ftiuc; p. 97. * Parly, Papir, No. 2S7. Sess. 1891. * The estates of the other Cathedral bodies are now transferred to the Mcclesiastical ComniissioiKrs in exchange for annual payments, which the mcnibcis of those bodies receive from the Commissioners under various Acts of I'ailiamcnt. 98 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. The following are the stipends of the Deans and Canons of the several Cathedrals, as given in the Clergy List for 1892 — Diocese. Dean. Canons. Canterbury... London Winchester... Bangor Bath and Wells Chichester ... Ely Exeter Gloucester ... Bristol ... Hereford . . . Lichfield Lincoln Llandaff Norwich Oxford Peterborough Rochester ... St. Albans (no D St. Asaph ... St. David's... Salisbury ... Southwell (no Dean Truro (no Dean) Worcester .. York Durham Carlisle Chester Liverpool (no Dean and Chajiter) Manchester... Newcastle (no Dean and Chapter) Ripon Wakefield (no Dean and Chapter) Sodor and Man (no Dean and Chapter) . and Chai)ter) and Chapter) £ 2,000 2,000 2,000 700 I, GOO 1,000 1,500^ 2,000 1,500 1,503 1,000 1,030 2, COO 700 1,600 2,800 I,030 1,500 700 700 1,000 1,400 2,000 3,000 1,300 1,000 1,500 1,000 each £> 1,000 1,000 910 350 600 500^ : 1,000'' 600 700 650 500* 1,000 350 800 1,400 500* 750" 350 350 500 400 750 400^ 1,000 8 500 600 500 '_^'i,90oin 1885. ' Each ;^9 1 6 in 1 885. ^Each ;^i,ooo in if ' Only three given in 1892. ^ /^53(* "^ 1^85. ' Each ;^ 1, 000 in 1885. '^^700 in 1885. " /"700 in i8{ THE CATHEDRAL SYSTEM. 99 THE DUTIES OF DEANS AND CANONS. In 1 86 1, Archbishop Tait told the House of Lords that, when he was Dean of Carlisle, he spent two years " in vain attempts to find out what were the duties of his office," and he appears to have come to the conclusion that practically he had no duties to discharge. ' But ]iishop Harvey Goodwin told the Church Congress at Sheffield, in 1878, that " the Dean of Carlisle is bound by the statutes of his Cathedral to pray for the soul of Henry VHI." - ; that, however, is a duty which, it need not be said, no Dean of Carlisle, since the Reformation, has ever thought of performing. Canon Trevor also made a statement, at the Sheffield Con- gress, as to the duties of the Canons of \ ork. He said : " At York we have four Canons residentiary, so-called and paid because for nine monliis in every year they do nut reside, nor have they any duty whatever when tlicy do reside, unless ihey are also prebendaries, that is, ni)n-resiik'ntiary canons. The non-residentiaries preach all the sermons, and make the majority at almost every chanter. Nowhere in church or out of it is there any single duty for a canon residentiary as such. Formerly there was one sermon yearly between the four ; but her present Majesty, with that gracious consideration which she ever manifests for the burdens of the clergy, has abolished that sermon by discontinuing the observance of the 30th of Tanuar\' : and now there is not a single word for a residentiary canon of Yoik to say or sing excepting in the character of a non-residentiary."^ It is not surprising that this frank utterance produced great merriment at the Church Congress. But that it represents a gv neral rule with respect to Cathedral digni- taries is clear from what the Bishop of Liverpool says; namely, that the want of all serious work for the Cathedral clergy justifies the reply which Sydney Smith is said to have given when asked to define the tluties of Deans and Chapters. " To the best of my knowledge," he said, " the duty of the Dean is to give dinners to the Chapter, and the duty of the Chapter is to give dinners to the Dean." ■* Bishop Ryle is himself equally severe, and in reference to the )ounger Deans especially, he can hardly find fitting ' Hivnard, March l.)th, iSoi. « OlTuial Rt-['oit. p. 446. 3 Ibid., p. 444. * Ch. Ref. Papers, p. 72. G 2 100 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. illustrations of the ridiculous "disproportion between their powers and their sphere of duty." " It is," he says, " disgraceful to the Church of England ; and makes one think of a lion turned into a barn to catch mice, or a 6oo-pounder firing at sparrows, or a locomotive dragging a child's perambulator, or an elephant harnessed to a bath chair! "1 But, according to the Bishop, Deans are not expected to do any work. He declares that the office is practically a sinecure, and is given away as such. "It is a fact," he says, "that for three centuries Deaus have generally been selected without the slightest consideration for their fitness for high office, the interests of the Church, or the opinion of the Bishop of the Diocese. Too often the appointment has been a mere political job, a reward for electioneering services, or a compliment to some influential family in the county. Prime Ministers have seemed unable to regard Deaneries as anything but comfortable sinecures, with plenty of pay and htllc work, and have disposed of them accordingly among their friends and clients." — Ch. Ref. Papers, p. 71. The Bishop is so impressed with the gravity of the abuse which the position of Deans and Canons involves that his first proposal as to Cathedral reform is " that the c ffices of Deans and Canons as they fall vacant, should cease altogether, be suppressed, and done away" (p. 78). GENERAL CONDEMNATION OF THE CATPIEDRAL SYSTEM. It is not, however, to one or two points merely of the Cathedral system that Bishop Ryle's condemnation applies: he passes a similar judgment on every feature of the system alike. The Cathedral services > — Of Cathedral worship he sa)S — * " As a general rule it is the very reverse of a model of perfection. Far too often the whole service is cold, chilling, dull, slovenly and irreverent. If a man wants his soul stirred by common prayer and praise, if he wants his conscience roused and his mind informetl on spiritual matters, if he is labouring and heavy laden and wants to fmd rest, if he longs to know more about Jesus Christ and the Gospel, about the last })lace of worship such a man ever thinks of going to is a cathedral ! " (p. 73). 1 Ch, Ref, Papers, p. 85. THE CATHEDRAL SYSTEM. loi Useless in Diocesanwork . — On this point the Bishop says — " Cathedral establishments are of little or no use in the working of English dioceses. If a zealous bishop \vishes to promote the cause of education, to awaken an interest in the cause of foreign missions, to evangelise the overgrown parishes of mining and manufacturing dis- tricts, to assist the overworked clergy of large cities, who are the men that he gets to help him ? Certainly, as a rule, not the Deans and Canons of his Cathedral" (p. 74). Evil influence in Cathedral toivns. — On this *" unpleasant subject," as he calls it, Bishop Ryle says — "It is a fact that Cathedral establishments have done ver}- little good in Cathedral towns. Be the reason what it may, their influence as a rule, has not been healthy, edifying, or profitable. It is reported commonly by no mean judges, that in no English towns does the Church of England stand so low as in Cathedral cities. In none is there so much bitter Nonconformity. In none is there so much intense dislike of the lustablishment. In no part of this island does the Church of England annually pay away such an immense sum to her ministers as she does in every Cathedral town, and in no jiart does she show such a wretched return for what she expends. Tne worst item in our Church's diocesan balance-sheet is the Cathedral ! " (p. 74). Cathedral establishments as aids to learning. — An impres- sion very commonly prevails that, however much Cathedral establishments may have failed in other respects, they have, at any rate, been of great service to the cause of learning. But Bishop Ryle strongly dissents from that view. lie says : — " Our Cathedral Establishments, as a rule, have failed to supply the Church of Plngland with a constant succession of able theologicil writers. Many excellent people cling fondly to the idea that this is the special vocaticm of Cathedrals, and that on this point of view they are a success. . . . But unhappily tacts tell a very difiercnt tale. . . . Out of the hundreds of Deans and Canons who have lived in the last three centuries, with some brilliant exccpticms, com- paralively few have left any mark on their generation with tlieir |iens. Out of tile myri.uls of theological works now lying on the sheKes of our libraries, comparatively few valuable volumes have been written in Cathedral closes. Dut of the scores of living Deans and Canons in the present day, not many count for much in Paternoster Row. Long- man, and Kivington, and Macmillan, and Murray, know notliing of them. Tiicre is no getting over these facts. As a matter of experience, Cathedral Establishments do not helji forward iheoKigical learning. They ought in theory, but they do not in practice" (pp. 75, 76). 102 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. The Bishop sums up his indictment of the Cathedral system in the following weighty sentences : " I believe the machine of our Cathedral bodies is worn out, and can never be made to work satisfactorily again." "The Cathedral system has been weighed in the balances for the last three centuries, and found utterly wanting" (pp. 85, 86). THE FUTURE OF THE CATHEDRALS. It has often been suggested that the Cathedrals will constitute a difficulty in the way of carrying out any effective scheme of disestablishment. But there is no necessity that it should be so. In practical legislation a severely logical course is not alA^ays possible or evtn desirable. The Cathedrals exist, and will have to be dealt with. They are historic heirlooms of priceless value, of which the nation is justly proud ' ; and there is no insuperable difficulty in utilising them under the system of religious equality, without in any way offending the religious senti- ment of the nation. The use which is already made of some of the Cathedrals for great musical festivals, and for the delivery of lectures on important social questions, might be greatly extended and improved. But much more consonant with the sacred associations of the Cathedrals would be their use, as sug- gested by Dr. Martineau, by various religious bodies for special religious services, and particularly for annual united services and communions for all who cared thus to meet together. It would be comparatively easy to make such an arrangement alter disestablishment ; and, so used, there can be little doubt that the Cathedrals would far more effectually witness to the reality and unity of the religious life of the nation than they do at the present time. ' Quite apart from Discstablislinient and the chaiif^cs it will intro- duce, one of the first tliinf^'s tliat should be done with respect to the Cathedrals is to place thcni under the care of some public authority directly responsible to Pailiament. The fabrics are clearly not safe in the hands of irresponsible deans and chapters. Several of them are in need of extensive repairs ; which could be e fleeted without difliculty if the Cathedral funds were generally available. Chapter VII. THE PAROCnrAL CLERGY. In 1875, Canon Ashwell estimated that the total number of the clergy of the Established Church was 20,694, and that 1,651 of them were unattached.' But in 1888 Lord Sel- borne stated that " the number of working clergy in charge of the 13.739 parishes of the Church of England is 13,833,"' with, in addition, 5,804 curates ; making the total number of " working parochial clergy 19,637."-' If to these be added the cathedral clergy, those engaged in tuition, and the "unattached," the whole number of the clergy at the present time will probably be about 22,000. LEGAL CONDITIOXS OF EMFRANCE TO THE MINISTRY. The conditions under which the clergy enter upon their positions in the Establishment are strictly defined by law. First, as to the age of admission to the clerical ranks. It isprovitled by the 13 Eliz. c. 2 (i57i),that 'None shall be made minister being under the a^e of four and twenty years," and more explicitly the 44 Geo. III. c. 43 (1S03), provides that " No person shall be admitted a deacon before he shall have attained the age of three and twenty years complete, and no person shall be admitted a priest before he shall have attained the age of four and twenty years complete." It is one of the inevitable disadvantages of an Estab- lished Church that it provides no adequate security that ' Report of Select Committee on 1'. W. f.icilitics Bill p. ij. •' Defence, p. 107. 104 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. those who enter its ministry shall be fit for that position. In such matters, that which is regulated by legal forms almost inevitably becomes a mere legal formality, and there- fore worthless for practical purposes. It is provided by the Act of Elizabeth above-mentioned that — "None shall be made minister, unless it shall appear to the Bishop that he is of honest life, and professeth the doctrine expressed in the 'Ihirty-nine Articles ; nor unless he be able to answer and render to the ordinary an account of his faith in Latin according to the said articles or have gift or ability to be a preacher." Before a candidate for the ministry is ordained a formal notice, known as a si qia's,^ is issued in the parish in which he resides, calling upon anyone who knows of any "just cause or impediment for which he ought not to be admitted into holy orders," to signify the same to the Bishop. But, as the Rev. Baptist Noel complained, "The fitness of notoriously careless men is never challenged. Not one of the thousands of candidates for the ministry in England encounters even the whisper of an objection at his ordination." ^ The testimony of the Bishop of Liver- pool is to the same eff'ect. He says : " It cannot be denied that numbers of young men take orders every year who are thoroughly unfit for the sacred office they enter. . . . It is mere aff'ectation to ignore these things Every man of common sense knows them." And the Bishop lays the. blame on " those laymen who hear a si qiiis read for an ungodly young man, and make no objec- tion," and on those clergymen " who sign a candidate's testimonial for orders when they know that the man who asks for it is unfit to be ordained." ■' The form of ordination of priests and deacons (as also of the consecration of bishops) is prescribed by the Act, 5 & 6 Ed. VI. c. I (155 1 ), and duly set forth in the Prayer-Book " annexed " to that Act. The Act of Edward was repealed by Queen Mary, but was revived by the I Eliz. c. I (1558), and confirmed by the S VA\z. c. i (1566). The ordination service, with the Prayer-Book as * From the words si quis, " if any " person, occurring in the form. * Essay on Church and State, p. 479. ^ Ch. Ref. Pap., p. 135-6. THE PAROCHIAL CLERGY. 105 a whole, was again revised in 1661, and the Act of Uni- formity of 1662 (13 & 14. Chas. c. 4) provides that : — " The said Book of Common Prayer, and the form of ordination and consecration of bishops, priests, and deacons with the alterations and additions which liave been made, shall be appointed to be used by all that make or consecrate bishops, priests, or deacons under such sanctions and penalties as the Houses of Parliament shall think fit." Oaths and suhscription'; require i. — The Act of 1662 required that every person holding any benefice or pro- motion should openly and publicly declare " his un- feigned assent and consent " to everything contained in the Prayer-Book, under penalty of deprivation if they "neglect or refuse to do the same." But in 1865 the terms of subscription were relaxed, and instead of the old form of " unfeigned assent and consent," the 28 & 29 Vict. c. 122, provided that "every person about to be ordained priest or deacon" should make the following declaration : — " I, A. B., do solemnly make the followinjj declaration : — T assent to the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, and to the Book of Common Prayer, and of the ordaining of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons. I believe the doctrine of the Uniteil Church of Mngland and Ireland, as therein set forth, to be agreeable to the word cf God ; and, in Public I'rayer and administration of the Sacr.iment, I will use the form in the said book prescribed and none otiier. except so far as shall be ordained by lawful authority." The Act also requires that every person about to be ordained shall take the oath of allegiance to the Sovereign, and the oath of canonical obedience to the bishop ; this latter having been ruletl by the Privy Council to mean, " not that the clergyman will obey all the commands of the Bishop against which there is no law, but that he will obey all such commanils as the Bishop by law is authorised to impose." ' THK PAROCHIAL .SYSTEM. The parochial system is commonly regarded as the most valuable feature of the Church l"'.stablishment. And in some respects, no doubt, the idea of the parochial system is ^ jfuilg'iient in I-oug v. Bisliop of Capetown. io6 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. admirable. It is an arrangement by which the blessings of the gospel are assumed to be brought to every man's door ; and which, professedly, gives to all the inhabitants of a certain district, whether they be rich or poor, a legally appointed spiritual guide, whose duty it is to minister the consolations of religion, and generally to care for the wel- fare of the whole community over which he is placed. It is beautiful as a theory ; and it is not surprising that it has won the admiration of men of very different orders of mind. But the worth of all such contrivances is to be judged, not by what they propose, but by what they actually accomplish ; and it is beyond dispute that, in town and country alike, the parochial system is practically a failure. It has broken down absolutely in the large towns, where, notwithstanding the praiseworthy efforts of many of the clergv^, it is completely overborne by sheer weight of numbers. And in the country districts, where it might have had a better chance, other defects of the Establish- ment itself have too often converted the parochial system into a source of evil, rather than of good. The growth of the system. — -It is uncertain at what time parochial divisions began to be made ; but at the time of the Reformation there appear to have been about 10,000, and, notwithstanding the enormous increase of the population in the interval, no considerable addition to the number was made until comparatively recent times. Practically the first step towards the creation of new parishes was taken by the passing of the Church Building Act of 1818 (58 George III. c. 45). But much more important was the "Act to make better provision for the spiritual care of populous parishes" (6 & 7 Vict, c 37), passed in 1843, commonly called Sir Robert Peel's Act ; which authorises the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to divide parishes where " the provision for public worship and for pastoral superintendence is insufficient for the spiritual wants of the inhabitants," under conditions which are specified, and with the proviso that all schemes are to be laid before " Her INIajesty in Council." In 1856, a further Act was passed, known as Lord Blandford's Act THE PAROCHIAL CLERGY. 107 v^iQ & 20 Vict. c. 104), to "extend the provisions" of the previous Act, and " for making better provision for the spiritual care of populous parishes, and further to provide for the formation and endowment of separate and distinct parishes." Like the previous Act, it provides that all schemes for the subdivision of parishes are to be submitted to the Queen in Council, and that "the order of Her Majesty in Council ratifying the scheme for such division shall be good and valid in law for the purpose of affecting the same." Church-huilding by hnv. — The work of parochial sub- division and extension is inseparably connected with the work of church-building. The Act of 1818 was the first of a long series of Acts for church-building. It is called "An Act for building and promoting the building of additional churches in populous parishes." The preamble recites that — "Whereas tlie popiilalion of Gieat Britain, and more particularly in tlie metropolis and its vicinity, and in other cities and jjieat towns, has greatly increased, and the churches and chapels now existing are inadequate to the accommodation of the inhabitants thereof, and whereas it is therefore necessary that such evils should be remedied, and that adiiitional churclies and chapels for the celebration of divine service, acconling to the lites of the United Church of Plngland and Ireland, as by law established, should be erected and maintained . . . be it enacted," ic, &€. The Act then proceeds to appropriate / 1,000,000' for the erection of such churches, and to appoint com- missioners for the purpose of carrying out its provisions. During the continuance of the Church IJuilding Com- mission, appointed by this Act, no fewer than twent}-one Acts of Parliament were passed on the subject of church- building, and they form " a most complicated accumula- tion of enactments which defy anal) sis, consolidation, and even correct judicial interpretation."- In great part this is due to the extreme and often excessive regard which has been paid to the vested interests of incumbents ^ By the 5 George IV. c. 103 (1824), a further sum of /■soo.ooo was appropriated for church-building. — Far. Paper, 572, SessL^n 1843. - Dale's Clergyman's Handbook, p. 27. io8 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. and other beneficiaries, and the result has been that the very laws passed to promote the spiritual interests of the people have hindered rather than helped the work they had in view. The whole of these Acts, however, are now administered by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners,^ and the difficulties of the work have been somewhat diminished. The Commissioners, in their report for 1892, state that, from the passing of the first Church Building Act in 1818 to the close of the year 1891, no fewer than 3,484 new parochial districts of one kind or another have been formed under the various Acts of Parliament authorising such sub-divisions." THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM IN POPULOUS DISTRICTS. Notwithstanding the great sub-division of parishes which has taken place, the parochial system in the large centres of population is still little more than a name. In all the great towns it is overwhelmed by the enormous mass of the population ; and were it not for the work of the Free Churches large numbers of the people would often be left in a condition of practical heathenism. As an illustration of this state of things, the following particulars are given from the report of a Diocesan Com- mission appointed by the Bishop of Wakefield, to ascertain the Church accommodation and the clerical staff in certain paiishes of that diocese ■■ : — Parishes. Piipulation. Total Chuic:h Accomino- datioii. Number of Clergy. Hockmondwike Livcrsedgc Tong Dewsbury, St. Mark Batley, All Saints' ,, St. Thomas 10,000 «.5i4 6,000 6,000 11,3^^8 7.250 860 730 550 744 870 770 3 2 2 2 2 2 ^ The powers of the Church Building Commission were transferred in 1875 (19 & 20 Vict. c. 55) to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. ^ Report, p. 50. 3 Quoted from the Church Times April i8th, 1890. THE PAROCHIAL CLERGY. 109 Parishes. Population. Total Church Accommo- datiou. Number of Ck-rgy. Morley, St. Paul ... Halifa.x, St. Augustine's ,, St. James Cross Stone Klland King Cross .Stainland ... r.ockwootl ... (iolcar Mold Circen Barnslev, St. George Wakelicld, St. John 10, coo 11,500 10,000 I2,OOD 9,000 io,ooo 5.100 7,203 9,000 6,141 10,000 5.500 400 8oo I,203 1,370 1,000 700 480 1,200 I,2O0 420 1,380 TOO But this is by no means an unfavourable example of the position of the Estabhshed Church in the great towns generally. The following are the figures from the Clergy Lis! for 1892 for some of the parishes in Birmingham : — Blnniiigham Parishes. Population. Clergy. St. Martin 10,500 3 All Saints 27,570 3 St. Albans 12,723 4 St. Asaph 10,424 2 St. George ... 16,070 4 St. Luke 10,487 1 St. Mark '7.544 I St. Matthias i{-',oS3 3 St. Paul IS, 106 2 St. .Stephen 1^,166 3 St. Thomas 10,309 3 In the National Review (February, 1888), Dean Gregory calls attention to these Birmingham parishes, and asks how it can be wondered at, that, in a town thus uncared for by the Church, the people should be so little friendly to its privileged position ? But while Birmingham may be a somewhat extreme case, the position of the Church there no CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. is not very different from what it is in other large towns ; and the fact that, in all of them alike, the Church has failed to make adequate provision for the spiritual wants of the population is one, among many, causes of the wide-spread hostility to it as a National establishment. THE parson's freehold. The "parson of the parish" is the "head"^ of the parish, and has the right to preside at all meetings of the vestry. He is commonly trustee and distributor of the parish charities, and in a variety of ways has an authority in parish affairs such as belongs to no other person. But the peculiarity of his position is that he has a "freehold" in his living. " A parson," says Blackstone, " has, during his life, the freehold in himself of the parsonage house, the glebe, the tithes, and other ducs."- The incumbent's hold upon his living is thus secured to him by all the rights of property ; and within certain wide limits he is free from all control, and cannot be disturbed in the possession of his benefice. It is this which has so largely interfered with the successful working of the parochial system. The Rev.Dr. Jessopp, rector of Seaming, Norfolk, says : — " The philosopher of the future will, I believe, be amazed and per- plexed by nothing so much as by the strange vitality of tliis legal phenomenon — the parson's freehold. Imagine a postman or a prime minister, a clerk in the ( "ustom House, or tlie captain of a man-of-war, an assistant in a draper's shop, or your own gardener, having an estate for life in his office, and being able to draw his pay to his dying day, though he might be for years blind, and deaf, and paralysed, and imbecile — so incapable, in fact, that he could not even appoint his own deputy, or so indifferent that he cared not whether there was any deputy to discharge the duties which he liimself was paid to perform. Imagine any public servant being thrown into prison for a flagrant misdemeanour, or worse than a misdemeanour, and coming back to his work when the term of his imprisonment was o^er, receiving the arrears of pay which had accrued during the time he was in gaol, and quietly settling down into the old groove as if nothing had happened.-* * Prideaux's Churchwarden^ s Guide, p. 95. * Com., Book I. c. ii. 3 The Clergy Discipline Act of 1892, as will presently be seen, has rendered this no longer possible in cases of conviction for misdemeanour, habitual drunkenness, and other offences against morality. THE PAROCHIAL CLERGY. ill Imajjine any public servant being suspended from his office for habitual drunkenness — suspended, say, for two years — and not even requiring to be reinstated wlien the two yesrs were over, but gaily taking his old seat and returnin;,' to his desk and his bottle, as irremovable from the emoluments of the first as he was inseparable from his devotion to the last. Yet all this, and much more than this, is possible for us beneficed clergymen. I am myself the patron of a benefice from which the late rector was non-resident for fifly-linee years." ^ Dr. Jessopp adds that the parochial clergy occupy a " frightfully impregnable position," being — "Fenced about with all sorts of legal safeguards, which put us above our parishioners on the one hand, and out of the reach of our bishops on the other; having, as we have, an almost unlimited power of turn- ing our benefices into sinecures while we reside upon them — or of leaving them to the veriest hirelings to serve, while we are disporting ourselves in foreign travel almost as long as we choose to stay away."- But the " parson's freehold " not only places an impedi- ment in the way of all effectual clerical discipline, it converts the parish, as Bishop Ryle says, into an " ecclesiastical preserve within which no Churchman can (ire a spiritual sliot, or do anything without leave of the incimibent." * The law gives him exclusive spiritual authority in the parish, and, no matter how careless he may be as to the welfare of the people, he can prevent any other clergyman from coming to their assistance, 'i'iiis is so well known to Churchmen, and especially to the clergy, that only in rare instances have any attempts been made to disregard the incumbent's authority ; although it has frequently happened that, in forgetfulness of the law, clergymen have engaged to take part in religious services in other parishes than their own with- out the consent of the incumbent, and have then betn sharply reminded of their mistake. THE FORDIDDEN EXETER HALL SERVICES. In 1857, a case occurred in London which puts in a clear light the position in which the Church of England is • Trials of a Country Parson, \\. V\l-\\\. * Hid, 3 Church Riforin Papers, p. 133. 112 CASJi FOR DISES1ABLISHMEN7. placed to this day in respect to the exclusive legal rights of the parochial clergy. A committee of Churchmen had arranged for a series of " Special Sunday evening services for the Working classes" in Exeter Hall, "under the sanction of the Bishop of London." But the committee had forgotten the incumbent of the parish; and the result was that after the services had been announced, and were about to be held, the whole proceeding was forbidden. On Sunday, Nov. 8ih, the day on which the first of the proposed services was to have been held, the doors of Exeter Hall were closed, and a placard was placed outside containing this announcement : — " Exeter Hall Services for the Working Classes, under the sanction of the Bishop of London. " The service fixed for Sunday, the 8th inst., will not take place. The Rev. A. G. Edouart, the incumbent of the parish, has, by a notice served yesterday, forbidden the services. Until the legal question shall have been decided, the Committee will, therefore, suspend the course. " Shaftesbury, Chairman." The "legal question" was soon decided; for in the course of a few days it was announced that the committee had taken legal advice, and found that the .ervices, having been forbidden by the incumbent, would be illegal and could not be held. But what the clergy were thus pre- vented from doing, the Nonconformist ministers of London, being free to act where the clergy were bound, at once undertook, and a new series of services was forth- with arranged, which were conducted, moreover, as Church of England services, and were largely attended. Lord Shafltshitrys Bill.— But the interest aroused by these occurrences, and ihe humiliating position in which they placed the Established Church, led Lord Shaftesbury, on the first night of the Parliamentary session (December 3rd), to introduce a Bill to amend the law bearing upon the case. It provided that in all parishes with a popula- tion over 2,000 no inhibition by ihe incumbent should avail to prevent any other clergyman from conducting a religious service in an unconsecrated building, unless such THE PAROCHIAL CLERGY. 113 inhibition was countersigned by the bishop. The Bill was bitterly opposed by the clergy, and was withdrawn ; the Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Sumner) having introduced a rival measure, which gave the initiative, in regard to all special services, to the bishop exclusively, and dealt more tenderly with the legal rights of in- cumbents. That Bill passed the House of Lords, but was then dropped, and nothing was done. Lord Shaftesbury avowed that he had introduced his Bill partly with the view of strengthening the Establishment, and told the House of Lords what he had seen at Kxeter Hall, when the Nonconformist ministers were conducting the services which clergymen were forbidden to hold. "The ball," he said, "was thronged, principally by members of the working classes, who were most devout and attentive. I confess that, as I walked away, I was almost overwhelmed with shame to think that the Church of England alone was excluded from hokling such services ; that the Church of England, which is constituted the Church of the realm, and to which such a duty is peculiarly assigned, should be the only body among believers or unbelievers which is not allowed to open a hall with the view of giving instruction to the people."' Nolhing done to /his daj. — Although six-and-thirty years have passed since this Exeter Hall incident occurred absolutely nothing has been done to this day to lessen the despotic authority of the parochial incumbents. Repeated attempts have been maile by private members of Parlia- ment to obtain some relaxation of the existing law, and in 1S75 a Select Committee of the House of Commons took much evidence on the subject of jKOviding additional facilities for public worship, by limiting the rights of incumbents. J)Ut the evidence was of a very conflicting character ; and as the report of the committee insisted that it is desirable " to maintain the parochial system in active vigour," and also " to avoid any needless inter- ference with the privileges of incumbents," the law has been allowed to remain unaltered in every particular. ' //ansarJ, Dec. Sth, 1S57. 114 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM IN THE RURAL DISTRICTS. It is commonly assumed that the parochial system is of special value in the rural parishes, and it is sometimes urged that, without it, the people would be in danger of lapsing into heathenism.^ But the Bishop of Liverpool, who was himself, for many years, the incumbent of a rural parish, and well knows the condition of such parishes, gives no countenance to that view. He is a great admirer of the parochial system when it is properly worked. But, he says : — "Just in proportion to the good wliicli the parochial system does when it is properly worked is the harm which it does when it is worked badly, or not worked at all. Grant for a moment that the clergyman of the paris^h is unsound in doctrine and does not preach the Gospel, or worldly in life and cares nothing for spiritual things — grant this, and the parocliial system becomes a most damaging institution, a curse and not a blessing, a hindrance and not a help, a nuisance and not a benefit, a weakness and not a strength to the Established Church of this realm. "It is nonsense to deny that there are scores of large parishes in almost every diocese in England, where the parochial clergyman does little or nothing beside a cold, formal round of Sunday services. Christ's truth is not preached. Soul-work is neglected. The parishioners are like sheep without a shepherd. The bulk of the people never come near the chmch at all. Sin, and immorality, and ignorance, and infidelity increase and multiply every year. The few who worsliip anywhere take refuge in the ciiapels of Methodists, Baptists, and Independents, if not in more questionable places of worship. The parish church is comparatively deserted. People in such parishes live and die with an abidmg impression that the Clunch of England is a rotten, useless institution, and be(iueath to their families a legacy of prejudice against tiie Ciiurch, which lasts forever. Will anyone pretend to tell me that there are not hundreds of large English parishes in tliis condilicm .-' I defy liim to do so. I am writiri'^- down thmgs that are only too true, and it is in vain to pretend to conceal them." — Ch. Ref. Papers, p. 124-5. The Bishop adds nruch more to the same effect. He contends that " the Church of England has made an idol of her parochial system ; " but he says, " It is precisely here that our system fails and breaks down altogether." * Dr. Wordsworth, the late Bishop of Lincoln, once declared that disestablishment would " pauperise the priesthood and paganise the people." THE PAROCHIAL CLERGY. liS Much the same is the testimony of " A Rural Dean," in the Church Times (May 27th, 1881), who says : — "I know parishes by the score where there are thousands lapsing into heathenism, and the lazy and inefficient parson is absolutely powerle.-s to reach them. Xo one can do it for him, unless he be a Nonconformist, because of the stronghold afforded to ' freehold rights ' by tlie ' parochial system.' " There is good reason to believe that the changes in the parochial system which would necessarily be involved in disestablishment would be advantageous rather than otherwise to the spiritual interests of the village popu- lations. The religious work which is being done in them by the Free Churches is of inestimable value, and, but for that work, in many places the light of the Gospel would almost have died out ; but that work is now carried on under the greatest disadvantages from the hindrances, direct and indirect, placed in its way by the upholders of the Establishment system. But with disestablishment there would be an open door for enlarged operations on the part of the Free Churches, while the rigidity of the parochial system would inevitably be so far broken down that Churchmen also would be more free to act ; and, with the new stimulus to exertion which would be given to all Churches alike, it is in the highest degree probable that as a result, the spiritual welfare of the rural popula- tion would be better cared for than at present. CLERGY DISCIl'LINE. One main cause of the practical failure of the parochial system is, as already intimated, the immunity of the beneficed clergy from all clTective discipline, owing to the freehold they have in their livings. It was no ixaggeration in Dr. Jessopp to say that a clergyman might actually be imprisoned and afterwards return to his old position as if nothing had happened. In 1863, the Rev. J. Wood, the incumbent of Clayton-le- Moors, Lancashire, was convicted of forgery, and sentenced to ten years* penal servitude ; and, leaving prison before the expiration of his sentence, he actually 2 ii6 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. officiated as a " ticket-of-leave man." In 1865, there was another case at Bilston, in Staffordshire. The Rev. H. S. Fletcher, the vicar, was convicted of defrauding the Savings Bank, and sentenced to two years' imprison- ment ; and it was only by a private arrangement that he was prevented, when his term of imprisonment had expired, from coming back to the town and resuming his duties. The explanation is that at that time a clergyman convicted of any offence short of felony did not lose his benefice, and it was not until the passing of the Clergy Discipline Act of 1892 (55 & 56 Vict., c. 32) that the possibility of the recurrence of such scandals was removed. The new Act, however, provides that, if a clergyman is convicted of " treason, or felony, or a misdemeanour," or of certain other specified "offences against morality," " the preferment (if any) held by him ?hal], without further trial, be declared by the bishop to be vacant." But while the new Act thus puts an end to the graver scandals which have arisen from the gross misconduct of some of the clergy, it does nothing in regard to the far more numerous cases of clerical unfit- ness, incompetence, and neglect of duty, or in regard to cases of illegal Ritualistic practices. In respect to all such matters the discipline of the clergy is still of the most ineffective description, and there is little prospect of its ever becoming adequate until, by means of disestablishment, the Church is enabled to manage its own affairs, without being dependent for the purpose on the cumbrous machinery of Acts of Parlia- ment. CLERICAL DISAlilLITIES AND RELIEF. Exclusion of Chri:;ymcn from the House of Conunons. — In 1 801 the Act 41 Geo. III. c. 63, was passed, as the preamble recites, "to remove doubts respecting the eligibility of persons in holy orders to sit in the House of Commons, and also to make effectual provision for excluding them from sitting therein." It provides that — ' " No^person having been ordained to the oflice of priest or deacon, or being a minister of" the Church of Scotland, is, or shall be, capable THE PAROCHIAL CLERGY. I17 of being elected to serve in Parliament as a member of the House of Commons." Another clause was intended to meet the case of Mr. Home Tooke, who had been returned to Parliament for Old Sarum, and was a member of the House of Commons when the Act passed. It provides that — " If any person, having been ordained to the otTice of priest or deacon, or being a minister of the Church of Scotland, being elected to serve in Parliament as a member of the House of Commons, shall presume to sit or vote as a member of the House of Conunons, he shall forfeit the sum of ;^500 for every day in which he shall sit or vote ill the said House." The Clergy and Munici/>al Corporalions. — The Act 5 & 6 Will. IV. c. 76, 1835, regulating municipal corporalions, provides that " no person being in holy orders shall be qualified to be elected, or to be a councillor or an alder- man of any such borough." But the 33 (S: 34 Vict, c 91, 1S70, which is " an Act for the relief of persons admitted to the ollice of priest or deacon in the Church of England," enables the clergy, by the execution of a "deed of relinquishment" of their clerical profession, to become, in the eye of the law, simple laymen, and thus to escape from the disabilities im- posed by the above Acts. In this deed the person execut- ing it relinquishes " all lights, privileges, advantages, and e.xemplions attached to the ollice of minister in the Church of Knglaml," and is thereby rendered " incapable of officiating or acting in any manner as a minibter of the Church of England, and of taking and holding any pre- ferment therein." Under the provisions of this Act several clergymen have resigned their position in the Church, and some of them have become members of the House of Commons. KOV.13Z0 Chapter VIII. CHURCH PATRONAGE. The principle on which the Church patronage system is based is that the founder of a dignity or benefice is entitled to select the person who is to discharge its duties. This is clearly implied in the Statute of Provisors (25 Ed. III. c. 22, 1 351), which declares that the Church of England was "founded in the estate of prelacy" by the king's ancestors, and the barons and nobles of the realm and their ancestors, and, therefore, claims that the king and barons, " as lords of advowsons, have and ought to have the custody" of these incumbencies when vacant, and " the presentments and collation of the benefices being of such prelacies." The right of the Crown to nominate to episcopal sees and other dignities is thus made to rest on the same ground as the rights of lords of manors to nominate to parochial benefices — namely, that the founder and his heirs and successors are entitled to the perpetual patronage. ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF PATRONAGE. In the early days of the Church in England, the cathedral clergy supplied the spiritual needs of the entire diocese ; going out from the cathedral and returning to it as the centre of what was practically missionary work. But, in course of time, places of worship were erected in various parts of the diocese, and settled m.inisters were appointed to serve them. There seems to be little doubt that parish churches originated in the manner described by Blackstone. He says : — "The lords, as Christianity spread itself, began to build churches upon their own demesnes or wastes, to accommodate their tenants in CHURCH PATRONAGE. 119 one or two adjoininf; lordsliij:)s ; and, in order to have divine service regularly performed therein, ol)liged all their tenants to appnjpriate their tithes to the maintenance of the one officiating minister, instead of leaving them at liberty to distriliute them among the clerg}' of the diocese in general, and this tract of land, the tithes whereof were so appropriated, formed a distinct parish." * The owners of estates who thus built churches acquired thereby the legal right cf nominating the ministers ; Theodore, Archbishop cf Canterbury (a.d. 680), " under royal sanction, offering the perpetual patronage of churches as an encouragement for their erection." - The patronage of a benefice thus arising became attached to the estate of the founder, and descended to his heirs and successors. For many ages, however, this right of presentation to a benefice had no direct money value, and was never intended to be bought and sold. Bishop Gibson, indeed, quotes Lord Coke for the doctrine that what implies "things gainful" is "contrary to the nature of an advowson," and he adds : — "Which said doctrine, and the plain tendency thereof, are exactly agreeable, not only to the nature of advowsons, which are merely a trust vested in the hamls of patrons by consent of the bishop, for the good of the Church and religion ; but also to the express letter of the Canon Law." He also condemns " the notion and practice of making merchandise of advowsons and next avoidances," and repeats that the advowsons " ought in reason and good conscience to be considered in the nature of mere trusts for the comfort of men's souls." ' The owners of patronage, however, gradually came to regard their legal right of presentation as a property which could be turned to account in the market, and the ecclesiastical authorities in vain denounced its corruj)t administration. Oalh ami dixliinilion againsl simonj. — The offence of "simony" is defined as "the corrupt presentation of anyone to an ecclesiastical benefice or dignity for money, ' Continvntnrifs, Intro., sec. 4, 113. '^ Soanies's Anglo- Saxon Church, p. 85, " Gibson's CoJex, p. 796. 120 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. gift, or reward " ' ; and the first statute directed against it is the 31 Eliz. c. 6 (1588-9) which makes every presenta- tion for money or reward void, authorises the Crown to fill the vacancy, and inflicts a fine of double one year's profits of the benefice on both the parties to the bargain. The Canons of 1603 (40th) denounce simony as a ''detes- table sin, because buying and selling of spiritual and ecclesiastical functions, ofiices, promotions, dignities, and livings is execrable before God" ; and the Canon also imposed the following oath against simony, which was to be taken before institution to any benefice : — "I, N. N., do swear that I have made no simoniacal payment, contract or jnomise, directly or indirectly, by myself or by any other, to my knowledge or with my consent, to any person or persons whatsoever, for or concerning the procuring and obtaining of tiiis ecclesiastical dignity, place, preferment, office, or living [respectively and particularly naming the same, whereunto he is to be admitted, instituted, collated, installed, or confirmed] ; nor will at any lime hereafter perform or satisfy any such kind of payment, contract, or promise made by any other without my knowledge or consent : So help me God through Jesus Christ." But, in 1865, the Act 28 & 29 Vict. c. 122, substituted for this oath the following declaration : — "I, A. B., solemnly declare that I have not made, by myself or by any person on my behalf, any payment, contract, or promise of any kind whatsoever which to the best of my knowledge or belief is simoniacal, touching or concerning the obtaining the Preferment of , nor will I at any time hereafter perform or satisfy, in whole or part, any such kind of payment, contract, or promise made by any other without my knowledge or consent." No doubt the great majority of the clergy now living have made this declaration instead of taking the oath ; but it is impossible to suppose that the one is, or was meant to be, less binding than the other for preventing all mercenary transactions in regard to the obtaining of spiritual offices. It will presently be seen, however, that oath and declaration alike have been utterly ineffectual to prevent this " detestable sin," and that the buying and selling of spiritual offices still largely prevails. ^ Cripps's Laws of the Church. CHURCH PATRONAGE. 121 The traffic now sanctioned hy law. — There is reason indeed to hold that the law is now itself to a large extent responsible for the traffic; for, since the passing of the Act 19 & 20 Vict. c. 50 (1856), and Lord Westbury's Act (26 & 27 Vict. c. 120, 1863), the sale of livings, in the gift of parishioners and the Lord Chancellor (to obtain funds for building parsonage houses and to augment the income of poor benefices) a direct legislative sanction has been given to what was once considered "execrable before God." I'Ul'.LIC PATRONAGE. Distribution of Patronage. — At the present time the patronage of the parochial benefices is about equally divided between private patrons, and public and official patrons, into whose hands, in the course of time, the right of presentation has passed. The public and official patrons are the Crown, the Prince of Wales, the Lord Chancellor, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Archbishops and Bishops, the Cathedral Bodies, the Archdeacons, the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Eton and Winchester Colleges, and, in certain parishes, the ratepayers. The number of livings in the gift of each of these respectively is as follows : — The Crown 3S8 The J'rince of Wales 20 Tlie Lord Cliaiicellor 674 Duchy of Lancaster 41 Arclihisliops and Bishops 2,gi2 Cathedral Bodies 87(1 Archdeacons 52 Universities — Oxford 403 Canibridfje 313 — 716 Eton and Wiiiclicster Colicf^es 57 Parishioners anil Ratepayers 21 MisceUancous S9 Total public patronage S.846 ^ ^ These figures are compiled from the detailed tables in the Ctfrgy Listlox 1892. 122 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. Administration of public patronage. — The administration of public patronage is, to a large extent, free from the anomalies and scandals which appear to be inseparably connected with that of private patronage ; but it is marked by evils of its own, which make it almost, if not quite, as injurious to the Church as a spiritual body. In past times, as Lord John Russeil has declared, "The immense and valuable patronage of Clovernment was uniformly bestowed on their political adherents"; and " no talent, no learning, no piety, could advance the fortunes of a clergyman whose political opinions were adverse to those of the governing powers." Blachvood' s Magazine has said that Church patronage was used by Ministers of the Crown as so much " grease with which to make the wheels of government run smoothly." No doubt some improvement in this matter has taken place in recent years ; but it is still true, as one of the clergy has expressed it, that the patronage in the hands of the Government, and especially that administered by the Lord Chancellor, is too often '' simply a political instru- ment made use of for political purposes." ^ If any of the patrons might have been expected to exercise their rights with a strict regard to the interests of the Church itself, it would certainly be the bishops. But their record does not appear to be much, if at all, better than that of the most worldly-minded politicians ; and, while in quite recent times there have been instances of nepotism and the like, which have called forth much indignant public comment, only a comparatively fevv years ago such cases were a standing reproach to the Church. In 1865, Archdeacon Denison declared that episcopal patronage was " a grievous stumbling block," and, he added, "we verily believe that more bishops are wrecked upon the rock of patronage, than in all the depths and shoals of the episcopal office."' In the case of cathedral and college livings, there is hardly any pretence of administering the patronage for the benefit of the Church; the one thing thought of ^ Rev. C. Bartholomew, Rural Dean, 1867. " Church and State Review, March, 1865. C nunc II PATRONAGE. 1 23 being the personal rights and interests of the particular person whose turn it is to present. In some of the cathedral bodies it is customary to cast lots for the right of presenting to the livings in the gift of the chapter, and the plan adopted has been thus described : — '•During tlic liist meeting every year of the Chapter, the members draw lots for the various ' charge of souls ' within the patronage of their body. The name of each living is \\Titten upon a slip of paper and deposited in a box. The Canons then draw out one after another, and, if the living mentioned on the paper so drawn becomes vacant during that year, the fortunate possessor of the prize in this State- ecclesiastical lottery lias the patronage of that linng for the time being. Thus is this disgraceful farce enacted." ^ PRIVATE PATRONAGE. Sale of livings hy public auction. — It is in connection wiih private patronage, however, that the worst evils of the systtm are seen. One of the most familiar facts in connection with the patronage system, and one to which it would probably be impossible to find a parallel in any other Church in Christendom, is the sale of livings by public auction. The actual transaction in the?e cases is, of course, the sale of the legal right to present to the benefice — either the perpetual right of presenting, which is the " advowson," or the right of " next presentation " only. The advertisements of these sales in ddys gone-by usually set forth in glowing colours all the supposed advantages of the living from a purtly secular and selfish point of view, without a word as to the opportunities of usefulness it alVorded ; and occasionally advertisements of the kind are still seen.-' This traffic in the open market is now generally con- demned by Churchmen themselves ; and in recent years, under the strong tlisai>proval of public opinion, the number of such transactions has greatly diminished. The ' Plea for a Free Church of England, by Rev. C. P. ^rcCartlly. - In Januar)', 1893, an advertisement in the T/w^-j announced — "A valuable living for sale in the suburbs of London " ; ami among the particulars given were these — " Sale urgent. I'rospect of early pos- session. Net income, /'900. Liglit work. The best society. Prac- tically no poor." 124 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. Bishop of Liverpool, referring, no doubt, mainly to these sales by public auction, rightly says the practice " deserves unmitigated condemnation" ; and he adds, "A system by which a care of souls can be sold like a flock of sheep or a drove of pigs, is simply a disgrace to the Church which tolerates it, and to the country in which it takes place." ^ PUBLIC INQUIRIES. There have been two formal inquiries in recent jears into the operation of private patronage. The first was by a Select Committee of the House of Lords appointed in j 8 74 " to enquire into the laws relating to patronage, simony, and exchange of benefice" ; the second by a Royal Com- mission in 1878, "to enquire into the law and existing practice as to the sale, exchange, and resignation of eccle- siastical benefices." The members of both the Committee and the Commission were Churchmen, and friendly to the maintenance of the Establishment, as were also all, or nearly all, the witnesses, about half of whom were clergy- men ; and yet the evidence given was in the strongest sense condemnatory of the whole patronage system. The ^^ Clerical agency'" business. — Although the public sale of livings in recent years has diminished, there is reason to believe that the secret traffic carried on by clerical agents has proportionately increased. And notwithstanding the greater scandal of the public sales, because they are public, they are at least carried on in accordance with the law, while the secret traffic is to a very large extent marked by evasion and violation of the law, and is far more de- moralising to the parties concerned. Mr. J. B. Lee, secretary for several years to many of the bishops, told the House of Lords Committee of 1874 that "evasions of the law are almost universal " (287)'- ; that it is difficult for the bishops to prevent corrupt pre- sentations, for the simple reason that "an) thing irregular is kept most carefully, not only from the bishop, but from 1 Ch. Kef. Pps., p. 164. - Tlie numbers given are those prefixed to the questions and answers in the Oilicial Reports. CHURCH PATRONAGE. 125 his officers;" and that "those whope business it is to carry these things out, hedge them so carefully round that it is next to impossible for the bishop to find a flaw in them." (2S2) Mr. N. Bridge', solicitor to several Church societies also declared that the oath and the declaration against simony "arc constantly evaded," and that they "do not prevent simoniacal transactions," of which he sa'd "a great many arc being carried out " (385). Demoralisation of the Clergy. — One of the principal wit- nesses before the Royal Commission of 1 87S was Mr. Emery Stark, one of the principal clerical agents, and his evidence gives striking proof of the demoralisation of the clergy, which is produced by this traffic in livings. He said : — " The Commissioners are well aware that the sale of advowsons with the understanding that immediate possession is to be given, is, according to the law, illegal. Three-fourths of the patrons with whom 1 have come in contact, and among them clergymen of the highest standing, do not recognise any moral crime in an infraction cf the present law cf simony, and the consequence is that they freely and unhesitatingly sell and purchase advowsons with the understanding that immediate possession is to be given, not looking upon it as any sin. When I say clergymen of high standing, I have had business with ex-colonial bishops, canons, and other dignitaries of the Church who, of course, would be above suspicion in every way " (2,025). Mr. Stark was asked by the Bishop of Peterborough (Dr. Magee) whether those "pious and good clergymen deliberately break the law," and he answered " Yes, men of the highest standing." Pressing the witness further, the Bishop asked (3,063) : " These moral clergymen, who first ask you to break the law, then take an oath that they have not broken the law." The answer was " Ye5 ;" and the Bishop added "so that every one of these clergymen of high standing and of high moral character has been guilty of wilful and corrupt perjury" (2,064). TlIK P.ISMOr Of PKTKRnOROUGIl's KVIOENCK. ])r. Magee himself gave the Commission some remark- able evidence from his own c.xpotience, both as to the scandals permitted by the law and the helplessness of the 126 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. bishops to prevent them. He said that since he had been a bishop he had been called upon to institute four clergy- men who were utterly unfit for the discharge of their sacred duties : — " The first case was that of a paralytic, in my judgment incapable personally of performing the duties of the parish. The second was the case of a man who some years previously had been a notorious drunkard, but his drunkenness and the notoriety of it had occurred beyond the limit of the Church Discipline Act two years, and I was advised that I could not refuse him institution. He was instituted to a parish within four miles of the scene of his previous drunken- ness, which made him notorious, and which created a great scandal. The third was the case of a man seventy five years of age, who obtained the appointment of a parish containing two considerable country towns, a laborious parish, and who within six months after he was appointed asked me to give him permanent leave of absence on account of physical infirmity, and that man I was obliged to institute. The last case was the case of a man who was obliged to resign his chaplaincy to a gaol because he dared not face the accusa- tion of having been guilty of unnatural vice. That man was presented to a living by his father-in-law, who was a solicitor. He came into my study, and I told him that I had no evidence to prove the case, but I was morally certain of the facts, and the man did not venture to deny them to me. I told him I would endure anything rather than institute him. Happily for me the man was respectably married, and feaied to bring shame upon his family, and would not face a public trial, and he went away, and I heard no more of him ; but I was apprised that I could not have legally prevented his receiving institu- tion'' (1784, 1785). The Bishop, in a charge to his clergy in October, 1875, has given some additional information as to these cases. He said that : — " In each of these cases the fads -vere perfectly null known to the respective patrons. As regards every one of these I was advised that I had no legal power to refuse institution ; and, as regards the last, it is simply a fact that the man to whom, at the risk of a lawsuit, I refused institution, could the next day have bought across the counter in London — with the same ease and with more secrecy than he could have bougiit a railway ticket — a cure of souls in the shape of a donative, on which he might at once have entered without any human being having the right to ask him so much as a single question. For aught I know to the contrary he may have done this, and that miserable man, staineil as he is, by his own confession, with nameless vice, may now be the beneficed and irremovable minister of a parish in the Church of England ! " * 1 Charge, p. 39. CHURCH PATRONAGE. 127 In the same charge Dr. Magee also gave the following facts, illustrative of the condition of the law relating to Church patronage : — " First there are one hundred patrons in En^dand, not presumably better or wiser than other patrons, who have tlie right to keep the parishes in their gift as long as they please without a pastor, who, when he is appointed, need produce no evidence that he is even in holy orders, no testimonial as to his character, and who may buy from one of these patrons the right, without check, hindrance, or so much as (juestion from any human being, to enter upon a cure of souls, and who, moreover, by that purchase, may have bten enabled to complete some nefarious transaction respecting some other piece of Church preferment, of which he may be the owner " Again, it is a fact that a certain number of patrons are in the habit, whenever their livings fall vacant, of selecting the oldest and most decrepit clergymen they can hnd, after the most careful search and intjuiry, and putting them into their livings, in order to enhance the selling value of these in the market — a proceeding which I regard as one of deliberate and enormous wickedness, and yet which, at present, may be, and is, adopted in defiance cf parisliioners and of Bishop, for there are absolutely no limits in law to the age or decrepitude of a presentee " Again it is a fact that any parishioner knowing of any immorality in the clergjman about to be appointed to his parish, dare not represent it to the Rishop through dread of an action for libel. . . , Again, it is a fact that immoral and scandalous clerks are sometimes presented, as 1 personally know, to Bishops for institution by patrons who arc well aware of their character. . . . Again, it is a fact that an infant in his cradle may be nominated to the largest and most populous parish in ICngland, that it shall be kept open for him by a resignation boml until he attains the lipe age of twenty-four, when he forthwith enters upon the duties of the parish, the temporarj' incumbent i)eing turned out to make room for him ; or, if he is not at once removed, remaining the life-tenant of the patron, and hable to ejectment at any moment." ' The Bishop closed this statement by sa)ing: : "I confess that as I cite the facts that I have now narrated, I hardly know which to be most ashamed of — that evils so scandalous, abuses so notorious as those 1 have described and proved, should e.Kist in our Church, beneath the shelter of its laws, or that there should bo clergymen and gentle- men capable of defending them." - \ Charge, p. 36. * JbiJ, p. 30. 128 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. PRIVATE PATRONS. It scarcely need be Faid that no moral qualification is required by law for the ownership or the exercise of patronage rights. On the contrary, .Bishop Magee declared that "the very greatest scoundrel in England may be a patron, and his extreme immorality is no bar to his acting as a patron.''^ The only legal disqualification for the exercise of patronage rights is that which rests on Roman Catholics; who are prohibited by statute (jjas. I., c, 5, J 605-6) from presenting to benefices, and who are thus driven to sell their patronage if they wish to obtain its money value." No doubt a large proportion of the private patrons exercise their patronage rights with a conscientious regard for the interests of the Church. But many patrons regu- larly sell their patronage ; while others who themselves present to the livings in their gift have obviously no special fitness for the task. It is notorious, indeed, from the proceedings in the police and law courts, that some of the largest owners of private patronage are persons to whom no one would think of entrusting the duty of ' Royal Cotju Report, 2,159. - Air. Herford, the coroner for jManchester, gave the Royal Com- mission the following facts with resjiect to tlie living of Wihnslow, Cheshire: — "Sir Humphrey de Trailord is the owner, and, being a Roman Catholic, cannot present. For 216 years there has not been a presentation except by purchase. As soon as one appointment is made, the next presentation is sold. About 1824, the sudden illness of the rector (the Rev. Mr. Bradshaw) caused great alarm to the owner, because the living had not been sold, and it is illegal to sell a living when vacant, or the rector is /;/ extremis^ but a ]nirchaser in Manchester was luckily found; tlic owner, Mr. Traflord, was in the hunting field, and there executed the sale for ^^6,000. The bishop refused to accept the clergyman, because the late rector had been in articiilo mortis, having died very shortly after the sale was made. There were three actions to decide the (juestion, but the House of Lords, 'in the interests of property,' ultimately decided against the bishop " (1,213). ^ Among the private patrons are tlie " Simeon Trustees," a body of Evangelical Churchmen who buy livings for the purpose of j^resenting to them clergymen of their own views. These trustees now hold about one hundred livings. cirrRcrr pairox ace. 120 selecting- the religious instructor of a whole parish ; and although it is sometimes urged as an argument in favour of private patronage, that it gives greater "variety" to the ministry of the Church, the variety obtained through the action of such patrons can hardly be of much value to the Church as a spiritual body. But it is important to note that no patronage reform bill has ever proposed to deprive such patrons of their legal rights, or to interfere with the free exercise of those rights. REFORM OF CHURCH PATRONAGE. The real diijicidty of reform. — The. truth is, the legal rights of patrons, and the money value of those rights in the market, is the great difficulty in the way of all efl'cctive patronage reform. The smallest reform that would be of any value would be the abolition of the sale of ne.xt presentations. But in the debate on the appointment of the Royal Commission in March, 1S7S, the Marquis of Lansdowne stated that 75 per cent, of the total value of an advowson was represented by the next presentation ; and he urged that Parliament could not deal with an interest of that magnitude without giving compensation to its owners. In abolishing patronage in the Scottish Establishment in 1874, the Act 37 Ov: 38 Vict. c. 82, gave the patrons only one year's value of the living ; but in Scotland patronage had never been a marketable commodity. When Mr. Gladstone brought in his Bill for diso-tablish- ing tlu' Irish Church he estimated that the compensation to the patrons would involve an expenditure of/ 300,000; but, in accordance with the lavish scale on which com- pensation was ultimately given to all parties the actual amount paid to the Irish ])atrons was /^778,8S7.' Assuming that the owners of patronage in ICngland are to be compensated on a similar scale it is obvious that an enormous expenditure would be involved; and that so long as the Establishment is maintained it will be nractically impossible for Parliament to obtain the ' J'arly. Pupci , No. 23, Scss. 1^93. 130 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. money, and equally impossible, therefore, eflfectually to reform the patronage system. Ineffectual measures.— 'Rence it is that patronage reform bills have generally been timid and halting measures, which would have done little good if passed, at the same time that they would have given fresh legislative sanction to the patronage system. The first of these bills was one introduced in 1870 by Mr. (now Lord) Cross. Its principal object was to abolish the sale of next presentations. The bill passed the House of Commons without a division. It was read a second time in the House of Lords also without a division ; although Lord Salisbury and other peers spoke against it as attacking the rights of property.' But when it reached the committee stage, the Duke of Marlborough, who had charge of the bill, stated that although it had passed the House of Commons " with singular unanimity," " since it had been read a second time," " he had heard grave objections to it " on both sides of the House, and it was, therefore, withdrawn." In 1875 a bill was brought into the House of Lords by Dr. j\Iagee, then the Bishop of Peterborough. It was, however, a poor and hesitating measure, although dealing with matters which the Bisho]> said w^ere a " deliberate iniquity, that made the Church of England stink in the nostrils of many who might otherwise come within its fold."^ But in committee the bill was rendered so nearly worthless that Archbishop Thomson suggested it might as well be withdrawn. Archbishop Tait tried to improve the bill by proposing a clause which would have abolished the sale of next presentations. But the lay peers objected ; and Lord Salisbury said " he should vote most earnestly against the proposition ; and that if he had not been led to believe there was no intention to touch the question of next presentations he should have voted against the second reading." ' The clause was therefore rejected ; only five lay peers voting for it, while twenty- four voted ^ Hansard, July 4th, 1S70. - Ibid., July 14th, 1870 3 Ibid., February 25th, i«75. •» Ibid., June ist, 1875. CHURCH PATRONAGE. 131 against it. The Morning Post, accounting for the action of the peers, stated that " most of their lordships are patrons of livings, and many of them regularly sell their patronage in their lawyers' offices, or in the auction mart." " They have," it added, " a sort of vested interest in the abuses which the bill was framed to remove." ^ In 1 88 1 a third patronage bill was introduced by ]Mr. E. Stanhope. It would have done very little, however, to reform the patronage system ; and on that ground was condemned at several Diocesan Conferences, and still more emphatically by individual Churchmen. In 1883 I\Ir. E. A.Leatham, a member of the '* Liberation Society," brought in a bill which would have abolished the sale of next presentations, and, except in certain cases, of advowsons also ; but it received little or no support from the members of the Established Church, and failed to pass. In 1884 there were two patronage bills; one introduced by Mr. Stanhope and the other by Mr. Leatham, but neither of them passed ; and no further attempt was made to deal with the scandals of the patron- age system in Parliamint for nearly ten }ears. But in the session of 1893 the Archbisho}) of Canter- bury introduced, and carried through the House of Lords, a patronage Bill, which abolished all sales by public auction, all sales, whether by public auction or by private treaty, of next presentations, and all re-sales of advowsons, until after the lapse of twenty-one years from the previous sale, besides putting several other new re- strictions on the trallic. But as the Record well says, the "main matter of complaint" in respect to the jmtronage system — namely, the want of any proper restriction as to the class of persons who may be patrons — " is left untouched " by the bill ; and it further says that if such a bill were to pass — " It would still be possible for a notorious evil liver, a M.ihommedan, a Paj^aii, or an Atheist, to purchase an advowson, and, after iloinjj so, to present to the living. But there is another possibility which in practice is found to be a source of graver and more freiiuent scandal. ' Morning Post, June 2nd, 1S75. I 2 132 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. It would still be possible for the father or mother, or other relative, of a clergyman to purchase an advowson with the express object of presenting him to the living ; and they would be able, as before, to carry out their object." ^ Although the Archbishop's bill passed the House of Lords it was not proceeded with in the House of Com- mons ; there being no time to consider it. The only real remedy. — The Guardian^ discussing the appointment of the Royal Commission in 1878, said: — '•It deserves to be again and again said and urged that the abuses of private patronage are specially and emphatically due to the connec- tion of Church and State."^ It is equally true that all the anomalies and scandals of patronage, public as well as private, are due to the same cause ; and one of the great recommendations of dis- establishment is that it will at once put an end to the whole system of patronage, and give to the Anglican Church perfect freedom in the choice of its pastors and other chief officers. That is not a merely probable result of disestablishment, which may, or may not, happen. It will be a certain, inevitable, and immediate result ; for the Act which puts an end to the establishment of the Church will, at the same time, sweep away all legal patronage rights, and leave the Church absolutely free in respect to the appointment of its bishops and clergy. And, as that freedom can be obtained in no other way, Mr. Leatham was justified in the appeal he made to the House of Commons on July 5th, 1873: — "There is only one alternative," he said ; " keep your State-Church, and keep with it that system of patronage upon which it is fonnded, and which is firmly built into its structure. Do away with your State-Church, and at the same time get rid for ever of a system which sears the public conscience, lowers the whole national conception of religion, and poisons at its source the fountain of sweetness and light." ' Record, March 17th, 1893 '^ Guardian, :March 13th, 1878. CllAlTEK IX. CHURCH PROPERTY. No one who has closely watched the disestablishment controversy of late years can have failed to notice that the arguments by which the Ebtablishment was at one time defended are now, for the most part, abandoned, and that its defence has almost entirely degenerated into a mere struggle to keep possession of its public endow- ments. Lord Sc'lborne's Defence of the Church of England against Disestablishment has obviously no other aim ; and so little conforms to its title that it has hardly a sentence in defence of the Establishment as such, but is filled with ingenious pleas against disendowment. The bisliops and clergy take substantially the same line. The one thing that engages their attention above and beyond everything else, and often to the entire exclu- sion of everything else, is the iniquity, the " sacrilege," as the Archbishop of York describes it, of touching what is called " Church property." In view of the immensely more important considerations which arc involved in the question of disestablishment, it is astonishing that the supporters of the Established Church^should be thus absorbed in its lowest and most mercenary aspects ; and the fact that they look at that side of the question so e.xclusively is a very suggestive illustration of the demoralising tendency of the whole Establishment system. THl': CHURCH 1'KOl^KK.rV RKTURX. The authorities of the Established Church have always shown great reluctance to let the public know the real value ol the property appropriated to its use ; and when 134 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. information has been given it lias often been presented in a form which made it to a large extent unintelligible. But of late years the great depreciation in the value of tithes and agricultural land has seriously reduced the revenue of the Establishment, and, apparently as the result of that reduction, there has been less unwillingness to allow the facts of the case to be known. At any rate, in 1887, Mr. Hubbard, M.P. (afterwards Lord Addington) a Conservative and a zealous supporter of the Establishment, joined with Mr. Picton, M.P., in moving for a Parliamentary return on the subject. The terms of the motion were for a — " Return of the Property and Revenues of — 1. The Archiepiscopal and Episcopal Sees of England and Wales ; 2. The Cathedral and Collegiate Churches of Etigland and Wales, including the property of the minor canons, vicars choral, and others ; 3. Ecclesiastical Benefices, including donatives, perpetual curacies, and chapelries ; 4. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England ; 5. The Corporation of Queen Anne's Bounty ; The Return to classify the property and sources of revenue, giving gross annual value of lands, tithes, house property, mineral property, manorial and other receipts, and income derived from stock and other securities ; The property to be shown in counties where practicable, and the source from which the property was derived, whether from ancient endowments or from private l)enefactions since the Year 1703." The preparation of this important Parliamentary paper^ was entrusted to the Ecclesiastical Commission, and is understood to be in large part based on information sup- plied by the bishops and clergy themselves, who are not likely to have overstated the amounts they receive. The return was issued in i8gi. Unfortunately it is not a detailed statement of the endowments of each separate parish, like the " Report of Ecclesiastical Revenues," issued in 1835, but gives the facts arranged under counties. But, notwithstanding this, and other omissions and many ^ Parliamentary Paper 2^"] , Sess. 1891. CHURCH PROPERTY, »35 obscurities, the return is in some respects the most com- plete and authoritative account of the nature and value of the permanent endowments of the Established Church which has yet been presented to the public. AGGREGATE SUMMARY OF REVENUES. The aggregate summary of the revenues given in the re- turn is (with the exception of the last column) as follows : — Ancient Endowments. Piivate Benefacts. [Total. 1. Archbishops and Bishops .. 2. Cathedral bodies 3. Parochial benefices ... 4. Ecclesiastical Commissioners.. 5. Queen Anne's Bounty^ 87,827 192,460 3,94',057 1,247,-^27 £ 11,081 272,605 700 r 9^^908 192,460 4,213,662 1,247,827 700 Total of Income 5.469,171 284,386 5,753.557] The main fact brought out by these figures is that the Established Church is in the receipt of an annual income of nearly six millions of money ! But that is by no means a complete statement of what the Church receives. The amount here shown is the revenue derived from permanent endowments exclusively. In addition, the Church receives, in the shape of fees, pew- rents, oflertories, and various other voluntary contributions, an immense sum, of which the return gives no account. The above figures, moreover, convey a very misleading idea of the amounts actually received by the bishops and clergy. The detailed tables show that the ^q8,qoS, given as the revenues of the Archbishops and Bishops is, for the most part, received by 13 only out of the 34 Bishops; the incomes of the remaining 21 being, wholly or in part, * It is staled that '• Tiio capital held by the Corporation of Qneen Anne's Bounty on behalf of benelices is ^4,456,124 ; .ind that the dividends, interest, ^c, payable in respect of this to the Incumbents of benefices ainouiUed to ;^I33,79(), and is included in the amount specified under the third head above." 136 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. paid by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners out of the ^1,247,827 received by that body. It is much the same with the Cathedral bodies and the Parochial clergy. The ^192,4.60 given as the revenue of the Cathedral bodies is received by about one-half of those corporations ; the stipends of the others being paid by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The Parochial clergy also receive, in addition to the j^4,2 13,662 shown above, annual pay- ments from the Commissioners to the amount of / 597,000. NATURE AND DISTRIBUTION OF CHURCH PROPERTY. The following table, compiled from the figures of the return, shows the nature and distribution of the property ^v which the Church Establishment is supported : — Nature of Property. Tithes Lands Houses, ground rents, &c, ... Minerals Dividends, &c. Payments by Queen Anne's Jiounty and by the Eccle- siastical Com- missioners ... Archbis- hops and Bishops. £ 21,503 61,508 1,656 14,241 Cathedral Bodies. £ 44.384 98,027 38,673 903 10,473 Parochial Clergy. £ 2,628,874' 991,212 132,626 5,111 200,617 255,222 Ecclesiasti- cal Com- missioners. £ 273'59i 219,660 Total. £ 2,968,352 1,371,1072 39 ',570 555.948 263,841 I 269,856 99,165 132,456 255,222 ;^98,9o8 ^192,460^4,213,6621^1,247,827 ;^5,753,557 ^ It has been ofiicially stated that this amount represents not the real but the nominal value of the tithes, which, in 1886, was only ;^90 10s. 3id. for the /,"ioo of tithe rent-charge. On the other hand, tlic average value of the tithe for the fifty years from the passing of the Tilhc Commutation Act in 1836 was/, 102' lis. gid., which means that up to 1880 the tithe-payers had paid over 2i per cent, more than the full amount above given. I'.ut tithe has since fallen; and, in 1893, the value of the ;^ioo of tithe-rent charge was only ^'74 15s. 2ij'd. - This includes /"700 received by Queen Anne's Bounty Board. CHURCH PROPERTY. 137 Misleading statements as to the value of the endowments. — It is clear from this return that the supporters of the Establishment have made most misleading statements as to the value of its endowments. The Church Defence Institution, for example, has stated that the annual income derived from these endowments is _;^4,2oo,ooo, or ;^i,50o,ooo less than the amount given in the return. Lord Selborne, again, puts "the total (approximate) amount of the aggregate income of all the beneficed clergy, great and small, at /4,Sio,629"; and he says: " ])Oth from the information which I have been able to collect, and from my own experience as a dispenser of Crown patronage from 18S0 to 1886, I am satisfied that this estimate is considerably in excess of the whole income from all sources of the Church of England at the present time."^ And yet the return shows that the income of the Establishment from its permanent endowments alone, exclusive of fees, pew-rents, and offerings, exceeds the total thus confidently given by £\)\i,<^z%, or nearly ^" 1, 000, 000 a year ! Relative amount of public and private endoivments. — Another most important fact which the return shows is, that of the aggregate annual revenue of / 5.753,557 only / 284,386 is derived from "private benefactions since 1703," while / 5,469,17 1 comes from "ancient endow- ments." No reason is given for taking the year 1703 as the dividing line between ancient and recent endowments ; but that reason, no doubt, is that in 1703 the fund known as " Queen Anne's Bounty " was established, and that, roughly, it may be taken as marking the period when motlern benefactions for Church purposes commenced. But neither the eighteenth century, nor the seventeenth, were very prolific in such benefactions ; and in all pro- bability It would have made very little practical dilTerence if some year a century later than 1703, or a century, or even two centuries earlier, had been taken instead. The above figures may, therefore, be assumed to show, sub- stantially, what is the value, on the one hand, of the ^ Defence, p. tjS. 138 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMEN7 modern private endowments of the Establishment, and, on the other, of the public endowments which it has inherited from pre-Reformation times. 77/<'7?cror^ practically admits the truth of this view ; for it speaks of the return as "providing approximately accurate information as to the nature and the amount of the funds to be dealt with by a Disestablishment Bill." TITHES. It will be seen that the principal source of the revenues of the Establishment is tithe or tithe rent-charge ; the total amount derived from that source being ^2,968,352. Origin of Compulsory Tithes. — It is unnecessary here to trace the growth of the tithe system in those early ages when tithes were purely voluntary offerings. Selden states that for the first four hundred years after Christ, tithes, even as voluntary offerings, were unknown in the Christian Church.^ In later times the offering of tithes was generally urged as a Christian duty ; and in the sixth century this duty was formally imposed by ecclesiastical authority. But tithes were still voluntary gifts ; and they retained that character for some centuries longer, until the State stepped in with its coercive powers, and converted what had been a freewill offering into a compulsory charge recover- able by law. Until quite recent years it was generally held by Church- men themselves that this change in the nature of tithes was effected by the famous charter of Ethelwulf, a.d. 855. But that view is now discredited, and the Bishop t Oxford (Dr. Stubbs) attributes the change to the legatine councils held in England in a.d. 787. He says : — "The recoj^nition of the legal obligation of tithes dates from the eighth century, l)0th on the Continent and in England. In A.D. 779 Charles the Great ordained that everyone should pay tithe, and that the proceeds sliould be disjiosed of l)y the bishop, and in a.d. 787 it was made imperative by the legatine councils held in Plngland, which being attended and confirmed by the kings and caldormen, had the authority of witenagemots." - }. .Sclden's History of Tithes, p. 35, ^ Constitutional History , vol, i., 262. CHURCH PROPERTY. 139 In this passage Bishop Stubbs clearly intimates that the origin of tithes as a compulsory charge was substantially the same on the Continent and in England ; and Dean Milman, referring to the origin of the tithe system in the Western Empire, says: — "On the whole body of the clergy Charlemagne bestowed the legal claim to tithes. . . . This tithe was by no means a spontaneous votive offer- ing of the whole Christian people — // ivas a lax imposed by imperial aulhoiilj', enforced l>v imperial poiver.'^ ^ 7'he '■^ pious ancestor^' theory. — The idea prevalent among the supporters of the Church Establishment that the tithe charge is due to the gift of private individuals, who made their estates liable in perpetuity to its payment, is improb- able on the face of it, and has no support from the facts of history. If this had been the mode in which com- pulsory tithe originated, there should have been among the great number of extant documents in regard to tithe, which have come down from Anglo-Saxon times, some conclusive proof of the fact. But no single case of the kind has ever been produced ; and Mr. Chancellor Dibdin cites this fact in disproof of the theory." It is true Lord Selborne, in the second and subsequent editions of his Defence, has given two cases from Norman times, long after tithes had been made compulsory — one, tliat of ICxhall in Warwickshire, the other, that of Hay in Brecknockshire. I5ut although both these cases have long been known, they have never before been cited as evidence of the private origin of compulsory tithes ; and for the very sullicient reason, no doubt, that they are cases, apparently, not of the original imposition of tithe, but of a long subsequent re-appropriation of it. The ''common Auu'^ theory of tithis. — Tlie contention that tithes are "due at common law" is really only another mode of asserting that they are the creation of law, and not due, therefore, to the action of private individuals. Mr. Dibden and Lord Selborne, indeed, both advance this common law theory for the express * History of Latin C/ti istianity, vol, ii., pp. 21JJ-3. • EnJowtmnts and Establishment, tSr't-., ed, 1886, p, 151. 140 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. purpose of proving the private origin of tithes ; but their own statements of the facts are suflicient to show that precisely the opposite conchision to that which they draw is the only tenable one. Mr. Dibdin's account, in brief, is, that the payment of tithe having first been taught as a Christian duty, came next to be " also a matter of Church law " ; that the clergy then claimed the tithes as their right ; and, finally, that this right " became a part of the law of the land." ^ Lord Selborne's argument is much the same. He says : — "The payment of tithe originated in the acknowledgment of a moral or religious obligation supposed to be incumbent on Churchmen generally, which, after accjuiring first the force of custom, and afterwartls the sanction of ecclesiastical law, passed, with the rest of that law, into the national jurisprudence of our own and other Christian countries." '^ It is obvious, however, that before anything could become " part of the law of the land," or " pass into the national jurisprudence," either the law-making or the law-adminis- tering authority of the time must have decided that it should be so ; and this intervention of the legislative or judicial authority (however or whenever it took place) to compel where previously there had been freedom of choice, at once and for ever fundamentally altered the character of the tithe, and converted what had been a voluntary gift into a compulsory tax. ^ 1 Endow»ientsandEsiablish»u'nt,&'c.,Y>Y>. 153-5- " Defence, "p. 12^. ^ Sir John Campbell (afterwards Lord Cliancellor) puts the facts oi the case briefly thus : — '* Tithes were not the voluntary donations of the faithful, they were imposed by the Legislature ; and, tliougli tliey had now become property, in their origin they were a property tax." [Speech, April 2nd, 1835.) Air. Freeman, in effect, takes the same view. He says, indeed, that "we must put out of sight the popular notion that, at some time or other, the State determined to make a general national endowment of religion." But he adds, " The nearest approach to a regular general endowment is the tithe, and this is not a very near approach. The tithe can hardly be said to be granted by the State. The state of the case rather is that the Church preacJied the ]5ayment of tithe as a duty, and that tlie State gradually came to enforce the duty by legal sanctions. ^^ {^Disestablishment, \ip. 14, 15.] Sir Walter Phillimore, who is, j^erhaps, one of the highest living authorities on ancient Church law, in a letter to the Guardian (May 31st, 1893) puts the case more clearly, thus: — "The earliest tithe- payers acted, no doubt, under the influence of the idea (derived, I ciruRcrr property. 141 Nature of tithe and tithe- rent charge. — Originally, and up to the year 1836 (excepting in cases where a " com- position " or payment in money had previously been agreed upon), tithe was paid in kind ; the clergy taking the tenth sheaf of corn, the tenth sack of potatoes, the tenth calf, and the tenth pig, and so on, throughout the whole range of tithable produce. But in the year above- named the "Tithe Commutation Act" (6 & 7 Will, IV. c. 71) substituted for the payment in kind what is known as a " tithe rent-charge," tlie precise amount of which varies with the varying price of corn. Although this change and the Tithe Act of 1S91 (54 VMct. c. 8), making the direct payment of the tithe compulsory on the land- lord, have done something to allay the irritation produced by the tithe system, it has in no degree altered the esse ntial character of the impost. In the course of time, and especially at the Reformaiion, a considerable amount of tithe passed into lay hands and became private pro- perty. ' But the clerical tithe is still — as it was at the believe, like some otlicr Jmlaic ideas, from the clerical and literary circle of CharlcTuai^ne) that they were under relijjious duty to give the tenth of their income to the Church. lUil when this idea had once taken root in public opinion, any one who refused to [lay tithe was treated as a breaker of the law of the Church and was subjected to excommunication. If this had no terrors for him, the aid of the secular arm was ' implored ' and, by a ]irocess which ultimately took form in the writ Dc excommunicato capiendo, he was cast into prison. Thus the voluntary subscription l)ccame a tax. If this bit of legal historj- be correct, there was no ' giving ' of tilhe except by some early Saxons during their lives. All su!)>eiiuent tithe is a tax imjioscd by the State for the benelit, in the first instance, of the Church.'' * The Board of Agriculture Report for 1891 slates that the total amount of tithe rent-ciurge, as commuted and apportioned in 11,787 parochial divisions, is as follows : — Payable to Clerical -Vppropriators ... £G'S oS ,, Lay Improjiriators ... ... 76t),205 iS 2[ „ Schoqls, Colleges, lScc. ... 196,056 15 o.j , . Z4.054.653 o 3i The amount here given as paid to the " Cleric.d Appropriators" (bishops and catiiedral liignitaries) and Parochial Incumbents exceeds bv /,'i24,(XK) the value of tlie tithe given in the return of Church revenues ; but the iliscrcjiancy is accounted for by the fact that in the figures here given the tithe is put at its nominal or par value. 142 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT, first — a charge imposed by the State for the maintenance of the Church Establishment ; and when that Establish- ment ceases to exist, the tithe will revert to the State for the general purposes of the nation. Tithes and {he Poor. — One of the points which has been much discussed of late is the right of the poor in former times to a share of the tithes ; and it is important, there- fore, to show what recognised authorities have said on the subject. Blackstone, an authority wholly favourable to the Establishment, says : — " At the first establishment of parochial clergy the tithes of the parish were distributed in a four-fold division ; one for the use of the bishop, another for maintaining the fabrick of the church, a third for the poor, and the fourth to provide for the incumbent. When the sees of the bishops became otherwise amply endowed, they were pro- hibited from demanding their usual share of these tithes, and the division was into three parts only." ^ Lord Selborne, referring to this passage but without quoting it, says, Blackstone " probably was not in that passage of his Commentaries referring to any supposed custom of England."- But there is absolutely nothing to justify that statement ; for only a little later, commenting on the Act 15 Rich. II. c. 6, in reference to "appropria- tions of churches," Blackstone says: — " It seems the parishes were frequently sufferers, not only by want of divine service, but also by withholding those alms, for which, anion f; other purposes, the payment of titlies 7vas originally imposed ; and therefore in this Act a pension is directed to be distributed among the poor parishioners, as well as a sufficient stipend to the vicar." ^ It is clear, therefore, that Blackstone docs say, in re- ference to England, that the poor equally with the clergy were entitled to a share of the tithes. Mr. Kemble, in his " Saxons in England," takes the same view. He says : — " The first secular notice [of the liability of tithe to the relief of the poor] is contained in the following law of Ethelred, A.D. 1014. ' And concerning tithe, the King and his Witan have chosen and said, as right it is, that the third part of tlie tithe which belongs to the church, shall go to the reparation of the clmrch, and a second part to the servants of God, and the third to God's poor and needy men in thraldom.' * Comment., Book I., chap. ii. ^ Defence, p. 149. " Comment,, Book I., chap. ii. CHURCH PROPERTY. 143 "But if positive public enactment be rare, it is not so with ecclesiastical law, and the recommendations of the rulers of the Anglo- Saxon Church. The poenitentials, confessionals, and other works compiled by these prelates for the guidance and instruction of the clergy abound in passages wherein the obligation of providing for the poor out of the tithe is cither assumed or positively asserted." ' After quoting various passages from the original autho- rities on the subject, I\Ir. Kemble concludes with these words: " Thus, according to the view of the Anglo-Saxon Church, ratified by the express enactment of the Witan, a third 0/ /he tithe ivas the absolute property of the poor^ - Sir Robert Phillimore also, in his " Ecclesiastical Law of England," a text-book of recognised authority, says : — " A second prejudice to the parochial clergy was the early division of tithes and oil'crings into several parts, for the several purposes of piety and charity. ... A rule obtained for di%iding the fund into four parts. . . . But when sees began to be endowed witli lands and other firm possessions . . . the division was only into three parts ; and every priest was the receiver and distributor as the bishop had been before, standing obliged to expend one part on the raising, sujiporting, and adorning his church and manse, another part upon entertaining strangers and relieving the poor, and to have a third reserved for liis own immediate occasions." ■' Professor Brewer, a supporter of the Establishment, adopts the same view, and referring to the English bishops, says, " If they were strict in enforcing tithes it was for the poor, the clergy, and the repair of the churches." ^ But Mr. Dibdin, in an editorial note in the new edition of INIr. Brewer's work, says, " the question whether a tripartite or quadripartite division of tithes ever prevailed in England does not admit of any decisive answer";'' while Lord Selborne has endeavoured to show that no actual law on the subject has ever obtained in l^ngland. CHURCH I.AND.S. The Episcopal anil Capitular estates, and the glebe and other lands of the Parochial clergy furni the second main source of the revenues of the Establishment, and yield according to the return / 1.37 ',107. ^ Saxons in England, vol. ii., jip. 502-3. " Ibid., pp. 505. •' Ecc. Law, 1873, vol. i., p. 200. "^^Endowtnents and Establishment, Ike, p. 52. '■'Ibid., p. 156. ' 144 CASE FOR DISESTABLISBJfENT. The Episcopal and Capitular istaies. — The landed estates now held by the Bishops and Cathedral bodies yield an annual income of ^^159,535 ; and adding ^2 19,660 for the lands held by the Ecclesiastical Commission (which mainly belong to other episcopal and capitular estates), the total value is /^379,i95-, The ancient Episcopal sees and Cathedral bodies being all of Royal foundation, it follows that they would largely have been endowed out of public property. But this is not a mere inference. The charters of Anglo-Saxon times still extant demonstrate that it was so. Those docu- ments show thai "a very large proportion of the landed estates of the archbishops, bishops, and capitular bodies was given out of national property by Anglo-Saxon kings and their respective witenagemots" ; and Mr. Freeman not only admits the fact, but says it is " what nobody who had the faintest knowledge of 01d-]''nglish history could ever have questioned"; and that "nothing can be more true" than that the Anglo-Saxon charters "conveyed large portions of folcland, or national property, to the [ecclesiastical] corporations.'" Mr. Freeman, it is true, enters into an elaborate argument to prove that, although these Church lands were thus given by the State, they are not now national property. But that is a position which no practical politician would dream of admitting, and is immaterial to the point here insisted on, namely, that these landed estates were given to the Church, not by private individuals, but by public authority. It would appear, indeed, that in those early days the Church was not only itself largely endowed with land by the State-authority of the time, but ihat private individuals also were rewarded by grants of public land for services rendered to the Church. The following passage from I\Ir. Kemble's " Saxons in England " is very suggestive on this point : — "At a very early period, however, it became a practice to carve hereditary estates out of tlie folcland which thus became the private property of the individual. . . . These estates were always granted by book or charter, and thence bore the name of bocland. . . ' Coiilcmpofary Review, February, 1891, p. 189. CHURCH PROPERTY. 145 The pretext upon wliich these conversions of folcland into bocland were made at lirst, was the erection and endowment of a relij^ious house upon tiie himi. by tiie <,'rantee ; and we learn that sometimes the convcr.si(jii was made — the thane presented with the estate, but the cliurch or monastery not constructed."^ Glebe Lands. — There appears to be no certain know- ledge as to the manner in which the earhest parish churches became endowed with glebe. Bishop Stubbs, referring to the time before the payment of tithes had been made compulsory, says: "The bestowal of a little estate on the church of the township was probably the most usual way of eking out what the voluntary gifts supplied." '\ But there is no indication whether that bestowal was made by public authority or by private individuals. It is certain, however, that a large proportion of the land now held by the parochial clergy, and commonly regarded as "glebe land," has been obtained in quite recent times, under Enclosure Acts, in exchange for tithes. There are two Parliamentary Returns on the subject,' but they are so defective that it is impossible from them to ascertain the total quantity of land which has thus been assigned to the clergy. In some counties no such assignments appear to have taken place. But in others they are very numerous ; and some idea may be formed of the quantity of land which has been handed over to the clergy in lieu of tithes by the fact that, in Bedfordshire there are over 23,000 acres, in Cam- bridgeshire 24,000 acres, in Gloucestershire 28,000 acres, in Huntingdonshire 10,000 acres, in Lincolnshire (j2,ooo acres, and in Northamptonshire 39,000 acres thus assigned. In 18.S7, a return was presented to Parliament of "all Glebe Lands in England and Wales, showing the parishes in which they are respectively situate, and the estimated annual value of the several glebes." The following is ' K'.'niblc's Saxons in EmilanJ, vol. i., p. 301. - Const. Uistoiy, vol. i., p. 2(>i. •■' Parly. Papers, 14s and 14^ I., Scss. 1SO5. * Pijirly. Paper bi, Scss. 1887. K 146 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. the summary of the return, the facts being arranged accordino^ to dioceses : — EXTENT AND VALUE OF GLEBE LANDS. Diocese. Bangor Bath and Wells ... Canterbury... Carlisle Chester Chichester ... Durham Ely Exeter Gloucester and Bristol Heieford ... Lichfield ... Lincoln Liverpool ... LlandafF London ^Manchester Newcastle-on-Tyne Norwich Oxford Peterborough Ripon Rochester St. Albans St. Asaph St. David's... Salisbury ... Sodor and ATan ... Southwell ... Truro "Winchester Worcester York Total Area of Glebe. Gross estimated rentnl of Globe. 4,291 ;^3,387 16,648 29,620 4,749 8,168 24,268 24,123 3,737 8,183 6,927 11,179 8,660 10,289 49,395 57,910 22,657 30,752 30,369 36,670 15,067 19,168 12,201 21,558 67,818 87,131 2,400 5,643 8,081 11,986 4,921 24,851 8,059 22,618 5,640 7,632 28,416 37,480 44,719 56,861 74,632 107,661 22,445 28,824 1,729 7,826 18,755 23,864 4,655 5,3 '0 24,560 18,382 17,693 24,171 498 751 32,746 48,589 8,3 '3 11,604 9,986 13-333 28,849 45,'56 45,646 57,578 659,548 ^ ;^9o8,28i ^ ' These totals include the jiaits of acres,and the siiillings and pence, which are omitted m the figures for the diocese separately. CHURCH PROPERTY. 147 In the Church revenue return, the amount given as actually received by the parochial clergy from lands is ;^99i,2i2, or nearly ;^83,ooo in excess of what is stated above to be the " gross estimated rental." In view of this fact, it is instructive to note what Lord Selbornc says as to the value of glebe lands. He says : — "I have not seen any estimate of the annual value of glebe lands whicli exceeds _^400,ooo, or of other lands and annual payments to the parochial clergy in lieu of tithes which exceed ;/"32o,coo, and this I suspect to be quite an excessive estimate." ' And yet it now appears that this " excessive estimate," including as it does "annual payments in lieu of tithes" as well as the rents of glebe and "other lands," \£z-i\,z\i a year less than the amount actually received from lands alone, exclusive of " annual payments in lieu of tithes," and /'5o8,28i a year less than the estimated rental of glebe lands alone I These great discrepancies do not say much for Lord Selborne's acquaintance with the facts about which he writes so confidently. The Glebe Lands Ad.— In 1888 the Glebe Lands Act (51 & 52 Vict. c. 20) was passed, partly to relieve the distressed country clergy, by enabling them, under certain conditions, to sell their glebe lands, and partly to facilitate the acquisition of "allotments" by agricultural labourers. But sales under this Act are greatly impeded by the necessity of obtaining the consent of the bishop and the patron, and by the further con- dition that all sales shall be "for the permanent benefit of the benefice." The Report of the Board of Agri- culture for iSqi- states that \\\\ to that time 2,996 acres of glebe had been sold for the sum of /"i 74,6.^5, which " has been invested for the benefit of the respective incumbents." The Report also states that — '' In all cases where it did not appear that the price was likely to be diminished by olVcring the land, or some part of it, for s.de in small parcels, such ofVer was made, but witiiout material results as regards the aciiuisilion of land by cottagers or labourers, who either have not been desirous or have not had the means of purchasing." ' Defenct-, p. 104. ' Parliamentary Papcr^ c. — 1S92, K 2 148 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. It will be obvious that when disestablishment takes place these extensive glebe lands, situated in every part of the kingdom, will be much more freely available for a wide extension of the allotment system, and may be made the means of largely benefiting the labouring population. MISCELLANEOUS PROPERTY. Houses, Groutid-renls, and other property. — It will be seen that, according to the Church property return, considerably more than three-fifths of the total revenue of the Establish- ment from houses and ground-rents are in the hands of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and the detailed tables of the return show that over /"3oo,ooo of this revenue is derived from the two counties of INIiddlesex and Surrey. It comes, in fact, from the rich endowments of St. Paul's Cathedral and the bishoprics of London and Rochester, about which the return gives absolutely no information. The revenue derived from "minerals" is also, it will be seen, mainly in the hands of the Commissioners, over ^240,000 of the total amount coming from the county of Durham, where the Commissioners, draw a royalty from every ton of coal brought to the surface, with the result that the Church Establishment is by no means popular among the miners. The (celesiastieal buildings. — The Parliamentary return of Church revenues gives no account of the annual value of the cathedrals and parish churches, and merely mentions, but without including in its summary, the rateable value of the residences. This rateable value is given as ;^t 1,151 for the episcopal palaces; /"j8,928 for the residences of the cathedral clergy; and ,^518,054 for the "parsonage houses," 11,667 i" number, of the parochial clergy; and with respect to these "parsonage houses" the return states that "more than two-thirds of their cost may be regarded as derived from private benefactions and from the payments of the clergy out of their incomes." The cathedrals and parish churches form a very impor- tant part of the public projjcrty appropriated to the u>,e of the Established Church; and the Hon. A. Elliott, M.P„ ClU'RCn PROPERTY. i } -, has the following observaiions in reference to them in his The Slate and the Church : — " It would be absurd and impossible to put a money value on the cathedrals, churches, and chapels of the Established Church. At tlie same time it \v(nild be to fjive a very false notion of the position of the Church towards the State to omit all mention of the sources from which, as re<;arorcl II:impton'- showing that from iS-|.o to 1873 the amoimt expended on the building and restoration of churches and cathedrals (excluding cases in which the total cost was less than / 500) was / 25.5+8,703 ; and in 1892 the Duke of Westminster obtained a further return' showing that from 1873 to 1S91 there had been an additional expenditure for similar purposes of /'20, 5 3 1,402. Of both these amounts the main portion was derived from private benefactions (although very considerable sums from public sources are included) ; and the large amount thus given for church building and restoration contrasts in a very striking manner with the comparatively small sum (^272,605) which, according to the Church revenue return, is the whole amount derived as annual income for the parochial clergy from private benefactions since 1703. THE ECCLF.SI.\STK AI. COMMISSION. This body was appointed in 183b by Act of Parliament (6 & 7 Will. IV. c. 77), for the express purpose of a bitter administration of the properly and revenues of the Church ^ The State and the Church. English Citizen Series, p. 98. " Parly. J\ipc-rs, 2i)i, Sess. 1S75 ; and 13 c^ (19, Sess. i87(). •■' Parly. J\t/ropcrty of tlie Cliurcli, without reference to the intentions of those who left it, for what they consider the good of the Churcii, why should not the property of the Church be dealt with in like manner for the good of the country at large .^ " * ' Hansard, July 19th, 1836. ^ Life of Dean Hook, vol. ii., p. 445. CHURCH PROPERTY. 153 There is but one answer to ihdt question. The Ecclesi- astical Commission is, of course, merely the agent and instrument of Parliament ; and Parliament either has the right to use Church property "for the good of the country at large," or it has no right to redistribitte that property as it has done, and is still doing, by means of the Com- mission. This is the more clear as the Church of England is not one great corporation, holding a common properly for the support of its clergy as a body. The Church, as a whole, is not a corporation and holds no property;' but it comprises a large number of separate corpora'.ions, each of which holds its own separate property ; these separate corporations, being, in so far as their property is concerned, as independent of one another as are the corporations of London and Liverpool. AndyetParliamenttakes possession of the property of these separate ecclesiastical corporations and redistributes it, in a manner in which it never dreams of dealing with the property of municipal or other cor- porations, much less with the property of private indi- viduals. It is clear, therefore, that Parliament has acted, and still acts, upon the assumption that, over and above the authority which it has in regard to property of all kinds, it has a special right over Church property ; and that, with due regard to the interests of existing beneficiaries, it is at liberty to deal with that property as it sees fit " for the good of the country at large." The trans fa- of Church properly at the Reformation. — It is a mistake, however, to suppose that prior to the appoint- ment of the Ecclesiastical CommisMon Parliament had never asserted its right to ileal with Church property as it thought fit for the good of the nation. It did practically the same thing, only on a much larger scale, at the time of the Reformation ; when, by the new conditions which * "People talk as if, Clnircii property, was the property of one vast coiporation, called ' the Church.' In truth it is simply the properly of the several local churches, the ecclesiastical corporations, sole and aj^fjrej^ate, hishojis, chapters, rectors anil vicars, or any other. The Church of Knj^land as a single body has no properly." — Mr. Freeman in Disestablishment . p. 11. 154 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. it attached to the tenure of Church property, it, in effect, transferred the mass of that property from the support of the old Catholic faith of the country, to the maintenance of the new Protestant religion then established by law. The supporters of the Established Church endeavour to obscure the significance of this great transaction by insisting on the "continuity" of the Church, and denying that there was any transfer of Church property from " one religious body to another."^ But such pleas are wholly misleading. It is much more a question of religious systems than of religious bodies. At the commencement of the Reformation period the Church and the nation were one body, and its religion was that of the Catholic Church. But, as the Reformation advanced, the Papal system was gradually broken down, and the new Protestantism put in its place as the national religion. A division was thus created between the adherents of the old faith and those of the new ; and what Parliament did with respect to Church property was to withdraw it entirely from the support of the old religion (which was made illegal, and as far as possible suppressed) and appropriate it wholly to the support of the new religious system which it had itself set up. It may not be strictly accurate to describe this as " taking the property from one religious body and giving it to another " ; although even Mr. Freeman, strongly as he insists on the legal continuity of the Church, admits that, from the religious (or what he calls the theological) point of view, there is good ground for that mode of stating the facts of the case. He says : — " It is quite possible to argue, either from the Roman Catliohc or from tlie Protestant side, that the Reformation really made so great a theological change that the religious body which existed after those changes cannot be said to be the same religious body as that which existed before them." ^ It is only in comparatively recent times, and since the movement for disestablishment has threatened the Church of England with the loss of its ancient endowments, that any attempt has been made to explain away this transfer ^ Mr. Freeman in Disestablishment, p. 14. ' Ibid., p. 18. CHURCH PROPERTY, 155 of Church property at the time of the Reformation. In earlier years men of all parties spoke of it as Sir Robert Peel did in 1825, when he said : — " It must be recollected that the temporalities of the Church of Rome h.ul been transferred to the Protestant Church. ... It was im- possible that [a Roman Catholic] should not consider the dispossession of his Church of its temporalities by the Church of England as an act of great injustice." ' But, however it may be regarded or described, the fact remains that, at the Reformation, Parliament did make this great transfer of Church property from Roman Catholic to Protestant purposes ; and it did so wholly regardless of the fact that, in many cases, private donors of portions of the property had expressly provided that their gifts were to be applied to distinctively Roman Catholic uses. It is in vain, therefore, that the supporters of the Estab- lishment plead that its ancient endowments, equally with those of recent times, were the gifts of private individuals. In so far as the great mass of those endow- ments are concerned, it has already been shown that they are of public, not of jirivate, origin. But even if it were otherwise, it would be of no avail for the present holders of the property ; for these ancient endowments were certainly created in Roman Catholic times, and were appropriated to Roman Catholic purposes. The present holders have, therefore, not the shadow of a claim to the property on the ground of its original gift or appropria- tion. Their title is an exclusively Parliamentary title. In the exercise of its absolute authority over the property for the good of the nation. Parliament took it away from the Roman Catholic Church, and appropriated it to the new Protestant religion established by law. So long as the Protestant Church remains established it will be entitled to retain possession of the property ; but the moment disestablishment conics its title will be gone, and Parliament will have to make a fresh appropriation of the property for the benefit of the nation at large. * Speech in House of Commons, Ajnil 2ist, 1S25. IS6 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. CHURCH PROPERTY NATIONAL PROPERTY. In introducing the Tithe Commutation Bill in 1836, Lord John Russell distinctly affirmed that " tithe is the property of the nation" ; and in 1890 Mr. Gladstone and the late Mr. W. H. Smith (then the leader in the House of Commons of the Conservative party) both made a similar declaration.^ And what is true of tithes is true of Church property generally ; it is property intended for the benefit of the nation at large, and, therefore, strictly national property. This position is vehemently denied, however, by the supporters of the Church Establishment. Mr. Freeman, for example, says : — "Church property is not •national property,' except in the same sense in which all property is national property. It is not 'national property ' in the only strict sense of those words. It is noi/olkland, ager puhlicus, property of which the nation is not only sovereign, but landlord. It ceased to be so whenever it passed into the hands of the ecclesiastical corporations, or into the hands of those who founded the ecclesiastical corporations. " " But Mr. Freeman really confirms the fact that the property of which he speaks is national property, by the very terms in which he denies it. He refers exclusively to landed property, and he adrniis that the landed property of the Church, or of the ecclesiastical corpora- tions which it embraces, was originally national property ; and that admission will be conclusive with all practical politicians that it is national property still. Lord Selborne also denies that Church property is national property, and he quotes the above passage from Mr. Freeman in support ot that view ; but he takes no notice of the fact that Mr. Freeman flatly contradicts his account of the origin of Church propt-rty. Mr. Freeman says, in eflfcct, that the property came originally from the State. But Lord Selborne says : — "The Church of England is self-supporting; it receives no pecuniary aid from the State at tlie jiresent time, directly or indirectly ; and in ' Speeches m the House of Commons, Feb. 12th, 1890. ^ Disestablishment, p. 10. CHURCH PROPERTY. 157 past times it has never received any such aid from the State wiiich (having rej,'ard to the magnitude of the general question) is worth mentioning, unless the compulsory rates, formerly levied for the repair of churches, ought to be so considered." * Nothing can be more explicit than this statement that, " in past times, the Church of England, has never received any aid from the State worth mentioning." But Mr. Freeman admits that the Church's landed property was originally national property, and that it was granted to the Church by the Anglo-Saxon Kings and their witenagemots, or, in other words, by the Stale." It is substantially the same with regard to tithe. This also came, and, according to Lord Selborne's own showing, must have come, from the State.'' Lord Selborne, there- fore, like Mr. Freeman, answers himself; and while he formally denies that Church property is national property, his own pages supply the refutation of the statement. Mr. Gladstone and *' Slate-pay T — Lord Selborne endeavours to fortify his position that Church properly is not national property, by quoting a statement made by .Mr. Gladstone in 1885, which has been widely used by the supporters of the Kstablished Church, that "the clergy of the Church of England are 7iot State-paid." It was not very clear what Mr. Gladstone meant by these words, and, on being asked for an explanaiion, he referred to the debates in Parliament on the Irish Church question for a full exposition of his views on the subject. And Mr. Gladstone's speeches in those debates make it abundantly clear that, whatever he may have meant by denying that the clergy are " State-paid," he does most distinctly contend that Church property is public property. Over and over again heallirms thai Church properly is " public or naiiot)al properly"; that "the Church of England is a Scate- Churcli," supported by " Siale-endownients " ; and that the "Church I'.slablishment " itself "is but an appropria- tion of public property." ' But, notwithstanding the<;e explicit statements, Mr. ' Defence, p. 177. " See <:///<:, p. 144. * Sec ante^ p. 140, * Speeches : March 30lh, April 30th, and ^lay 7th, i80{>. 158 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. Gladstone's denial that the clergy are " State-paid " was continually quoted, as Lord Selborne quotes it, to show that Church property is not public property ; and in Dec, 1S92, Mr. Gladstone gave further encouragement to that view by writing to a correspondent that "the Church of England receives no assistance from the public funds." In this case, however, there was good reason to believe that the statement had reference exclusively to public funds annually voted by Parliament. But such a statement, coming from Mr. Gladstone, was too well suited to the supporters of the Church Establishment to lead them to use it in the limited sense intended by Mr. Gladstone, and, like his previous statement as to "State-pay," it was eagerly quoted, as affirming that Church property is not public property. Mr. Carvell Williams, I\I.P., therefore wrote to I\Ir. Gladstone, pointing out the misleading use that was being made of his words, and asking " whether in stating that 'the clergy of the Church of England are not State-paid,' and that ' the Church of England receives no assistance from public funds,' his statements were not limited to the fact, that the Church does not now receive State-assist- ance in the form of Parliamentary grants ; and were not intended to support the contention that the endowments in possession of the Church are not national property." Mr. Gladstone immediately (January 25th, 1893) replied as follows : — " Some of the words quoted in your letter, and said to have been used by me (but I am not aware of having myself used ambiguous words), are perhaps of disputable meaning. But I have declared again and agai}i that the funds of ilie Church, understanding the words as they were generally understood hy the Irish Clnirch ylct, are national property. And this remains true, although it be also true that the Kstahlished Church in England does not, like that in Scotland, draw anything as an Establishment from what I may call Parliamentary sources." A little later (March ist) Mr. Gladstone sent a similar reply to another correspondent ; and it is clear, therefore, that he in no degree recedes from the position taken up in his Irish Church speeches, that Church property is public or national property. CHURCH PROPERTY. i59 Church properly inlended for the Nation. — The main ground of this contention, that Church property is national property, is the fundamental fact that the Church of England is established by law as the National Church. It is this which makes all the difference between the Church of England and other Churches. If the Church of ]'",ngland were merely a private religious society, as the non-established Churches are, its property would be, as theirs is, of the nature of private jiropcrty ; but, being established by law as the National Church, it is im- possible to regard its property as other than national property, in the sense that it was intended for the benefit of the nation. In order to make out a case for the contrary view the supporters of the Established Church deny, or explain away, its establishment ; and having thus got rid of the most essential clement of the question in dispute, and put the Cliurch of England in the position of a private religious society, they have no difllculty in speaking of its property as if it were private property. That is Lord Selborne's method. He practically ignores the Establishment, and uniformly refers to the Church of England as if it were simply one of several similarly circumstanced religious bodies ; and then, in reference to its property, he says : — " Unless every m.-xii has an equal rigiit to the enjoyment of every other man's properly, this is not State property — it was not so originally, it never has been so, it is not so now, in f;ict or in law."^ The only answer which these very positive assertions need is, that the Church of England, being established by law as the National Church, its property is, by the very necessities of the case, national property. Mr. Gladstone has put this point very clearly in a reply to Lord S.lborne (then Sir Roundel Palmer) in one of his Irish Church speeches. Referring to Church property generally, IMr. Gladstone said: — " There is ;i trust — whether in the legal sense I know not — but in the political, the social, the moral sense, there is a trust impressed upon ^Defence; p. 1 8 J. i6o CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. this property from first to last for the benefit of the nation. It was for the nation that the property was given. It is true it was given to corporations. Yes; but why.'' Not that they miglit enjoy it as private property, but that they might hold it on condition of duty. They were only convenient symbols — convenient media for its con- veyance Irom generation to generation. The real meaning, scope, and object 7vas that through them il should he applied for all time to the benefit of the entire population of the kingdom.'''' '■ Mr. Gladstone added that " this was a natural and in- telligent arrangement when the entire nation was of one faith " ; but that it ceases to be so as Dissent and difference of opinion creep into the country, " and Dissenters are not prepared to acquiesce in the continuance of the Establishment." Recenl private endowments. — Nor will Mr. Gladstone admit of any distinction in principle between the public endowments of the Church and those of private origin. " Why," he asks, " are we to establish in this Bill a separate category for private endowments, and dividing them from the muss of what we ajfirin to be national property — namely, the property of the Chiitcli, to keep them back, and attach and appropriate them to the particular religious community that is about to exist in a disestablished con- dition." * And, refusing to make any such distinction, he adds: — " T suspect that if we were to examine these endowments we should find that there were multitudes of them given to tlie national Established Church because it was the national Established Church, and therefore the endowment must follow the fate of the national Establishment."* In respect to these private gifts the Established Church stands in a similar position to that of any other national institution — e.g., the National Gallery or the British Museum. No one doubts that private gifts to these institutions become national property equally with purchases made with the nation's money ; and in principle it is the same with the gifts of individuals to the National Church. It is true that, in this case, the gifts are made not to "the Church of England" as such, ^ Spcec/i in the House of Commons, March 23rd, 1869. " Speech, April 29th, 1869. => Ibid. CHURCH PRO PER TV. tbi or to the " l''stablished," or "National" Ciurjh, but to one or other of the corporations comprised \vithin it, and limited to a particular parish or diocese. But the dilTerence is more one of form than of substance ; for as each of these ecclesiastical corporations holds its property on behalf of the whole population of the parish or diocese, who have an equal rii^lit to all the ministrations which the property sustains, and as the aggregate of those popula- tions constitute the nation, the gifts made to these corporations are in effect made to the nation itself. But the advocates of religious equality have never pressed for a rigid application of this principle in respect to disendowment. They recognise that while, in principle, all gifts made to the National Church are in effect made to the nation, the Church of England will yet have, when disestal)lishment takes place, a moral claim to retain possession of its recent private endowments. The Irish Church Act was framed on this view of the case ; and Mr. (ilatlstone, strongly as he insisted that private gifts to the Established Church are national property equally with the mass of its endowments, yet himself proposed that in lieu of its recent i)rivate endowments the representative body of the Church should receive a sum of ^^500,000. The proposal was adopted, and there can be little doubt that in the disestablishment of the Churches of England and of Scotland these recent private endowments will be equally respected. IRRELEVANT AN'D ^rISLEADING PLEAS. The supporters of the I'lstablibhed Church, in thcif eagerness to retain possession of the public property by which the Church is now supported, advance a number of pleas which are wholly irrelevant or misleading. Tilt- Disstfi/t/s' Ch.ipt.ls Ai/. — It is said, for example, that it would be unjuit to the Church of I'.Ui^Iand to deprive it of property which it has held for centuries, when, by the Dissenters' Chapels Act (7 ^: S \'ict. c. 45, 1S44), Nonconformists are secured in the possession of chapels and other property of which they have had the L 1 62 CASE FOR DISESrABLlSIIMENT. undisputed use for five and twenty years. But the briefest recital of the purpose of that Act ^vill be sufficient to show that it does not in any way touch the question, whether a disestablished Church should be allowed to retain pos- session of the public property by which it was previously supported. The Act arose out of the decision of the House of Lords in the Lady Hewley Charities case, which practically revived against Unitarians the excepting clauses of the Toleration Act, directed against them, that were repealed in 1 8 1 3 ; and thus threatened the Unitarian body with the loss of the chapels they had inherited from theit Presb) terian forefathers. The Act, therefore, simply provides that where the trust deeds are silent as to the particular religious doctrines to be taught in Dissenters' chapels, a user of twenty-five years shall give a valid title to the property. And this Act, utterly irrelevant as it is, is used as a bar to the claim that when the Church of England is disestablished, and ceases to be the National Church, it shall no longer be allowed to retain possession of the property which was appropriated to its use for the benefit of the nation ! The Cliurch an I the '''Annual cslimahs.^' — It is said, again, that if the Church were supported by public property there would be proof of the fact in annual votes of money on its behalf being made by Parliament, and that as no such votes usually appear in the "estimates" the statement that the Church is supported by public property cannot be correct. But this is a wholly mistaken view. It is true that Parliament does not vote money for the Church of England year by year, as it does for the support of the army, the navy, and the civil service ; but that is simply due to the fact that the Stale has provided for the support of the Church in other ways. It has always been the policy of the State to provide for the maintenance of the Church by settled property; and hence, in the early days of the Church Establishment, tithes were made compulsory and public lands were set aside for its support ; thus rendering annual grants of money on its behalf needless. It is a mistake, however, to suppose that the Church has not had money CHURCH PROPERTY. 163 voted for its support by Parliament. In 1S18 Parliament granted /^i, 000, 000 for Church building; and in 1S24 it made another grant of ^500,000 for the same pur- pose ; and between 1809 and 1829 Parliament voted / 1,100,000 for adding to the incomes of the poorer clergy'; while other votes of public money of smaller amounts have also been made from time to time for Church purposes ; and the fact that such votes have been made shows that, in the view of the Legislature, there is no practical difference between money annually voted for the Church and the settled property by which in the main it is supported. The Chuixh's " n'i;ht " lo ils properly. — It is said again that " the Church has as good a right to its property as the landowners have to their estates." But this proposition is no argument against the doctrine that Church property is national property or against the justice of the demand for disendowment. No one denies that so 'ong as the Establishment e.xists the bishops and clergy are legally entitled to their salaries and no one proposes to take them away without compensa- tion. But the point in dispute is, whether, when the Church is disestablished, and the clergy are fairly com- pensate! for their life interests, the Legislature will not be justified in applying the surplus Church property to the benefit of the nation at large. The bishops and clergy have a perfectly legal right to their salaries, and, in that sense, "as good a right" as any private person has to his private property. But the right in the two cases is very different in kind. The clergyman has simply the right of a public servant to his legally appointed stipend, which he receives on condition of duty. lie is in no sense the proprietor of the property from which the stipend is derived, lie has only a life interest in it, and can neither give nor bequeath it to anybody else. And what is true of the individual clergyman is equally true of the whole body of the clergy. They are public servants, jiaid for the performance of certain duties, prescribed and * Parlv. Paper ",2, Sep.. 1843. r. 2 164 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. regulated by law, as the religious teachers of the nation. Their stipends, as Lord Bramwell said, in deciding the Clewer case in 1879, are the "wages of the State"; and the question raised by disendowment simply is, whether when the State ceases to employ the clergy as its public servants, it shall continue to pay their " wages " ? There can be but one answer to such a question ; and Vvhen disestablishment comes, the bishops and clergy of the Church of England who will thereafter be appointed, will be left, as the ministers of all other religious bodies are left, to be supported by those to whom they minister ; and the State will not only have the right, but be bound to apply the property out of which their predecessors have been paid to the general purposes of the nation. Why the Churcli shouhlhe disciidocvcd and not Dissiuleis, — It is asked again, why should the Church of England have its endowments taken away and all other religious bodies be left in possession of theirs ? The Bishop of IManchester, indeed, has advanced an elaborate argument on this basis ; and insists that if there be disendowment at all, tliere shall be " disendowment all round." ' But the simple answer to such an argument is that the Church of England is not a private religious society, as all other religious bodies are, but a National Establishment ; and that all its endowments have been acquired in that character, and for the benefit of the nation. It is im- possible, therefore, to deal with the Church of England simply as one of the different religious bodies of the land, and to regard its endowments as the private property of a private society. The Church of England is the "Established Church," and has been such from the very beginning of its history, and all its property is property which it holds in trust for the benefit of the nation. It was " for the nation," as Mr. Gladstone says, that the property \vas intended ; and, therefore, when disestablishment takes j)lacc, and the Church of England is no longer the National Church, it is inevitable that it should lose its |)ublic endowments. Were the Legislature to allow the ' Speech at Manchester, October 19th, 1R92. CHURCH PROPERTY. 165 Church to retain those endowments after disestablishment it would be appropriating to the purposes of a sect property which was clearly intended for the benefit of the nation at large. THE IRrSII CHURCH PRECEDENT. All such questions as these, however, were, for all practical purposes, finally settled by the passing of the " Act to put an end to the establishment of the Church of Ireland" (32 ^11 Vict. c. 42) in 1869. Tliat Act disendowed the Irish Church as well as disestablished it ; but it did not toucii the private endowments of the non- established Churches ; and it is very certain that the precedent thus set will be followed in any subsecjuent measure of disestablish- ment. Not that law and moral right are necessarih- one and the same. But Church establishments are simply creations of the law ; and have neither rights nor property excepting such as the law confers.' And all the objections which are raised now to the claim of the nation to the ownership of Church property were urged against the disendowment of the Irish Church, and were urged in vain. The nation deliberately set them aside as in\-alid, and the Legislature ralilied the decision. In such matters there is no going back ; and no practical politician doubts that when the Knglish Church is disestablished, the Legis- lature, after meeting all reasonable claims for compensa- tion, will apply the surplus of the property to the general purposes of the nation. I!ut while the Irish Church .\ct in its main lines thus forms a precedent which in all probability will be followed in the disestablishment of the Churches of England and Wales and .Scotland, there are certain features of that Act which are hanlly likely to be repeated in any future measure for disestablishment. ' I-oril Sclhomc complains tliat this stalomciU is marked hv '• reck- lessness " and "confusion oltliought " It is in fact little else than a p.iraphr.ase of the lauf^'iiasc of an important State paper; namclv. the rroclamation of the Crown to the (kneral AsscmMy of the Scottish Kslablishcd Chmvh in iSj^, wliich says, "You will bear in mind that the lights and propirtv of an l-:stabli>hed Churcli arc conferred by law." i66 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. The finance of Irish disestahlishmcnt. — The financial pro- visions of the Irish Church Act are especially open to objection ; and, in view of the approaching disestablish- ment of the Churches of England and Wales and Scotland, it is important that the facts of the case should be clearly kept in view. In introducing the Irish Church Bill, on March ist, 1869, Mr. Gladstone gave an outline of the anticipated financial results of disestablishment ; and the Report of the Irish Land Commission on Church Temporalities in Ireland, for 1892,^ makes it possible to compare these anticipated results with the actual facts of the case, so far as they are at present ascertainable. Mr. Gladstone estimated the income of the Irish Church at about /"700, 000 a year, and the capital value of its property at " not less than ^16,000,000." The charges to be met, he estimated as follows : — Compensation to — (i) Bishops, dignilaries, and parochial clergy ... ... ... ^"4, 900, 000 (2) Curates 800,000 (3) Lay ofhcers ... ... ... ... 600,000 (4) Lay patrons .,. ... ... ... 300,000 (5) Li lieu of private endowments ... ... 500,000 (C) Building charges ... ... ... ... 250,000 7,350,000 (7) Compensation to Presbyterians in respect io Reghitn Doiniifi'^ ... ... ... 733, "oo (8) Compensation to Roman Catholics in re- spect to Alaynoolh ("ollegc ... .. 367,000 (9) Cost of Irish Church Commission ... ... 200,000 /."8, 650,000 The total charge against the property of the Church Mr. Gladstone thus estimates at / 8,650,000 ; leaving, as ' Paiiv. Paler 23, Session 1893. * The Rt'ghtin Doiiiiiii received ])y the Presbyterians, and the grant to the Roman Catholic College of ^faynooth, were simply buttresses to the Irish Church Establishment, and in bringing them to an end witli the Establishment it was rightly decided that the compensation given should come out of the Irish Church funds. CHURCn PROPERTY. 1C7 he said, " a sum at the disposal of Parliament for other purposes, of not less than between /"y, 000,000 and / 8,000,000." The financial transactions connected with the dis- estiblishment of the Irish Church are not yet completed ; and it is impossible to say with certainty what was ihe full vahie of its property or the total amount of the surplus available for the benefit of the Irish people But it is clear that Mr. (Gladstone underestimated both the value of the property and the extent of the charges that would be made upon it. The following are the payments that have already been made in compensation and otherA'ise to the Disestablished Church, and to the Presbyterians, and Roman Catholics : — Compensation to — (i) Bishops, dignitaries, an 1 incimhjnts ;^'', 468,597 (2) Curates 1,^*^73,935 (3) Lay oflicors ... ... ... ... 677,965 (4) L.iy patrons 778,887 (5) To Reinescntative Church I'.oJy in lieu of private enilownients ... ... ... 500,000 (6) Building cliarges 466,600 10,766,044 (7) Compensation to Presbyterians in respect oi Regiiiin Doiium ... ... ... rr3>4-^ (8) Compensation to Roman Catholics, May- nooth College ... ... .. ... 37-. 331 (9) Cost of Irish Cliurch Commission, 1^- addtl. 515,502 .•6'^,42:,3.=;7 Comparing these amounts wlih Mr. Gladstone's eslinute it will be seen that, while the compensation to the Presby- terians and Roman Catholics very little exceeded the estimated amounts, the payments to the Disestablished Church are nearly three and a- half millions in excess of the estimate. About ^Soo.ooo of this excess is due to the addition by the House of Lords of a bonus of 12 per ceJit. to the commutation paid for life interests. / 1,073,035 more is due to the e.xcess on the estimated amount paid as compens.Uion to curates. There was, in fact, a whole- sale manufacture of curates in the Irish Church on the i6S CASE FOR DISESTABLISILMENT, eve of its disestablishment ; their number having been increased from about 500 in iSbS, when Mr. Gladstone's resolutions for Disestablishment were carried in the House of Commons, to over goo on the ist January, 1871, when the Irish Church Act came into force. More than 200 of these curates were appointed in the last month of the existence of the Irish Church as an Establishment ; and the following advertisement from the Belfast A^eivs Letter, of December 28th, J 870, will show with what eagerness this business of crowding the Irish Church with curates for the purpose of adding to the compensation to be given was pursued up to the very last moment : — CURATES WANTED.— Wanted immediately, two or three Curates in full or deacon's orders. Annuities almost certain. Apply, by letter, Wednesday (28th December, 1S70) or Thursday (29th December, 1870), to R. H., Box 259, Post Office, Belfast; or hy tct(grafh to George Hughes, Esq., Donegal Place, Belfast. This is one of the scandals of Irish Disestablish- ment, which must be rigorously guarded against in any future measure of the kind. ArPROPRIATION OF THE IRISH SURPLUS. In introducing the Irish Church Bill Mr. Gladstone stated that in disposing of the surplus funds there were two con- ditions to be observed, "written in letters of iron." One was, that the money was to be "applied to Irish pur- poses," and, the other, that it was to be applied to pur- poses " not ecclesiastical — not for any Church, not for any clergy, not for any teaching of religion." ^ But while the money was thus to be appropriated to purposes " disassociated from the teaching of religion," Mr. Gladstone urged that "its application should, if pos- sible, bear upon it some of those legible marks of Christian character, which would be, as it were, a witness to its first origin and its long-continued use.''^ The Irish Church Bill therefore provided that the "surplus should l)e apjiropriated mainly to the relief of unavoidable calamity and suflering, ^Speech March ist, 1869. 2 /^/^/^ CHURCH PROPERTY. 1C9 yet not so as to cancel or impair the obligations nowattached to property under the Acts for the rcHef of the poor." The House of Lords, however, added the further provision that " the proceeds shall be so applied accordingly in the manner Parliament shall hereafter direct," and the efTect of this has been that the surplus was first " hung up," and then frittered away in a manner widely different from that which Mr. (Jladslone proposed. The surplus is now apparently exhausted, or nearly so; and the Irish people, instead of having benefited from it to the extent of between seven million and eight million pounds, as Mr. (Gladstone anticipated, have received little more than six million pounds. The purposes to which the money has been applied, and the amounts voted for each, are as follows : — Intermediate Education, 1878 (41 )k 42 Vict. c. 60) ... ^430,625 National School Teachers, 1879 (42 & 43 Vict. c. 74) ... 468,000 Koyal University, 1881 (44 & 45 Vict. c. 52) 210,000 llclief of Distress (43 Vict. c. 4, and 43 & 44 Vict. c. 14) i. 755.71 7 Arrears of Rent, 18S2 (45 tSj 46 Vict. c. 47) 1,220,226 Relief of Distressed Unions, 1883 (46 & 47 Vict. c. 24), and Poor Relief, 1^86 (41) \'ict. c. 17) ... ... 52,169 Sea I'ishcrics, 1883 (46 c^ 47 \'ict. c, 2O) 402,009 I'oor ]<.elief, 18SO, Tiers and Roads Commission (49 \'ict. c- 17) 32,888 Seed Potatoes Supply, 1890 (54 Vict. c. I) f',442 I'urcliase of Land, iSiji (54 c^ 55 \'ict. c. .[S) and 1892 ... 1,516,589 ;^6,094,665 THE LES.SON FOR ENGL.\Nn. In the debate on Mr. Miall's disestablishment motion on May iGth, 1873, Mr. Gladstone said : — " I once made a compulation of what sort of .allowance of jiroperty should be made to llic Church of lui-^laml if we were to disestablish her, upon the same rules of ciiuity and liberality, with n^pcct to liroiieily which we adopted in the case of the lii>h Church, and I made out that, between lite incomes, piivatc endowments, and the value of fabrics and advowsons, somethin*^ liUe /,'<)o,oo ,1,000 sterling wt)uld have to be given in this process of disestablishment to the ministers, members, and patrons of the Church of Kngland." It will be generally felt that the terms on which the Irish 170 CASE FOR DISESTADLISHMENT. Church was disestablished were those, not of "equity and liberality" — which are hardly consistent with each other — but of liberality instead of equity ; and out of regard to the peculiar position of the Protestant Church in Ireland, Parliament was not unwilling to deal with it on generous terms. But it would, for many reasons, be something worse than a blunder to adopt a similar course in the disestablishment of the Church in England and Wales, The adherents of the Church of England include the im- mense majority of the propeitied classes, and have at their command the great mass of the wealth of the Kingdom, and could, if they would, almost without an effort, replace the funds of which the Church will be deprived by dis- establishment. It is essential, therefore, that in dis- endowment the ruling principle shall be, not generosity to the Church, but justice to the nation ; and disestablish- ment carried out with strict regard to justice will entail a much smaller expenditure than that of the /'90, 000,000 mentioned by Mr. Gladstone, and leave a proportionately larger sum for the benefit of the people. ClIAIMER X. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND IX WALES. The Church Establishment in Wales comprises the four dioceses of Baniii^or, St. Asaph, St. David's, and Llandaff; each with its bi-hop and cathedral dignitaries; and with a total (jf about i,ooo parochial clergy. It is strictly an extension into Wales of the Church of England. Its supporters themselves insist that it is not a separate Church, but simply "four dioceses of the Province of Canterbury; ' and they urge the fact in language calculated, if not designed, to throw contempt upon the strong sentiment of nationality which is cherished by the Welsh people. The Dean of Llandafl" says " before the Welsh Church can be disestablis^hed, the Welsh Church must first be created." The Bishop of St. David's, with unpatriotic zeal on behalf of the Establish- ment, declares that, in reference to it, " Wales is a geographical expression, and nothing more." Lord Selborne urges that " the Church of Wales is part of the Church, as Wales itself is part of the realm of I'^ngland" ; and that the proposal to deal with disestablishment in Wales '' as a special Welsh question," is " a flimsy pretext," as "preposterous" as it would be to propose separate " disestablishment in Yorkshire." The Archbishop of Canterbury declares not only that the Church in Wales is merely " four dioceses of the province of Canterbury," but that " nothing in their history or position as dioceses dinerentiates them from any other dioceses of the province."' ^ These qiioteil st.Ttenicnt«, and many others to the same cflect, were .all made in the agitation against disestablishment in Wales in the winter of 1887-8. 173 C4SJi FOR DISESTABLISHMEm, AN " ALIEN " CHURCH. The "history and position" of the Church in Wales, to which the Archbishop of Canterbury thus refers, constitute with the great mass of the Welsh people the main ground of their objection to its estalilishment in the Principality ; and it is impossible to understand their enthusiasm for disestablishment without taking into account some of the leading facts in that "history and position." The English Church in Wales has from the first been an aUen Church, out of sympathy with the people, and ever ready to use its influence to check and repress their national aspirations. It is the Church of the conqueror, which in the twelfth century, when the native Church of Wales was suppressed, was imposed upon the people by force, and used as a means of stamping out their national character. It was this suppression of the native Welsh Church and its subjection to the See of Canterbury which, as the late Dean Edwards says, changed "the Church of Wales into the Church in Wales."' The Welsh bishops at this time, says Canon IVyce, were "generally alien, often rapacious, and always prepared to betray the interests of the people" ; so that " during several centuries bishops in Wales were essentially a hostile garrison, bound to the English Crown by ties of gratitude for the past, and of common hatred towards the native Welsh." " The Reformation brought little benefit to the Prin- cipality, and led to a wholesale alienation of its ecclesiastical revenues. Mr. Arthur Johnes, himself a Churchman, in his " Causes of Dissent in Wales," says : — " Not only were no steps taken to restore to the Principality those revenues of which she had most un- righteously been deprived, but the robbery in times of ^ Swansea Cliiirch Conp;rcss Report, 1.S79, p. 354. As repeated references will be made in tliis chapter to statements made at the Swansea Church Congress, they will for brevity hereafter lie referred to sim])ly as made "at Swansea," with the page of the Oflicial Report in which the passages occur. - The Ancient British Church, 1878, p. 259. IIIE CHURCH OF ENGLAXD IN WALES. \:% peace proved worse than the spoliation of the times of war, and the rapacity of the Reformation was added to the rapacity of Popery.'" And the religious needs of the Welbh people appear to have been utterly neglected. The Act, 5 Eliz. c. 28, 1562-3, describes the people as remaining "in the like, or rather more, darkness and ignorance than they were in the time of Papistry," and it, therefore, provided for the translation of the Bible and Prayer Book into the Welsh language. Put more than twenty years passed before the work was completed ; and throughout that period the authorities of the Church were for the most part corrupt and negligent, and practically nothing was done for the spiritual welfare of the people. In later years some notable men appeared among the Welsh clergy, like the Rev. Rees Pritchard, of Llandovery, and the Rev. (Jrilfilh lones, of LLunlowror, who laboured with unwearied zeal for their countrymen and won their lasting gratitude. But these men arc themselves the witnesses to the general neglect by the clergy of their duties, and to the condition of ignorance, immorality, and irreligion into wiiich the country was allowed to fall. now WALES llECAME NONCONFORMIST, I'or nearly a hundred years after the Reformation Nonconformity in Wales was almost unknown, and, if the bishops and clergy had been mindful of their duties, they might easily have won the alVection of the j^eople. But the apathy and corruption of the Church had its natural effect, and, after a time, wherever in tlu' Principality there was any religious zeal, it took the form of dissidence from tlie Church established by law. In \\'alos, however, as in England, the whole force of the law was directed against the early Nonconformists, and it was with the utmost dilliculty that they maintained their existence. ' CiXU!,es of Dissetit, (w^K published in 1831. YA. 1S7O, p. 145, 174 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. " In the times of the Stuarts," says jSIr. Johnes , " the ministers of the AVclsh Nonconformists traversed the Avild hills of the Principality, braving all dangers for the sake of their few and scattered followers. Their congregations occasionally met, but it was in fear and trembling, generally at midnight, or in woods and caverns, amid the gloomy recesses of the mountains." ^ But, notwithstanding their zeal, the early Nonconformists never obtained any general hold upon the people, and it was not until the " iMethodist revival," in the middle of the eighteenth century, that Nonconformity began to be a power in the Principality. The condition of the country was deplorable. A Welsh periodical of 1799 ' says : — " In those days the land was dark indeed ! Hardly any of the lower lanks could read at all. The morals of the country were very corrupt ; and in this respect there was no difference between gentle and simple, layman and clergyman. Gluttony, drunkenness, and licentiousness prevailed throughout the whole country." It was under such conditions that the leaders of the Methodist revival began their work. Churchmen, and some of them clergymen, they had no thought of leaving the Establishment ; but, unable to endure the coldness and in- diflerence with which its authorities regarded the spiritual destitution of their countrymen, they broke away from its restraints ; with the result that the new movement was from the first treated v,'ith open hostility by the bishops and clergy. Howell Harris, who began the movement, was denounced by the clergy wherever he went, and persecuted by the rabble. It was much the same with the Rev. D. Rowlands, who "was cast out of the Church of I'-ngland," says the Rev. J. C. Ryle (now the Bishop of Liverpool), "for no other fault than excess of zeal" — although, as the Bishop adds, "this ejection tojk place at a time when scores of Welsh clergymen were shamefully neglecting their duties, and too often were drunkards, gamblers, and sportsmen, if not worse." '' The Methodist movement (1735 to iSi i) led to a great ^ Causes of Disseiil, p. 10. 2 The Trysorva, edited by the Rev. Thomas Charles, of Bala. 3 The Christian Leaders of the last Cenluiy^^. 192. THE CHURCH OF EXGLAM) IX WALES. 175 religious revival throughout Wales ; the older Noncon- formist bodies being quickened into new life, and multitudes gathered into the new Methodist societies. One result was that, while "in 1715 there were but 33 Nonconformist chapels in Wales, in 1800 the 35 had become well nigh a thousand." ^ But the Established Church did nothing to aid the revival, and had no share in its blessed results. On the contrary, it continued for many years, as Lord Aberdare declared at Swansea, sunk in a condition of "gross degradation."- Canon Powell Jones, in the Churchman (July, 1880), asserts that within his own memory "it was the rule and not the exception" for " incumbents of large and important parishes " to be "absentees, and the spiritual charge of the people com- mitted to curates whose stipends hardly exceeded a workman's wages." He also quotes Lord Aberdare's statement that he could " remember a time when the immense mnjorily of the Welsh clergy were utterly unfit for the sacred duties imposed upon them," And Canon Jones adds : — *' This is a s.id picture, but it is true ; the imnioralily of tlie clergy at one time was jiroverbial among the people ; it produced on tlieir minds an im].ression which they imbibed wilh their mother's mili<, that true piety could not llirive within the pale of the Church, and it was one of the chief causes of their alienation from her com- munion." Archdeacon IIoacII stales that this impression slill exists. " In the minds of the Welsh peojile," he says, " the Church was still associated with what used to be an alien hierarchy and with a system of nepotism and mis- managctnent which no one now dared to defend. There was the impression, only too prevalent, th;it religious zeal, piety, and spirituality were mere exotics in the Church, and that wherever they were found they were the excep- tions to the rule."'' * Dean Edwarils at Swansea, Report, p. 354. ^ Rrport, p. 364. " Sermon at St. Margaret's, Westminster. January r5tli, 1890. t^b CASE FOR biSESTADLISiniENf. WHAT NONCONFORMITY HAS DONE FOR WALES. It is not surprising that under the operation of such causes as have been at work in Wales, the adherents of the Church Establishment are but an insignificant minority of the population, and that practically the Welsh people are, as Mr. Gladstone has said, " a nation of Noncon- formists." It is indisputable that Wales is indebted to Noncon- formity for all the best influences, religious, moral, and inlellectual, which have gone to the formation of the national character. Dean Edwards speaks thus as to its religious activity and zeal : — " Rlethodism, long c>.j:>osed to tlie outrages of mobs, ami to the frowns of aiithoiity, grew; for its roots were nourished by the waters that forced their way outward, when men had choked their true channels in the Church. In 187911 has 1,134 congregations, 116,016 communicants, 275,406 hearers, and raises ^^164, 073 5s. 4d. a year. The Welsh Congregationalists have 0'^3 chapels, more than 180,000 adherents, and raise more than /"ioo,ooo a year. The Welsh J5aptists have more than 600 ch-ipels, and the AN'elsh Wcsleyans are a consider- able body. The number of worshippers, above ten years of age, adhering to these four liodies has bee.n stated on good authority to be 686,220, of whom 656,000 worship in Welsh. Thus out of 1,006, ico 5ouls who, according to Mr. Ravenslein, speak Welsh, 800,000 are attached more or less closely to the 3,000 chapels. .Statistical apologists will hint that these Nonconfoi mists exist only on paper. Paper adherents do not give money. The Welsh Nonconformists gi\e far more than ^300,000 a year." ^ Archbishop Tait, at Swansea, expressed his astonishment at the "prevalence of Dissent." "We see Dissenting chapels," he said, " in every village and on every hill- side"^; while Lord Aberdare declared that "religion w^ould have disapi)earcd from the country if it had not been for the exertions of the Nonconformists."'' I5ut the best proof of what Nonconformity has done for Wales in respect to religion is the fact, first brought out by the census of 1851, that the Nonconformists provide in ^ Swansea Congress Report, p. 354. * Jbict, p. 9. ' '' fbiif., p. 366. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND IN WALES. 177 their own places of worship more than enough accom- modation for the whole popuhilion of the Principality. The late Pishop of Bangor bore ungrudging testimony to this fact, and declared that if all the churches connected with the Establishment in Wales were closed, the places of worship belonging to the Nonconformists would be " not only sufficient for, but in excess of, the requirements of the country." ' Nonconformity has not only covered Wales with its places of worship, it has also provided a ministry, which, as it was the means of regenerating the peoi)le in the just, has moulded them into one of the most orderly and God-fearing populations on the face of the earth. The Rev. J. INIorgan, rector of Llanilid, Glamorgan- shire, says : — "We dmiht wlielher ChiisleiKlom presents a more ouleily, loyal, inllustrious, iVufjal, allectionale, and hospitable people tiian the inhabitants of Wales. We believe that seldom has religion more thorou<;hly jienetrated the masses than in Wales, and in few countries lias its practical power been better exemplified, anil the peaceable fruits of righteousness more abundintly shown." - A substantially similar testimony is borne in the Report of the Committee on Intermediatt' and Higher Education in Wales (iHSi), which says : — " It is indisputable that Nonconformity in W.iles is the outward expression of deep-seated religious convictions amon^ the peoj)le. Tiie Welhi), turning aside from the ecclesiastical system recognised by the State, have cre.ited their own, and maintain it at a large annual cost voluntarily incurred. 'I'iiey have raised their chajiels everywhere, on the lonely hillside no less than in the populous town, and by this means, and through their Sumliy-schouls, which seem to lieep a life- long hold over a large part of the population, an almost universal interest in religious (juestions is maintained." ' * "Charge," Gitardiati, Sept. loth, ir>S|. * 7'he Church in ll'alcs ; a RctrospiCt and a Defence, ji. zh. London: Rivington, 1884. Oddly enough, Mr. Morgan claims the credit of this state of things for tiie Church, on the grouiul tliat the Metiiodist leaders were at lirst Churchmen ! ■' Report on Intermediate nnd JJit^hei Edncntion, p. .j8. M 178 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT . Nonconformity has also given to Wales a national literature which has had an immense influence in shaping the character of the people. At one time the only Welsh literature there was came almost exclusively from the clergy; " now it comes," says Dean Edwards, "almost exclusively from Nonconformists'"; and in a paper also read at Swansea, the Rev. D. Williams, rector of Llan- dyrnog, Denbighshire, stated that : — "In proportion lo population, Wales has twice as many peiiodicals as England, one and a half times as many as Scotland, and fom- times as many as Ireland. And if we look at the religious tone of these publications the case is still more favourable to Wales. . . . The native press is almost entirely in the hands of the Dissenters. The adherents of the Church of England in Wales stand in the same proportion to the population as her ]niblications do to those of Nonconformity. Out of thirty-two Welsh periodicals the Church claims the significant number of four — one weekly and three monthlies." ^ I\Ir. Williams admits that the " numerous and well- written books" of the Welsh Nonconformists "abundantly sustain their devotional life " ; but he sa) s their periodicals and newspapers " have made the Welsh people a nation of political Dissenters;" which is only another mode of stating the undoubted fact that the Welsh people as a nation are hostile to the political establishment of the Church. Another indication of the beneficial results of Noncon- formity in Wales is the freedom of the country from serious crime. It is one of the commonest incidents of Welsh assizes that the judges have no prisoners to try ; and many times the people of Wales have been com- plimented from the judicial berch on the excellent example they thus set to the other parts of the kingdom. THE ECCLESIASTICAL REVENUES OF WALES. No one can wonder that, under these circumstances, the Welsh Nonconformists strongly resent the imposition 1 Stmnsca Ci.'iigrc5S Report, p. 355. ' HjUJ^^ p_ 558, THE CHURCH OF ESGLAXD IN IVALES. upon them of a costly Church Establishment. It is impossible to say with any certainty what is the value of the ecclesiastical revenues of Wales, but enough is known to show that the Establishment is a heavy, as it is a need- less, burden on the country. The amounts given in the Clcri^y List for 1892 as received by the Bishops and Cathedral dignitaries of Wales are as follows : — Canons Minor Dijcese. Bisli-.p. Dean. Residen- Canons, Total. C tiary. &c. i. £ £ £ Bangor 4,200 700 1,400 ^00 6.6oD St. Asaph 4,20D 700 1,400 800 7,100 St. David s 4,500 700 1,400 Ooo 7.200 Llamlaft- 4,200 700 1,400 300 6,0oo 27.5C0 This total is, Iiowcvlt. aUoL,^other misleading as to the amount of the episcopal and capitular revenues of Wales. I'nfortnnately the recent Parliamentary return on Church revenues gives practically no information on the subject ; the income derived from the estates of the Welsh bishops and cathedral bodies beinq: now mainly received by the Ecclesiastical (.'ommissioners and merged in their general receipt?. But by means of the Tiihe return of i SSy,' and tiie Return of the Owners of Land, 1S73, it is possible to get ajiproximately at the value of those estates. Tiir: Eriscur.VL a.\d c.vriiuLAK est.vtes. The Tithe return gives the value of the tithes of which the Welsh bishops and cathedral bodies (inchiJ- ^ Pa'ly. r.i/'cr z\.\, Sess. 1S87. Fatly. Fija C 1097, Sess. 1S7 .M Z i8o CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT, inff the prebendaries) are stated to be the "owners" as follows : — The Return of the owners of land shows that the bishops and cathedral bodies of Wales own land in Wales yielding a " gross estimated rental " as follows :^ Diocese. Bishop. Cath. Body. Total. Bangor St. Asaph St. David's Llandair £ 957 854 ... 4,«24 274 31 852 4,202 £ 1,385 885 5.('76 '.536 9,482 It thus appears that from tithes and land alone the estates of the Welsh dignitaries yield an annual income of ;;^6i,6i8 ; and if to this is added the revenue from other sources, and the direct receipts of the Ecclesiastical Com- mission (tithe, /"2,5oo, and land, ^13,000, largely arising from suspended cathedral livings), the total value of these estates cannot be less than /"80, 000 a year. ^ ^ In 1836 the Act 6 Si 7, AVill. IV. c. 77, provided for llic union of the sees of Bangor and St. Asaph and the suppression of the former; but the scheme was strongly opposed in Wales and never carried out. Lord Selbornc (Defence, p. 175) refers to the fact as evidence that the Churcli in AV ales was not un])opular. The fact is, that what the Welsh people objected to was the appiopiiation of some /'io,ooj of the episcopal revenues of Wales to Ibunding the new sees of Manchester and Ripon. In the language of .Nfr. Arthur Johnes (Z^tV/t.'/- /3 -> „ ,, Jkistol 811 9 ,, ., Windsor... ... 1.324 () ,, ., Winchester ... 2,404 I :; () ,, ,, Worcester ... 1.33^ 10 O.Kford ... 2,512 7 S £^SA->^o 18 ui No indication is given in the return from which these facts are taken that this appropriation of Welsh tithes to the support of Church dignitaries in England is not still continued ; but it is possible that the I'xclesiastical Com- missioners may, in recent years, have to some extent corrected so obvious an abuse. r.VROCllIAI, ENDOW .\li:\ IS. The Church property return of 1S91 sets forth the revenues of the parochial benefices in great detail, and 1 Z)c/c7/cv, p. 35 .. l82 CASE FOR DISESTAlUJSiniLXl . the following table, condensed from that given in the return shows the nature and amount of these revenues for Wales and Monmouth.' No. of Bene- iice?. Counticb. Tithes. Lands, Houses, Ground- rents, Pay- ments by E. C and Divi- dends. ''£" '~2"~ Q. A. B. J £ 46 Anglesea 14.364 1.354 244 348 ll 70 Brecon... 13,116 2,944 334 1. 741 68 66 Cardigan 6,812 3,8(2 222 2,040 129 «3 Carmartlicn 9n 1,192 419 518 125 136 Glamorgan 18,628 4.739 1,566 2.350 189 40 Meiioneth 8,034 659 70 932 2C0 61 Montgomery . . . 16,809 ^'643 733 597 119 118 Pemlirol^e 17,502 6,127 413 1,824 46 42 Radnor 7.003 1,416 237 1 1,049 45 131 Monmoutli 19.750 82,911 6,494 1. 144 1,435 352 39,i6[ 7,2Ri 'i 5-903 1,829 This gives a total of/^247,085 as the income of the Welsh benefices from their peimancnt endowments. But, in addition, the Welsh incumbents also have a portion of ^597,000, paid to the incumbents of England and Wales by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners out of their Common Fund. The Welsh benefices are generally poor; the average value being about / 250. But the number of people connected with the Establishment in many parts is so ' Along the \\"cl>]i l)order some few luiglish parishes are wholly or ]iartially included in A\'cl.'-h dioceses, and some AVelsh parishes in Kngli.sh dioceses, the whole number of these ]iarishcs being 14. The whole county of Monmouthshire, nominally English, but iially ^Vel.'^h, is included in the diocese of Llandall. THE CHURCH OF EXo'LAXD IX IFALKS. 183 small that the disproportion between clerical pay and any possible amount of clerical work is almost as great a scandal as anjthing that existed in the Irish Church before its disestablishment. The following are some illustrations of this state of things from the diocese of St. Asaph alone, with respect to clerical incomes of 1^300 and upwards in comparatively small places. The facts are taken from the Clergy List for 1892. Benefice. Value. Pop. Benefice. Value. Pop. Bangor, Denbi;^ 1 /700 • ■ 1,099 Llandyrnog . ■ /.■700 .. • 475 Bylchau ... . • 34'' • . 4(>7 IJandysilio ■• 370 • . 58O Castle Caeieinii )n 020 594 Llanfechan • 4''^5 •• . 58' Clocaenog ■ 3'5 ■ 421 Llangernieu . . 30'J .. 462 Erbistock... . • }pi . 291 Llanddulas . 3o:> .. • 597 Gorsedd ... . ■ 3'JO ■ ■ • 750 Llangynieu • 350 •• 373 Gyfylliot;... . . 30J . . 550 Llan<,'yiihafal . .. 370 . 404 Llanarniou • 32« . . 028 Llanilian ... . • 300 . . . 4-"^ I Llanbedr ... . 340 . . 369 Llanihaiadr . • 503 •■ . 790 Llandrillo ■ 3(^0 . 767 Marchwiel • 550 •• . 564 Llandrinio . 442 .. . 014 : AVorthenbuiy . . 400 .. 44O Remembeiing that the Church population in such places as the above is rarely more than one in five or six, and often not more than one in ten of the total number, the injustice involved in such cases is obvious. IHK DLMAN'H FOR DISKST.-MILISHMEN T. Nowhere are Church establishments more stiongly condemned on principle, and as contrary to the teaching of Scripture, than in Wales; but the feeling there is that fair-minded men who may have no objection to Establish- ments on these grounds will yet recognise the justice of the claim for dise.stablishment in Wales arising out of the special circumstances ofthecase. This is the ground taken by Mr. Gladstone. In 1S70, he opposed a motion for disestablishment in Wales; but he did not say a word in tlefence of the Establishment on its merits. On the contrary, he admitted that it had been marked by "gross neglect, corruption, nepotism, plunder," and he spoke of the small number of its adherents as being 184 (^^SB FOR blS^STAHLtSHM^Nf. " very remarkable in the case of a Church purporting to be the Church of the nation," and especially, he said, seeing that "so large a proportion of them belong to the upper classes of the community — the classes who are most able to provide themselves with the ministrations of religion — and in whose special and peculiar interest it is, therefore, most difficult to make any effectual appeal for public resources and support." ' In 1891, Mr. Gladstone for the first time supported a motion for disestablishment ; and he condemned the Establishment as "the Church of the few against the Church of the many ; " as " the Church of the rich against the Church of the comparatively poor ; " and on the ground that the Welsh people had decisively " given their judgment" against it.^ The three points thus urged by Mr. Gladstone fairly summatise the main arguments against the continued existence of the Esta- blishment in Wa^es, and abundantly justify the demand for disestablishment. " The Churcli of the few against I lie Chiiixh of the many." — It is not disputed that the Church in Wales has the allegiance of but a minority of the population, and the evidence is conclusive that that minority is a small one. The great numerical preponderance of Dissent in Wales was first made generally known by the religious census of 1 85 1. The population of Wales, including IMonmouth, at that time was 1,188,914; and the places of worship with their sitting accommodation, provided by the I'^stablishment and the Free Churches respectively, were (including esti- mates for defective returns) as follows : — Places of Worship. Sittings. Kstublishcd (^hurcli r,i8o ... ,^01,897 Free Churches ... 2,826 ... '"J2,3J9 It will thus be seen that, of the whole amount of accommodation for public worship in Wales in 1851, the Free Churches i)rovided 70 per cent., while the Establish- ment provided only 30 per cent. 1 It will also be seen * Speech, May 24lh, 1870. " Speech, Icb. 30lh, 1891. THE CHURCH of exglaxd in jva/h-s. 185 that, as only 58 per cent, of the population can attend religious services at the same time, in providing 692,339 sittings for a total population of 1,188,914, the Free Churches provided more than suOlcient accommodation for the entire jiopulation of the country. The figures as to actual attendance in 1S51 are equally remarkable. Mr. Mann estimates that the total number of persons attending ^vorship on the census Sunday was 611,821; and that of these the Established Church had only 138,719, or 22 per cent. ; while the Free Churches had 473,102, or 78 per cent. In the absence of any oflicial evidence as to the relative position of Church and Dissent in Wales since i 85 1, it is impossible to speak on the subject with any certainty. It is well known that many new churches have been built and endowed, and there can be no doubt that much activity and zeal have been displayed by many of the parochial clergy ; but it may be doubted whether the P^stablishment has much, if at all, improved its position relatively to that of the Nonconformist bodies. Dean Edwards says : " the Church has made material progress of late. Churches, parsonages, schools, have been built ; but," he adds, " how many of the churches are empty ?" ^ In so far as can be ascertained from various recent newspaper censuses the numerical predominance of the Free Churches is still everywhere decisive. The actual position is thus indicated by .Sir G. Osborne Morgan: — " A Iravclkr," he says, '' has only to leave the fashion.ible watering- places on the coast, which are really Knglish colonies, or the beaten track in which, in summer and autumn at least, the tourists, or those who cater for their pleasure, almost oiUmnnber the inhabitants, and strike across tlie country to »ec lor liimselt'how the land lies. He will hnd the solitary parish church, if not actually deserted, comparatively cm))ty, while the numerous Nonconformist chapels are crowded to sullocation." - ' Swa/isi,i Congn'ss Report, p. 557. » NiiteUaith Catturv, Oct., lS«0. 186 CASE FOR DISES7 ABLISHMENT. In a passage already quoted the Rev. D. Williams, the rector of Llandyrnog, admits that the Welsh people are "a nalion of Dissenters" ; and Archdeacon Howell bears a substantially similar testimony. He says : — "There was the unquestionable fact that the majority of the people were not found within tire pale of the Church. There was the equally unquestionable fact that her adherents were largely made up of English settlers and Anglicised Wehhmen — not of the AVelsh-speaking masses, who held the future of the Principality in their hands. . , The weakness of the Church in Wales is due to the fact that so much of the best blood of the nation no longer ran in her veins. It was sheer folly to hide from themselves the truth that the most vigorous life of the Welsh people no longer welled foith from the heait of the "Welsh Church. What was the exact proportion of the people to be found within and without the Church was a matter of secondary importance. Far more important was the lact that so large a portion of the vigour and enthusiasm of the Welsh people was in full activity outside the Church. And it must not be forgotten that the majoiity outside the Church were not passive or indifferent, but were banded together for the disestablishment and disendowment of the Church. They weie men of untjucslionable religious character, whose lives bore witness to their piety and sincerity. "I " The Church of the rich againsl the Church of the com- paratively poor." — It is well known that the landlords of Wales, and a very large majority of the propertied classes generally, are Churchmen, and that the great mass of the people are comparatively poor. 'J'hc influence of wealth and social prestige is thus on the side of the Establishment ; and it has been used to check and repress Nonconformity, and to support the privileged Church. This crusade against Nonconformity has taken the double form of social pressure and religious proselytism, and the clergy have, to a large extent, been its willing instruments. Mr. Henry Richard, who was one of the truest friends of Wales and intimately acquainted with the condition of the country, has described with what ruthless severity the Nonconformists have been treated. He says : — " The ruin of tradesmen by withdrawal of custom, the expulsion of * Sermon at St. ^laigaret'.'--, Westminster, Jan, 2(jth, iSyo. THE CHURCH OF EXGLAXD /.V ll'ALES. 187 some tenants from their holdings, the exaction from others of increased and exorbitant rents, the -worrying out of the lives of others by long suspended threats of some terrible retribution that is coming upon them, the withdrawal from religious bodies of sites on which to build schools and places of worship, and, in some instances, the actual conliscaliun and sale of chapels built with public [sub^crilicd] money, these, and such as these, are the practices to which ^\'elsh landlords do not scruple to have recourse, in order to coerce the consciences of their neighbours.' •• In more recent years, while social pressure in many forms has still been brouj,^ht to bear oa Welsh Noncon- formists, a widespread system of religious proselytism has been set at work, with the view of detaching the people from the faith of their fathers and weakening that Non- conformity which has been the salvation of the country. The suj)porters of the l'".stablishment openly boast of the " progress " they are thus making. But in the estimation of all fair-minded men, such progress does dishonour to the Church, as it certainly excites the indignation of the Welsh peoj>le, who have been driven by it into a position of settled hostility to the Establishment, and a resolute determination to bring it to an end. Comhmned by the Welsh people. — The third count in Mr. Gladstone's indictment of the Establishment in Wales is, that the Welsh people have decisively given their judg- ment against it. 'Hiey have done this in almost every way in which it was possible for them to do so. With the cxceiHion of the Roman Catholics there is hardly a religious body in Wales, outside the privileged church itself, which has not in its annual and other assemblies protested against the continued e.xistence of the I'.stablish- ment and demanded its removal. The Establishment has thus not only failed to win the support of the people, but has raised against itself a feeling of deep and wule- spread animosity, and throughout the Principality there is now a passionate enthusiasm for disestablishment. '1 he best and most uneipiivocal evidence of this feeling is the character of the Welsh representation. Wales and Monmouthshire send thirty-four members to the House ' Letters and Eisnys on Jla/es, p. '»S. For. Against. 27 28 5 6 29 27 4 5 188 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. of Commons; and ever since 1880 the great majority of these members have been pledged to disestablishment as the first article of their political creed, and that majority has steadily increased. In the General Election of 1892 thirty-one out of the thirty-four members returned were thus pledged to Disestablishment. Amotion for separate diseslablishment in Wales was first submitted to the House of Commons in 1870, and it was then supported by only seven Welsh members. Since then there have been five divisions on the same subject, with the following results ("pairs" as well as votes being included) : — WELSH MEMl'.ERS AND DISESTABLISHMENT. 1886 (March 91 h) 1889 (May 14th) 1 89 1 (February 20th) 1892 (February 23rd) 1893 (Februaiy 23rd) The division of 1893 was on the motion for the intro- duction of the Suspensory Eill for Wales ; which Mr. Gladstone described as a "disestablishing Bill in prin- ciple," and as " supplying the best proof of the intention of the Liberal Government to go steadily and boldly forward toward the completion of the task which they had set themselves" ; and yet out of the whole 34 members for Wales and ]\Ionmouthshirc only 3 resisted the motion, while 31 voted in its favour. "An Kstablished Church," says the Edinburgh Rti'iav, " cannot remain established unless it is accepted as such by the great mass of the people," ^ But here is a case in which the great mass of the people repudiate and condemn the Establishment, and, as Mr. Gladstone says, by "a majority constitutionally, lawfully, peacefully, and repeatedly returned to Parliament," de- mand its removal. This deliberate and repeated expres- sion of the will of tlie Welsh people may be disregarded and set aside for a time, but it is impossible to continue so to disregard it without doing violence to the first prin- ciples of representative government. ' Edinburgh Rcvic7c, July, 1893. Chapter XI. SCOTTISH DISESTABLISHMENT. In Scotland, as in Wales, the demand for disestablishment is largely based on the special circumstances of the case. The arguments against the J'lstablishment system which apply elsewhere apply also in Scotland, and are constantly urged by the advocates of religious equality. Ikit the whole situation in Scotland is so widely different from what it is in England and Wales as to bring into view important considerations which do not arise elsewhere, and to give to the Scottijh claim for justice a special and peculiar force. PECULIARirV OF TIIR SCOTTISH CASE. The peculiarity of the situation in Scotland is that the great mass of the population belong practically Lo one religious body, and that one section only of that body enjoys the patronage and receives the sujiport of the State. There are subilantially the same denominational divisions north of thi; Tweed as there are south of it, but the numerical proportions of the diflerent religious bodies are very dissimilar. The I'.piscopal Church of Scotland, which is the northern representative ol the I'.stablished Chuich in I'.ngiand, while socially important, is numerically an insignilicant sect, including but a fraction of the population. So, also, the Baptists, Congre- gationalists, Methodists, and Roman Catholics, which in England are considerable bodies, in Scotland, are numerically unimportant. It is estimated that all these bodies, together with the still smaller denominations, constitute only about one-f.fih of the population ; while the other four-fifihs arc assumed to be more or less closely attached to the Tresbyterian form of worship and Church government. 190 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. But while the great body of the Scottish people are thus adherents of the same religious body, they are yet broken up into three separate Churches — the Established Church, the Free Church of Scotland, and the United Presb}terian Church — which differ from one another in nothing but thi-, that the first is established by law and supported by public property. It is difficult in England to realise so peculiar a position. If the three parties included in the English Establishment were more equal in number than they are, and were less opposed to each other in principle, the parallel to the Scottish case would be that one of those parties should be established and endowed by the S:ate, while the other two were wholly lefc to the voluntary support of their own members, and regarded by the law as Dissenters. Had this really been the case in England, it is very certain that it would have proved intolerable to many Churchmen, and the Establishment would long since have been swept away. It is not surprising, therefore, that in Scotland, where such an anomalous state of things does actually exist, the non- Established Presbyterian Churches, with other religious bodies, are almost unanimous in their demand that the injustice shall be brought to an end, by the disestablish- ment and disendowment of the privileged section of the Presbyterian body. THE THREE IRESBYTERIAX CHURCHES. The Eslahlished Church of Scotland, like that of England, dates from ihc Reformation. But the Reformation in Scotland differed fiom that in England, in being from the first a popular movement, moulded, not by the sovereign, but by the people themselves, under their great leader John Knox ; and, on that account, it was far more thorough than in England. In r56o the Scottish Parliament abrogated and annulled the Papal authority, and it also approved and ratified the new Confession of Eaith presented for its acceptance by the Reformers. In rsOy Presbyterianism was formally recognised as " the only true and holy Kirk of Jesus Christ in the realm," and its ministers were allowed scoTT/.^ii D/SEST.ir!rjsfi}riuvr. 191 about a third of the former revenues of the Roman Catholic Church. But it was a time of turmoil and trouble, and a long period, with many chan:;es, intervened before the new ror.n of faith, worship, and (.'Imrch govern- ment was finally settled as the national religion of the Scottish people. The authorities of the Scottish Estab- lishment, in a statement issued in its support, plead that — "The Church of Scotland was established in its present form in 1592. In 1690 it was in like manner re-established under the Revolution Settlement. In 1707 its doctrines, worship, and govern- ment were embodied in the Articles of Union, and each sovereign of Great Britain and Ireland at his or her accession swears to inviolably maintain and preserve the foresaid settlement of the true Protestant religion, with the government, discipline, rights, and privileges of this Church, as above established." But the Scottish Establishment, as constituted by the Act of 1592. embodied the two contradictory princi[)les of freedom and State-control ; and this has led to repealed cor.llicts between the Church and the civil power, and been the real <-ause of the present divisions of the Presl)}terian body in Scotlaml. The Presbyterian form of Church government is an essentially popular form ; the lay element in all the Church courts equalling or outnumbering the clerical ; and as the people also elect the minisers. they have a preponderating voice in the manatjement of the Cnurch's afl'drs. But with this popular control was combined the fdtal dement cf patronage; the Act of 1592 concluding with the words — " Providing the aforesaiil Presbyteries shall be bound and astric:tit to receive and admit wha^.som- ever qualified minister is presented by his !\Iajesty or other laic patrons " ' The result of this wis that, while the congregations were rcciuireil to hear and approve a minister before he was appointed, they had no power, except in extreme case.*;, to prevent his appointment if they disapproved. In the Church of Engl ind, where the laity have never had any voice or authority in the managemi'nt of Church alVairs, this restriction on the powers of congregations has never < J.ord MoncrcilV, in (7; ///.// iiiui Stjtc in St\'t/' passing the Public Worship Regulation Act " to put down Ritualism," a Patronage Abolition Act (37 Ov' 38 Vict. c. bz) ' Sec an'.i', p. >;. N t94 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. was also passed for Scotland. It was then wholly uncalled for, and was clearly intended to strengthen the Establish- ment by luring back members of the other two Presbyterian Churches, and especially those of the Free Church. This purpose was so obvious that the Act became known as the " Sheep-stealing Act." It had, however, an exactly opposite effect to that which its authors designed and expected. It raised the resentment of Free- Churchmen, and, combined with other considerations, led them to take up a more pronounced posiiion in favour of disestablish- ment. The result is that the Free Church has now almost entirely fallen into line with the United Piesbytcrian Church, and the Scotch and English Nonconformist Churches, in the determination to put an end to the whole Establishment system. RELATIVE POSITIONS. The only official statistics as to the relative numerical strength of the Established and the non-Established Churches respectively are those of the Religious Census of 1 85 1, which gave the following results : — Religious riiices of Worship and Sittings. Attendants en Snnday, March 30th, 1851. Denomination. I'lacefsol Worsliip Sittings. Morning. Afternoon. Evening. Established Church . . . 1,183 767,088 35i>454 184,192 30,763 United Presbyterian Church 4(^5 288,100 159,191 146,411 30,810 Free Church 889 495.335 292,308 198,583 64,811 Other Churches 858 284,222 140,998 90,677 62,490 Total 3.395 i,«34.8o5 943-951 619,863 188,874 These figures show that in 1851 the Scottish Establish- ment, in respect both to provision for public worship and attendants, was outnumbered by the other two SCOTTISH DISESTABLISIIMEXT. 103 rrcsb)terian Churches ; and that, with respect to the total attendants at public worship, it was in a minority of little more than one-third. Tlie newspaper religious census of iSSi-82 gave a substantially similar result. On that occasion the statistics of attendance at public worship were published for forty- three towns and districts,' embracing a population of 1,621,844, or nearly one-half of the total population of Scotland at the time, and ihe result was as follows : — Religious Denomination. Attendants. Established Churcli .. .. .. .. 79, ''.1I Free Church . . . . . . . . . . 71,618 United Presbyterians .. .. .. .. 49,218 Other churches .. .. .. .. .. 03,107 Total 21.3,574 The Established Church now clainis that it has a mem- bership of 004,897, and that it has three times as many adherents as Church members ; so that the total number of people connected with the Establishment would thus be 1,814,691. But the population of Scotland is 4,0 J3. 1 05, and, therefore, according to its own showing, the Establish- ment is in a decided minority of the pojiulation. There is good reason, however, for doubting the accuracy of the claim put forth as to membership of the Established Church, and, therefore, as to the assumed number of its adherents. In a census taken in 1892 at Dundee,* where the ICstablishment claims to have 17,717 members, only 6,194 were present at church on the census Sunday ; while the I'ree Church, which claims 9,369 members, had an attendance of 5,777. and the Eree Church and the United ' The places included in this census were Arbroath, Ardrossan and vSaltcoats, Ayi, Berwickshire, Blairgowrie, I'-rechin, Brou^jhly Ferr}', l^urnlisland, Bute, Cupar Anj^us, Cupar Fife, Dundee, Dundonald, Dunse, Dysait, Ediuburj;h, Forlar, Galashiels, Cilasf;ow, Cirecnock, 1 lawicU, llelensbur>^h, Inverness, livinc and Drcghurn, Kilinainock, l-vilinaiiiock (DistiictK Kilwinnin:,', Kinj^horn, Iviikc.ddy, Iviiiiemuir, l.cith, .Mchose, Montrose, Newport, i'aisley, i'ertli, Row, Risuealh, St. Atidicws, Stcwarton, and iroun. - By the Dundee Adicitiscr. N 2 196 CJS£ FOR DISESTABLISILUENl'. Presbyterian Church together had an attendance of 3,000 more than the Established Church, In another census taken at Aberdeen,' where the Establishment claims 21,705 members, its attendance was only 10,202 ; while the Free Church, claiming 11,563 members, had an attendance of 9,125 ; and the attendance at all the Nonconformist places of worship together was over 7,000 more than in the churches of the Establishment. The Estahlishment in the great towns. — The position of aftairs in the large towns of Scotland generally is much the same as in these two cases. In the twenty nine largest towns, with a populaiion of 2,000,000, the Estab- lishment provides one church to every 7,000 of the population ; while the other Churches provide a church for every 2^000 of the population. But even that puts the case too favourably for the Establishment ; for if the churches belonging to the Establishment which have been built and aie wholly sustained by voluntary contri- butions were classed, as they ought for the purpose of the argument, with the non-established churches, the position would then be that in these twenty- nine largest towns of Scotland Statc-Churchism provides one church for every 20,000 of the population, while Voluntaryism provides one chuich for every 1,700 of the population. IJie Estahliihmcnl in the Highlands.- — But the case of the Highlands brings out most clearly the gross injustice involved in the position of the Establishment in Scotland, At the disruption in 1843, almost the entire population of the Highland counties came out from the privileged Church and joined the Free Church of Scotland, to which they are still attached. But, although the churches of the Establishment lost the people, they still retain possession of the public endowments. The position of affairs in many of these Highland parishes may be judged by the following table, which gives the number of "communi- cants" or Church members from the latest returns of the Established Church itself: — \ By the Abefdcen 2'ree Press i SC? TTISII DISES TA BL I SUM EXT, n: Hi ghlan 1 P.irishes. Piipulation. Commuuieant Knock 3,424 I Hallin-in-W itern di 877 5 Shieldaig 1,23s 7 Poolewe 2,110 9 Kinlochbervie 8.,8 4 Stoer ... 1,281 14 Camock 240 3 Rernera lo\ Berried. lie 1,113 10 Strathy 1,669 7 Cross ... 2,907 J StenshoU i,26r 3 In these cases, out of a total population of 17-5 3 1» <-he entire membership that is even claimed by the Established Church is only 63. In the Highland parishes generally, while the Free Church provides at its own cost for the spiritual wants of almost the entire population, the State annually pays away /'40, 000 of public money for the sup- port of ministers who have practically no congregations, and whose servici'S, therefore, are not needed. Nothing more flagrantly unjust than this could have* been found even in the Irish I'.stablishmcnt. REVENUES OF THE r.STAr.LISHMENT. The public property annually appropiiated to the ma"n- tcnance of the Scottish Establishment is as follows:— Inoonie from public sources. Ticnds, or Tithes Ditto, for Communion elements ... Riir<^h ami other liical funds ("irants from the llxchdiuer ... Church and Manse Kates (average for ten years) Annual value of Manses Ditto Glebes Other receipts (about) Anionut. 5.4'7 23-5'^'- 16,300 42,082 =4.733 24O81 3.000 /:38o,oi7 198 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. In addition to the amount mentioned as coming from tithes, there are also what are known as "unexhausted tiends," of the annual value of about /' 136,000, which are, in part at any rate, public property.^ The annual value of manses is included in the fore- going table ; because, unlike the English parsonage-houses, they have been for the most part built out of the rates. The church and manse rates being thus appropriated,, not only to the building and repair of churches, but also to providing and keeping in repair the residences of the established clergy, the impost is much more obnoxious than was the now abolished compulsory church rate in England ; and by the seizure and sale of goods to which it leads in cases of refusal to pay, gives rise at times to scandals which bring great discredit on the name of religion. STATE-SUPPORT AND VOLUNTARYISM COMPARED. The advocates of disestablishment insist that this appro- priation of public property is not only unjust, but wholly unnecessary. The facts of the case demonstrate that in Scotland, as everywhere else, Christian Churches are not only able to sustain themselves and carry on their work without the assistance of public funds, but that such assistance rather injures than helps the ciuse of religion. There are 925 churches connected with the Scottish Establishment which participate in the State-endowments. But the Free Church alone sustains, at its own expense, 1,05s churches doing a precisely similar work in all parts of the country. The whole number of churches connected ^ The explanation is, that at the Reformation a large proportion, both of tlie landed estates and the tithes, which previously bel()n{,'cd to the ]<.onian Catholic Church, was annexed to the Crown, and by tiie Crown granted to various laymen. It was provided, however, that the clergy were to be ]iaid f)ut of the tithes ; and, in some cases, the whole amount of the titiie of the jiarisli is now appropriated to their support. In other cases there is a Ijalance still in the hands of the landowners, and it is these balances which constitute the " unexhausted tiends." But they are held by the landowners subject to the right of the clergy to come upon them for "augmentation of stipend " not oftener than once in twenty years, on application to the Tiend Court. SCOTTISH DISESTABLISHMENT. ng with the Establishment is i,507- But the Free Church and the United Presbyterian Church together have 1,652 churches; while other denominations have 9S1 churches; making a total of 2,633 churches against little more than half that number maintained by the State-aided Church. Another suggestive fact is, that the Free and United Presbyterian Churches together have 51,000 more children in their Sunday-schools than there are in those of the Established Cinirch. Again, those Churches have 90,937 members of their Bible and senior classes, against only 41,922 in those of the Establishment, The contributions of the three sections of the Presby- terian body to foreign missions afford another indicaiion of the same kind. The ICstablished Church is the Church of the rich, although it claims to be the Church of the poor. Rut its contributions to foreign missions in 189? amounted to only /.f5, 000, while those of the Free Church alone were / loS.ooo, and those of the United Presbyterian Church /"56,ooo. The rich Sia'.e-aided Church thus gave little more than one-fourth of the joint amount contri- buted by the other two Presbyterian Churches ; which yet have all the expense of their home work to sustain out of their own resources. It is often urged as an argument against disestablishment that, if the l^stablished Churches were wholly thrown upon their own resources, they would be unable to give as they now do for foreign missions and other religious purposes. But the above facts nega- tive that assumption ; and it is directly disproved by the experience of thi' Irish Church, which, since its dis- establishment, has largely increased its contributions to foreign missions. The supporters of missions in the Scottish Establishment appear to realise the weakness of their case in this respect ; for, in their own Missi 'H RaorJ * In tlic Chinch Times of Ni)vember 3rd, i8<)3, it is statetl by Canon JolleU, of Diihlin, tlial the amount conliihuted l)y tlic members of tlie Church of Ireland for foreign missions in the year 1870 was /-'3,'*''9> while the amount for i8<)2 was .{."1(^857. Dr. Peacock, Secretary of tlie llil)ernian Cliurcii Missionary Society, adds tliat the conlril)utions to tliat society " for tiie ten years immediately preccdinj; disestablishment — i80i) to 18O1)— amounteil to /,''-, 385 ; and for the ten years, from 1883 to 1803, to /,83.325." 2C0 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. they describe the position of the Established Church in regard to foreign missions as " humiliating." THE POOR AND THE VILLAGE POrULATIONS. It is asserted that the Established Church is in a special sense the Church of the poor, and that in the absence of an Establishment the spiritual interests of the poor would greatly suffer. But this is a wholly misleading view. All the Churches in Scotland alike make provision for the spiritual needs of the poor, and the Establishment, so far from having a monopoly of interest in them, has failed to discharge even its legal obligations in their behalf. Recent in\estiga- tions, indeed, have proved that, since 1846, the Established Church, all over the country, has appropriated money to its own use which in law clearly belongs to the poor. This money is derived from the church-door collections in parish churches; and to the extent of / 665,000 it has been withheld from the poor, and llagrantly misappropriated.' It is urged, again, that there are a number of rural parishes which would be left without any church if the Establishment ceased to exist. But this statement also is misleading in its effect, and is based on an incredible assumption. It is misleading, because among these village popula- tions there are many places of worship connected with the Free Church and the United Presbyterian Church, which are so situated as to be conveniently available for several small parishes ; although there is not a separate church for each of them. And this is the case to so great an extent that, even if all the places of worship connected with the Establishment in these villages were closed, there would still be ample provision for the religious needs of the people, excepting in a few localities, for which the Christian Church, as a whole, in Scotland may well be trusted adequately to care. ^ Tlie Scott iih C}ni7ih question and the rii^hts of the Poor. "Dis- establishment Council," Edinburgh, 1891. SCOTTISH DISESTABLlSIIMEyV. 201 But will the Established Church desert these villages and close its places of worship as soon as it ceases to ba supported by public property ? That is the assumption involved in the plea ; but it is really incredible, and is dis- honourinp: to the Church in whose supposed interests it is made. When disestablishment comes, it may well be that the now privileged Church will have to modify its organi- sation and diminish its expenditure in some of these parishes; but tliat it should really desert them and close its churches is out of the question. The same suggestion as to closed churches is urged as an argument against disestablishment in England and Wales, and it was also urged in Ireland. But the Arch- bishop of Dublin has recently stated that although since disestablishment the Irish Church has had to group two or more churches under one minister in remote and thinly- populated parishes, yet " there is no singli^ parish, however remote, which has been left without the means of grace." ' PRF.SIiVTERIAX RKl'XIOX AND COMPROMISE. In recent years, as the conviction has spread and deepened that the existing ecclesiastical arrangements in Scotland cannot be perpetuated, eflbrts have been made to cftect a compromise on the question of disestablish- ment, on the basis of the concurrent endowment of the three sections of the Presbyterian body. No definite scheme has been proposed ; but the idea is that, instead of putting an end to the I'lstablishment and appropriating its public property to national purposes, it should be reconstructed, so as to include the three Presby- terian Churches, which, in some way, are then to share the endowments between them. The proposal has come as a sort of counsel of despair from some of the adherents of the Establishment, and from a few others outside of it, \sho still cling to the establishment principle; but it has had no cordial reception in any quarter. ' Wcatern ^fl^ll, November ?i\l, iSi)2. At tlie Riiniiiifjh.im Church Con<,'ress, October, iSi)^, the Rif^lU Hon. R. Warren, one of the Irish Ju(lj;es, stateil that tlie Irish (Church still has '-an excessive number of small parishes," and that it wouKl bo "an advantaj;;e to the Church" to diminish their number. Sc:- also p. 245. 203 CAS£ FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. The truth is, the time is past and gone for any such pro- posal. There is, no doubt, a strong desire, widely felt, for a reunion of the Presbyterian Churches, but the feeling is still more general that reunion never can be effected on the basis of establishment. It would not only be grossly unjust to the other religious bodies, but it could not possibly form a final settlement. The United Presbyterian Church is now almost unanimously opposed to State-aid to religion in any form, and would have nothing whatever to do with any reconstructed Establishment. It is much the same with the Free Church, which at the meetings of its General Assembly has repeatedly had, in one or another form, to discuss the question of reconstruction as an alternative to disestablishment, and its decisions have uniformly been such as to show that the overwhelming majority of the Free Church is immovable in its approval of the policy of disestablishment. The Assembly is com- posed of ministers and laymen, in about equal numbers, and the following table shows the result of the divisions which have taken place on the subject in recent years : — THE FREE CHURCH GENERAL ASSEMP.LY AND DISESTABLISHMENT. For Against Total Vote. Majoritj- Ministers. Elders. Ministers. Elders. Discstabt. IS78 225 ir9 79 55 538 270 1888 259 209 37 43 549 388 I. ''91 2«5 188 3'^ 52 5^-" 385 I8'J2 2IU OS 21 34 3O0 250 iH'J,3 -17 149 Zl 40 497 335 It is obvious that, with the state of opinion in the Free Church, which these divisions display, any scheme of Presbyterian reunion based upon the continued mainten- ance of the Establishment is hopelessly out of the question, and that the only possibility of such reunion lies in the opposite direction. The more the question is SCOTTISH DISESTABLISHMENT, 203 considered, indeed, the more clearly it will appear that the Establishment is the one great dilliculty in the way of re- union, and tiiat once it is out of the way, and the animosities to which it gives rise have abated, there will practically be nothing to prevent the attainment of an object, which is eagerly desired by the great body of the Scottish prople. DISESTAIiLKSHMENT ESSENTIAL AND INEVITABLE. The position of affairs in Scotland now renders dis- establishment both essential and inevitable. It is essential in the interest of religious peace and concord, which never can be restored until all religious bodies stand on the common platform of equality before the law ; and it is inevitable, in consequence of the steady growth of political feeling in its favour. The political opinion of Scotland has always been pre- dominantly Liberal ; and for many years past Scoltisli Liberalism has been definitely committed to the policy of disestablishment. In iSy; Lord Hartington (now Duke of Devonshire), then the leader of the Liberal party, recog- nising that fact, said : — "Whenever Scotch opinion, or even Scotch Liberal opinion, is fully funned on Ihis suhject, 1 think I nuiy venture to s.\y on behalf of the Liberal party, as a whole, that they will be prepared to deal with the question," ^ In 1S89 ]\Ir. Gladstone, speaking at St. Austell, said : — " I am of opinion that the time has come when the sense of Scotland has been siilVKJenlly and une(iuivocally tleclaretl. I shall not Ihndi from entering into the division lobby, and from what I have said you may be able to form a conjecture of what my vote will be."- In the following year Mr. ("iladstone redeemed the pledge thus given, and supported Sir Charles (then Dr.) Cameron's motion for disestablishment. The result ot the division was very significant. In iSSo a similar 1 Sp/fch at F.dinburgh, November 6th. 1877, - S/i-ic/i, June 1 2 th, 1S89 204 CASE FOR DISESl'ADLISmiENT. motion was rejected by 112 votes; in 1888 the adverse majority was reduced to 52 ; but in the division of 1890, in a House of 560 members, the motion was defeated by the small majority of 38, Those figures tell their own tale, but the latest facts are still more significant. In 1S93 Sir Charles Cameron produced, not a simple disestablishment resolution, but a Disestablishment Bill, and leave was given for its introduction, in a House of 426 members, by a majority of 66 ! In all, five divisions have taken place in the House of Commons on Scottish disestablishment ; and the number of Scottish members who voted or " paired," for and against it, in each case, was as follows : — SCOTTrSH ME]\IBEIropriation of public property for the support of the favoured Church, in atklition to the demoralisation it has wrought among the bishops and clergy, has had the ell'ect of checking the flow of private liberality for religious purposes, and has rather "starved" than benefited the Church in its aggres- sive Christian work. The subjection of the Church to the State, >\ith all its attendant anomalies of the Crown appointment of the bishops and other dignitaries, the patronage system, and the loss of self-government to the 2o6 CASE FOR DISESTABLISIIMENT. Church itself, has practically reduced the Church to a mere depaitment of the State, and has placed insuperable obstacles in the way of its free development. And while the Establishment is thus prejudicial to the highest interests of the Church itself, it is equally injurious to the cause of religion generally, and to the welfare of the nation at large. The actual results of the Establishment system, there- fore, condemn it as decisively as it can be condemned on the ground of abstract principle. It has not only failed to justify itself on the grounds of general utility, but it has also signally failed in the attainment of those definite objects which, according to its authoritative documents and its legal arrangements, it was expressly designed to accomplish. OBJECT OF THE ACTS OF UNIFORMITY. Nothing, for example, is more strenuously insisted upon in the Acts of Pailinment by which the existing Establish- ment was constituted, than the uniformity of its failh and worship. The Act 13 Eliz. c. 12, which imposes the Thirty-nine Articles as the legally authorised faith of the Church, expressly states that these Articles are " for the avoiding of the diversities of opinion, and for the estab- lishment of consent touching true religion"; and any minister who failed to give his assent and to subscribe to the said Articles, was to be deprived of his living " as if he were dead." In, a similar way, the Act of Uniformity of 16G2 (14 Chas. II. c. 4) rigorously prescribes uniformity in public worship. The Act reads thus : — " Now, in regard tluvt iiolliing conduces more to the settling of the peace of this nation (wliicli is desired of all good men), nor to the honour of our religion and the propagation thereof, than an universal agreement in the public worship of Almighty God; and to the intent that every person within this realm may certainly know the rule to which he is to conform in public worshij) and administration of the sacraments, and other rites und ceremonies of the Church of Kngland, and the manner how and by whom bi^liops, piiests, and deacons are and ought to be made, ordained, and consecrated: be it enacted," &c., (Sec. Practical failure of establisiimext. 20- And the penalty of non-compliance with the provisions of the Act was, in this case also, for every clergyman the loss of his living. But it is notorious that, in spite of these express and rigorous provisions of the law, there is, and there always has been, as much diversity of religious opinion inside the I'^stablishmcnt as there is outside of it ; while, so far from "every person" being able "certainly to know the rule to which he is to conform in public worship," that worship varies from the most simple Protestant forms to a studied imitation of the most elaborate ritual of the Roman Catholic Church.' I'.ISIIOP KYLE ON CHURCH PARTIES. The extreme diversity of faith and worship within the Church Establishment is frankly recognised by Church- men of all sections, and is admitted to be one of the chief sources of danger to its continued existence. No one has spoken more plainly on the subject than the Bishop of Liverpool. He is continually lamenting over " our unhappy divisions " ; and, while he admits that they threaten the Church with " disruption and disestab- lishment," he sees no way of escape from the danger, lie agrees that Churchmen of all sections may, and ought, to act together for various benevolent juirposes, and " for maintaining the union of Church and State ; " — " r>iit," he says, " co-operaliun for direct spiritual work, for teach- ing savinj; rclij^ion, for direct dealing with souls, appears to nie a ratlier dillereut matter. It is my deliberate conviction that if nij,'h, Jlioad, and Low Cluirchnien are sinceie, out-jiuken, hearty, and earnest in their several views it is not easy for them to work smoothly and comfortably to^'cther in direct tlealinj^ with souls. . . . Here is precisely the wiiole question on which schools of thought are diametiieally opposed to one another I W'liat one calls evangelising * .Vs if in mockeiy cf the teims of the Act of Uniformity a corre- spondent of the u'U'bi. September, iSijj, sui^i,'ests that the clergy, especially in country districts, should indicate outside llieir churches tiie character of their services, in this way: "Catholic scr\ices held heie," "Protestant services held here." '"l-or," he says, "after walking perhaps a mile or two, to find the service objectionable is very trying and disappointing.'' 2o8 CAS£ FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. another does not. What one would think wholesome milk another would think rank poison. It is a sorrowful conclusion, but, I know not how to avoid it, as things are at present. The acids and alkalies must be kept separate, lest there be effervescences and explosions, and a general blow up." J- And that these are not the exaggerated views of a mere partisan may be inferred from the fact that the Times takes substantially the same line. "It would be im- possible," it says, "to deny . . . that the gulf between the Church and the Nonconformists is not as wide as that between different parlies within the Church " ; and that " the gulf between the different schools which the Establishment includes" is not only "wide," but "im- passable." - The failure of the Establishment in this matter of uniformity of belief and worship is the more marked because of the bitterness and animosity which the different parties within the Church display towards one another. Their mutual recriminations, and their conflicts in the law courts have provoked the scornful comments of the world, and been a scandal to the cause of religion. It is true, this internecine strife has been somewhat appeased for the time by the decision ot the Privy Council in the Bishop of Lincoln's case. But the victory which has thus been gained by the Romanising party in the Estab- lishment has been dearly purchased ; for it has demon- strated that the National Church has proved false to the Protestant religion, and has thus failed in the primary object it was founded to accomplish. THE church's duty as an establishment. The Establishment has also signally failed in making adequate provision for the spiritual needs of tlie people. Its supporters frankly admit their responsibility to the nation. Thus IMr. (now Lord) Cross, when Home Secre- tary of a Conservative Government, said : — " We must remember what our duty is as a National Church- 1 have always held, and I always shall hold, that if you say you arc a "^ Principles for Churchmen, pp. 80-83, 18S4. * Times, October 7th, 1893, on Birmingham Church Congress. Practical failure of establishmexl. 209 National Church you are bouml to provide Church accommodation for the whole of the nation. Never mind whether they come or not, do not shrink from your duty.'" A little later Lord Cross reiterated this view. He said : — " It is the bounden duty of tlie Church of England as the National Church of this country^eaving all other bodies of Christians to do their own work in their own way — to provide Church accommodation for all the people of this land, so that every one might attend her services." ^ The same admission of the Church's duty as a national Estal)lishment is practically made by the almost uniform habit of Churchmen, in estimating the spiritual needs of any locality, to ignore altogtther the work of Noncon- formists, and to take account only of the means of public worship provided by the Church of England itself. However unreasonable, in view of the actual facts. Lord Cross's contention maybe, and howeverwanting incourteous recognition of the work of the Christian community at large, it is perfectly consistent with the theory of the Church I^stablishment. It is established by law as the National Church, and, as such, is bound, as Lord Cross expresses it, " to provide Church accommodation for all the people," whatever may be done, or left undone, by other religious bodies charged with no such national responsibility. Church accomvh'dalion provided. — But, if this view of the Church's obligation as a National Establisliment be correct, the proof of its failure in this jiarticular is absolute and complete, and the authorities of the ICstablishment them- selves supply the evidence. Eor the " Official Year Book of the Cluirch of l^ngland " for 1S03 gives the following as to the accommodation provitled in the places of worship belonging to the Establishment : — Parish churches ... ... ... ... ... 4,908,922 Chapels of case ... ... ... ... 435.979 Mission rooms and other buildings 4)38,715 5,983,616 * Speech at Kirkdalc. Liverpool, October 15th, 1878. * Sj>iech at llalton View, October, i!S79. O 210 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. It is stated, however, that " these figures embrace the returns of 12,299 incumbents, leaving 1,263 to be accounted for" ; the returns wanting being chiefly those of small agricultural parishes. The addition of ten per cent, to the figures given will therefore more than make up for the omitted returns, and this will make a total accommodation provided by the Establishment of 6,581,977 sittings. The population of England and Wales is close upon 30,000,000 ; but as not more than 58 per cent, of the population can attend public worship at the same time, provision for about 17,400,000 would in fact be provision for the whole. But the provision actually made by the Establishment, includ- ing its places of worship of every description, falls short by nearly 11,000,000! In other words, the so-called "National Church," according to the most favourable view of its work,^ provides the means of public worship for little more than one-third of the nation ; and if it had not been for the exertions of the Free Churches the larger part of the population would have been left practically wirhout the means of public worship. Failure to win the people. — The true test, however, of the Church's success or failure, as a National Establish- ment, is, not so much the accommodation it provides in its places of worship, as the extent to which it has induced the people to attend its public services ; and in this respect the failure of the Establishment is even more marked than in regard to its inadequate provision for public worship. But on this point there are no oflicial statistics more recent than those of the religious census of 185 1. For the broad features of the case, however, no statistics are necessary. Common observation everywhere reveals the fact that a large proportion of the population make no profession of religion, and rarely if ever attend religious services ; and that of those who do attend, the number belonging to the F'rec Churches is in most parts of the country as great, and in some parts greater, than is the number belonging to the Establishment. On the ^ It is worth notinjj that the Catiferbury Diocesan Calendar for 1893 gives the Church sittings for ail England and Wales as 6,465,000. PRACTICAL FAILURE OF ESTABLISHMENT. 211 face of the case, therefore, the Establishment is thus far a faihire, that it has left a large mass of the population apparently untoucheil by its influence, and has gathered to its side a number not larger, if so large, as that connected with the Free Churches, which do all their work without assistance from the State. THE RKLIGIOUS CENSUS OF 185I. The elaborate report by Mr. Horace Mann on the Religious Census of 1851 is still of interest and value, not only for the light it casts on the relative position of Church and Dissent at that time, but for the evidence it gives as to the wonderful progress of the Free Churches in the previous half-century. It was not until after the middle of that period, in 1S2S, that the ban of the law was removed from Nonconformity, by the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts. Before that time Nonconformists were practically excluded froai the main currents of the national life, as they also were, for many years longer, from the advantages of the national seats of learning. But from the moment that they were permitted freely to share in the municipal and civil life of the nation, their religious activities were stimulated in an extraordinary degree, and almost every section of the Free Churches showed a remarkable increase. The comparison between the relative positions of the Established Church and the Free Churches in respect to the accommodation provided in their places of worship in 1801 and 1S51 respectively, is most suggestive. These are the figures : — iSoi. 1851. Establishoil Church ... ... 4,o(><),28i 5i3'7.9'5 Free Church yf'i.iO^ 4,894,648 In the first hall of the century, therefore, whib the Established Church increased the sitting accommodation in its places of worship by less than one-lliird of its previous amount, the Free Churches increased their sittings to more than five times its previous amount. The population of England and Wales in 1851 was o z 212 CASE fOR DISESTABLISHMENT. 17,927,609 ; and on the 58 per cent, rule, the number for which accommodation would be necessary is 10,398,013 ; while, as the above figures show, the actual accommoda- tion provided by the Church of England was for only 5,317,915, or little more than half of what was required. The results of the census as to actual attendance were still less satisfactory. The total attendances at all the places of worship together, at the three services on the census Sunday, were as follows : — IMorning. Afternoon. Evening. Total. Established Church 2,371,732 1,764641 803,141 4,939,514 Eree Churches ... 2,056,606 1,265,639 2,157,631 5,479,876 In so far, therefore, as the number oi atlendances is con- cerned those of the Free Churches exceeded those at the churches of the Establishment by 540,362. But it is obvious that the larger number of attendances at the three services together might be made by the smaller number of persons ; and Mr. Mann, assuming that among the Free Churches there were more persons who attended service twice or three times in the day than among the worshippers with the Establishment, calculated that the above totals repre- sented 3,773,474 persons on the side of the Established Church, and 3,487,558 in connection with the Free Churches, or a majority for the Establishment of 285,916. The important point, however, is that while the Estab- lished Church provided little more than half the accom- modation required, the actual number present at its most numerously attended service was only 2,371,732, or con- siderably less than half the number for whom provision was made. The j)icture of failure, therefore, was complete. THE RELIGIOUS CENSUS QUESTION. The supporters of the ]'"stablished Church have not tmnaturally sought to disparage the Religious Census of 1851 ; but it was not until the disclosures of the census had proved so damaging to the Establishment that any complaint was made; and the substantial accuracy of the figures of 1 85 1 are above suspicion. PRACTICAL FAFLURE OF ESTABLISIIMEXT. 213 In i860, however, a resolute attempt was made to substitute, in the census of 1861, a mere statement of " religious profession" on the census-paper, for an actual count of the attendants at places of worship. But this was resisted, on the ground tiiat it is no part of the duty of the Government to require a statement of the religious profession of the jjeople ; that such a statement would, in a large number of cases, be unreal and misleading ; and that its result would give a fictitious appearance of strength to the Established Church, from the nominal adhesion of people who never attended its services.^ No objection was offered by the Nonconformists to a census similar to that of 1 85 1, and they actually proposed that such a census should be taken, liut the supporters of the Estab- lishment refused, as they have ever since refused ; and the result is that no official religious census has since been taken. THE NEWSPAPER RELIGIOUS CENSUS OE 1881-2. But although no oflkial religious census has been taken since 1S51, there have been various local and un- ollicial censuses taken by the proprietors of certain news- papers ; and, in the absence of ollicial information, the facts thus disclosed are worthy of careful attention. The first of these local censuses was that of Newcastle- on-Tyne. In iSSi, ihe Church Congress was held in that city ; and, on the Sunday before the Congress met, the Naccastle Daily Chronicle, the leading newspaper of liie district, took a religious census of Newcastle and the adjoining town of Gateshead ; the details being published on October 5th, the day the Congress discussed the ijuestion of " Church and State." Nothing could have been more opportunely done ; and the facts disclosed were so remarkable that they produced a great impression, ^ Tlic Rev. ]?iooko Lambert, now Vicar of Greenwicli, in a letter to the Spectator, September 2Sth, 1.S78, camlidly admits thai when, some years previously, he took a census tif his parisli in the Kasl of London, he often got the answer, " 1 go nowhere ; put me down ' Church.' " 214 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. not only upon the Churchmen assembled at Newcastle, but upon all denominations and in all parts of the country. The result was that a kind of rivalry at once sprang up between different newspapers in their eagerness to give the public similar information respecting the several towns with which they were connected ; and in the course of a few months these statistics were published for about 200 places, large and small, situated in all parts of the country, and not unfairly representative of the population at large. In each case the statistics were given in great detail, and in such a form as to show that they were the result of a bo7ia fide attempt to make known the actual facts. The following is a carefully compiled summary of this census, arranged according to the population of the places included, but, for the sake of simplicity, giving only the aggregate largest attendance in the Established Church and the Free Churches respectively : — Aggregate Popula- tion. Largest Attendance. Places. Establishd Church. Free Churches. Ten towns witli a ])opulation of over 100,000 each ^ Ten towns over 50,000 and under 2,084,686 137,616 264,469 100,000 each ^ Seventeen towns over 20,000 and under 619,576 51,815 74,954 50,000 each ■'' Sixteen towns over 10,000 and under 59 ',032 51,91^' 91,728 20, GOO each ■' Eighteen small towns, vaiious villages, 236,(168 24,098 39,955 and rural districts * Wales (four towns) " 251,522 50.303 34.975 3.902 45.5 '0 14,981 3,833.787 304.322 531.597 1 P.olton, Bradford, Bristol, Hull, Leicester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham, Portsmouth and adjoining towns, and ShefTicld, 2 Bath, Burnley, Derby, Gateshead, Ilanley, Ipswich, Northampton. Southampton, Stockport, and AVolverhampton. •'' Accrington, Barnsley, Barrow-in-Furness, Burslem, Cheltenham, Coventrj', Darlington, Gloucester, Gosport, Hastings and St. Leonards, Ove, Darwen, Peterborough, Rotherham, Scarborough, Stockton, War- PR A CTICAL FAIL URE OF ESTABLISHMENT. 2 1 5 No one would contend that this newspaper census furnishes anything more than a rough approximate indica- tion of the relative numerical position of the Established and the Free Churches in the country at large. But, as such an indication, it has its value; and, looking at it in connection with the official census of 1851, it seems to indicate three things: — (i) that the Free Churches are steadily, and in some cases rapidly, increasing their majority over the Establishment in the towns, and especially in the large towns ; (2) that the Establish- ment is fast losing, if it has not already lost, its supre- macy in the rural districts; and (3), that, as the Times says (although with no reference to this newspaper census)," ihe Church of England has failed, and still fails to reach more than the fringe of the masses for whom it was founded."^ l-'AILURI': WITH THE WORKING CLASSES. The practical failure of the Establishment in its dealings with the agricultural labourers has already been shown.^ Some figures have also been given showing its inadequate provision for the needs of town populations ;^ while the Bishop of Liverpool furnishes a striking illustration of its failure with the great mass of the labouring population in the large towns. He says : — " The fact that myriads of the working classes never attend any public worship at all, and are practically ' without (rod in the world ' is realised, I expect, by very few. Yet the statistics of every census of \v()r>l>ip altend.iiice in our large towns bring out the painful fact in dark mmX unmistakable colours. I will give an illustration of my meaning; 1 will show tlie results obtained by an accurate enumeration made on rington and Widnes. ' Hournenioulh, Chesterfield, Colne, Fiome, Ilkestone, Ketteiing, l.onglon, Margate, Xewcastle-under-L>me, Newton and Earlstown, Runcorn, Stoke, Trowbridge, Welling- borough, Wiiitehaven, ami Woiksop. * Towcester, Davenlry, Long Buckliy, Blisworth, Bradford-on-Avon, Chipjienham, Corsham, Fromc, Melksham, SheiUon Midlet, Basingstoke, Christchurch, Diss, l-'gre- nioiit, llalslead, 1 lavtiliili, iMexborough, Tadiham, Retford, seventy villages around Bath, Forest of Dean District, Lincolnshire villages, and villages around Wanington and Cheltenham. '' Carnarvon, Conway, Llanelly, and Wrexham. * The Times, Dec, 26th, 1882. '^ Seert'/A, p. 41. ^ Sccr/«/f-,p. 108. 2l6 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. Trinity Sunday, 1882. of the attendance at fifteen of the poorer parish churches in Liverpool : — Liverpool Parishes. Church Attendance, June 4, 1832. Gross Population. Cliui ch of England Popiilatidii. ^Ntorning. Evening. Average. .5.225 1.748 271 442 356 5/'72 2,154 97 124 HI 11,309 3,207 Go 60 ()0 10,491 3,062 29 52 41 9,111 3,344 25 31 28 8,774 i,76'> 280 180 233 8,i6i 2,724 156 205 180 4,996 2,127 lOl 353 257 8,732 4,206 260 310 285 6,214 3,037 228 313 270 9,762 6,747 205 327 266 6,430 3,424 156 151 153 13,284 8,481 443 460 454 9,737 5,960 302 314 308 8,286 5-414 57,464 460 544 502 126,184 IMl 3.877 3.504" The Bishop adds : — " I do not believe that Liverpool is one wliit worse than other large towns in luigland and Wales. On the contrary, I firmly believe that a census of churcli attemlancc on one given day in London, Man- chester, Leeds, I'-irmingham, -Shellleld, Newcastle, Hull, Bradford, Nottingham, Leicester, Wolverhampton, Portsmoutli, Plymoutli, Old- ham, and other jilaces which I could name, would be found to produce the same, or even worse, results." ' The Piishop does not explain how tlie figures of tliis table, ])rofessedly giving the " Church of England popu- lation," were obtained ; but it was probably from a house- to-house inquiry as to the "religious profession" of the inmates made, in 1881, by Canon Hume. The figures, however, clearly indicate the worthlessness of such inquiries. * " Coil they he brought in ?'' pp. :;-6. PRACTICAL FAILURE OF ESTABLfSHMEXl. 217 It may be doubted whether Bishop Ryle is justified in describing the " myriads of the working classes " who never attend any place of worship as being " practically without God in the world ; " but it is evident from his own state- ments that the Established Church has utterly failed to reach them ; and the probability is that, as he says in his " Church Reform Papers," "Not one in a score of them would lift a finger to prevent the Establishment being destroyed to-morrow." ' LOSS OI- INTKLLKCTLTAL SUPREMACY. In a previous chaptet - reference has been made to another aspect of the failure of the Establishment; namely, to the reactionary spirit which the dominant party within it now displays, and to its increasing divergence from the spirit of the age. ]5ut, perhaps the most striking indica- tion of its failure is the intellectual decay by which it appears at the present time to be marked. On this subject Mr. H. \V. Massingham writes as follows in the Contemporary Reviciv, for September, 1891 : — ♦' In the Middle A<,'es the Church had a monopoly of culture, auJ a dircctiug hand in all the progressive movemeats of the times — political, social, intellectual. Kven so late as lifty years ago the control of the ICnglish Universities ])laced in the hands of the clergy nearly the whole of the learning and the educational work of the country. Nearly every Fellow of a college at Cambridge or Oxford was a clergyman, liie school-mastering of English youth of high and of low ilcgree was in the hands of the clergy. Every l*rofe>sor up and down the land was m orders. Clergymen made a brave show at the Koyal Society, which, in iSi;o, counted less than a score of clerical Lellows. The Cambridge Calendar of 18.13 shows that out of the twenty-four Professors seventeen were clergymen. The teaching of pure science was in the hands o( men who had subscribed to the Thirty-nine Articles. The chairs of civil law, moral philosophy, moilcrn history, and natural philosophy, were also retained by them. •' fxaniinc the cakM, 2i8 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. real eminence, but their distinction only serves to throw into severer contrast the obscurity of their clerical colleagues. To-day the teaching of the chief branches of modern learning — civil law, moral philosophy, chemistry, astronomy, anatomy, modern history, botany, biology, and natural histoi-y — which, in 1843, was the absolute monopoly of the Church, is entirely confined to laymen. To take one great subject, I may mention that in all England and AVales there are fourteen professors of history attached to the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford, and London, and the various University Colleges. Only two of these — namely. Professor Boase and Professor Bright — are clergy- men. It is not simply that the Anselms, the Becketts, and the Butlers have gone. The Church has largely lost her able adminis- trators, her scholars, and her thinkers, as well as her statesmen, her poets, her saints, and her heroes. "It does not need any special acquaintance with the later history of the Church to know that, as a body, the clergy of the Church of England are fully as inferior as their loss of the key of the intellectual position would lead us to suppose. Where are the great Churchmen of to-day } AVhat is their line of distinction ? Two historians, a scholarly, though rather ' viewy ' inspirer of much good social work and thinking, an adroit manager or two, and a few clever pulpit rhetoricians and active town clergymen, make up the list of the prominent men. As a body they are nowhere in science, in literature, in art, in scholarship. In every department for one clergyman who is above the average you will find twenty laymen who are ahead of him." The facts here given are conclusive as to the practical failure of the Church Establishment. Its failure to enforce "uniformity" was inevitable, and is shown as much by the denominational divisions among Noncon- formists as by the irreconcilable differences within its own body. The fact that, after three centuries of State- favour, the " National Church " numbers less than half the nation, and is equalled or outnumbered by the self- supporting religious communities which have grown up around it, is good evidence that the Establishment system is not adapted to the purpose it was intended to serve ; while the reactionary spirit of the Established Church, its arrogant exclusiveness, its hostility to reform, and the intellectual decrepitude which seems to be overtaking it, are all traceable, more or less directly, to the fatal penalty which privilege commonly entails. Chapter XIII. WHAT IS, AND WHAT IS NOT, INVOLVED IN DISESTABLISHMENT. Much of the opposition to disestablishment is due to a wholly mistaken idea of what it involves ; and not un- frequently these unfounded objections are allowed to override the clearest convictions as to positive good which disestablishment would accomplish. The Bishop of Liverpool, for example, is a vehement opponent of disestablisiiment ; but, in so far as the Church is concerned, he admits that : — " It would doul)tkss give us more liberty, and might enable us to efVect some useful reforms. It would bring the laity forward into their rightful position from sheernecessity. It would probably give us a real and properly constituted Convocation, including laity as well as clergy. It would lead to an increase of bishops, a division of dioceses, and a reconstruction of our cathedral bodies. It would make an end of Crown jobs in the choice of bishops, and upset the whole existing system of patronage. It would destroy all sinecure otTices, and drive .all drones out of the ecclesiastical hive. It would enable us to make our worship more elastic, and our ritual better suited to the times." ' GKOTliSQUK MISCONCEl'TIONS. Why then, it will be asked, is the Bishop opposed to disestablishment ? Because, among other things, he says, its practical results would be that : — " The Government of Mnglaml would allow .all its subjects to serve God or liaal — to go to heaven or to another place — just .as they pleased. The State would continue to care for the bodies of its sub- jects, but it would entirely ignore their souls. The Sovereign of Great Britain might be a I'ajiist, the I'rinie Minister a Mohammedan, the ^ Principles for Church fne-ri, p. 322. 220 CASE FOR DFSESTABLISIIMENT. Lord Chancellor a Jew. Parliament would be commenced without prayer. Oaths would be dispensed with in Courts of Justice. The next king would be crowned without a religious service in Westminster Abbey. Prisons and workhouses, men-of-war, and regiments would all be left without chaplains. In short, for fear of offending infidels and people who object to intercessory prayer, I suppose that regimental bands would be forbidden to play ' God save the Queen.' " ^ "This," says the Bishop, "so far as I can make out, is the state of things the Liberationists wish to bring about in Great Britain " ! But a more grotesque caricature, both of the " wish " of Liberationists, and tiie probable results of disestablishment, it is hardly possible to imagine. Not one of the things specified is necessarily involved in dis- establishment ; and, judging by what has followed it in America, the Colonies, and Ireland, nothing of the kind is ever likely to happen. The Bishop forgets that the dominant force in favour of disestablishment is a religious force, and that it may safely be assumed, therefore, that in putting an end to the political ascendency of a particular Church, care will be taken, possibly at the expense of some logical consistency, to do nothing that will be prejudicial to the religious interests of the nation. WHAT ESTABLISHMENT ITSELF INVOLVES. To understand clearly what is, and what is not, involved in disestablishment, it is necessary first to realise what establishment itself involves. According to the defini- tions already given," it consists (i) in the granting of special privileges to the Church by the State, and (2) in the exercise by the State of special control over the Church. But, strictly, that is rather the outcome of establishment, than establishment itself. TliL^re is a pre- liminary act of establishment, distinct from this special treatment of the Church established, and out of which that treatment springs; and that act of establishment is the formal adoption of the Church by the State as the embodi- ^ Principles for Churchmoi, \). 315. * See a)itc\ pp. q-12 WHAT JS JWOLVED /.V DISESTABLISIIMEXI . 221 mentofthe State-religion. It was in that way, in the sixth and seventh centuries, that Christianity was estabHshed,in place of heathenism, as the State-religion of the Anglo- Saxon kingdoms.^ But, as the Church thus established was not a local Church then first founded, but the one Catholic Church of all Western Christendom, the local legislative authority, whether of the separate Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, or, later, of the English State, never had more than a subordinate part in the regulation of its affairs in Eng- land. - It was not until the Reformation, when England broke away from the authority of Rome, and became, in ecclesiastical, as in civil, matters, a self-governing kingdom, that establishment received its full development, and the Church became wholly subject to the civil power. But, from th(^ first establishment of the Church in England, its affairs have been regulated by public law ; and since the time of Parliaments upwards of 1,4.00 statutes of the realm have been passed for that purpose. In these facts lies the essential distinction between the Church of England, as an Established Church, and other religious bodies. // is set up by law as the Church of the nation, and is, therefore, governed by the national Legis- lature; ilh-y arc private religious societies, unknown to the law, excepting as permissible associations, and wholly governed by rules of their own making. The mistake of those who suppose that the Church of England occupies a similar position to that of other religious bodies is due to forgetfulness of the fact that it has been thus formally set up by the State as the National Church ; and that, as such, it is the subject of special legislation, bv which the State gives to it privileges that no other religious body enjoys, and e.xercises over it a control to which no other religious body is subject. In previous chapters abundant evidence has been given of the special legislation which the establishmrnt of the Church has involved; and it has been shown that, as the result of its establishment, practically everything which other Churches do for them- selves, in the Church of England is done by the State ; J See ante, p. 50. * Sec liishop Stubhs's sUitement, ecl as to the advantages of the Free Church system. Mr. i3ryce, in his " American Commonwealth," says : — " There seem to be no two ojiinions on this subject in the United States. Even the I'rotestant Episcopalian clergy, who aie in many ways disposed to admire and envy their brethren in England ; even the Roman Catholic bishops, whose creed justilies the enforcement of the true faith by the secular arm, assure the I'^uropean visitor that if .State-establishment were offered tliem they would decline, preferring the freedom they enjoy to any advantage the .State could confer. . . . .So far from suffering from the want of State-su])port, religion seems in the United .States to stand all the firmer, because standing alone she is seen to stand by her own strength. No political paity, no class in the community, has any hostility either to Christianity, or to any par- ticular Christian body. The Churches are as thoroughly popular, in ^ History of tlie Unilcd States, vol. ix., p. 274, THE TEST OF EXPERIENCE. 2j7 the best sense of the word, as any of the other institutions of the country. . . . The influence of Christianity seems to be, if we look not merely to the numbers, but also to the intelligence of the persons inlluenccti, greater and more widespread in the United States than in any part of western continental Europe, and I think greater than in England." ^ THE EXPERIENXE OF THE COLOXIES. The British Colonies in all parts of the world supply evidence in favour of ihe Free Church system which is equally conclusive with that furnished by the United States. Canada. — In Canada the system of State-aid to religion was brought to an end in 1854, by the secularisation of what were known as the " Clergy Reserves," and the result has been in the highest degree beneficial. The late Rev. Edwin Hatch, D.D., Vice-Principal of St. Mary's Hall, Oxford, and formerly rector of the High School, Quebec, says:— "It was thought and asserted that the spoliation of the Church threatened almost the existence of the lamp of the Clospel." But he adds : " Since the Act of 185+ the Anglican Church in Canada has made material progress, and the Church's apparent loss has been its real gain." " Mr. Goldwin Smith, speaking generally as to the results of disestablishment in America and Canada, says : — " I have lived both in a Canadian city and in a country town of the United States. I am much mistaken il' society and life aie not fully as religious there, under the free system, as ihty are in Juigland uniler that of a State-Clmrch. Unquestionably tlicre is far more respect for religion than theie is in France, where, as l.ord Sclbornc reminds us, the Chuich is still established, but where, in a ' Libranie Anti- cloricale,' the most hideous blasphemy is openly sold. The Church in America and Canada is, 1 should say, to as great an extent as in lingland, the centre ol philanthropic cflbrt and even of social life. There is fully as much buikling of churches and as much church-going as in England, and the Sunday is as well kept." ^ '^ The American Coinmomccalth, vol. iii., pp. 400-483. ' Mdcmillan's J/ni^'uzine, (.)ct., i8()S. ' Aiiu-teentli CV////// r, Oct., i8i)i. 238 CASE FOR DISESTABLTSHMENT. The Australian Colotiies. — The testimony in favour of Free Church principles is equally satisfactory from the Australian Colonies. The movement for disestablishment there was com- menced early, and in New South Wales, where not only the Anglican Church, but the Roman Catholics, the Pres- byterians, and the Wesleyan Methodists were in receipt of State-aid, this public support was finally withdrawn in 1850, and all Churches were thenceforth thrown upon the support of their own people. Seventeen years afterward, in 1867, Mr. Anthony Forster, in his history of the Colony, says : — " The necessity of self-reliance imposed upon the Churches has not injured, but benefited them, to a considerable extent. One Church has been stimulated by the efforts of another, and a healthy rivalry has been created, which has led to greater results in every way than could have been achieved under a system of religious endowments. . . . Since the abolition of the State grant in aid of religion in the colony, the various Churches have not only been more vigorous and useful in their respective spheres, but the jealousies and animosities to which that grant gave rise have entirely disappeared, and the tone of Christian society has been improved and elevated." All later evidence is to the same effect. The writer of a series of articles in the Times, on " The Commonwealth of Australia," says : — " There is no State-Church in Australasia. In the very early days the i-ulers attempted to set up ' denominational monopoly,' as the colonists prefer to put it, in the mother colony, but the test of time showed that it was alien to the spirit of a 'level-ranked' citizenship, the only citizenshiji tolerable in a young nation of jiroud origin, and it was abandoned. Except for gifts of land as sites for churches in new townships, the sects are not indebted to the State. They exist by the right of their own strength; and that strength is the doing of good. . . , . The absence of denominational monopoly, of the social (and separating) superiority it confers, is slowly working out an admir- able result. The Anglican clergyman, as such, is less than he was; the Christian minister inside the Anglican clergyman is more. Indwelling Christian equality is getting increased outward acknowledgment. So far as the Protestant laity arc concerned, the old denominational barriers, offensively arrogant, have almost ceased to exist : amongst the clergy, also, they are crumbling away. The disappearance of the barriers means — first, co-operation, and, ultimately, perhaps, union." "■ ^ Times, Sept. 29th, 1891. THE TEST OF EXPERIENCE. 239 New Zealand. — In New Zealand there has never been any formal connection between Church and State, and a correspondent of the Guardian (Nov. nth, 1891) says: — " Though the [Anglican] Church, perhaps it might be put because the Church, has never been established in iSTew Zealand, she holds a very intluential position here." Again he says, "Never before in her history has the New Zealand Provincial Church had so strong a hold upon the people. Numerically larger than all other bodies put to- gether, she is now justifying her existence by fast working her way to the position of being the Church of the country-." South Africa. — In South Africa the advantages of the Free Church system have been equally marked. In the discussion on " Church and State " in the Church Congress, at Croydon, in 1877, -^f- ^lerriman, the late Bishop of Grahamstown, produced a great impression by his empha- tic declaration on the subject. He said : — " I have been for thirty years a member of a non-established Church, which has had to solve most of the questions which have been mooted to-day, according to the practice which was refened to yesterday, namely, solvitur ainhnlatido. With respect to the dissenting bodies, I must say that our relations towards them are veiy different to what they are in this country. Peace and harmony subsist between us, simply because there is no jealousy of the same kind that there is here. We are regarded by our fellow-Christians of a different communion as a spiritual body ; our courts are spiritual courts ; our canons are not mere waste paper ; they arc not a by-word for their inapphcability to the circumstances under which we exist ; our canons are living canons, guiding our conduct, and are recognised by the courts of the country as such. One of the inecciling speakers spoke of the existence of the Church as being imperilled, but I am sure he only meant by that the existence of the Establishment. I wouUl never say one word to assist, or raise one finger to forward, the disestablishment of the English Church, but at the same time I would rather resign my ministry than again jnit my neck under the yoke of the Church as it exists in England. "_^ The ^^\•sl Indian Cohmics. — In Jamaica the results of the abolition of State-aid to religion, which took place in 1S70, was seen in a marvellous development of Church-life, and a constantly increasing contribution for religious pur- poses. The 7?(W/(/ (August 12th, iSSi) quotes from the Jamaica Churchman the following suggestive figures as to \ Official Rfpott. pp. 305-fi. 240 CASE FOR DTSESTABLISHMENT. the annual income of the Church of England in Jamaica, exclusive of contributions for repairs and buildings, for the ten years following its separation from the State : — £ s. d. £ s. d. 1870 .. 4,238 15 5 1875 . .. 9,436 8 8 I87I 5,103 2 7 1876 10,378 19 8 1872 7-501 14 J 1S77 10,96s 9 1873 7,802 6 1878 . .. 12,784 6 7 1874 8,773 15 6 1879 . 14,(^74 14 In other West Indian islands the withdrawal of State-aid has led to equally striking results. At the Pan-Anglican Synod, in 1878, Bishop Mitchinson spoke of his diocese of Barbadoes and the Windward Islands as suflfering from the " paralysis of establishment." But in 1 88 1, at the Newcastle Church Congress, he was able to use very different language. He said : — " When I come to compare State-established Bavbadoes with the disestablished Windward Islands, I note that during the whole period of my administration of Barbadoes, though we talked much in our Church Council, we never succeeded in making one real distinct step forward in adapting ourselves to changing circumstances. In the disestablished diocese of the Windward Islands, on tlie other hand, although there was strenuous resistance to disestablishment on the part of the clergy and a large section of the laity, when once it was a faii acco7npU, and we were brought face to face with the necessity of reconstruction and self-support. Church-life did, as a matter of fact, develop itself with wonderful spontaneity ; and I have no hesitation in saving that in the disestablished islands the education of each little Church in the ways in which the Church should legislate for itself and provide for itself was an unexpectedly rapid process. If you ask me in what respects, 1 may mention the much greater interest which the laity took in Church (juestions. ... It was encouraging to observe the growth of tolerance which took place, and how the laity worked cordially and as possessing a comnu)n interest with the clergy, with the result of a large introduction into those councils of that practical common-sense which is of such impcntance in ecclesiastical assemblies. . . . Another step gained under disestablishment was improved clergy discipline. . . . Again, we are able to adapt ourselves with singular facility and readiness to the circumstances and wants of West Indian life." ^ Ceylon. — In Ceylon, where State-aid to religion was ' 0/Jiiial 7\c'/>ori, pp. 182-3. 'HIE TEST OE EXPERIEXCE. 241 abolished so recently as 1881, and five years of grace were given before the " Disendowment Ordinance" took effect, there has been but a short period for judging of its eftects ; but there appears to be a general agreement that it has been decidedly beneficial. Mr. J. Fergusson, the editor of the Ceylon Observer, in a statement made to the Committee of the Liberation Society in December, 1S91, says : — '•The adoption of the principles of the Liberation Society has ahcady borne striking and most satisfactory fruit. I am enabled, on Bishop Copleston's own authority, to tell you that the diocese of Colombo shows no signs of weakness in consequence of the withdrawal of State-aid. ... I have no hesitation in saying that disestablish- ment has produced a more charitable and brotheily feeling among the different bodies of Christians, and brought them more into line in their aggressive work on heathenism." Speaking generally of the results of disestablishment in the Colonies, the Ccyhm Observer, of June 3rd, iSj)., well observes : — " The result of disestablishment in the Colonies has been that all jtartiep, statesmen, bishops. Church digni- taries, and clergymen, bear testimony with one accord to the blessedness of the change that has come over them since the props have been struck from beneath the Estab- lished Church tent ; the Church exults in its liberty, and the clergy are astonished to find that, by an appeal to the liberality of their supporters, they find a far belter means of upholding all their ecclesiastical arrangements than when they were leaning upon beggarly gifts from the Stale Exchequer." RESULTS OF DISESTABLISHMENT IX IRELAXP. It is to Ireland, however, that those who are doubtful as to the practical results of disestablishment will look for evidence as to what will be its probable eflect in other parts of the United Kingdom ; and it may now be con- fidently stated that, notwithstanding the troubled political condition of Ireland in recent years, nowhere have the advantages of disestablishment been more conspicuously displayed. When the Act for the Disestablishment of the Iiish Q 242 CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT, Church (32 & ^i Vict. c. 42, 1869) was under considera- tion, it Mas predicted that it would result in the dis- organisation and ruin of the Church. The Archbishop of Armagh insisted that " over the greater part of the island disendowment meant nothing short of extinction." Lord Cairns predicted that "the thinly-sprinkled Protestant population would either emigrate or be absorbed by the Church of Rome." The Church Defence Institution also urged that '• disendowment would practically drive Pro- testantism from the south, and from many parts of the east and west of Ireland." 'Phere were also predictions of financial failure, of weakened n (jial power, and of hope- less internal divisions. Not only have none of these anticipations of evil been verified, but it is admitted by Irish Churchmen themselves that disestablishment has been the means of doing immense good to the Church, and that at the present time it is in a most prosperous and flourishing condition. In Ireland, as elsewhere, the beneficial results of dis- establishment speedily became apparent. Tiie Irish Church Act came into force in r87i, and in rHyq the Chn'siian Obseinr, in a series of articles on " Four Years' I'Lxperience of Disestablishment," thus pictures the energy which it had called forth : — "The new spectacle was everywhcie seen in Ireland of noblemen, country squires, manufacturers, men of business, farmers, and shop- keepers, ilocking to their extemporised synod halls, and every man exhibiting his eloquence, or exercising his newly obtained franchise, in the seivice of tiie Church. A new life seemed to have been breathed into the i-lumbcring Church. . . . The most remarkable fruit of disestablishment is, umjuestionably, the impulse it has given, not merely to the refoiming zeal, but to the organising and legislative activity of the most eminent aristocratic, professional, and mercantile laymen of Ireland." The evidence as to the prosperous condition of the disestablished Church has come from both the great Church parties. In July. rSSo, 'J'he I^ccord, the leading organ of the Evangelical party in England, wrote : "Tiie devotion of the clergy, and the practical result of their labouis in the rescue of increasing numbers of converts from the dark- 7IIE TEST OF EXTERIEXCE. 243 ness of Romanism, show that disestablishment and spoliation have rather quickened than extinguished spiritual life in Ireland. The ac;ivity that exists in every department of the Irish Church is indica- tive of vigorous existence." The Ritualistic Church Times is equally explicit, and on February 17th, 1882, declared that — "There is more life, more true activity, more even of Church feeling and Church doctrine, visible in Ireland now than at any time since the Ileformation.' \\\ 1881, The Naltonal Church, the organ of the Church Defence Institution, endeavoured to make capital out of the condition of the Irish Church, and, as the result, called forth an indignant rebuke from The Irish E:cli- siastical Gazeilt' (December lolh, 1881), protesting against the disestablished and disendowed Church of Ireland, being " held up as a warning to the English Church," as a course "entirely unworthy" of the Knglish journal The Gaz-.f/e continued : "It is wonderful what Irish Churchmen have done during the past ten years for their Church — ctvAr////)' more than for hundreds of years /n-'/o/w— cathedrals built or restored ; churches builr, rebuilt, and adorned ; glebe houses erected all over the country." In 1S92 the Wcslern Mail, the principal Conservative newspaper of Wales, with the view of obtaining for itself direct evidence as to the results of disestablishment in Ireland, sent a special Commissioner to investigate the subject ; and in a series of jupers he gave the result of liis inquiries and observations. On November Sih, 1892, he reports the Archbishop of Dublin a> saying : — "When I count up the advantages which have followed disestablish- ment ; when I think of the renewed strength and vitality which our ("hurch has derived from the admission of the laity to an active and responsible ]Kirticipalion in her counsels, in the disjiosition of her jiatronage, and in the fmancial departments of her work : when I observe the sjjirit of unity and mutual respect which has been en- gendered by the orde.al of our common atlversity and the increased loyalty and love which is being daily shown to their Mother Church by those who h-ive had to make some sacrifice on her behalf; when I remember, too, the freedo-n fiom ngr.uian complications which our 2-11 CASE FOR DISESrABLlSHMENT. disconnection from all questions of tithe and tithe rent-charge has brought about, and llie more favourable attitude as regards our in- fluence upon the surrounding population which we occupy because of our severence from any State connection — when I remember all this CGur.tei poise of advan'age which we enjoy in our rew and independent position, and when I try to hold the balance evenly and weigh the losses and the gains of the whole, I say boldly and without reserve that in my opinion at least, the gain outweighs the loss." Asked whether any of the poor and remote parishes had been, in fact, left without ministers by reason of dises- tablishment, the Archbishop replied : — "No, in the case of remote and thinly populated paiishes two or more have been grouped together, and where Ibimerly each parish had its incumbent, one incumbent has now to do duty in a parochial dis- trict composed of two or more united parishes, and the congregations have to travel much farther from their homes to hear Divine service; but I may safely say that, notwithstanding our troubles, there is no single parish, however remote, which has been left without the means of grace." Asked, " Has their been any increase in the contribu- tions of the laity to the Church since its disestabl'shment ? " the Archbishop replied : — " Most certainly ; a very ccnsiderable increase has taken place, and, notwithstanding the burden of being obliged to provide for the sujipoit of the clergy mainly out of the voluntary ollctings of the laily, very considerable sums have been contributed to the Chuicli Sustentation Fund, amoimting in the aggregate to nearly four millions sterling. Since the date of disestablishment, half a million of money has also been spent, as can be easily proved, in the restoration and renovation of chuiches, and this has heen done without in any way neglecting missionary work and other objects of benevolence and charity. It has, undoubtedly, proved to have been for the good of our Cluirch that it has been thrown upon its own resources. Had we received large sub- sidies from luigland at the time of disestal)lishmcnt, and had we seen reason to expect more assistance in the future, the liberality of our own people would assuredly not have been stimulateel as it has been, nor would they have been drawn in the same degree to their own Cliuich by those feelings of loyalty and attachment which have been begotten by the very fact that they have made sacrifices on her behalf." The Commissioner gives mar.y similar testimonies from other dignitaries and clergymen, as well as from laymen ; and, as the results of his own observation?, he says : — "There never was such a keen and intense interest displayed in THE TES'I OF EXPERIKS'CE. 245 the affairs of the Church of Ireland from the time of the Reformation as there is to-day, and this interest is not confined to the clergy alone. Laymen everywhere throw themselves into the work of the Church with a zealous and earnest entliusiasin never before experienced, and this zealous co-operation of clergy and laity is not only to be found in the cities and towns, but in the country districts also — not in Ulster only, but in the three other provinces as well. Church work is, doubtless, more obvious in Ulster and Leinslcr than in Munster and Connaught ; but even in the most remote districts of the west, where two or three Church people can gather together, they appear to be endowed with more life since the Church was disestablished than ever they were before. No matter what place I stayed at on my journey, wherever tlicrc was a church I found some evidence — as well in the churcli buildings as in the menibeis of the Church — of renewetl life. Whether in a large town like Belfast, with its twenty churches, or in a remote countiy parish, I could not help remarkuig the increased activity of the Churcli, as compared with what it was only five and twenty years ago."' The Rrvitw 0/ the Chtinhis:, for Djc, 1892, contains additional evidence of the same kind. The Bishop of Cork states that, while the Church has had great diflicullies in supplying the needs of the thinly- scattered Church populations of the south and west, " no post where a congregation is to be found has been abandoned," and that "congregations have been united with a decided gain in the way of efliciency ami increased interest." The Bishop adds: — " The energy and activity of the Churcli in tiie Luge centres of population is undeniable. There is a growing interest in the progress of niissionaiy work tliroughout the world, and notwithstanding all the ililhcultics of llie couiitiy, an increase in the amount of vt)luntary con- tiibutions for niissionaiy work and in llie nuinbjr of vokinteers for service in' the mission field, there is a growing ilesire to break down the birricis that separate tlie followers of Ciirist one from the other." It is inii)ossiblc to gainsay evidence of this description. And although the journals of the Establishment in England have given but the most meagre notices of it, the truth will become known, and will have a powerful clTcct in pro- moting the cause of disestablishment. Chapter XV. PROGRESS OF THE MOVEMENT. In one sense the movement for the separation of Church and State may be said to have begun with the passing of the Toleration Act ; for the possibility of all which has since happened was really involved in that measure. So long as the Church established by law was the only Church legally permitted to exist, in a certain sense, the Establishment was secure. But, with the legal toleration of Dissent, it obviously became possible, that in the course of time its adherents might outnumber those of the Esta- blishment, and procure its downfall. The Toleration Act ( I William & Mary, c. 1 8) was one of the first fruits of the Revolution of i68S ; and although it was simply "An Act for exempting their Majesties' Protestant subjects, dissent- ing from the Church of England, from the penalties of certain laws," it carried wlih it the promise of far greater results in the future. But a long and dreary interval succeeded before any further concessions were made to the claims of justice in regard to Nonconformists. In the time of (^ueen Anne, indeed, the concession made in the previous reign was seriously^ imperilled; and Mr. II. S. Skeats in his "History of the Free Churches of England '' well sajs: — " Anne was no sooner seated on the throne than it became evident that the lilieilies of Dissenters were in danger of serious restrictions, 'the I ligh (!hurch tendencies of tlie ( hicen were well known, and it was confidently anticipated that she wotdd view with favour the desires of the clergy to limit tlie o|)eration of tiic Toleration Act. Dissenters weic everywhere insulted ; their ministers could scarcely walk the streets with safety : High Church ballads, all ending with the refrain of ' Down wit!) the I'resbyteiians,' were composed anil sung by drunken mobs under newly-erected Maypoles. 'Queen Mary's bonfires' were hinted at for the efTectual extirpation of obstinate schismatics ; people talked of pulling down the meeting-houses as places that should not be PROGRESS OF THE MOVEMENT. 247 suffered to exist, and, at Xcwcastle-under-Lyne, they carried this desire into execution." ^ One of the last acts of (^aeen Anne was to give her assent to the Schism Bill (171+), which was designed to eradicate Dissent by suppressing the institutions for the education of its ministry. Fortunately, however, the death of the Qieen reduced the Act itself to a dead letter; and this last measure passed by the British Parliament for the repression of religious liberty failed to take elfect. REPEAL OF THE TEST AND CORPORATION ACTS. It was not until the gre^t uprising of public opinion in the times immediately preceding and following the Reform agitation of 1831-32, that any further measures were passed to extend the bounds of religious freedom. The first of these was the Act (9 Geo. IV. c. 17) carried by Lord John Russell in 1 S28, for the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts. Under the operation of tho?c laws, no one who declined to proclaim himself a member of the Established Church, by partaking of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper in his parish church, could hold any olTice of trust or emolument under the Crown, or in connection with any municipal corporation. The liw ami its administration were alike a scandal to religion. The poet Cowper had long before denounced its provisions ; which — " Piy slatuto shoved from its dcsi.qn The Saviour's feast, His own bless'd bread and wine, And made the symbols of atoning f^mce, An oflice key, a picklock to a place.'' But the test was vehemently defended by men like Sir Robert Inglis and Lord Lldon; and, although Lord John ' Hislorv of the Free Chiirchts of Eiii;!aiiJ, ]ip. \')(i--. A new edition of this admiral)Ie work, brouj,'lit down to the present time, by Mr. C. S. Miall, was publishe 1-^ '7 Vict. c. f^y. "Act to reguldte the admission of Professors to lay Chaiis in the Universities of Scotland." Professors not to be reiju'rcd to subscribe Confession of Paith. 1954. Abolition of State-aid in Canada 237 {\- k. iS Vict. c. I iS.) Act for .Seculaii.-5atijn of '• Clergy Reserves." 1854. Oxford University Act 254 (17 & 18 Vict. c. 81.) 1855. Irish Burial Law Amendment Act. 1855. Liberty of Worship Act. (iN cS: 19 Vict. c. ^6.) "Act forsecuiing liberty of l^cligi .us Worship." No prosecution to b^ maintainab'e for assembling for religious worship in a place of meeting not registered, 1856. Cambridge University Act 254 (19 cs: 20 \'ict. c. 88.) 1857. Further Burial Law Amendment Act (2 ) ^Sc 21 \'ict. c. Si.) 1857. Abolition of Ministers' Money ^Irelanil (20 & 21 Vict. c. 8.) 1857. Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act (2o ^: 21 \'ut. c. 85.) Abolishing jur'!>ilii^''on of the l-\clcsia>li:al Courts in Divorce and Matrimoni.d cases. 26o CASE FOR DISESTABLISHMENT. PAGE 1858. Admission of Jews to Parliament ■•■ 37. 249 (21 iSc 22 Vict. c. 48 and 49.) I860. Opening of Grammar Schools to Dis- senters (^3 Vict. c. u) 252 1860. Act to abolish Annuity Tax in Edinburgh and Montrose (23 & 24 Vict. c. 5). 1863. Abolition of State-aid to Religion in New South Wales. 1866. Abolition of State-aid to Religion in Queensland and Tasmania. 1866. Qualification for Offices Act 252 (29 Vict. c. 22.) " Act to make it unnecessary to make and sub- scribe certain declarations, as a qualificaticn for office, &c." 1867. Abolition of Declaration against Tran- substantiation (3" '-^' 3' Vict. c. 72) "Act to abolish . . . the declaration against transubstantiation, &c., i^'c, as a qualiiication for any civil ullice or rights," 1867. Religious Disabilities Removal Act . • -ll [loki\ Vict. c. 75.) 1867. Dublin Professorships Act. (30 Vict. c. 9.) " Act to open I'rofessorships of anatomy and chirurgcry, chemistry and botany, in the University of Dublin to all persons irrespective of their rtligious ciccd." 1868. Abolition of Compulsory Church Rates ••• 251 (31 e^' 32 Vict. C. 109.) CHROXOLOGICAL TABLE. 261 PAG 1868. Abolition of State-aid in West Indiei (31 k y. Vict. c. 123.) " Act to relieve Consolidated Fund from charge for salaries of future bishops, Sic, in the West Indies." 1868. Irish Burial Law Amendment Act. 131 k. 32 \'ict. c. 103.) 186 3. Irish Church Disestablishment Act '^'5.255 {12 k II Vict. c. 42.) " Act to put an end to the Establishment of the Church of Ireland." 1869. Grammar Schools Act 252 (32 k 33 Vict., c. 56.) Opened {governing bodies of Giammir Schools to all denominations. 1870. Abolition of State-aid in Jamaica 239 1870, Abolition of State-aid in Victoria. 1871. Abolition of University Tests 253 (31 Vict. c. 20.) To render " the benefits of the Universities of 0.\- ford. Cambridge, and Durham, and of the college and halls now subsisting therein, as places of religion and learning, freely accessible t 172 185, 187 •47, 148 235. 236 49 ... «55 162 2 5'> 57 168, 169 76 1 2 15 242 35 66 103 •05 50 2S^ ite 236 180 264 INDEX. PAGE Beaconsfield, Lord 32, 80 Beecher, Dr. Lyman ... ... ... .. ... .. ... 235 Bi'lfast News Letter Kdi\tx\\%QV!\Q.vX {ox Zm7\.\.t% I OS Bell, Dr., and National School Society 38 Bilston clerical scandal, The... ... ... ... ... .. 116 Birmingham Parishes ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 109 Bishoprics Act of 1878 83 "Bishops Act," The 150 Bishops, Appointment of ... ... ... ... ... •••57>79 — — and Cathedrals ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 95 and their Wealth 89 by " Letters Patent " 84 —— Evil effects of Establishment on ... ... ... ... 21 Oath of Homage, The 85 of the two Provinces ... ... ... ... ... ... 77 Patronage of the ... ... 121, 122 Resignation Act ... ... ... ... ... ... 89 The, in Parliament ... ... ... ... 86 Votesofthe 88 Blackstone's " Commentaries " ... ... ... no, 118, 142 Blandford's, Marquis of, Populous parishes Act ... ... ... 106 Board of Agriculture report on sale of glebe lands ... ... 147 Braintree Church-rate case, The ... ... ... ... ... 251 Bramwell, Lord, and the " Wages of the Siate "... ... ... 164 Breakdown of the Parochial system ... ... ... ... lob Brewer, l^rofessor ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 143 Bright, Mr 35 British Church, The ancient ... ... ... ... ... ... 49 Broader view of disestablishment. The ... ... ... ... 12 Brougham, Lord ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 193 Browne, Bishop Harold ... ... ... ... ... ... 24 Bryce, Mr., on Free Churchism in America ... ... 227, 236 Burial law reform ... ... .. ... ... ... ... 250 Bury, Rev. W., on the clergy an 1 the agricultural l.ibourers ... 43 CAH^NS, Lord 242 Cameron, .Sir Charles... ... ... ... ... ... ... 203 Campbell, Lord, on ]iosition of Established clergy ... ... 1^3 on Tithes ... ... ... ... ... 140 Canada, Results of Disestablishment in ... ... 237 " Canon in residence," The ... ... ... ... ... ... 06 Canonical obedience ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 105 Canons of 1603 73,9^120 ("anterbury's, Archbishop of. Patronage I'ill ... ... ... 131 Carlisle, Duty of Dean oi" 99 Cathedral system, The ... ... ... ... 92 Act of 1840 94 livings, how disposed of ... ... ... ... ... 123 IXDEX. 265 PAGE Cathedral bodies, lU-rcpule of 92 staff, The 96 revenues ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 97 Cathedrals " an entire and dead failure " ... ... 93 Original design of ... ... ... ... 93 Bishop Ryle on... 92, 90 to 102 of " old " and " new" foundation ... ... 93 Catholic Emancipation ... ... ... 248 Cavour, Count, and "a free (Church in a free .State" 22S Ceylon, Disestablishment in ... ... 241 Chalmers, Dr. 8, 193 Chancellor's, Lord, Church patronage ... ... ... 121, 122 Charters of Chester and Ely Cathedrals ... ... ... ... 93 Ctiild, iMr. Edinburgh Re-c-ie7o, The, on Church Establishments Education, Popular, and the Establishment Act of 1S70 Edwards, Dean ... ... ... ••■ ' Effect of Eh'zabeth's Act of Uniformity ... Probable, of Disestablishment in rural parish( Effects of patrona<;e in Scotland Ejectment, Tlie, of \Gii2 ''Election," The, of bishops Elliott's, Hon. A., The State and tlie Church Enclosure Acts Endowed Schools Act Endowments, Ancient Cimrch chc:k liberality ... Enforced attendance at church ... ... English Churchman, 'V\\Q English dif^nitaries anil Welsh tithes Rrgiuni Donuni Episcopal and capitular estates, The of Wales Establihed Church, The, not a corporation Church of Scotlancl, The by law ... ... 5 to II, 18, 27, 49, 72 to Establishment of Presbytciianism in .Scotland The, in the ^reat towns of -Scollaiul ... The, in \\'ales condemned by the people I'-slimated co^t of wiiulinj,' up tlie Establishment .. I'.vil cd'ect of b'.stablishment on bishops ami clergy J'.xclusion of clerj^ymcii from House of Commons . ]-".xeter Hall sen ices, The forbitlden... Experience, The test of Extent and value of glebe lands EAILURE of English Establishment of the I'lstablishment with the W(Mking classes False to the Protestant religion Farrar, Archdeacon ... Fatal penalty of privilege, The Finance, Ihe, of Iiish disestablishment ... " Fool of the family," The ... Foreign missions and I''.slablished Churches " i'our dioicsis " aigument, The I'rascr, J^ishop ]<"ree Church, A, in a fiee State Free Church of Scotland, The ... 193, i()4, 1 As^^embly and disestablishnie in the Highlands ... PAGE 51. 54.56, 59 36, 149 to 153 188 3^ :(i. 159, 41 178. 185 . 05 • H5 . 191 . 6S 58,81 149 . 145 . 252 . 135 26, 223 . 07 .24.«3 . 181 . 249 • 143 . 179 '53.232 190 223 191 196 187 169 21 116 III 234 14'j 205 2'5 208 3'^ 218 iGCj to 109 ~^ l')9 171 232 22S 1 99 to 202 202 •97 368 JXDEX. Freedom of the Free Churches of Wales from serious crime Freehold, The Parsou's Freeman, Professor .. Fremantle, Canon Froude, Mr. Future of the Cathedrals lo, II, 15, PAGE 228 to 230 9, 49, 9'>> '4c, ^44- '53. i54. no 156 48 61 102 GAIiV to the Church of disestablishment ... Geikie, Dr. Cunningham General Election of 1892, Results of the ... effect of Henry 8th's legislation Gibson, Bishop Girdlestone, Canon ... Gladstone, Air., quoted 9, 32, 157, 158, 159, 160, 166, 176, 183, 184, 187, 188, Glebe lands lands Act ... ... ... ... Gloucester, Bishop of Goodwin, Bishop Harvey Governing bodies of Cathedrals Grahamstown, The late Bishop of ... Grammar schools, Opening of, to Nonconformists Green, Mr, J. R. ... Gregory, Dean Grey, Rev. F. H -Sir George " Grievances " of Dissenters ... Grimlhorpe, Lord ... Grotesque misconceptions Growth of opinion in favour of disestablishment ... of the Parochial system Guardian, The Guizot, j\r. ... HAMPDEN, Bishop Hampton's, Lord, Return on Chinch Iniilding Hartington, Lord Harwood, Rlr. G Hatch, Rev. E., D.D. Highlands, The, .Scottish Establishment in " History of the Free Churches of JMigl.uKl '* Hook, Dean Hooker's theory of Church and .State House of Commons and ecclesiastical legislation ., Exclusion of clergymen from ... ■ of Lords, Bishops in the of Lord-!, The, and Irish Disestablishment . 219, 50. 224 14 I 61 119 42 167, 168, 169, 203, 223, 251 • •• 145 ... 147 30>4i . 23, 32, 99 ... 95 .. 239 ... 252 53>68 . 41. 95. 109 86 69 4 82 219 I loC 224 M 83 149 203 36 237 196, 197 246, 247 54. 59. 152 ••• 5. 74 ... 48 ... 116 86, 87, 88 167, 169 INDEX. 2C9 Houses and gruund rents, Revenue from How Wales became Nonconformist Ilowell, Archdeacon ... Han is, and the Methodist revival Howley, Archbishop ... Hubbard, Mr. (Lord Addington) ... Hume, The historian ... Hunting-held incident, A ILLIXGWORTH, Mr., :M P., and Pensions fur the Aged 1 Ihninster Grammar School case Immunity of \\'ales from serious ciime Incumbent, A "Ticket of leave" Ingli^, Sir R. ... Injustice of Establishment ... " intiubion " and its results ... Ireland, Results of Disestablishment in Irish Church, The, and Foreign JSIissions ... ... 199, patrons, Compensation to ... ... 129, Act, The 74, 158, iCi, iniliated a polic) .. precedent. The — — The, and leinole vilhi<,'es Disestaljlislinient, The Finance of Rigiuin Doiiuni, The ... Irrelevant and misleading ple.is JAMAICA, Disestablishment in Jellett, Canon ... Jessopp, Rev. Dr., on " The Parson's freehold "... Jews, Admission of, to Parliament ... Jewish Tithe System, The ... Johncs', Mr. Arthur, " Causes of Dissent in W.iles" — — •' Letter to Lord John Kussell " Jones, Canon Powell, on the Wtlsh clergy Rev. (irilHth, of Llandowror Justice to the Nation — not generosity to the Chuich PAGE 136, 148 - 173 175, 186 ... 174 37, 251 •■■ 134 • •• 33 ... 128 oor 2 33 . 252 . 178 . 116 • 152 3' 192 to 245 244. 245 6b, 167 f^s. 255 •• 255 ^5. 255 01, 245 .. 16O .. 166 .. 161 •• 239 .. 199 10, 1 15 •,:, 249 72, 174 .. 180 • • '75 ■ • 173 .. 170 KI-;Mr.LK'S. INIr., "Sa.vonsin Kngland" N-. i|3 King, Rev. 13., on tiie " deadening paralysis of Ls'.ablishment " 23 LAITY, The, and disestablishment ... ... ... ... 219 Land given to tlic c]er'.;y in lieu of Tithes 14^ l.anc.ister, |i)sei)h, and popular cilucalion ... ... ... ... 38 Lauded inoper.y of tlic Chuich tame fioni the Slate ... 144, 15O l-ansdownc, Maujuis of ... ... ... ... ... .. 129 Lawrence, Rt v. T.J. ... ... ... ... . . 35-44 Learning', CalhedraL as aids to ... ... ... ... ... 101 >70 IXDEX. Leatham, Mr. E. A Lecky, Mr. W. E. H Lee, Bishop Legal position of Non-EstablisheJ Churches Legislation of Elizabeth's reign Lesson, The, of Irish disendowmcnt " Lessons " from Scripture prescribed by Act of Parliam Liberal party, The, and Civil and Religious liberty Liberality of Churchmen, checked by Establishment, 23 " Liberation Society,' Origin of Liberty, Establishments hostile to ... Loss of in the Establishment Lichfield, Dean of Lincoln judgment, The Liverpool, Bishop of, sec Ryle, Bishop. parishes, Church attendance in Livings, The traffic in .. LlandaiT, Dean of Locke, John ... Lord Chancellorship of Ireland Loss of discipline in Establishment ... by the Church of intellectual supremacy MACAULAY, Lord jMacaulay, Dr. ... MacColl, Canon Macdona, Rev. F. A. Magee, Archbishop ... ... ... ... -.- },-, Machonochie, Rev. A. II. iSIanchcster Anti-Corn Law Conference , Bishop of. See Eraser, Bishop, and Moot house, , ]''oundatiDn of Sec of Man iagc and Registration Acts ^lassingham, Mr. II. W. Maynoolh College and Irish Disestablishment Membership of the Isstablished Church Methods of Disestablishment " Methodist revival," The, in Wales Miall, Mr. E., on the Church and the Eslablishmtnt Milman, Dean... Minerals, Church revenue from Miners and the Establishment Ministry, Legal conditions or entrance to the Misleading statements as to Church property Moorhouse, Bishop Morgan, Rev. J., on chniacter of Welsh people ... , Sir G. Osborne ... Moleswortb, Canon ... ent P.\GE 131. 132 33 . 54 83 2 2.S 64 169 19 t :> 25, 26, 223 2 33 18 24 30, 208 216 121 20, 17' M 253 20 217 33 220 2'J, 27 , 44 75 to 123, 1 30 225 37 lop. Ffi 249 217 166 \l. 6 . 74 230 174 15 53, 139 13^ m8 14S 103 ■0/ 1O4 '77 i«5 37 L^DEX. 271 Morley, Mr. John Morning Post on the Peers and Church patronage Mossman, Rev. Dr. ... Mowbray, Sir John ... Municipal Corporalions, Exclusion of Clergy from " J/mj-^ go to Parliament " ... NATION, The, and Dise.slabliihment " National Church," The, now anti-national dates from the Reformation National literature of Wales National I\e7'ie7(',1hG National (.School) Society, Origin of Nationali.salion of Universities Nature and distribution of Church property of Tithe and Tithe rentcharge " Nearly always on the wrong side " New Bishoprics, Aiipointments to ... , Founding of Testament argument against Ivstablislmicnts Zealantl, The Anglican Churcli in Newspaper religious census in Scollanil ofiSSi.2, The " Ne.\t presentations" Ninety millions for compensation ! .. No Scriptural authority for compid.-ion in religion Nod, Hon. and Rev. IJajHist ... Nonconformists, Persecution of Nonconformity and tlie Welsh people Non-residence and its results Norris, Canon ... Number of the clergy OATH and Declaration against Simony of Homagr, The Oaths and Subscription of clergy ... Object of Acts of Unilbrmily Oflicial and public patronage, Distiilmtion of attendance at places of worship ''Old" and "new" Cathedral foundations Testament argument as to Establishments Ordination, Form of, prescribed by law Origin of present Fstablishment Original design of C.ithedrals Osborne, Lord Sydney Godolphin " Our unhappy divisions " Outworks of the Establishment demolished O.xford, l?idi'->p of (Dr. Stubbs) P^ VGE 34 131 • '"^5 .84 79 117 2 3, 224 219, 22Q, 225 4b 49 178 109 39 253 >3^' 141 3^> S3 Co 17 239 ")5. 196 213 1-3. 130, 131 i6> 1 " • -I. 22, 104 .28, 17^, i86 f '•'7 97 '03 120 85 '^.S 206 121 253 9 3.95 >5 104 •49.54 93 4> 207 4 '.6-., 13S, . =45 272 INDEX. PALEY'S view of Ebtablibhments Pall Mall Gazette " Paralysis of Establishment " Parish, The, "an ecclesiastical preserve " ... churches, Origin of ... ... "Parish priest," The... Parishes in Diocese of Wakefield ... Parliament and the Church ... and Church property Parliamentary grants to the Kstabli^hetl Chuich ... Return on Church property ... Parochial clergy. The .. endowments of Wales ... system, The " Parsons freehold," The Parsonage-houses, Rateable value of Patronage system. The originally of no money value ... — — - reform measures... in Scotland abolition Act (.Scotland) Peculiarity of the Scottish case Peel, Sir Robert, on the transfer of Church pinpcr'y Penalties for adhering to the Catholic religion Penalty of privilege. The Persecuting sjiirit of Kstablishments Persecution of eaily Welsh Nonconformists " Peter's pence " Peterborough, Bishop of. See Magee, Archbi.shop Phillimore, Sir Walter, on origin of Tithes , Sir Robert Phillpotts, Bishop, of K.\eter "Pious ancestor" theoiy of Tithes, The ... Plumptre, Dean, on the votes of the bishops Poor, The, and disestablishment Populous pari.shcs, Tiic I'.stablisiied Church in Practical religious objections to Church ICstablisiimcnIs , failure of English I'^stabliahment /*/«/«»// //v, Penalties of Prayer Book, The, a schedule to an Act (if I'ailiamtnt , The first and the second, of Eilwaid VI. Prayer for divine guidance ... Presbytcrianism in Scotland ... Presbyterian reunion and compromise Churches, The three I'rcsbyterians, Iiish, Compensation to I'le-lveformatiuii Church, Roman Catholic Prime JMiuisteis anJ Bi-hops p \ge 7 4-1 , 88 25 II t ii8 28 107, 108 47 . '»2 152 lb.? m to ■38 103 181 105 no .48 118 119 130 191 i: 9. 193 189 155 00 218 27 174 59 HO 143 250 139 X7 108 1 8 to 30 205 58 19 62 >C'3 Si 189 2UI 1 90 to J9I 166, 1O7 • • 53 .54 / i ,80 INDEX. ill PAGE Prince of Wales, Patronage of ... ... ... ... ... I2i Principles of the Anti-State Church Association 2 Pritchard, Rev. Rees, of Llandovery ... ... 173 Private patronage 12310128 endowments ... .. ... ... ... ... ... 160 Privy Council on legal position of Free Churches... 229 Probate office records and the Bishops ... 89 Progress, Establishments opposed to 35 ^^ of the Disestablishment movement 246 Proposed union of the Sees of Bangor and St. Asaph 180 " Protestant services," and " Catholic services" ... ... ... 207 Protestantism, Hostility of the Establishment to 29 Pn,'ce, Canon .. ... ... ... ... ... 172 Public Patronage 121 Worship Regulation Act ... ... ... ... ... 72 AVorship Regulation Act ... ... 75, 193 Purposes to which Irish surplus applied ... ... 169 QUEEN Anne's Bounty 135, 136, 137 , The, and the appointment of Bishops ... ... ... 80 Qualifications for Officers' Act ... ... ... ... ... 252 Quarterly Reinew ... ... ... 5, 11,39, 70,75 RATEABLE value of Bishops' palaces Reaction under Queen Anne Recent private endowments ... ... ... ... 13; extension of the Episcopate ... Record, The ... ... 47. '31- '3^ Reconstruction of the Church in Scotland ... ... ... ... Ridding, Bishop Reed and Matheson's " Visit to the American Churches " Reform agitation, The of Church patronage Reformation, The, in Scotland, a popular movement Regium Do/ium, The English The Irish ... Relative amount of public and private endowments positions in Scotland ... Religious boiHes in Scotland argument, The, against Establishments census of 1851 ... census ([uestion. The Remedy, The only real, fm patronage scandals ... Resistance of the Establishment to reform Removal of Bishops from the House of Lords Remote parishes and Distablishmcnt 114. 115, 190, 37, ... 148 ... 246 lOO, lOl ... 78 239. 242 55 to 68 ... 201 20 235 •50 ... 129 ... 1 90 ... 2^9 166, 167 ... 137 .. 194 ... 189 ... 13 1&4, 194, 2n ... 212 ... 132 I'i to 41 ... 88 197, 200, 201 s 274 INDEX. PAGE Revenues of the Cathedrals 97 of the Enghsh Disestabhshment 135.136 of the Scottish Establishment 197 Reunion in Scotland ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 202 Rooting out the old religion .. ... ... ... ... ... 62 Roman Catholics and Church patronage ... ... ... ... 128 Rowlands, Rev. Daniel ... ... ... ... ... ... 174 Royal Commission on sale of livings ... ... 124, 126, 128 Rural districts, Parochial system in ... ... ... ... 114 reform conference ... ... ... ... ... ... 43 Russell, Earl (Lord John) 40, 83, 85, 122, 156,247 Ryle, Bishop ... 19, 25, 54, 69, 87, 89, 92, 99, 100, loi, 102, IC4. Ill, 114, 174, 207, 215, 216 SALE of livings by public auction ... ... ... 123 Scandals of Church patronage, Archbishop Magee on, 125, 126, 127, 128 SchismBill, The 247 School Boards and the clergy ... ... ... ... ... 4c Scotch Members and disestablishment ... ... ... 204 Scottish disestablishment ... ... ... ... ... ... 189 Episcopal Church ... .. ... ... ... ... 189 Establishment, The, and the poor ... ... ... ... 2co in the gieat towns ... ... ... ... .. 196 — — in the Highlands ... ... ... ... ... ... 197 Scottish villages and disestablishment ... ... ... ... 200 Scottish Patronage abolition Act ... ... ... ... 129, 193 Scriptural argument. The, against Establishments ... ... 15 Selbome, Lord 1 1, 24, 35, 55, 72, 97, 103, 133, 137, 139, 140, 142, 143. '47, 156, 157. '58, 159, 165. J71. 180, 181,234 Selden, John ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 138 Self-government, Loss of, a result of Establishment ... ... 18 Selwyn, Bishop, on evil consec|uences of EstabHshment ... ... 22 Shaftesbury, Lord, and the forlndden Exeter Hall services ... 112 " Shamefully rich " bishops... ... ... ... ... ... 91 " Sheep-stealing Act," The ... ... ... ... ... ... 194 Short, Bishop ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 54 " Simeon Trustees," The ... ... ... ... ... ... 128 Simony, Oath and declaration against ... ... ... .. 120 " 5/ (/z^u," The ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 104 Skeats's, Mr. H. S., " Plistory of the Free Churches" 246 Smith, 'ISIr. Goldwin... ... .. ... ... ... ... 237 Sodor and ISIan, Bishop of ... .. ... ... ... ... 86 Source of validity of the old Canon law ... ... ... ... 56 Southwell, Bishop of ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 26 St. U.avid's, Bishop of ... ... ... ... ... ... 171 Starving the work of the Church ... ... ... ... ... 223 State-support and Voluntaryism compared in Scotland 198 Churches and foreign missions ... ... ... ... 199 LVDEX. 275 PAGE State-pay," ;Mr. Gladstone on 157, 158 Stanley, Dean ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 7^ Stark, Mr. Emery, and the scandals of the patronage system ... 125 Statute of Provisors ... ... ... ... ... ... .... 118 Statutes of Cathedrals of the new foundation ... ... ... 93 Stipends of Welsh Bishops and other dignitaries... ... ... 179 Stubbs, Bishop 51, 60, 138, 145 , Rev. C. W 42 Submission of the clergy, The ... ... ... ... ... 5^ Subscription, Alteiatiun of law relating to ... ... ... 105 Suing for the temporalities ... ... ... ... ... ... 85 Suppression of the native Welsh Church ... ... ... ... 172 Supreme Headship, The 59 "Governor" substituted for Supreme "Head" .. ... 64 Suspensory Bill, The Welsh, and Mr. Gladstone ... ... ... 188 .Sydney Smith on the duties of Dean and Chapter ... ... 99 TAIT, Archbishop 47, 99, 176 Taylor, Rev. A. D 44 Temple, Bishop ... ... 83 Temporalities, Bishops suing for the ... ... ... ... 85 Ten years' conflict. The, in Scotland 193 Test and Corporation Acts, Repeal of the ... ... 247 Tests (University) AboHtion Act 254 Theodore, Archbishop ... ... ... ... ... ... 119 Three Presbyterian Churches of Scotland, The ... 190 Tithe Act of 1S91 141 Commutation Act ... ... 141 a tax ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 140, 141 Tithes, Average value of, from 1836 to 1886 136 Amount of clerical ... ... ... ... ... ... 136 Board of Agriculture Report on 141 Origin of compulsory ... ... ... ... ... ... 13a and the poor ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 142 Tii/ns, The 45, 71, 208, 215, 238 Toleration Act, Tiie ... ... ... ... ... ... 1O2, 246 fooke. ^Ir. Ilornc ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 117 Transfer of Church ]no]ierty at the Reformation ... ... ... 153 Trevor, Canon, and the Canons of York ... ... ... ... 1^9 •' True Protestant religion," The ... ... 71 Truro Bishopric Act, The ... ... ... ... 83 Tyacke, Rev. S., and the prayer fur divine guidance S2 " Unexhausted tiends " i,j8 " I'nfeigned assent and consent " ... .. ... ... .. 105 Unilormity, Act of iL)(i2 G7, 73, 105 — Eliitabeth s ... ... ... ... .., or Failure of Establishment as to... ... ... 20", 20S, 218 s2 276 INDEX. PAGE Union, Establishment hostile to ... ... ... ... ... 26 United Piesbytertan Church, The ... ... ... ... ... T92 - State of America, Disestablishment in ... 226, 234 to 237 Universities, Nationalisation of the ... ... ... ... ... 253 VAUGHAN, Cardinal 29, 54 Dean 20, 171 Villages, The, and disestablishment, 28, 41 to 44, 114, 115, 200, 201 Voluntary controversy, The, in Scotland ... ... ... ... 192 Votes of the Bishops ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 88 "WAGES of the State," The 164 Wales a nation of Nonconformists ... ... ... ... 176, 178 The Church of England in ... ... ... 171 The demand for disestablishment in ... ... ... ... 183 Warberton's "Alliance of Church and State " ... . ... 6 Welfare of the poor and disestablishment ... ... ... ... 227 Welsh ]Members and disestablishment ... ... ... ... 188 Westbury's, Lord, Sale of livings Act ... ... ... ... 121 Western Mail, The, and Disestablishment in Ireland 201, 243 to 245 Westminster's, Duke of. Return on church building ... ... 149 West Indies, Disestablishment in ... ... ... ,,, 239, 240 What the Church will gain by Disestablishment .. 15, 26, 45, 79, 132, 219, 224 Establishment involves ... ... ... ... 9, 11, 220 Nonconformity has done for Wales ... ... ... ... 176 Whiston, Rev. R., on Cathedral bodies ... ... ... ... 92 Whitbread's, ]\Ir., Parish Schools Bill 38 Wilberforce, Bishop Samuel ... ... ... 80 Williams, Mr. Cai-vell, M.P. 70,158,247 Rev. D., and Welsh literature ... ... 178 Willis's, Mr. W., jNIotion on the Bishops in the House of Lords 88 Wilmslow, Cheshire, The living of ... ... .. ... ... 128 Worcester, Bishop of. ... ... ... ... 19.224 Wordsworth, Bishop Christopher ... ... ... ... ... 114 Working classes. Failure of Establishment with ... 215 Work of the Ecclesiastical Commission ... ... ... ... 152 YORK, Archbishop of 133 FEOil ITS PRINCIPLES AND OBJECTS This Society, better known as " The Liberation Society," is based on the principle that national Establishments of Eeligion are unjust, politically mischievous, and injurious to the Churches established; and that they also hinder the progress of religion. The Society is strictly unsectarian, and neither expresses any opinion upon, nor seeks to effect any alteration in, the doctrines, formularies, or internal governineut of the Churches now established. Its objects, stated generally, are — 1. The abrogation of all laws and usages which in"tiict disability, or confer privilege, on ecclesiastical grounds upon any subject of tlie realm. 2. The discontinuance of all payments from public funds, and of all compulsory exactions, for religious purposes. 3. 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