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 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 Kv
 
 THE MENACE OF 
 SECULARISM 
 
 ADDRESSES ON THE NATION'S NEED OF THE 
 NATIONAL CHURCH 
 
 BY 
 
 THE HON. MRS. CELL 
 
 LONDON 
 
 WELLS GARDNER, DARTON AND CO., LTD. 
 
 3 & 4, PATERNOSTER BUILDINGS, E.G. 
 
 AND 44, VICTORIA STREET, S.W.
 
 
 TO 
 
 THE CHUECHWOMEN OF WALES, 
 
 IN TOKEN OF SYMPATHY AND SUPPORT, 
 AND TO 
 
 OUR FELLOW -WORKERS, 
 
 PLEDGED TO RESIST THE 
 
 MENACE OF SECULARISM, 
 
 IN APPRECIATIVE RECOGNITION OF THEIR 
 
 UNTIRING DEVOTION, 
 
 THIS BOOKLET IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 

 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 ^ This course of addresses is published in response to a 
 uA request from those who attended them. They desired to 
 "^ pass on to others the information they had themselves 
 
 </> 
 
 >- received, and as many of the classes and meetings they 
 
 ^ had in mind are held for those who have few opportunities 
 
 g of study, the attempt has been made by the author to put 
 
 ^ the salient points as regards the great issues at stake as 
 
 simply as possible. It appeared undesirable to burden the 
 
 addresses with dry statistics ; the object being so to 
 
 stimulate interest that the audience will pursue the subject 
 
 for themselves. 
 
 It is earnestly hoped that those who use the addresses 
 will deliver them, if jiossible, in their own words, explain- 
 ing and illustrating when necessary. Further information 
 may be obtained from the books and booklets recommended 
 for each section at the end of the volume. The wi'iter is 
 greatly indebted to their authors for much of the material 
 utilised. 
 Experience proves that the future of the Church is 
 O a question which excites the deepest interest in audiences 
 ^ of every description — educated and uneducated alike. 
 ■^ In a single meeting it is impossible to do more than touch 
 '^ the fringe of the subject. In a course the hearers gather- 
 ing week by week gradually realise all that the National 
 .~ Church means to the National Life. It is found that the 
 S attendance, far from diminishing, generally increases with 
 each meeting of the series ; for it is felt that the problem 
 before us is one in which every baptized member of the 
 Church has individual responsibility. 
 
 The issue is no matter of party politics, nor is it a 
 question between Church and Chapel. It is not too much 
 to s;iy that the very soul of the nation is at stake ; for in 
 face of the onslaught of materialism and secularism we 
 cannot afford to allow any force which makes for righteous- 
 ness to be weakened or crippled. Pre-eminent among 
 O such forces is our own National Church, and to secure that 
 S the womanhood of England is aroused ere it is too late to 
 § the gravity of the situation is the object of this little 
 «C volume. Knowledge, courage, faith, intercession — these 
 ^ are our safeguards. Armed with these, to us too will 
 surely come the inspiring word, "O woman, great is thy 
 faith ; be it unto thee even as thou wilt." 
 
 Hi; 
 
 .>i)i_S^:9
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PA OB 
 
 Preface - - - - - iii 
 
 I. The Church and the Nation - - 1 
 
 Origin — Influence — Development. 
 Outline of the Bill. 
 
 Why are we Attacked ? 
 
 II. The Church in Wales - - - 13 
 
 Early History. How it came into being. 
 
 Was it ever "Established"? 
 
 III. Endowments - - - - - 25 
 
 Tithes. Glebes. 
 
 How are the Stipends of the Clergy Paid ? 
 
 IV. The Cathedrals and Parish Churches - 37 
 
 The Parochial System. 
 The Voluntary System. 
 Which is the Best for the Nation ? 
 
 V. The Church in Wales - - - 49 
 
 In relation to — ■. 
 
 Religious Education. 
 The Morality of the Nation. 
 Spiritual Life. 
 
 Is it the Most Growing Religious Body in 
 Wales, or no ? 
 
 VI. Dismemberment — Disestablishment and Dis- 
 
 ENDOWMKNT — NoN-EnDOWMENT - - 59 
 
 Ireland. France. America. 
 
 Have these Countries Gained Spiritually or 
 Morally ? 
 
 VII. Disendowment in Wales - - - 71 
 
 What it means to Wales — 
 
 Arrest. Impoverishment. Confusion. 
 What it means to England. 
 
 Who Benefits by it ? 
 
 VIII. The Duty of Church-people in this Crisis 81 
 What can we do ? What v:ill we do ? 
 
 Lisr of Books Recom.\iended 
 
 iy
 
 I 
 Ubc Cburcb anb tbe IRation 
 
 ORIGIN— INFLUENCE— DEVELOPMENT 
 OUTLINE OF THE BILL 
 
 WHY ARE WE ATTACKED ? 
 
 FOR THOSE IN ERROR 
 
 Almighty God, who sheivest to them that be in error the light 
 of Thy truth, to the intent that they may return into the way of 
 righteousness ; Grant unto all them that are adviitted into the 
 fellowship of Christ's Religion, that they may eschew those 
 things that are contrary to their profession, and follow all such 
 things as are agreeable to the same ; through our Lord Jbsus 
 Christ.
 
 Xlbe Cburcb an& tbe Nation 
 
 Tiir: day of decision has come. We are face to face with 
 the greatest crisis which has menaced the Church since 
 Cromwellian troopers preached from the pulpits of our 
 fanes, and, as at the sack of Lichfield, chased a cat 
 through the noble aisles and christened a calf in the 
 font in ribald mockery of the sacred baptismal rite. And 
 now once more the battle is set. The Church of our 
 Fathers is the object of an attack in which certain 
 leaders of other Christian bodies are joining forces with 
 those who are avowedly antagonistic, not merely to the 
 Church, but to all which the mass of Christians hold 
 sacred — who, in a word, desire to materialise and secularise 
 the whole gamut of human life. 
 
 The time has come to have done with subterfuge — to 
 sweep aside specious arguments about the spirituality of 
 the Church being unaffected by its material prosperity — as 
 though it had not been a cardinal principle of the primi- 
 tive Church that they who preach the Gospel should live 
 of the Gospel ; or as though our Blessed Lord Himself 
 had not vouchsafed to be dependent upon the common 
 sustenance of His fellow-men for the maintenance of 
 His Sacred Body. That which is spiritual, it is true, will 
 survive the worst malice of evil machinations ; but the 
 problem for us, the sans and daughters of the Church, is 
 this : " Dare we sit calmly by while the means by which 
 her spiritual influence is maintained are ■wrested from the 
 Church in Wales ?" Unless we strive for the Truth to the 
 death, will not our descendants point at us the finger of 
 scorn as the generation who were false to their trust, false 
 2
 
 The Church and the Nation 3 
 
 to their traditions, false to the long line of ancestors who, 
 through evil report and good report, through persecution, 
 through loss of worldly goods, yet handed on their sacred 
 heritage unimpaired, nay, illumined, glorified by centuries 
 of self-sacrifice .' And if through criminal indolence and 
 supineness we permit this stupendous Avrong to take effect, 
 will not the bitter curse of Meroz fall on our shame- 
 stricken heads : " Curse ye, Meroz, curse ye bitterly the 
 inhabitants thereof, because they came not to the help of 
 the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty " ? 
 
 It is because of the gravity of the crisis, because on the 
 womanhood of England the future of religion in our 
 country largely depends, that we desire to ponder care- 
 fully the subject of our Church in its relation to the past, 
 to the present, and to the National life and character in 
 the unknown future. 
 
 For this is no matter of party politics, nor ia it a question 
 between Church and chapel. It is a question between the 
 forces of good and the forces of evil, between religion and 
 irreligion, between the things of the soul and the things of 
 the body. Yes, it is not too much to say the very soul of 
 the nation is at stake. 
 
 The subject is too great to be dealt Avith in a few 
 words. It has taken many hundreds of years to build up 
 the Church which it is sought to cripple in a few short 
 weeks, and if we are to understand the question, it is our 
 solemn duty to be ready to give study and thought to the 
 subject. There is still time to avert overwhelming disaster 
 if every woman who cares for the knowledge of God, for 
 the ministrations of her Church, for the training of her 
 children in the wonderful love of Christ, will think out 
 what it would mean to be without a resident clergyman, 
 without regular services, without all t^e beautiful, helpful 
 activities which centre round the vicarage ; and then will 
 use the influence which God has given to the very humblest 
 among us to prevent our country from consenting to a 
 crime which will lie like a black blot on our day and 
 generation. We remember the outcry about a shortage of 
 bread at the time of a recent Strike. What we have to fear
 
 4 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 for our beloved country is a famine such as Amos describes 
 — " a famine in the land, not a famine of bread or a thirst 
 for water^ — but of hearing the Word of the Lord." 
 
 To many of us the sense that at last we can do some- 
 thing for our Church comes fraught with inspiration. For 
 how much we owe her 1 All through our lives she has 
 stood by us at the great moments of existence, from our 
 earliest childhood, when at the Font we were received into 
 her loving arms and became members of the glorious 
 Family of Christ. Then, as we entered on womanhood, 
 with all its problems, Confirmation brought the special 
 strength for the special need. Again, when the new 
 home was to be created, girlhood left behind, and the 
 responsibilities of wifehood and motherhood assumed, the 
 most human of relations was consecrated and ennobled by 
 God's blessing, and we dared to take the life-long vow of 
 love and faithfulness because we knew that God had sent 
 forth strength for us. And once more, when some heart- 
 breaking sorrow was laid upon us — when we stood by the 
 grave of one dearer than life itself — our Church supported 
 the passing soul, and gave to us the survivors courage to 
 face life again in sure and certain hope of reunion in 
 Heaven. 
 
 Is it too much to ask that we who have known these 
 things should resolve that, so far as we are concerned, we 
 will not suffer those who come after us to be bereft of a 
 priceless blessing ; but that we will know ourselves, and help 
 others to realise what is contemplated before it is too late ? 
 
 The first point in our subject is the Origin of the 
 Church. The beginnings of things have always a special 
 interest. No place is ever quite the same as the home of 
 our childhood, and how we cherish all the little belongings 
 of our own babes which tell how year by year the child-life 
 developed I It is wonderful indeed that we should be able 
 to look back across the centuries for 1900 years and say 
 with absolute certainty that the origin of our Church — our 
 National Church — the Church in Wales, as the Chm-ch in 
 England — was our Blessed Lord Himself— Christ the 
 Head of the Church. The story of its foundation is told
 
 The Church and the Nation 5 
 
 in the Gospels, in the Acts, and in the writings of the 
 Apostles. To the early Christians it was just as real as it 
 is to us. In the first century, as in the nineteenth, the 
 ideal placed before her children was identical : " Seek that 
 ye may excel to the edifying (building up) of the Church." 
 So from that small country of the Jews went forth the 
 Power which was to spread through all the nations of the 
 earth, and to bring to one country after the other the joy 
 of goodness ; hope in place of despair ; and for hatred and 
 self -seeking, love and brotherhood, through the knowledge 
 of Jesus Christ. 
 
 We cannot actually fix the date when this knowledge 
 first came to our island. But one of the early Christian 
 writers, Tertullian, tells us of Christianity in Britain about 
 the year 208, and from other historians we learn that in the 
 previous century there were some Christians in this 
 country. In our next chapter we shall have a fuller 
 account of how the Church came to us, and hear much 
 about the early history of the Welsh Dioceses which it is 
 sought to cut ojB: from ourselves. 
 
 But some may ask, " What has been the hiflueiice of the 
 Church in Wales / Is it worth preserving ? Has it been for 
 good ? Would anyone be the worse for its loss .'" Let us look 
 at a few of the benefits which the State owes to the Church. 
 First, Unity. The Church in very early days welded into 
 one the severed provinces of Wales, and joined Welsh 
 Church-people with their fellow-Churchmen in England 
 for spiritual work under the Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 Their creed and ours was the same, " I believe one Catholic 
 and Apostolic Church," and in days when Britain was still 
 divided into warring kingdoms, religion prepared the way 
 for the mighty Empire of which we are so justly proud. 
 
 Then the Church was the great Almsgicer, It is only 
 within recent times that the State has cared for the poor. 
 The Church set the example, and many holy men and 
 women devoted their whole lives to relieving those who 
 were in want, to nursing the sick and wounded, and caring 
 for the aged and infirm, for the sake of Him who said, 
 " I was sick, and ye visited Me." 
 
 2
 
 6 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 The Church was the great Teacher. There were no 
 provided and secondary schools, no colleges or evening 
 classes, except such as were carried on by the clergy, and 
 the education they gave was true education, for while it 
 prepared young people to be useful citizens, it was based 
 on the only sure foundation, " The fear of the Lord is the 
 beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy is 
 understanding." 
 
 The Church was the Preserver nf the Faith in wild and 
 lawless times, when but for that sacred Body men would 
 have forgotten how to worship God, and would have been 
 completely given over to their own evil passions. 
 
 Above all, the Church gave the people of Wales the Bible 
 ill their own language. Imagine what our services would 
 be like if prayers and psalms and lessons were all read in 
 a foreign language. Do we realise that this is what went 
 on for centuries, until Queen Elizabeth ordered the Bible 
 to be translated out of the ancient tongue into Welsh, so 
 that all who went to church might hear the Word of God 
 and understand it ? This translation was made by Bishop 
 William Morgan of St. Asaph, under very great difficulties, 
 for there were no capable printers nearer than London at 
 that time, and the compositors did not know Welsh. So 
 the Bishop had to be absent from Wales for a whole year. 
 No money was provided for his expenses or for the cost of 
 the printing ; he found it himself, with the result that 
 when he died he had only 4s. 8d. in his purse, and all 
 his furniture and belongings were valued at a little 
 over £100. 
 
 Twenty years earlier the New Testament had been 
 imperfectly translated, and as a result during that time 
 the first lesson was read in Latin, the second in Welsh. 
 
 But, it may be objected, " These benefits, many of them, 
 took place hundreds of years ago. What of the present 
 time ?" In this section we can only glance at this side of 
 the subject, leaving the full account for Chaps. IV. and V. 
 of the sei'ies. It is enough to say here that even candid 
 opponents admit that the Church in Wales is doing 
 splendid work among rich and poor alike, and English
 
 The Church and the Nation 7 
 
 Church-people are humiliated to think that the Dioceses 
 in Wales, though they are among the poorest, yet compare 
 most favourably with some of our richest Dioceses in 
 England as regards the number of their communicants 
 and the liberality of their subscriptions. 
 
 These beneficent activities are acknowledged by friend 
 and foe. How does the Bill before Parliament propose to 
 deal with the means which have rendered the work of the 
 Church possible ? 
 
 The funds at the disposition of the Church in Wales 
 from endowments and from grants made by the Ecclesi- 
 astical Commissioners and Queen Anne's Bounty amount 
 to some £270,000 a year. This sum is quite inadequate to 
 carry out the necessary work, and it is only by the generous 
 contributions of rich and poor alike among the Church- 
 people of "Wales that a vigorous spiritual life is now 
 maintained. The stipends of the clergy average under 
 £200 a year, and it is strange indeed that men should be 
 found capable one session of voting to themselves salaries 
 of £400 a year in order that they may at their ease the 
 following session concert measures for depriving the 
 Welsh clergy of the future of the slender pittance at 
 present assured to them. Of this sum of £270,000 given 
 by our forefathers to the service of God, the Bill of 1912 
 diverts two-thirds, or 13s. 4d. in every pound, to secular 
 purposes. As regards the remaining third, only £20,000 is 
 derived from existing parochial endowments ; and about 
 £G0,000 is dependent upon grants from Queen Anne's 
 Bounty and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. This means 
 that on the death of the present incumbent parish after 
 parish would have to face the question of how a new 
 clergyman can be maintained. It is difficult to understand 
 how anyone professing to care for the needs of the wage- 
 earners and those with slender incomes can contemplate 
 such a position without sorrow and indignation. Hitherto 
 the consolations of our holy religion have been within the 
 reach of the humblest and poorest. No one has been 
 deprived of the spiritual help which alone makes this 
 life tolerable and prepares for Heaven, because of his
 
 8 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 poverty. For all, the lowest as the highest, the Gospel of 
 our Lord Jesus Cukist has been ministered "without 
 money and without price." But should this disastrous 
 Bill become law all this will be changed. To the rich 
 personally the loss will be small ; they can supply the 
 necessary stipend which shall secure the services of a 
 Godly priest. It is on the poor tliat the matter will press 
 so hardly. They must forego (in too many instances) 
 what they have hitherto enjoyed free of charge, their 
 children must miss the hallownig influences of regular 
 services and the numberless beneficent activities which 
 centre round the vicarage home in their midst ; or from 
 their hard-earned wages they must themselves find the 
 net;essary funds to enable the clergyman to keep body and 
 soul together. 
 
 This is no fancy picture. In a later section we shall 
 consider in detail how matters would stand. But it 
 is well to remember that if our own clergy were largely 
 withdrawn, in nearly half the parishes of Wales there 
 would be no reside/it minister of religion at all, neither 
 a Wesleyan, a Congregationalist, a Baptist, nor any man 
 specially set apart for the service of God, whose one 
 aim it is to keep alive the knowledge of the Most High, 
 and to lift men's thoughts above the sordid cares of this 
 workaday world. How can anyone maintain that such a 
 condition of affairs could promote the truest welfare of 
 our people ; or could build up the steiiing character for 
 which Britons are famous far and Avide ? 
 
 And what of our cathedrals in Wales, with their Dean 
 and Chapter, their Minor Canons, and the Vicars Choral, 
 to whom the beautiful services owe so much ? These 
 corporations which have been a centre for the whole 
 countryside, and have continued for many centuries, are 
 to be dissolved. The whole of the ancient endowments 
 belonging to them are to be taken away and given to 
 colleges, libraries, and museums. It is nothing to the 
 promoters of the Bill that to the music-loving Welsh 
 people the stately services of the cathedrals have come 
 with special appeal ; nor are they moved by all the
 
 The Church and the Nation 9 
 
 hallowed memories which are embodied in these monu- 
 ments of a nation's faith. The fiat has gone forth. The 
 cathedi'al corporations are to be dissolved. 
 
 And then, as regards the documents — those ancient 
 deeds which have been the treasured possessions of little 
 parishes and churches up and down the country, as well as 
 of the more dignified town edifices, from time immemorial, 
 and are full of local history and interest — these are to be 
 taken from their owners and handed over to the three 
 Welsh Commissioners appointed to deal with the Church's 
 possessions, to be transferred to the County Councils. No 
 information is given as to the qualifications of these Com- 
 mi.-sioners. Their powers are very large, but they need not 
 apparently be Churchmen, nor even Christians ; yet they 
 are to receive large salaries out of the Church's funds to 
 enable them to execute their shameful task with ease. 
 
 The burial - grounds and churchyards, which for the 
 sake of the blessed dead are hardly less sacred to us 
 than the Church itself, are to be taken out of the care 
 of the parish priest, and given over to a secular bodj' ; 
 though it is enacted (surely with unconscious irony) 
 that the parishioners and clergy are still to have a 
 right of way through their own churchyard to the 
 Parish Church ! God's acre will henceforward be Council 
 acre. 
 
 Further particulars as regards Disendowment will be 
 given later on. Of Disestablishment also in this section 
 we will only add that it seeks to sever, so far as the 
 State can do it, a Church which has been oiie for a 
 thousand years or more. The Welsh Bishops may no 
 longer be summoned to Convocation, or sit in the House 
 of Lords — an arbitrary enactment, for which there is no 
 precedent in history since the violent interference of 
 Cromwellian times with the organisation of the Church. 
 But is it possible to believe that the suggested changes 
 will be for the glory of God ? Are we not reminded of 
 the inhabitants of the Jewish village in the Gospel storj', 
 who, when they saw the Loud Jesus, besought Him to 
 depart out of their coasts ?
 
 10 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 We ask ourselves — Why is this attack made upon us ? 
 Why, when we cannot take up a newspaper without 
 reading of grievous wrong and evil in our midst, crimes 
 of violence, of intemperance, of impurity — why are many 
 of our fellow-Christians ranged with those who are 
 enemies of Christ in the desire to cripple our historic 
 Church ? Is it because the Church has failed ? The very 
 reverse is the case. The Church is the only religious body 
 in Wales which is increasing in numbers. At this moment 
 more marriages are celebrated in Church than in all the 
 other places of worship put together. Does this look like 
 failure ? Is it because the Church is doing harm ? On 
 the contrary, one leading Nonconformist after the other 
 has testified to the value of her work. 
 
 Is the Church a menace to the State ? We know this 
 has at times been the case in other countries, but in the 
 present day the Church is always on the side of law and 
 order. Her training makes men patriots as well as Church- 
 men, and in Britain beyond the seas, as well as in our own 
 island, the clergy are valuable supporters of all that makes 
 for good governance. The primitive ideal which sums up 
 the Gospel is set forth Sunday by Sunday : " Honour all 
 men, love the brotherhood, fear God, honour the Ki g." 
 Does the Church use her position to persecute other 
 religious bodies ? On the contrary, she recognises the 
 splendid work done by other denominations, and far from 
 seeking to injure them, rejoices in every sign of spiritual 
 progress. Yet it is at this moment, when the right hand 
 of fellowship is held out in the name of our common 
 Lord and Master, that we are wounded in the house of 
 our friends. 
 
 We desire to put the most charitable construction on 
 the action of those who worship the same Lord with 
 ourselves ; but it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that 
 it is not the Church's failure, but her success, which has 
 singled her out for attack. It is because of the wonderful 
 progress made in Wales during the past forty years, pro- 
 gress which, be it remembered, means that thousands of 
 souls have been won for Christ, that a certain section feels
 
 The Church and the Nation n 
 
 they must strike now, and strike cruelly, or the position 
 will have become impregnable. 
 
 What, then, is our attitude to be in face of this un- 
 exampled peril ! We must be fair, charitable, moderate, 
 but absolutely loyal to our Church, and firm in our cham- 
 pionship of our brethren in Wales. Inspired by the 
 example of the martyrs of old, we must resolve not to be 
 their unworthy descendants ; and every Churchwoman 
 among us, the humblest as well as the highest, must 
 realise that she owes it to her day and generation and 
 to the unborn future to do her utmost to avert this 
 disaster. 
 
 What can we do practically 1 First, we must endeavour 
 really to understand the question ourselves. It is for this 
 reason that we are resolved to learn, to discuss, to make 
 the subject our own. 
 
 Secondly, when we have learnt ourselves, we must help 
 others to understand. Thousands of people are still in 
 complete ignorance of the evil which is contemplated ; 
 therefore they are not taking their part in resisting it, and 
 the danger is that they may wake up too late, to find that 
 one of the greatest forces for good in our beloved country 
 has slipped through their fingers. We can all take our 
 share in forming public opinion. Our own families, our 
 friends, our households, our fellow-workers — here is a 
 wide sphere of operations. We must be ready to answer 
 objections and to clear up mistakes. 
 
 Thirdly, we must join in the intercession which is going 
 up ah-eady fi'om many a home throughout our country on 
 behalf of our fellow-Church-people in Wales. This is the 
 great strength of our workers. Is anything too hard for 
 the Lord ? Even at this eleventh hour He can save 
 the Church from spoliation, but His appointed means 
 are the prayers of His people. " Ye have not because ye 
 ask not." 
 
 Victory is His, to give or to withhold. It may be that 
 from this time of bitter trial the Church will emerge 
 purified and vitalised, through the uniting force of a 
 common danger averted — only let each look to it that he
 
 12 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 has done his part to the utmost. And, if the sacrifice is 
 Sreat, if the tax on time, strength, funds, seems over- 
 whelming, let us remember that we owe everything, all 
 that makes life worth living, to one of whom it is written, 
 " Christ loved the Church, and He gave — not a little 
 money, not a little time— but Himself iov it."
 
 II 
 Ube Cburcb in Males 
 
 EARLY HISTORY 
 HOW IT CAME INTO BEING 
 WAS IT EVER "ESTABLISHED"? 
 
 FOR STEADFASTNESS 
 
 Almighty and Immortal God, the aid of all that need, the 
 helper of all that flee to Thee for succour, the life of them 
 that believe, and the resurrection of the dead; -we beseech 
 Thee for Thine infinite mercies, -wash us and sanctify us with 
 the Holy Ghost ; that we who have been received into the Ark 
 of Cf/K/srs Church, being steadfast in faith. Joyful throtigh 
 hope, and rooted in charity, may so pass the waves of this 
 troublesome world that finally we may come to the land of 
 everlasting life, there to reign with Thee, world without end ; 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
 II 
 Barlp Ibistor^ ot tbe Cburcb in Males 
 
 The Church is so much a part of our lives — we are, in 
 a sense, so accustomed to having it in our midst — that 
 we can hardly picture what our countrj' would be like 
 without it ; and yet, of course, there was a time when in 
 the villages, up and down our hills and dales, there were 
 clusters of huts for human habitations, but no tower or 
 spire in their midst, pointing the occupants to another and 
 a higher life. In Wales, as in England before the Christian 
 era, our ancestors were Druidical worshippers. But what 
 this means we cannot definitely tell, for Druidism was a 
 secret society, and its mj^steries were jealously preserved 
 from all who did not belong to it. We do know, how- 
 ever, that they had altars in the open air, and that they 
 held the oak and the mistletoe specially sacred ; also they 
 had sacred groves, and they believed in the existence of 
 a Supreme Being, whom they called " The Unknown," in 
 the immortality of the soul, and in the need of atonement 
 for sin. It is to be feared that this last article of their 
 faith often led them to offer most cruel sacrifices in the 
 shape of human beings to propitiate then- god, and the 
 beautiful Island of Anglesea, which was a great centre of 
 the Druids, must have witnessed many a horrible murder 
 committed in the A'ain hope of washing away the sin of 
 criminals. 
 
 About twenty-five years after our Blessed Lord was 
 crucified, the Romans being in possession of Britain, they 
 determined to root out the Druids, not because of their 
 religion, but on account of then* dangerous influence over 
 the jicople in secular matters. There is a stiiring account 
 14
 
 The Church in Wales i5 
 
 of how the Druids gathered in large numbers on the 
 seashore in the Island of Anglesea, and, Avhile they watched 
 the Roman soldiers assembling on the opposite side of 
 the Straits, invoked the vengeance of their "Unknown 
 God " upon the invaders. But it was all of no avail, for 
 Paulinus, the General, was determined to get rid of their 
 mischievous influence, as he considered it, once for all, and 
 he ordered them all to be put to the sword, while their 
 altars were demolished and their sacred groves destroyed. 
 That was the last time that a Druid was seen in Britain. 
 
 We can picture the grief and desolation of the people, 
 bereft both of their priests and their religion— and yet 
 these very Romans who appeared so cruel were the in- 
 struments in God's hands of bringing the True Light to 
 Wales. Whether the first missionaries came from Rome 
 or not is doubtful, l)ut it is certain that the good govern- 
 ance which the Romans introduced, and above all, the 
 splendid roads and bridges they built in the wild and 
 desolate districts in Wales, made it possible for the 
 messengers of the Gospel to penetrate regions which 
 would otherwise have been closed to them for centuries. 
 
 It is indeed touching to think of what these devoted 
 men underwent in their desire to bring the Joy of CmnsT 
 to the wild inhabitants of Wales. They took their lives 
 in their hands in more senses than one. They crossed the 
 seas in tiny open boats, in imminent danger of shipwreck, 
 they journeyed, footsore and weary, through desolate 
 wastes and tangled forests, where foes might be lurking at 
 every turn. They hungered and thirsted, with no friendly 
 inn to refresh them. The sun beat down on them re- 
 morselessly at noon, while at night too often they lay 
 exposed to cold and rain, and when they reached their 
 destination there was more than a possibility that the 
 inhabitants would take them for enemies, and destroy 
 them before they had time to deliver their message of 
 peace. Yet despite all difficulties, all drawbacks, all 
 perils, they were not to be daunted, and it is to their 
 heroism we owe our knowledge of God and our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. Their work has endured, but their names
 
 1 6 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 have perished. Truly " the Kingdom of God cometh not 
 with observation." As the old Church Historian, Fuller, 
 sums up the situation, "We see the Light of the Word 
 shined here, but see not who kindled it." Yet this 
 we know, that about the year 200 a Church existed in 
 Wales, and that in all probability it was organised by 
 Christians from France. Now, we have recently heard 
 much from those who should know better about the 
 Church in Wales being an alien Church. What do they 
 mean by such an assertion ? Do they mean that Chris- 
 tianity first came to Britain from outside ? Because if 
 so, the Church was obviously " alien " in every country 
 except Judea. How could our forefathers know about 
 the life and death of our Blessed Lord unless someone 
 came across the sea to tell them the glad tidings ? If this 
 makes the Church " alien," then the whole of our civilisa- 
 tion is alien, for we owe the arts of government, and build- 
 ing, and road-making, and many another besides, to the 
 Romans and other nations. Yet because we were taught 
 these matters in the first instance, they are none the less 
 our own. 
 
 But what is insinxiated by those who use this term is 
 that the Church in Wales vfas forced upon the people, that 
 they never desired it, that it did not appeal to them, and 
 that, in fact, it was rather a hindrance than a help to the 
 spiritual life of the inhabitants. Now, this is a most 
 serious charge, and if it is untrue, those who make it incur 
 a very grave responsibility ; for they are persuading the 
 people of the present day to be guilty of the basest of all 
 crimes — ingratitude to those who sacrificed time, money, 
 yes, even life itself, in the distant past for their benefit. 
 Let us see whether there is any proof in Wales itself of how 
 the Welsh regarded the Church. Those of us who have 
 the opportunity should study for themselves on the spot 
 the attitude of the inhabitants throughout the centuries 
 to this Church so wrongly called "alien." They would 
 find in little remote hamlets, as in bus}' towns, ancient 
 churches reared by the devotion of the worshippers ; they 
 Avould find village after village with a (to us) unpronounce-
 
 The Church in Wales i? 
 
 able name, beginning with Llan. What does this mean ? 
 In England and Scotland we have the same prefix — Church 
 Stretton, it /?-7j Langley, Kirk Ireton, Kirkhy, A'^r^•lington, 
 Kirk Michael — all testifying to the honour in which the 
 Church was held. But numerous as these are in the rest 
 of the United Kingdom, they are few in comparison with 
 those parishes in Wales which have thus perpetuated their 
 joy at the establishment of a Church in their midst. For 
 this is the meaning of the v/ord — Llan is primarily a fold 
 — and it is usually associated with the name of a saint ; 
 " Llanavan," the fold of St. Avan ; " Llandaff," the fold of 
 St. Dufrig ; " Llangibbi," and hundreds of others. How 
 it takes us back to the beautiful parable of the Shepherd, 
 the fold, and the sheep ! Is it possible to believe that the 
 warlike Welsh would ever have thus designated their 
 towns and villages unless they had loved the institution 
 whose name the}' bear 1 The truth is self-evident. From 
 the earliest times the Welsh have been a deeply religious, 
 emotional people. They loved their Church and all that 
 it meant to them with passionate devotion — a devotion 
 which showed itself in the determination to bring to 
 heathen portions of England the knowledge of Christ. 
 They sent missionaries in very early times over the border 
 of their own domain to bring those who had never heard 
 of the Gospel into the fold. They built churches in dis- 
 trict after district to keep the faith alive among them- 
 selves, naming them after their own Welsh saints. 
 
 It is evident that Church and State worked inseparably 
 for the good of the people from very early times. We 
 read how in the year 926 Howell the Good, a Prince of 
 AVales, wishing to improve the government of his country, 
 summoned to his assistance three Bishops, those of St. 
 David's, Llandaff, and Bangor. At this time, or shortly 
 afterwards, Bishops in Wales were already consecrated by 
 the Archbishop of Canterbury, although Wales and Eng- 
 land were not united under one King till 300 years later. 
 Howell the Good and the three Bishops, with other learned 
 men, set out on the long journey to Rome "' to consult the 
 wise in what manner to improve the laws of Wales, and to
 
 to The Menace of Secularism 
 
 ascertain the laws of other countries and cities." On his 
 return Howell summoned to Whitland in Carmarthenshire 
 "all the heads of the tribes of the country and their 
 assistants and all the wise and learned, ecclesiastical and 
 lay," and they drew up a code of laws for the governance 
 of the people. But even then they were not satisfied, so 
 they started for Rome once more to make sure that these 
 laws were in accordance with the law of God and the laws 
 of countries and cities in receipt of faith and baptism. 
 The journey in those days took many months each way, 
 but evidently they felt no trouble too great to achieve 
 their purpose. And having perfected their code to the 
 best of their ability, they came back to Wales, and sub- 
 mitted the laws to the verdict of the whole country before 
 they became the law of the land. 
 
 We find in this code the merciful privilege of sanctuary 
 recognised. Just as in Jewish times cities of refuge were 
 provided for those in peril of their lives, so the Church 
 gave to certain of its sacred buildings the privilege of 
 sanctuary. In these sanctuary churches, as they were 
 called, close to the altar was a stone chair — the chair of 
 peace — and to this chair a fugitive might flee, imploring 
 the mercy of God and the justice of His ministers. No 
 one could eject him under pain of the severest penalties, 
 and at a time when even small offences were punished by 
 death such a provision must have been indeed a boon. The 
 Bishop was often called in to mediate, and fine, or resti- 
 tution in case of theft, were substituted for mutilation or 
 the capital sentence. The Broad Sanctuary in Westminster 
 still preserves its ancient name. 
 
 During the wars which continued for centuries between 
 Wales and England before both were united under one 
 Sovereign, much damage was done to the churches. The 
 Cathedral of St, Asaph was practically destroyed, and 
 needed to be rebuilt. Funds were scarce, and it was decided 
 that the Canons should seek to raise money for the struc- 
 ture by exhibiting a famous copy of the Gospels which 
 belonged to the Cathedral. They received authority to do 
 this in the four Welsh Dioceses and in the adjoining Sees
 
 The Church in Wales 19 
 
 of Hereford, Lichfield, and Coventry, with the result that 
 for nine years they collected annually a sum equal to 
 £1,000 of our money— £9,000 in all— and by 1295 the new 
 cathedi'al was completed. This is one out of manj^ in- 
 stances which make it clear that more than six hundred 
 years ago the devotion of the Welsh to their Church was 
 undoubted, and that Welsh and English alike had realised 
 the Apostolic ideal of the sacred Body — " We are members 
 one of another." 
 
 The historian of Wales, G-iraldus Cambrensis, gives us 
 a graphic picture of the religious life as he saw it in the 
 previous centurj\ He speaks highly of the antiquity and 
 purity of the faith, and describes how the first piece of 
 every loaf is broken for the poor ; they ask a blessing of 
 every priest they meet. They pay the great tithe on all 
 their propertj' and cattle. Two-thirds of it goes to their 
 baptismal church, one-third to the Bishop. We shall hear 
 more about this in the next section. Evidently they were 
 generous to their Church, for he specially directs the 
 priest not to ask any fee for the administration of the 
 Sacraments, or for marriages or funerals, but permits him 
 to accept such offerings as the faithful maj- make of their 
 own free will. The custom of offerings at funerals still 
 prevails in North Wales, and the worshippers, who attend 
 in large numbers, go up one by one to the chancel steps or 
 the altar-rail to present their gift. 
 
 The service-book of Bishop Anian, who in 1284 christ- 
 ened the first English Prince of Wales (presented bj- his 
 father to the turl)ulent Welsh as a ruler who could not 
 speak a word of English), shows how vital was the Cliurch 
 life in those days, and how it was bound up with the 
 interests of the people. It differs in some respects from 
 the English custom ; for instance, the babe in baptism is 
 completelj^ immersed tlu'ee times, evidentlj' in honour of 
 the Trinity. It contains services for all Sundays and 
 holy daj's throughout the year ; offices for making aco- 
 lytes, subdeacons, deacons, presbyters, and Bishops ; 
 forms for tlie consecration of churches and churchyards ; 
 forms of " adjuring " of bread cheese, and honey ; prayers
 
 20 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 in times of war, pestilence, and other occasions. These 
 last must have been in perpetual use for many years. 
 
 Nor were the Welsh backward when the rescue of the 
 Holy Sepulchre in Palestine from the hands of unbelievers 
 was projected. When the imposing procession of Cru- 
 saders passed through Wales from England, many a stal- 
 wart young man took the Cross, and joined the heroic 
 expedition to the Holy Land. 
 
 Yet through all the centuries down to the end of 1500 
 they had no Bible in their own tongue to keep them true 
 to the faith. The services were in Latin, and during what 
 are called the Dark Ages, when religion was at a very low 
 ebb, it is wonderful that spiritual life survived. We must 
 not overlook the debt the country owed to the Bards in 
 this respect. They were musicians, poets, and singers, 
 who travelled from place to place, singing at each house. 
 They often composed their own songs, which dealt largely 
 with sacred subjects. They had immense influence with 
 the people and doubtless contributed largely to keeping 
 religion alive when there was little else to do it. 
 
 In the sixteenth century the great development which 
 we call tha Reformation came to a head. It is often said 
 that at this time a different Church was substituted for the 
 ancient Church of England and Wales. But that is a mis- 
 statement. In the parishes up and down our country, 
 the churches, the clergy, the worshippers, and the Creeds 
 remained the same after the Reformation as before. They 
 were still guided and governed by the Archbishops of 
 Canterbury and York. 
 
 The chief change which was made was this. For centuries 
 a foreign Bishop who was called the Pope had claimed to 
 rule not only the National Church of our land, but also to 
 influence the Government of our country in other respects. 
 This had been a frequent matter of .dispute between our 
 Sovereign and the Pope. But even in the days of our bad 
 King John, who gave away many of our liberties, our 
 Church was not called the Roman Church, but in the great 
 charter of British freedom (Magna Charta) it is described 
 as " our Church of England " {Ecclesia Aiiijlica7ia 7iostra).
 
 The Church in Wales 21 
 
 In the days of Henry VIII. the claims of the Pope 
 to dictate in England were thrown oil once for all, and 
 as the monks who were settled in England and Wales 
 in large numbers under foreign rules had become power- 
 ful and wealthy bodies, who supported his authority 
 and would not obey our leaders, the Archbishops of 
 Canterbury and York, their monasteries were broken 
 up and their goods seized by the King. In some 
 respects they were very hardly used, and their treatment 
 cannot be defended ; but there were many abuses which 
 had to be set right, and though it was done in a wrong 
 way, in the end it was for the good of our Church-people. 
 Once freed from the control of the Pope, the Church pro- 
 ceeded to purify its teacliing on lines long advocated 
 by English Churchmen. Certain superstitious practices 
 were abolished, but the greatest improvement of all for 
 Wales was that by the end of the sixteenth century the 
 services could be held in Welsh instead of Latin, as both 
 the Bible and Prayer-Book had been translated. We must 
 remember that only a few people could read, and copies 
 of the Bible were very expensive ; so the one opportunity 
 for the majority to hear the Word of God was by going 
 to their parish church These alterations did not make 
 the National Churcli a different Church, any more than the 
 Reform Bill made Parliament a dilferent Parliament. In 
 both cases the same institution Avent on as before, with 
 many of its blemishes removed. 
 
 There was one part of the Reformation wliich was 
 neither right nor just. King Henry VIII., when he dis- 
 solved the monasteries, took many of the tithes and lands 
 which had been given for the service of God and used 
 them for his own purposes. It is calculated that he re- 
 ceived a sum equal to about eight millions of our money 
 by the sale of Church lands. This was indeed a great sin. 
 It is strange that any should use it as an argument for 
 Disendowment in the present day. Because a wilful King 
 committed a terriljle wrong nearly four hundred years ago, 
 is that a reason why Christians of the twentieth centurj', 
 with all their opportunities of higher standards and ideals, 
 
 4
 
 22 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 should follow his example ? Robbery is robbery whether 
 it be perpetrated by King, or Parliament, or private 
 individuals. 
 
 Another misstatement which is often made is that this 
 same King who thus despoiled the Church was the person 
 who established the Church of England. Those who make 
 such an assertion cannot have studied the question. The 
 Church in England and Wales existed long before the 
 monarchy, and by its unifying influence our country was 
 welded into one. It would be truer to say that the Church 
 established the State than that the State established the 
 Church. Those who put such an argument forward 
 should be asked to indicate the date of the Act which 
 performed this feat. If the State established the Church 
 in the time of King Henry VIII., we have all the records 
 of these days, and it would be among them. But they 
 cannot produce such an Act, for the best of all reasons — 
 because it never took place. 
 
 But they object, '" What about the Act of Uniformity ? 
 That at any rate was passed by Parliament without con- 
 sulting the clergy." This Act does exist. What does it 
 mean / It means that when the project of celebrating the 
 services (as we do) in the people's own languages was first 
 suggested, it was found that in different pans of England 
 different forms of public worship were in use. It was 
 thought well that throughout our island the same book 
 should be utilised, so that Ciaurchmen moving from one 
 place to another might find the sei'vice to which they were 
 accustomed. These various " uses " were caret ullj' revised 
 in accordance with the Scriptures. The best was taken 
 from each one, thus forming what, with a few subsequent 
 alterations, is the same beautiful Prayer-Book we love 
 to-day. This Act of Uniformity was passed in 1549, and 
 we have exact knowledge of who were responsible ; for 
 Princess INIary, afterwards sadly famous for her cruel 
 persecutions of those who differed from her, wrote to her 
 brother King Edward VI. objecting to the Communion 
 Service, and saying '• the law made by Parliament was not 
 worthy the name of law." To which the answer received
 
 The Church in Wales 23 
 
 was, " The fault is great in any subject to disallow a law of 
 the King, a law of the realm, by long study, free disputa- 
 tion, and uniform deter iniiiaiioii of the loliole clergy — con- 
 sulted, debated, and concluded." And in another place the 
 King describes the Prayer-Book as " by the whole clergy 
 agreed, yea, by the Bishops of the realm devised." The 
 same holds good of the alterations made later. So it is 
 clear that Church and State agreed together in bringing 
 order and continuity into the religious life of the people. 
 
 The Church was never established by the State, because 
 in early days, as with the Israelites, the two were insepar- 
 ably blended. Their union has endured, with one short 
 break, for over a thousand years, and that break of some 
 eighteen years under the Commonwealth was so repugnant 
 to the national sense that with the Restoration the Revolu- 
 tionary legislation was repealed, and the old Church order 
 was joyfully resumed. Drawbacks there may be in such a 
 relation, but they are outweighed a hundredfold by the 
 advantages. It will be an evil day for Britain when 
 religion is fenced oif from her national counsels, when the 
 leaders of the spiritual life of the nation are bidden to take 
 their lofty ideals elsewhere, for in the ultimate decision 
 of the future of her citizens there is no room for such 
 considerations. To avert such a disaster we must all 
 combine, remembering that to God all things are possible. 
 
 In this matter many earnest Nonconformists are with 
 us. We may well conclude with some thoughts of tlie 
 great Welsh Methodist preacher, John Elias, written in 
 1833: 
 
 " I can truly say that I am far from wishing the down- 
 fall and destruction of the Established Church, because I 
 love her success in all that is good. I sincerely love her 
 godly ministers and members, and I do not envy her for 
 her privileges and emoluments. With reference to reform 
 in the Church, I desire to see in her a scriptural and evan- 
 gelical reform, conducted by some of her learned, godly, 
 and eminent ministers ; but I cannot expect anything 
 worthy of the name of reform proceeding from the design 
 and order of unbelievers who are enemies of God and the
 
 24 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 Church. It is not to be expected that any establishment 
 can be quite perfect as long as it is administered by frail 
 men ; still, it is not too much to ask now, Is there any other 
 denomination likely to answer the purpose which every 
 religious party ought to have in view — i.e., the preparation 
 of the soul, by the blessing of the Spirit of God, for 
 eternity — better than the Church of England ?" 
 
 At Bala the Association of Methodists in 1834 passed 
 this resolution, which might well be repeated in the 
 present day : 
 
 " We cannot do less than grieve at the form of agitation 
 assumed by many in this kingdom at the present time, 
 and at the agitation in respect to changes in matters of 
 Church and State, believing that we, as a religious body, 
 should not interfere in such matters ; and we earnestly 
 desire every member of this body to ref I'ain from meddling 
 in such matters as tend to disturb the nation, and also to 
 pray for help to live quietly in all godliness and honesty."
 
 Ill 
 BnC)Ownieuts 
 
 TITHES 
 
 GLEBE 
 
 HOW ARE THE STIPENDS OF THE CLERGY PAID ? 
 
 Collect 
 
 O Lord Jesu Christ, who at Thy first coming didst scud Thy 
 viessenger to prepare Thy 7vay before Thee; Grant that tli' 
 ministers and stewards of Thy mysteries may likewise so prepare 
 and make ready Thy way, by turning the hearts of the dis- 
 obedient to the wisdom of the just, that at Thy second coming 
 to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in Thy 
 sight, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy 
 Spirit, ever one God, world without end.
 
 Ill 
 BnDowments 
 
 The Church's financial problem must appeal to all 
 practical people, and we need to bring to its considera- 
 tion special qualities of reverent common sense, for in 
 that which ministers to the spiritual life of the nation 
 no aspect is common or unclean, and we may well lay to 
 heart the Ajiostolic axiom as regards the charities of the 
 Early Church : " If any provide not for his own, and 
 specially for those of his own household, he hath denied 
 the faith, and is worse than an infidel." 
 
 Now, this word " endowment " is one which, Avhen used 
 in connection with the Church, has to some minds an 
 evil meaning. It is mentioned with contempt, as though 
 it were positively wrong that religion should be endowed. 
 But what do we mean by the word ? It is very important 
 we should be clear on this matter, because it is a stumbling- 
 block to many ; and they have been so accustomed to hear- 
 ing it used as a term of reproach that they never ask if 
 it is deserved. Endowment means that instead of having 
 to provide for the whole of our spiritual needs week by 
 week, month by month, or year by year, Ave have in many 
 parishes (not in all) land and money and a house left by 
 the generosity and unselfishness of our ancestors, so that 
 the worship of God may be perpetually maintained. But 
 is it only religion that is thus endowed ? No, in many 
 departments of life the same thing holds good. Think of 
 our great hospitals, our schools, our museums, our libraries, 
 our picture galleries. We owe most of them to those who 
 went before us ; many of them are hundreds of years old, 
 and were set up by previous generations, so that we their 
 26
 
 Endowments 27 
 
 descendants might have the same advantages they had 
 enjoyed. It is indeed difficult to say where the endow- 
 ments for which we are indebted to the past cease. The 
 woods, the gardens, the orchards in which we delight, owe 
 their existence to men who often could not hope ever to 
 enjoy the fruits of their labours ; or, again, think of the 
 roads, the bridges, the railways, the streets in our great 
 cities, the parks, even our very homes — all these are legacies 
 to us with which the past has dowered us ; and thus 
 " endowment " meets us at every turn. 
 
 Therefore the principle of endowment is not considered 
 wrong. We never hear of anyone objecting to living in 
 a house because it was built four or five hundred years 
 ago, and had been in the family for all that time. On the 
 contrary, whether we are in wealth}^ or moderate circum- 
 stances, we take a pride in these family possessions, and 
 treasure even chairs and tables and bits of china which 
 have been handed down to us for generations. 
 
 Then again, take the present time. Careful parents will 
 do their best to lay up a little store so that they in turn 
 may endow their children. They well know the value of 
 a nest-egg, and the difference between the man who must 
 take whatever offers because he has nothing to fall back 
 upon and the man who can afford to take long sights, 
 sacrificing a temporary advantage to permanent, stable gain, 
 because he has sufficient to keep the wolf from the door. 
 
 But if it is thus right to endow hospitals, schools, 
 museums, families, cities, institutions of all sorts, u-Jit/ 
 should it be held wrong to provide for religion in advance, 
 instead of leaving it to haphazard ? For surely it is on 
 this forethought of one generation for succeeding ones 
 that the whole progress of human society depends. If 
 each generation were despoiled of the endowments left it 
 by the foregoing ones, life would be a desert. We may 
 go further than this ; not only are religious endowments 
 7iot wrong ; on the contrary, it is most selfish of us to think 
 only of our own welfare, and say of the benefits we enjoy, 
 "Never mind, they will last my time," disregarding the 
 interests of those who come after us. We cry shame on
 
 28 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 the father who through idleness or extravagance leaves 
 his little ones to starve ; it is yet more shameful to over- 
 look the needs of the soul, and not provide to the best of 
 our ability that all human beings shall be fed with the 
 Living Bread. 
 
 But some will say, "In primitive times there were no 
 endowments." Surely the reason is self-evident. The 
 early Christians had to live, as we should say, from hand 
 to mouth, for they were a very poor and often persecuted 
 society, and, as we know, " not many rich, not many noble 
 were called." They could not, whatever theu* wishes, lay 
 up for the future ; it was difficult enough to provide for 
 their immediate needs. And yet forethought is enjoined 
 by St. Paul, and his injunction to the Corinthians, when 
 the Church was less than a quarter of a century old, con- 
 tains the germ of the principle : " The first day of the 
 week let every one of you lay by him in store as GOD hath 
 prospered hitn, that there be no gatherings when I come." 
 Here we have the root-idea — that a proportion of income 
 should be " laid by in store." Nothing is said about limit- 
 ing the amount to the needs of the moment ; and it is 
 certain that accumulation must have been the rule, other- 
 wise the expense of St. Paul's great missionary journej^s 
 could not have been met. 
 
 There is another word which is greatly disliked by our 
 Nonconformist friends, and to which they attach a sinister 
 meaning — the word iitJie. We shall do well to consider 
 briefly how tithes first came into being, and what they 
 are. Tithe means the tenth part. The tithe of a sovereign 
 would be two shillings ; the tithe of a brood of chickens 
 would be one out of ten. The tithe of a hundred acres of 
 land would be ten acres. From the days of Abraham the 
 worshippers of the true GoD desired to give a proportion 
 of their possessions to be used in His special service. 
 They recognised that they owed everything to His 
 fatherly love, and to them it seemed a small matter 
 that out of what His bounty had bestowed they should 
 set apart the tenth for Him. We remember Solomon's 
 beautiful words, " For who am I, and what is my people,
 
 Endowments 29 
 
 that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort ? 
 For all things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we 
 given Thee." These offerings of the tenth were used for 
 everything connected with the maintenance of the temple 
 and of the priests who ministered there. They were used 
 to beautify God's House until it became ''the joy of the 
 whole earth," as we read in the Psalms. " For Thy temple's 
 sake at Jerusalem so shall Thy kings bring presents unto 
 Thee." Again and again we have it chronicled that the 
 people iriirnigly offered. We can see in our mind's eye 
 this pastoral folk, setting aside the best lamb, the finest 
 fruit, the richest ears of corn, so that they might have 
 something to give not wholly unworthy of the acceptance 
 of the Most High. The storj' of what happened when 
 Hezekiah revived the worship of the true God, three 
 hundred years after Solomon, may well be laid to heart 
 in our own day. We see a whole people combining with 
 their King, vieing with one another in their devotion, and 
 determined to make His praise glorious. From cities and 
 villages, flowed the stream of worshippers to Jerusalem, 
 bringing with them the firstfruits of corn and wine and 
 fruit and sheep and oxen. And it was done with no 
 niggard hand. " The tithe of all things brought thej^ in 
 abundantly. So much was there that we learn '"the 
 tithe of holy things which were consecrated to the Lord 
 their God" were "laid by heaps," and for four months 
 they continued, till the High Priest and the King met 
 together to consider what should be done with it all, 
 for after the temple ministers had received their portion 
 '"that they might be encouraged in the law of the Lord," 
 there was still left "a great store," and this was laid up in 
 the temple for future use, special guardians being appointed 
 to administer it. 
 
 Again and again in Holy Writ we are assured that this 
 offering of a due proportion of our worldly goods is 
 acceptable to the Most High. Those who regard it as a 
 sacred duty are singled out for special blessing, those who 
 omit it, or minimise their contribution, are reprobated. 
 The Scriptures are full of the subject from the first 
 
 5
 
 30 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 mention in Genesis, down to the burning words of 
 Malachi : " Will a man rob God ? Yet ye have robbed 
 Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee ? In 
 tithes and offerings. Bring ye all the tithes into the store- 
 house, that there may be meat in Mine House, and prove 
 Me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not 
 open you the windows of Heaven and pour you out a 
 blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive 
 it. And all nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a 
 delightsome land, saith the Lord of Hosts." 
 
 If tithes were right under the Jewish dispensation, if 
 national prosperity in material matters was made definitely, 
 dependent on the recognition of God's claiiu, how much 
 more should this be the case now, when, in addition to all 
 the causes for gratitude of Jewish times, we Christians 
 have the "inestimable benefit" of the precious Life and 
 Death of God's only Son for which to give thanks ? 
 
 Tithes were considered a natural accompaniment of 
 religious observance, even among heathen nations. We 
 find that the ancient Romans, Greeks, Carthaginians, and 
 others, all paid tithe for the maintenance of the worship 
 of their gods, and when Christianity had brought fresh 
 joy into the spiritual life, the duty of paying tithe became 
 a glorious privilege, as we learn by the jubilant pronounce- 
 ment of the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews. " Here 
 men that die receive tithes, but there He reeeiveth them of 
 whom it is witnessed that He liveth." 
 
 So what more natural, as the Church in Wales and Eng- 
 land was built up, than that Christians, reading of this 
 custom in their Bibles, and realising its practical advan- 
 tages, should have resolved to carry it on, and support their 
 clergy and the Church the}' loved by setting aside a tenth 
 part of their possessions for the purpose / There are those 
 who say that tithe is a tax. It never has been so — any more 
 than rent is a tax — and it would be just as dishonest not to 
 pay one as not to pay the other. The Bill before us sets up 
 an extraordinary theory. If it passes, all tithes will be 
 paid just the same as before, only the portion of the tithe 
 which has hitherto been given to support religion will be
 
 Endowments 31 
 
 taken away and handed to County Councils for secular 
 purposes. The tithe which is at present in the hands of 
 laymen will still be theirs ; it is only from the Church it is 
 to be taken away. Where is the fairness of such an 
 arrangement ? If tithe is wrong, abolish it. If it is right, 
 then the Church has the first claim to it. 
 
 There is a good instance of the unjustifiable results of this 
 one-sided legislation in the parish of Ruthin, Denbighshire 
 
 Over three hundred years ago, in the da3's of Queen Eliza- 
 beth, there lived a person who was worthy of his name, 
 Gabriel Goodman. He desired to provide both for the souls 
 and bodies of his fellow-creatures, so he made a grant of 
 tithe, part of which was to go to the warden of St. Peter's 
 Church, Ruthin, on condition that he lived in the Friary 
 and took spiritual charge of the parishes of Ruthin and 
 Llanrhj'd, and the rest was to be used for the main- 
 tenance of twelve poor people in the almshouse. Various 
 other benefactors, notably Bishop Goodman, of Gloucester, 
 added to this endowment, with the result that for over three 
 hundred years the Warden has ministered to the souls of 
 the people, and the almshouse has been a refuge for those 
 who needed it. Now, under the Bill, the provision for the 
 almshouse is to continue, but every penny of the stipend 
 for the clergyman is to be taken awaj', and handed over to 
 the County Council. 
 
 Where is the justice of such a proceeding ? Gabriel 
 Goodman had a right to will his money for such purposes 
 as seemed good to him. It has been used for these purposes 
 ever since. It is still needed for the same purposes. ^ et 
 it is to be ruthlessly taken away from the service of God, 
 and given to secular objects. 
 
 It has been said by those who should know better that 
 the tithes which are to be confiscated come out of the 
 pockets of the working classes. There is not a word of 
 ti-uth in this statement, and those who make it cannot be 
 absolved from deliberate misrepresentation,* the fact 
 
 * For tithes are now no more paid in kind as in early days, but 
 in money — they fall exclusively on laiuloiuiiers. Tenants, artisans, 
 and labourers do not now pay tithes.
 
 32 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 being that in this matter of systematic giving for the 
 service of GoD we are woefully behind our forefathers. 
 They took care that everj'one should do their share, as is 
 proved by a quaint list of what each parishioner should 
 give at Easter, 1675, in an ancient town of the Peak 
 district of Derbyshu-e. It is to be remembered that the 
 sums named represent a great deal more than the same value 
 in our money ; for in those days a sheep might be pur- 
 chased for two or three shillings, and a fowl for twopence : 
 
 " Item : Every person of the age of sixteen pays one 
 penny for his offering ; for every horse, 3d. ; for a cow, Id. ; 
 for every calf, l^d. ; for every foal, Id. ; for every swarm 
 of bees, Id. ; from every person for his trade, 4d. ; from 
 every manservant sixpence, and every maidservant four- 
 pence from their wages." 
 
 " Item : For every Hen an Egg, and for every Cock two 
 — but if they have no eggs, then the parishioner pays to 
 the Vicar one penny for three hens, and for two duck's eggs 
 one penny, and for every Turkey Egg one penny." These 
 were in addition to the tithes of wool, lamb, lead, pigs, and 
 geese, which were paid in kind, and formed part of the 
 endowment. 
 
 From the Chapelry of Beeley to the Vicar of Bakewell, 
 when he serves Beeley Church, the following dues are 
 registered for 1671 : 
 
 " Offerings : The Master or Mistress, or Dame 
 
 of a family, each of them ... ... ... 2d. 
 
 Offerings of all other sojourners, servants 
 and children above 16 years old, each are Id. 
 
 His dues for the House, Id. ; Garden, Id. ; 
 Plough Id 3d. 
 
 His dues for every Milch Cow, Id. ; Calf, id. Ud. 
 
 His dues for a foal. 2d 2d. 
 
 „ for Geese, if above 6, Id. if under 
 15; but if 15, Ud. 2id. 
 
 His due for Piggs the like. 
 „ for every Hen 2 eggs. 
 
 Geese if not agreed for to be delivered in Bake- 
 well Churchyard on or about IMidsummer-day, 
 and the like for Piggs if they happen."
 
 Endowments 33 
 
 There is anotherform of endowment, called"glebe" — that 
 is, land whose rent pays part of the stipend of a clergyman. 
 Land has always been dear to the heart of tlie Briton. The 
 ambition to own a plot is a most legitimate one, and one, 
 we trust, majf be realised for manj' ere long. But we can 
 understand that when a Welshman or an Englishman gave a 
 piece of land to the parish church, he was not offering an 
 offering to the Lokd of that which cost him nothing. He 
 gave it because there was something even dearer to him 
 than the meadows he loved, and that was the service of 
 God, and the permanent maintenance of His worship. 
 
 We still have the very words of the deeds in which they 
 set their wishes down. Here is one (translated from the 
 Latin) by which William B,evel gave to the Church of 
 St. Mary, at Haye, in Breconshire, both land and tithe 
 early in the twelfth century : 
 
 "Bernard, by the grace of God Bishop of St. David's, to 
 all the faithful of the Holy Church of God, greeting and 
 benediction. Let all, both those who are now living, and 
 those who shall hereafter live, know that when we conse- 
 crated the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Haye, 
 William Revel did, by permission of Bernard Newmarch, 
 who was present at the consecration, give and grant as a 
 free gift and endowment of the church itself, fifteen acres 
 of land and two tenements, and all the land attached to 
 those tenements in the high forest land as far as the boun- 
 daries of Ewias, and in the coppice and in the low ground. 
 He gave also to the same Church all the tithe of all his 
 estate of Haye in all things, as well as that of the lands of 
 Ivor and Meleniac, and of all things that are held of the 
 lordship of Haye. And that no question may arise in the 
 future respecting the matter, he definitely gave tithe as 
 follows : Of corn, and hay, and poultry, and cattle, and sheep, 
 and pigs, and wool, and cheese, and underwood, and the 
 benevolence of Welshmen, and tolls for right of passage, 
 and plaints. Whoever shall subtract or diminish aught from 
 these, let him be cut off from the communion of God and 
 His saints until he come to a better mind. Fare ye well." 
 
 For 800 years this trust has endured. Can we doubt
 
 34 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 that if in the words of the deed aught is subtracted or 
 diminished, those responsible will have a heavy account to 
 answer ? 
 
 It is to be remembered that this glebe does not belong 
 to any individual clergyman at all, nor even to the Bishop. 
 It was given specifically to the ]iarish church. Again 
 and again this is brought out in the deeds. " I give to God 
 and the Church of St. Peter — " so run the opening words. 
 Yet it is this land, consecrated by the self-sacritice of our 
 ancestors, which is to be confiscated despite the protests of 
 Church-people. 
 
 Then how are the stipends of the clergy paid ? Not out 
 of the pockets of the ratepayers, as has been so wrongly 
 alleged ; not by the State, as is the case in other countries ; 
 not by the labourers or artisans. Those who make such 
 assertions are stating what is contrary to the fact, and has 
 been disproved again and again. They are paid from 
 these two sources, tithe and glebe, both due to the 
 generosity of those who went before us. 
 
 But someone will say, What about Queen Anne's Bounty ? 
 Does not that provide part of the salary in some cases ? 
 Certainly ; and this again is the free gift of a good woman 
 who has been dead nearly two hundred years. She found the 
 custom prevailing that out of their scanty incomes, the 
 clergy paid a contribution to the crown in addition to the 
 taxes of ordinary citizens to the State. She thought the 
 arrangement unfair, more especially as the clergy were 
 many of them miserably poor. So she gave it back to the 
 Church to be used for helping the worst-paid parishes. 
 The Church in England and Wales being one, and Wales 
 the poorer of the two, this fund has been of the greatest 
 benefit to the principality. But it has never had anything 
 to do with Parliament. It was the free gift of a generous 
 Queen. That is why it is called her " Bounty." There is 
 yet another sum from Church property in the hands of 
 the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, which is used chiefly for 
 the Bishop's stipends, to found new parishes, and to provide 
 curates in necessitous districts. 
 
 Thus we realise how the property of the Church grew
 
 Endowments 35 
 
 up, .and we shall see in a later section why it is so needful 
 for tlie nation to have religious ministrations secured. 
 Endowments are undoubtedly right, because without them 
 we cannot insure continuity, nor provide the clergy with 
 that which is so much emphasised in other departments of 
 life — a minimum wage. This need is recognised by the lead- 
 ing Nonconformist bodies in their own case. They already 
 possess large endowments, and we frequently read of 
 generous bequests on the death of their wealthy adherents 
 — j'et they are making strenuous efforts to build up still 
 more substantial funds on which they can rely. We 
 applaud their zeal, and Avish them all success in their 
 devoted endeavour. But it is difficult to understand why 
 what is good for the Congregational and Baptist com- 
 munities should be considered bad for the Church ; why 
 poverty would increase our spirituality, while wealth 
 would minister to theirs ; and, above all, how promoters of 
 the Bill can reconcile it to their consciences to deal such a 
 blow at the Church of theu* forefathers. Such a question 
 is not to be decided by majorities. We are not to follow 
 the multitude to do evil. It was a majority which led to 
 Calvary. 
 
 In any case the question of the future of the Church 
 has never been fairly and squarely before the people of 
 Wales as the sole issue ; and the test of a religious census 
 is absolutely declined. Why should this be if Noncon- 
 formity is as strong in Wales as it represents itself to be ? 
 If so, they need not fear the result. To assert their 
 superiority, to take away what Church-people so greatly 
 prize, because they ai'e said to be in a minority, and then 
 to decline the only test which can prove the truth of their 
 statement can only be termed persecution. There have 
 been dark chapters in the history of Nonconformists 
 before. Their treatment of the Quakers and others in 
 Cromwellian days was worthy of the most bigoted fanatics 
 of the previous century. It is our part to stand by our 
 brethren, to support them in their hour of need, to shield 
 them from the soul-fettering shackles of enforced volun- 
 taryism, in a word, to enable them by our prayers, our
 
 36 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 sympathy, and our steadfast allegiance to " stand fast in 
 the liberty wherewith Christ hath made them free." 
 
 Life, without God, is death to high endeavour, 
 Death, without God, is lifelessness for ever. 
 Come Life, come Death — though flesh and spirit sever — 
 Guard we our Church for aye !
 
 IV 
 
 TLbc Catbe^rals an& parisb Cburcbes 
 
 THE PAROCHIAL SYSTEM 
 
 THE VOLUNTARY SYSTEM 
 
 WHICH IS THE BEST FOR THE NATION ? 
 
 FOR PERSONAL CONSECRATION 
 
 Almighty and everlasting God, by -whose Spirit the whole 
 Body of the Church is governed and sanctified ; Receive our 
 supplications and prayers, which 7ve offer before Thee for all 
 estates of men in Thy Holy Church, that every member of the 
 same, in his vocation and ministry, may tridy and godly serve 
 Thee ; through our LoRa and Saviour Jhsus Christ. 
 
 .'iUl.H'M)
 
 IV 
 
 XTbe Catbebrals an^ parisb Cburcbes 
 
 Let us consider an aspect of Disestablishment and Dis- 
 endowment which is of far-reaching import — that which 
 concerns our worship. As we lift our eyes to some 
 statelj' cathedral, we do well to ask ourselves what was in 
 the minds of the men who reared it. Why did they spend 
 infinite thought and pains and time, the best resources of 
 art and loving care on rendering this edifice as perfect as 
 human talent permits ? We know well that the very best 
 we have to oifer will come pitifully short of the Majesty 
 of the Most High, and yet He deigns to accept this service 
 at the hands of His creatures, and ever since the days 
 of Solomon's temple, so graphically portrayed as " exceed- 
 ing magnifical,"' true-hearted devotion has sought to en- 
 shrine in stately arch and pillar and aisle something of the 
 aspiration which always falls short of full expression. 
 
 This is how our great cathedrals came to be ; and per- 
 haps, as we dwell upon the humble beginnings of these 
 centres of Church life in some dioceses, such as St. 
 David's (of which we have recently heard so much), we 
 shall see why the maintenance of our cathedrals and 
 cathedral systems is all important to the spiritual vigour 
 of our nation. There never was a time in the history of 
 our race when our country owed more to organised ex- 
 pressions of ideas than the present. We know how the 
 two jubilees of Queen Victoria, her funeral, the corona- 
 tions of her son and grandson, have all tended to weld 
 together our mighty Empire, because they were made the 
 opportunity of gathering her scattered sons from the far 
 corners of the earth to take part iu the solemn celebration 
 38
 
 The Cathedrals and Parish Churches 39 
 
 of an Imperial event. We are all the gainers by such 
 opportunities. To their fulfilment an Imperial capital is 
 essential, such as London affords. What London is to 
 the Empire, that the cathedral is to the diocese. At the 
 best it is the centre from which countless beneficent 
 activities go forth ; at the worst it is an abiding witness to 
 the burning faith of the past, and of the glorious possibili- 
 ties of the future, which the revival of that faith will 
 afford. Such a revival we have been privileged to see 
 in our own day. Never since medieval times have the 
 cathedrals meant so much in the life of the people as 
 now. 
 
 How, then, did the Cathedral of St. David's come to 
 be ? We have to go back to the middle of the sixth 
 century to find a well-born Welshman dwelling in the 
 extreme West of Wales, resolved to spend his life in 
 bringing the knowledge of God, not to the heathen in 
 distant lands, but to those surrounding him, his OAvn 
 friends and neighbours. Thus the great work developed 
 in earnest, though Christianity had come to these regions 
 before. But it was David who founded his monastery 
 and church on the very spot now occupied by the cathe- 
 dral, and though in those early days dioceses were not as 
 clearly defined as they are at present, yet the general lines 
 were the same, and have continued for over 1,300 years. 
 During that time there have been 118 Bishops since St. 
 David, not all worthj?^ followers of the saint, but the great 
 majoritj^ adding something to the spiritual life and de- 
 velopment of the diocese, till we come to the present 
 Bishop — a Welshman to the core, like his great prede- 
 cessor — under whose devoted governance religion has 
 flourished, and enthusiasm for the Church is manifested 
 on every side. 
 
 When we look back on those beginnings of Christianity, 
 we are amazed that the faith survived, for enemies were 
 numerous, and many a time was the church and town 
 of St. David's attacked by the ruthless Norwegian and 
 Danish jiirates. Its position on the sea made it specially 
 liable to assault, and in the tenth and eleventh centuries
 
 40 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 the Bishops, Morgenen and Abraham, were violently put to 
 death by the invaders. In 1088, not content with killing 
 the Bishop, the pu'ates determined to destroy the cathe- 
 di'al, and managed to effect their wicked purpose shortly 
 after the Norman Conquest. We can imagine the feelings 
 of Church-people when they saw their beloved church 
 razed to the ground, and shortly afterwards it is sadly 
 recorded of St. David's (which from the time of Asser, 
 the friend of King Alfred, had been a seat of learning) 
 that " instruction for scholars ceased." 
 
 In 1180 the present cathedral was built, and for 
 700 years has enshrined the prayers and aspirations of 
 faithful worshippers. But even then trouble was not 
 over, for forty years after its erection the massive central 
 tower fell, and much damage was done by a great earth- 
 quake a few j'ears later. Still the love of the people 
 for their minster endured, and each disaster resulted in 
 adding to the beauty of the edifice. St. David's was a 
 place of pilgrimage from far and wide, for the sake of the 
 holy man who had founded it, and whose memory is still 
 so deeply revered in Wales. As years went on, two 
 more Bishops of St. David's laid down their lives for the 
 faith. In the time of Edward VI. Bishop Ferrer was 
 imprisoned for Romish tendencies, and one would have 
 thought that when Mary came to the throne, this would 
 have secured his freedom ; but, on the contrary, he was 
 then tried for heresy, and the judge, having condemned 
 him to be burnt alive in the streets of his cathedral city, 
 was actually appointed his successor in the bishopric. In 
 the following century Laud, afterwards the great Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury, was for six years Bishop of St. 
 David's, and we know how he preferred a shameful death 
 to giving up one iota of the principles of the Church of 
 England. It is surely well for us in these puny times 
 to remind ourselves of the heroism by which our prede- 
 cessors preserved for us the historic faith, and handed on 
 to us the heritage they received. It wdll nerve us to see 
 things in their right proportions. We are not called to 
 laij down our lives ; we are called to devote our lives for
 
 The Cathedrals and Parish Churches 41 
 
 the time being in this crisis to holding fast the treasure 
 for those who come after us. 
 
 We heard in the first section that the corporation of 
 the cathedral under the Bill would be dissolved. We can 
 look back through at least six centuries and find that the 
 organisation of the diocese was practically the same as 
 it is at present. Through wars, tumults, persecutions, 
 martyrdom, it has endured, and has proved itself truly 
 adapted to carry on the work of Gou. Can it be that we, 
 in a time of peace, shall be so indolent, so indifferent, as 
 to permit such a potent agency for the maintenance of 
 religion to be crippled / And then, as regards the cathe- 
 dral itself — even the Jew, without the inspiration of the 
 life of our Blessed Lord, thought nothing too good for 
 the service of the Temple ; and we can never admit that 
 while we aim increasingly at beauty in our homes, our 
 public buildings, the organisation of historic gatherings— 
 that the beauty of holiness alone should be neglected, 
 that we should offer an offering to the Lord our God 
 of that which has cost us nothing. 
 
 Those of us who have seen the woeful effect on churches 
 in France of relinquishing the iiatlotial recognition of 
 religion are filled with terror lest a like fate should be 
 in store for our own. Many of the churches, consecrated 
 by the worship of centuries, have been turned to secular 
 uses. You may find a saddler's shop established where 
 once the faithful assembled for the adoration of the Most 
 High, or, as in another case, a Bleriot aeroplane occup3'ing 
 the stately Norman aisle : while the apse, where thousands 
 had knelt for the Sacred Feast, is given up to the storage of 
 disused bicycles. These are the things that happen under 
 Disestablishment and Disendowment. Let us be warned 
 before it is too late. 
 
 The churches in St. David's Diocese are no less inter- 
 esting than the cathedral. Many of them were founded 
 long before the present cathedral was built, for each group 
 of worshippers desired to have a House of God in their 
 midst. These churches of early days were of four 
 different kinds
 
 42 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 1. The great collegiate charcJies where a number of 
 clergy lived together in a sort of community, and went 
 out to take the services in the surrounding villages on 
 Sundays. We have still on record the stipends each one 
 of them was to receive, and the exact diet which should be 
 provided for them at the prior's table ; in one case it is 
 specially enacted that the prior shall supply a cup of ale 
 for the vicar after supper, as well as after the midday meal. 
 
 2. There were the parochial churches with resident 
 clergy, much the same as in our own day. 
 
 3. There were a large number of chapels in remote 
 hamlets where service might be conducted, but the 
 sacraments could not be administered. 
 
 4. There were the haptisinal chapels where little ones 
 might be received at the font into the great family of the 
 Church, but which otherwise were subject to the same 
 restrictions as the ordinary chapels. 
 
 Thus in those early days the Church sought to be all 
 things to all men, that by any means she might gain some. 
 Many of these churches and chapels were very humble in 
 the first instance, and for centuries the comfort of the 
 worshippers was little considered. There were no pews 
 or chairs or stools. The congregation knelt for prayer, 
 and stood during the psalms, the lessons, and the sermon 
 when there was one. The only seat provided for wor- 
 shippers was the narrow stone bench which still runs 
 along the wall and round the pillars in some of our most 
 ancient churches — hence the old proverb of " The weakest 
 to the wall " — those who were unable to stand or kneel 
 throughout the service having this concession made to 
 their feebleness. The floors, which were sometimes of 
 stone, sometimes of mud, were covered with rushes for the 
 sake of warmth. The rush-bearing in preparation for 
 Easter was a special village festival. The .young 
 people brought them from the surrounding swamps in 
 large bundles, and the church was cleansed, alas ! for the 
 only time in the year. But the altar where the great 
 mystery of Holy Communion was celebrated was generally 
 dowered, even in the humblest church, with the best the
 
 The Cathedrals and Parish Churches 43 
 
 worshippers could afford. The needlework was exquisite ; 
 paten and chalice of silver or gold, when pewter or horn 
 was in common use, and the vestments of the officiating 
 priest, because of the sacred office he held, were models of 
 stitchery and design. The bells, too, as time went on, 
 were freighted with a special message to the people as they 
 rung out across the remote hills and dales, reminding 
 them of a higher life, and the joy and duty of worship. 
 Round many a bell-rim is inscribed the legend, " God save 
 our Church" — a prayer which clarions forth a special 
 appeal at this crisis in our fate. 
 
 We are under no misapprehension as to the motive 
 which caused these forefathers of ours to rear these monu- 
 ments of devotion and faith. With simple directness they 
 place it on record, as in the case of the noble collegiate 
 church and buildings of Abergwili, where the Bishop's 
 palace is now situated. The foundation deed states the 
 object to be " that the parts of Ystrad-Tywy, hitherto 
 places of misery, should be changed into places of 
 spiritual joy." 
 
 What the cathedral is to the diocese that the church is 
 to the parish. How did the parochial system grow up ? 
 It grew up in direct obedience to our Blessed Lord's 
 command to preach the Gospel to cccnj creature. The 
 wise and holy men who were leaders of religion in our 
 islands realised at an early stage that this could never be 
 insured, unless some one clergyman was made responsible 
 for every acre of the country. And so by degrees the 
 whole land was divided into parishes, which at first were 
 of vast extent, because there were not sufficient clergy to 
 serve them, but as time went on were subdivided and the 
 number of churches multiplied so as to bring the means of 
 gi-ace within reach of the whole population. How deeply 
 the inhabitants of the principality valued the parochial 
 system is proved by their action in the southern portion of 
 St. David's Diocese, where at the end of the twelfth 
 century they broke up the large parishes, made the chapels 
 of ease into independent churches, each with a parish of its 
 own, and built others where none existed, so that part of
 
 44 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 the See is consequently better off for churches to this day 
 than the rest. 
 
 We know by our own experience that except under the 
 parochial system, those who most need the spiritual up- 
 lifting of the faith, the A'ery poor, the indifferent, above 
 all, the hardened sinners, fall through. They are unable or 
 unwilling to provide funds for the maintenance of a 
 minister of religion. Jesus Christ came to call sinners to 
 repentance ; but under the so-called voluntary system, the 
 poorer, the more wretched, the more sinful the people, so 
 much the more difficult is it for a minister to make two 
 ends meet. Again and again Nonconformist ministers are 
 forced to leave the slums, not because they do not desire 
 to preach the Gospel to those who need it most, but on 
 financial grounds. Only recently in one of our great 
 northern towns three Nonconformist chapels in the 
 lowest part of the city had to be given up, the officiating 
 minister migrating to the suburbs, because his flock could 
 not or would not supply him with the bare necessaries of 
 existence. The fate of those chapels was significant. 
 One became a variety-hall, another was taken over by the 
 Roman Catholics, and the third by the Mohammedans. 
 How can we believe for one moment that a system which 
 is unable to avoid such a condition of affairs is the best for 
 the religious life of the people ? Even eminent Noncon- 
 formists, Dr. Chalmers among the number, have admitted 
 that the parochial system was the right ideal for the 
 fulfilment of our Blessed Lord's behest. 
 
 But, it is objected, the so-called voluntary system is 
 more scriptural. Now we must begin by making sure that 
 we are using the term in an accurate sense. What do we 
 mean by the word " voluntary "? We mean that a gift is 
 made, not because we are obliged, but because we v-ant to 
 give it, just as we give our little offering in the collection 
 on Sunday. But was what we gave five or ten years ago 
 any less voluntary than what we gave last Sunday ? Yet 
 the same holds good of the funds or the land which now 
 support our clergy. They were the gift of Christian 
 people who, valuing religion themselves, were determined,
 
 The Cathedrals and Parish Churches 45 
 
 if possible, to make sure that those who came after them 
 should always be able to have the ministrations of a 
 clergyman. The fact that these gifts were made hundreds 
 of years ago does not alter their character in the least. 
 We cannot be mistaken, for we have the very deeds di'awn 
 up to express their wishes, signed sometimes with their 
 name in crabbed handwriting, sometimes only with a mark, 
 and sealed with their seal. They certainly meant there 
 should be no misunderstanding about their dispositions, 
 
 for many of the deeds begin : " I give unto God and 
 
 the Church of St. Paul," or " These rights and all others I 
 declare clear to Christ and St. Peter." And their form of 
 consecration is touchingly explicit : " We do separate and 
 set apart from all unhallowed, ordinary or common uses 
 this piece of land, and do dedicate the same to God." 
 
 We should be justly indignant if the dying wishes of one 
 dear to us concerning the disposition of his property Avere 
 disregarded. Have we no duty to those who so devotedly 
 built up our Church in the past ? 
 
 In every other region except religion, the day of volun- 
 taryism is on the wane. Education, prevention of disease, 
 even insurance, are no more left to be dealt with frag- 
 mentarily, but a plan is devised which shall apply to the 
 whole country, and leave no region unprovided. The ten- 
 dency is more and more to distrust voluntaryism in the 
 direction of philanthropic or social progress. In a sense 
 the first result of civilisation is to strike at the root of 
 voluntaryism. The welfare of the community is seen to be 
 too grave and too onerous a problem to be left to haphazard 
 methods. Hence ensues intervention by the State and the 
 law. It is strange that in matters of the soul alone it 
 should be held good to leave matters to chance. The evils 
 ^f piecemeal law are obvious. If murder were a crime in 
 some counties and not in others, murderers would congre- 
 gate in the districts where they could escape penalties. 
 Piecemeal religion is no less fatal to the interests of the 
 nation. The absence of any resident minister of religion 
 in a given locality cannot but create a centre of un- 
 righteousness.
 
 46 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 The voluntary system does not promote plain speaking 
 in the things of the soul. When the stipend of the clergy- 
 man depends largely on the offerings of the flock, it is 
 impossible, even with the best of intentions, that he should 
 put altogether out of sight the financial aspect. Offence 
 to the richer members of the congregation may spell 
 penury for his wife and children. We were bidden a short 
 time since by a Cabinet Minister to take example by the 
 cheerful way in which Welsh Nonconformist ministers bear 
 their poverty. We Church-people should be ashamed to 
 lay such a burden on our own clergy. We hold that the 
 labourer is worthy of his hire, that our clergy are set apart 
 for the service of God, and for His service alone. We are 
 not prepared, as other bodies are, to see them compelled to 
 eke out their pittance by becoming commission agents for 
 patent foods and medicines and the like. Recently there 
 have been most pitiful revelations of the straits to which 
 they are reduced ; some of them receiving no more than 
 15s. or even 10s. a week for their spiritual work. The 
 leading Nonconformist bodies have awoken to the evils of 
 the voluntary sj'stem* ; they are doing all in their power 
 to raise up large endowments for themselves. Why should 
 they seek to drag the Church down into the very slough 
 from which they are endeavouring to emerge ? 
 
 But this is no question of theory. The Church is at this 
 moment realising by her own experience what the voluntary 
 system means in Canada. With all the contributions of the 
 Endowed Church of England behind her, thousands of our 
 fellow-counti-ymen, our own brothers and daughters and 
 sons, are beyond the reach of the means of grace. Recently 
 an agent of the Archbishop's Committee for Western 
 Canada off-saddled at a farm where he had not been 
 previously, and the mistress of the house said, "Surely 
 you're a clergyman. I've been here ten years, and you're 
 the first I've ever seen." Shocked by such a revelation, he 
 promised to represent the need of a minister for that 
 district on his return. But she said, "I don't know as 
 
 * Dr. Clifford himself testifies : " For want of endowments our 
 chapels are becoming cinematograph theatres."
 
 The Cathedrals and Parish Churches 47 
 
 we'd care about it now. We'd have liked it when we first 
 came out, and so would many others ; but now we've 
 forgotten, and we've learnt to do without." He was 
 mounting sadly to renew his journey when she came to 
 a better mind, and running after him, held his stirrup while 
 she said, " Oh, sir ! I've been thinking. It's too late for 
 us, but can't you save the children ? They know nothing 
 about God, and not one has been baptized." 
 
 In another district he found a considerable community 
 of English people, with some thirty children in the school ; 
 but, after searching the village through, no single copy of 
 the Holy Bible or New Testament could be produced. 
 Not Churchmanship only, but Christianity itself, is sacri- 
 ficed under the Voluntary system. 
 
 Wliicli is best for the nation, a system under which every 
 man, woman, and child, rich or poor, has a right to the 
 help of one specially trained and set apart for the purpose 
 in the things of the soul, or a system which makes the 
 provision of that help largely dependent on what people 
 can give ? Is it best to undo the work of the past, to allow 
 the provision made for our souls by the generosity of our 
 forefathers to be diverted into secular channels ? Will a 
 University speak peace to the passing soul, and dry the 
 tears of the bereaved / Will a library take the place of 
 our Sacraments and our worship ? Or will a museum 
 fortify the young for the battle of life, and build up the 
 character on which England's glory is founded ? Surely 
 the words of the seer of old ring in our ears : " What 
 nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them 
 as the LoKD our God is in all things that we call upon 
 Him for ? Behold, I have taught you statutes ! Keep 
 therefore and do them, for this is your wisdom and under- 
 standing in the sight of all the nations which shall hear all 
 these statutes and say, ' Surely this great nation is a wise 
 and an understanding people.' For what nation is there so 
 great that hath statutes and ordinances so righteous ? 
 Only take heed unto yourselves lest ye forget." 
 
 John Wesley faced this question and decided it once for 
 all. He believed in the Church and the Parochial system
 
 48 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 as being most for the Glory of Gop in England. Here are 
 the noble words in which he binds together Patriotism, 
 Christianitj' and the Church : '• He is a lover of the 
 Church who is a lover of God, and consequently of all 
 mankind. Whoever else talks of loving the Church is a 
 cheat. Set a mark upon that man." 
 
 Down the ages myriad voices 
 
 Herald forth the coming day ; 
 Far and near Thy Church rejoices, 
 Glorying in Thy sovereign sway — 
 
 Deeper, greater, grows the need 
 
 With Thy drawing nigh ; 
 Through the clash of thought and creed 
 Lift us up on high 1
 
 V 
 
 XTbe Cburcb in Males 
 
 IN RELATION TO- 
 RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 
 THE MORALITY OF THE NATION 
 SPIRITUAL LIFE 
 
 IS IT THE MOST GROWING RELIGIOUS BODY IN WALES, 
 OR NO? 
 
 FOR OUR FELLOW-CHURCHMEN IN THE WELSH 
 DIOCESES 
 
 O God, the Creator and Preserver of all mankind, 7ve humbly 
 beseech Thee for all sorts and conditions of men that Thou 
 wonkiest be pleased to make Thy ways known unto them, Thy 
 saving health unto all nations. More especially we fray for 
 the good Estate of the Catholic Church, that it may be so guided 
 and governed by Thy good Spirit, that all who profess and call 
 themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and 
 hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in 
 righteousness of life. Finally, 7ve commend to Thy fatherly 
 goodness all those who are any ways afflicted or distressed in 
 mind, body, or estate, especially Thy servants, our fellow- 
 Churchmen in Wales, now in distress and peril, and all who 
 are striving to preserve the heritage consecrated to Thy service, 
 that it may please Thee to comfort and relieve them according 
 to their several necessities, giving them patience under their 
 suff'erings, and a happy issue out of all their afflictions ; and 
 this we beg for Jusus Christ His sake.
 
 Ube Cburcf) in Males 
 
 We have considered how the Church in Wales came 
 into being. We have followed her development step 
 by step through many centuries, and now we are 
 to dwell on the manner in which this Church of our 
 fathers has acquitted her trust. We know that growth 
 is always the test of life. The tree which ceases 
 to grow has already begun to die. Neither nations, nor 
 Churches, nor individuals, can remain stationary. They 
 must either go forward or backward, upward or down- 
 ward ; and it is well that the work of each should be put 
 to the test, so that its real tendency may be ascertained. 
 
 Growth is not only the test, but also the law of life. 
 " Be fruitful " is the injunction given over and over again 
 in the first book of the Bible, and in the spiritual sphere 
 the same holds good. " If it bear fruit, well ; if not, cut 
 it down ; why cumbereth it the ground /" 
 
 And so we may profitably go back through the centuries, 
 and consider in detail what the Church has contributed to 
 religious education, morality, and the spiritual life in 
 Wales. For, after all, these three points are her special 
 charge. The Divine mission of the Church is to go into 
 all the world and make disciples of our Blessed Lord, 
 consecrating the being of each newborn soul from the 
 very outset. 
 
 For many hundreds of years not only religious educa- 
 tion, but all education was in the hands of the Church for 
 the best of reasons. Comparatively few laymen were 
 sufficiently educated to be able to instruct others, and as 
 each grew to manhood, unless he was destined for the 
 50
 
 The Church in Wales 51 
 
 special service of God, he was absorbed in the chase, in 
 war, or in agriculture, not from choice, but from necessity. 
 In those days people must hunt their own food or starve ; 
 there was no standing army or police force to defend them 
 from their foes, so they must do their own fighting ; and 
 unless they grew their own corn, and grapes, and other 
 supplies, they must go without, for there were no means 
 of bringing them from distant lands, as we do at present. 
 
 We find the monks training the young in all the arts 
 of life, with the exception of war and the chase. They 
 established themselves often in the wildest parts of the 
 country, and set to work to make paths through the 
 mountains, to build bridges over the swirling torrents, to 
 cultivate the soil, and to bring plenty out of the waste. 
 They formed libraries in days when there were no printed 
 books, and laboriouslj' made copy after copy in writing of 
 those thej'^ considered most valuable ; and, underlying all 
 the education they imparted, was the desire to bring the 
 children and young people who came to them to the know- 
 ledge of God. They and the clergy generally realised the 
 binding nature of our Loud's command, " Sufi: er little 
 children to come unto Me, and forbid them not, for of 
 such is the Kingdom of Heaven." We know from history 
 that not all monks and priests were good men, nor all 
 nuns holy women. But, admitting this, we should be 
 ungrateful indeed if we overlooked the immense debt of 
 gratitude which we owe to thousands among them, who 
 from generation to generation, by their saintly lives, their 
 self-sacrifice and love for the children of the Church, built 
 up the little ones in our most Holy Faith, and laid the 
 foundation of noble lives. 
 
 In those days the teaching was almost exclusivelj' by 
 word of mouth, which must have greatly added to the 
 labour of the teacher ; and children were taught their 
 prayers and the Creed in Latin. There is an allusion to 
 this at the end of the Baptismal Service in our own 
 Prayer-Book, when the clergyman enjoins the sponsors 
 to take care the child is brought to the Bishop to be con- 
 fii-med by him so soon as he can say the Creed, the Lord's
 
 52 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 Prayer, and the Ten Commandments in the vulgar tongue. 
 It is difficult for us to understand why Latin should have 
 been thought more acceptable to the Most High than the 
 native language ; probably because the difficulties of 
 translation were great. How hard it must have been to 
 teach the young under these circumstances ! How much 
 explanation the unfamiliar Latin words must have needed ! 
 Yet they persevered, to the great benefit of their country. 
 It was not till 1561 that this was altered. Then the 
 Diocesan Council of St. Asaph agreed upon the following 
 suggestive order for the clergy : 
 
 "That every of them have the Catechisme yn the 
 mother tongue in Welshe, red and declared yn ther severall 
 Churches every Sunday with the answer made thereunto 
 accordingly"; and at ihe same Council a stipend was 
 assigned to " a scholema-.ter for the teaching of children 
 whereby idellness of youth may be avoyded, and the same 
 kept to learning and brought upp in love and fear of God, 
 and knowledge of ther deuties towerd the worlde." 
 
 In the days of Edward VI. schools were held in the 
 churches, but this was forbidden shortly afterwards. In 
 his reign a free Grammar School was established in St. 
 Asaph, and in this diocese no less than ten such schools 
 were provided by Churchmen at different periods, in 
 addition to all those in other parts of Wales. Long 
 before elementary education became general, Griffith 
 Jones, a rector of St. David's Diocese, aided by funds 
 supplied by Madam Bevan, instituted in 1730 a system 
 of circulating schools by way of reaching those who lived 
 in the remote parts of the country. A teacher was sent to 
 a group of poor mountain parishes for three months, and 
 revisited them after an interval, when he was working 
 elsewhere. Mr. Jones himself prepared many of the 
 teachers ; the great feature of the scheme was religious edu- 
 cation on the lines of the Catechism and Jie Prayer-Book. 
 For parishes where it had been found impossible to estab- 
 lish a permanent school for lack of funds, this system was 
 of untold benefit to the children. Early in the nineteenth 
 centm'y education based on religion was greatly stimulated
 
 The Church In Wales 53 
 
 by the foundation of the National Society for Promoting 
 the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Estab- 
 lished Church. How welcome was the opportunity in Wales 
 is proved by the way the pupils flowed in. St. David's 
 Diocese alone had 8,000 scholars shortly after the Church- 
 schools were set up ; and in 1846 the numbers had risen to 
 over 12,000, as compared with 4,000 children in schools 
 belonging to other denominations. 
 
 Meanwhile the Sunday-schools have been an integral 
 part of the work of the Church, and a deep debt of grati- 
 tude is owed to the voluntary teachers who, week by week, 
 have sought to instruct the youthful members of the Sacred 
 Body in the things of the soul. 
 
 Recently Church schools in Wales have been subjected 
 to a severe ordeal. There has been a deliberate attempt 
 on the part of the County Councils to stai-ve them out 
 by giving lower salaries to their teachers than to those 
 in Council schools, and making unreasonable demands as 
 regards buildings and playgrounds. As an example of the 
 latter, the Swansea Education Authority ceased to main- 
 tain a Church school because for each child in average 
 attendance 20 square feet of playground was said to be 
 inadequate, while three Council schools near by had play- 
 ground areas of 20, 18, and 14 square feet respectively. 
 
 In other cases they have refused to heat the schools in 
 bad weather, causing real suffering to children and teachers 
 alike, and they have inflicted serious inconvenience on 
 masters and mistresses by curtailing their salaries and 
 paying them irregularly. This downright persecution is 
 surely a poor return to the Church for her devoted care 
 of the children's interests at a time when, but for her, 
 thousands would have been left ignorant and untamed. 
 
 Disendowment would grievously affect the future of 
 the Church schools, for the generous contributions of 
 the faithful which have hitherto maintained the buildings 
 would have perforce to go to supplying an income for the 
 incumbent ; and in too many cases, especially in isolated 
 villages, it would be impossible to tind the funds for 
 either. What this means we tremble to think ; for in 
 
 8
 
 54 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 the diocese of St. David's religious instruction is prohibited 
 in all Council schools, though the school may be opened 
 with prayer, and a few verses of the Bible may be read by 
 the teacher without any comment. We believe that our 
 children have an inalienable right to a faith founded deep 
 and sure on " Christ, the sure foundation," and we know 
 that its truths need to be taught day by day, here a little 
 and there a little, carefully, reverently, earnestly, as the 
 most important part of the curriculum. Religion which 
 is only taught on Sunday can never be of the essence of 
 life. To us this is vital ; to bring up a child without 
 practical religion is to rob it of its most precious heritage, 
 and no amount of secular knowledge can compensate for 
 the loss. " What shall it profit if a man gain the whole 
 world and lose his own soul ?" 
 
 Elementary and secondary schools do not exhaust the 
 tale of the Church's efforts on behalf of religious educa- 
 tion. Training colleges for teachers and for candidates 
 for Holy Orders have contributed greatly to this end, 
 while colleges such as Llandovery and Llampeter assure to 
 their pupils a first-rate education under Church auspices. 
 
 Religion and moralitj' are so closely intertwined that 
 the two cannot be dissociated. It is through vital, active 
 religion that the moral sense is developed, by the personal 
 action of God the Hor^Y Ghost. Not until He entered 
 into our first father did man become a liv'mg soul in the 
 true interpretation of the word. Only life can give life. 
 Morality severed from religion is a machine without a 
 soul ; and when the moment of dire temptation comes, 
 the chill defences of morality melt like wax before the 
 fire of passion, and too often a young life is blasted ere it 
 has learnt the remorseless power of evil. 
 
 Those who strive to build up character on morality 
 alone are relj'ing on unmortared bricks. In the mighty 
 Empires of Greece and Rome, philosophy was found in- 
 capable of safeguarding the sanctity of homes and the 
 vii'tue of women ; and with the failure of worship, national 
 decadence set in. 
 
 We dare not shut our eyes to the results in France of
 
 The Church in Wales 55 
 
 banishing religion from the schools. This has been clone 
 effectually. The name of God has been expunged from 
 the lesson-books, and in the late Education Minister — 
 M. Paul Bert's—" Moral Catechism," instructors are for- 
 bidden to teach that there is a God, '' because it is certain 
 that there is none." The atheism of some of the manuals 
 is so blatant that parents to whom the books have been 
 brought by their children have burned them out of hand 
 and paid the fines inflicted for declining to allow such 
 pernicious poison to infect their innocent minds. The 
 experience of a few years' irreligion among the children 
 was ghastly in its results. Juvenile crime of the worst 
 and most degraded tj^pe increased to such an alarming 
 extent that the head of the police (not himself a Christian) 
 remonstrated with the Government, and urged them to 
 adopt some remedy which would restore the moral sense. 
 
 Meanwhile among the middle-classes, hitherto the back- 
 bone of French society, divorce is largely on the increase, 
 and the diminishing birth-rate causes such grave anxiety 
 that the desirability of endowing parenthood by grants 
 from the State is being seriousl}^ considered. 
 
 Have we reason to be disquieted as regards the founda- 
 tion of home life, holy marriage in Wales / Alas ! we 
 have only too good cause. In the early days of Christianity 
 Wales was lamentably behind the Gospel ideal in this 
 respect. The laws of Howell the Good show that in 
 place of the lifelong union, Avhich is the only true Christian 
 marriage " till death us do part," the possibility of break- 
 ing this union at the end of seven years or less was con- 
 templated, and elaborate injunctions are laid down for the 
 disposal of the children— the father to keep two-thirds, the 
 eldest and the youngest — the mother one-third. We believe 
 that the indissolubility of holy matrimony lies at the root 
 of national morality, and experience proves that this ideal 
 cannot be maintained unless it be based on religious sanc- 
 tions. What do we find in Wales / We find that whereas 
 about one-third of the marriages take place in church, and 
 considerably under a thu'd in Nonconformist chapels, that 
 the average number of marriages celebrated without any
 
 5^ The Menace of Secularism 
 
 religious ccrrmniiy at all is 6,238. Think what this means. 
 There are nearly 13,000 people every year in Wales who 
 deliberately decide that they will enter on what should be 
 the most sacred human relation without the consecration 
 of God's blessing ! How can it be expected that a union 
 from which God has been purposely excluded can be 
 regarded as other than a mere civil contract, in which the 
 law, having bound the two together, the law can loose them 
 should they desire it ? Is it not heart-breaking to con- 
 template such a lowering of ideals, such a pagan attitude 
 towards a Divine institution, affecting as it does the whole 
 future of the race 1 For if the parents did not care enough 
 about the Most High to seek His blessing at the com- 
 mencement of their life together, how can it be expected 
 that they will bring up their children in the nurture and 
 admonition of the Lord ? 
 
 In the face of such a grave situation, every force which 
 will uplift the future parents of the race to a sense of 
 their spiritual responsibility is vitally needed, and among 
 such forces the Church is pre-eminent. It has been felt 
 in some quarters that the question of Disestablishment in 
 Wales was not the concern of such organisations as the 
 Gir s' Friendly Society and the Mothers' Union. Those 
 who have held this opinion will do well to meditate on the 
 crushing blow which will be dealt at the ideals for which 
 they exist should the Bill take effect, in addition to re- 
 moving from a parish in too many cases the one jierson 
 fitted to lead these associations— the wife of the vicar. 
 What the spiritual life of the nation owes to these two 
 Church societies and to the kindred organisation of the 
 C.E.M.S. it is difficult to overestimate. Between them 
 the Mothers' Union and the G.F.S. have welded to- 
 gether for the upholding of the faith of our Blessed 
 Lord in the practical details of common life, over 40,000 
 women and girls. The associates and members are 
 drawn from all classes of society, from highest to lowest, 
 and the bond between them grows with every year. 
 They stand for the spiritualising of the most human of 
 relations. They are democratic in the best sense of the
 
 The Church in Wales 57 
 
 word, for they are founded on the conviction that God's 
 will for womanhood in all ranks of society is a pure 
 maidenhood, a pure wifehood, and a holy motherhood ; 
 and this priceless gift they are resolved by every means in 
 their power to preserve for each one of their members. 
 
 And what of the witness of the Church in every parish 
 for Christ ? The mere fact that Sunday by Sunday, 
 often day by day, the bell summons the faithful to 
 the worship of the Most High, and as it peals forth over 
 remote hills and dales, or in crowded colliery districts, 
 the people know that if tliei/ cannot leave their tasks, yet 
 intercession for them is going up, is a constant reminder 
 that this workaday life is not all, that the spiritual life is 
 within their reach ; and that this is deeply appreciated is 
 proved by the record of the Church's work during the 
 past forty years. We dare not boast, we are too sadly 
 conscious of all that yet remains to be done ; but we 
 should be ungrateful indeed were wo to permit a false 
 humility to minimise our thankful acknowledgment of 
 God's infinite blessing on our efforts. Tried by whatever 
 test we like to apply, whether the number of baptisms, 
 or of confirmations, or of new churches built, or of 
 increase in the staff of clergy to cope with the growing 
 jiopulation, or, above all, of those who kneel in humble 
 faith at the sacred feast of Holy Communion, these poor 
 Welsh dioceses show a record which puts many of our 
 wealthy English Sees to shame. The history of the 
 Church in Wales for the past half-century is one of 
 steady, continuous upward growth. During the last 
 eighty years no less than 800 new churches and mission- 
 rooms have been built ; the number of resident clergy has 
 been more than doubled ; the number of Sunday services 
 has nearly trebled, and wherever Welsh is the most 
 familiar language of the people they are held in that 
 tongue. Confirmations and baptisms show a steady 
 increase, while the Easter communicants, which were 
 134,000 in 1906, had gone up over 10,000 by 1909. It is 
 impossible with these figures before us to doubt that the 
 Church is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people of
 
 5^ The Menace of Secularism 
 
 Wales, and that with every year they are drawn closer to 
 the spiritual ideals she represents. It has been asserted 
 by those who should know better that the Church does 
 not appeal to the Celtic temperament. Such people 
 should take the trouble to verify the facts. Whence 
 come the inspiring services and the glorious fervour of 
 the Welsh singing in many a parish church if not from 
 the devoted loyalty of Welsh Church-people 1 
 
 Is the Church the most growing religious body in Wales 
 or no ? Search the year-books of other denominations for 
 the answer. With profound regret we cannot but acknow- 
 ledge that, despite the great Nonconformist revival of 
 a few years back, they are not gaining but losing ad- 
 herents. This can only be termed a grievous disaster 
 from the Christian point of view, for every force which 
 makes for righteousness is needed to check the advance of 
 materialism and secularism. But it is necessai'y at this 
 juncture in the interests of the future of religion to face 
 the facts. The four great denominations — Baptists, Cal- 
 vinistic Methodists, Congregationalists, Wesleyans — all 
 record a woeful decline in the number of then- full mem- 
 bers during the three years for which they gave evidence 
 before the Roj^al Commission, amounting to close upon 
 30,000 in all ; and the Westminster Gazette, commenting on 
 the position a few months since, said : " There has occurred 
 a slackening of grip by Nonconformist Churches on the 
 people, which has continued in some cases for the past 
 five years." But for the growing influence of the Church 
 thousands of souls would be " without Chkist, aliens from 
 the Commonwealth, strangers to the covenant of promise, 
 having no hope, without God in the world." Yet it is 
 this very influence which politicians are now seeking to 
 hamper and cripple in every direction. It is for many of 
 the people of Wales — warm-hearted, emotional, devoted — 
 a matter of spiritual life or death, and as such is regarded 
 by them. They appeal to us to stand by them in their 
 hour of fiery trial, by our common Churchmauship, by the 
 inspiration of our faith, by the joy of our communions, 
 and it is impossible that they should plead in vain.
 
 VI 
 
 dismemberment— 2)i9e3tabU5binent auD 
 DiseuDowment— 1Ron=BnDo\vment 
 
 IRELAND 
 
 FRANCE 
 
 AMERICA 
 
 HAVE THESE COUNTRIES GAINED SPIRITUALLY OR 
 MORALLY ? 
 
 FOR UNITY 
 
 O God, the Fathfr of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only 
 Sa viour, the Prince of Peace ; Give tis grace seriously to lay to 
 heart the great dangers ive are in by our unhafpy divisions. 
 Take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatsoever else may 
 hinder us from godly Union and Concord : that, as there is but 
 one Body, and one Spirit, and one Hope of our Calling, one 
 Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of tis all, 
 so ive may henceforth be all of one heart, and of one soid, united 
 in one holy bond of Truth and Peace, of Faith and Charity, 
 and may with one mind and one viouth glorify Thee ; through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
 YI 
 
 Ubc Xessons ot Bjperience 
 
 We live in an age when Change has become a fetish, when 
 the gospel of revolt is freely preached by men who profess 
 to follow the footsteps of the Master ; and there is an in- 
 creasing tendency, if even trivial flaws are discoverable in 
 any institution, to find the remedy rather in destruction 
 than in patient rectification. Now, so long as these 
 methods are applied to material matters we may think 
 them unwise, we may deplore their inexpediency ; but 
 whether we feel it necessary to intervene is a question for 
 individuals to decide according to their own judgment. 
 But when similar methods are applied to the things of tha 
 soul — to the maintenance of spiritual life in our midst — 
 the matter is on a higher plane. The life-long enjoyment 
 of privileges secured by the generosity of bygone genera- 
 tions solemnly binds every member of the Church to 
 safeguard these privileges for those who come after him. 
 They are not a possession, but a trust — a trust for which 
 one day he must give account. We are doubly bound, 
 every one of us. For we are not only Church members, 
 but also patriots, and believing as we do that " righteousness 
 exalteth a nation," we realise that the injury to the Church 
 which would result from the projected legislation pales 
 into significance before that which would be inflicted on 
 our beloved country in the lowering of ideals, and the 
 withdrawal of many of her citizens from the uplifting 
 influences of inspired religion. 
 
 The change involved in Disestablishment is momentous. 
 There are those in our midst who desire it under the 
 impression that it would give the Church greater freedom ; 
 60
 
 The Lessons of Experience 6i 
 
 but such Churchmen advocate it for the sake of the 
 Church, not for the sake of the nation ; and for those of 
 us to whom patriotism is only second to religion, the 
 marriage of the two through many centuries appears 
 fraught with benefits to both, which can scarcely be over- 
 estimated. In every perfect union is some element of 
 sacrifice, a subordination of non-essentials for the sake of 
 the greater good. "Let us not to the marriage of true 
 minds admit impediment." In this matter, as in the 
 question of forms of government, no alliance can leave 
 both parties as untrammelled as though they were un- 
 allied. But it is surely self-evident that the power of 
 a Church to Christianise a State must be incomparably 
 greater if it has a recognised status than if it becomes one 
 of a dozen sectional forms ; even as in monogamous coun- 
 tries the position of the wife is on a different plane from 
 those in which polygamy prevails. 
 
 But have we no data to guide us in estimating the effect 
 of disestablishing and disendowing a part of our Church ; 
 of rending the bond between Church and State / Is the 
 problem a new one ? Are we confronted with conditions 
 which have never been faced before ? Surely before 
 taking such a momentous step as is projected, we do well 
 to study earnestly the effect on national character, national 
 ethics, national ideals, of severance in countries where the 
 experiment has been tried ; if indeed it can be proved that 
 in such countries crime is less, the moral standard liigher, 
 and the life of the people purer and higher than in our 
 own England, then — and not till then — may we contemplate 
 with some approach to e(iuaiiimity the shattering of links 
 hitherto held indissoluble. 
 
 It is to be remembered that in all nations there is an 
 extreme section which regards restraints of any kind as 
 inimical to true freedom. Of such, was not the Apostle 
 of Italian emancipation, Mazzini. He was no individualist, 
 sacrificing the good of the community to the selfishness of 
 the unit — " Liberty is not the right to do evil," he boldlj' 
 avers ; nor Lowell, bred in the traditions of a great 
 republic — statesman, diplomatist, poet. He knows by 
 
 9
 
 62 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 experience the dangers of such an attitude ; he realises 
 that only through spiritual restraints can man come to the 
 highest of which he is capable. Here is his dictum : 
 
 " I Freedom dwell with Knowledge; I abide 
 "With men whom dust of faction cannot blind 
 To the slow tracings of the Eternal Mind." 
 
 And with these Italian and American patriots let us 
 couple the inspiring pronouncement of our own Words- 
 worth, a thinker of unusually democratic sympathies, but 
 one who lived too near the horrors of the French Revolu- 
 tion to be guilty of cant on such a subject. His noble 
 sonnet might well have been penned to-day : 
 
 " Ungrateful country if tbou e'er forget 
 Thy sons who for thy civil rights have bled ! 
 But these had fallen for profitless regret 
 Had not thy Holy Church her champions bred 
 And claims from other worlds inspirited 
 The star of Liberty to rise ! Nor yet 
 (Grave this within thy heart !) if spiritual things 
 Be lost through apathy, or scorn, or fear, 
 Shalt thou thy humbler franchises support, 
 However hardly won, or justly dear : 
 What came from Heaven, to Heaven by nature clings, 
 And if dissevered thence, its course is short." 
 
 Liberty in its plentitude can only be experienced by the 
 acceptance of restraints ; and across the noblest lives the 
 paradox which is a truth is writ large, '• Whose service is 
 perfect freedom." 
 
 We hear much talk of a "Free Church" — that is, a Church 
 which, in exchange for elasticity of action and liberty to 
 decide which of those sons she has ordained should be 
 admitted to her highest positions, shall be content to 
 forego the direct spiritualising influence at present exer- 
 cised over the State. Will the counsels of the nation 
 stand to gain by the withdrawal from the Upper House of 
 the avow^ed champions of religion ? If change there must 
 be, should not those who believe in the Kingdom of God 
 seek rather to augment the Forces of the Spirit, not by 
 casting out the leaders of oiu' Church, but rather by 
 calling to theii- aid the accredited representatives of other
 
 The Lessons of Experience 63 
 
 religious bodies who may with them, by every means at 
 their disposal, support all measures for the moral and 
 spiritual uplifting of the people, in contradistinction to 
 the materialism which threatens to degrade our day and 
 generation ? 
 
 There was surely never a moment in the history of our 
 Empire when the need for the Motherland to be sound at 
 the core was greater. We can hardly overrate the splen- 
 dour of our destiny if we only have grace to be true to our 
 ideals. But to maintain them it is essential, whether in 
 private or in public, in legislation or in government, 
 to put God first, to seek first the Kingdom of God and 
 His righteousness, that all these things may be added 
 unto us. 
 
 Let us then dispassionatelj' learn from the experience of 
 others, and ascertain whether the divorce of the State 
 from the official recognition of the Divine Sovereignty has 
 promoted the welfare, spiritual and moral, of the nation 
 at large where such official recognition does not exist. 
 
 The Irish Church Bill is so often quoted as an argument 
 for the proposals as regards Wales, that it is desirable we 
 should realise the facts. Advocates of Disestablishment 
 point to the sister isle and say, " How can you speak of 
 evil results, when the Church in Ireland has not only 
 survived the change, but is admittedly exercising a deep 
 spiritual influence on her flock ?" These advocates forget 
 to take into account that, apparently warned by the sur- 
 vival of the Church in Ireland, the very provisions which 
 enabled her to recover from the blow have been banished 
 from the Welsh Bill. The commutation of vested interests 
 is excluded, and for curates no compensation is provided. 
 But apart from these considerations, experience proves 
 that diminished resources have grievously crippled the 
 activities of the Church. We have only to look at the 
 position of affairs now and in 1871, when the Church was 
 disestablished, to realise the facts. The Act has been in 
 force for just forty j^ears. During that time, while the 
 growth of the Church in Wales has been phenomenal, in 
 Ireland it has woefully decreased. Thoi the number of
 
 64 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 clergy was 2,334. Nov) it is 1,535. Tlicn in such a diocese 
 as Tuam there were over 10,000 Church-people, now there 
 are under 5,000. And this f alling-off is far from balanced 
 by the increase in Ulster. The reason is not far to seek. 
 Since 1871 no less than 151 churches have had to be 
 closed through sheer inability to find stipends for the 
 clergy ; and these are chiefly in the rural districts, on 
 lonely hillsides where the influence of an educated home 
 is invaluable. Those, therefore, who aver that Disestab- 
 lishment and Disendowment are good for the Church, 
 have not studied the facts. 
 
 But at any rate, say the advocates again, " Disestablish- 
 ment will make for religious peace." Has Ireland found 
 it so ? In response to this assertion by the Prime Minister, 
 the Archbishop of Dublin, voicing the opinions of the 
 leaders of the Church, writes : " I cannot give my assent 
 to the statement. The spiritual mission of the Irish 
 Church, in my opinion, has not been assisted by the removal 
 of prejudices and antipathies. They still remain in strength, 
 and exercise a baneful influence on the social and religious 
 life of the people. In some quarters they have increased 
 rather than diminished." 
 
 Has it made for civil peace ? Alas ! no one who has 
 followed the painful tale of recent years can do otherwise 
 than admit sorrowfully that the cleavage between Roman 
 Catholics and Protestants is undiminished, while crimes 
 of violence are still lamentably frequent. 
 
 Has it made for deeper spiritual life 1 The Bishop of 
 Cork writes, two years ago : " In country districts where the 
 members of the Church are few in number and scattered 
 over a large area, and where we have often had to join 
 tkree or four parishes in a union and put them under the 
 charge of one clergyman, there cannot he the name life as 
 there was in pre-Disestablishment days. In such districts 
 people find it most difficult to make up the amount 
 recjuired to secure a decent income for their clergyman. 
 In my opinion the Church has suffered greatly in small 
 country parishes and poor districts." Sir William Watson 
 supports this view. " In the western districts of Ireland
 
 The Lessons of Experience 65 
 
 the result is most distressing. Maj' God grant the Church 
 in Wales may never suffer as we have done !" 
 
 Has it made for freedom / Mr. Gladstone was chal- 
 lenged on this point in 1873, and what is his reply .' " I am 
 bound, if my good friend challenges me to state whether 
 thei'e is not more freedom for religious thought in the 
 Disestablished Church in Ireland, to say I willingly accept 
 the challenge, and declare that she is less free than she vxts 
 before.'' 
 
 The financial position of the Church in Ireland (inade- 
 quate though it is to her needs) is opulent in comparison 
 with what is proposed for Wales. And yet Disestablish- 
 ment has not brought her any of the boons we are so 
 confidently promised. It has provided neither civil nor 
 religious peace, increased spiritual life nor liberty. With 
 this example before us, can we be right to acquiesce in the 
 forfeiture of assured advantages and spoliation of our trust, 
 for the sake of benefits proved to exist only in the imagina- 
 tion of those who advocate them ? 
 
 The experience of France in the matter of Disestal^lish- 
 ment and Disendovvment is considerable, for twice within 
 little more than a century have the Churches been called 
 on by the State to relinquish the funds set apart for the 
 maintenance of religion, either in whole or in ]iart. At the 
 Revolution the property of the Church went the way of 
 all other propertj'. But when government once more 
 became stable, so highly did the great Napoleon rate the 
 value of the religious sense to the national character that, 
 under the Concordat, a sum for the stipends of Bishops 
 and clergy was voted annually by the Chamber and ad- 
 ministered by a minister of public worship. This applied 
 also to the Protestant pastors, and has continued till quite 
 recently. The salary, it is true, was a pittance, comparing 
 most unfavourably, as among ourselves, with the emolu- 
 ment considered necessary for a deputy. Forty pounds a 
 year was the average, and on this j)alti'y honorarium, 
 supplemented by gifts in kind from the faithful, it was 
 possible for an unmarried clergy to survive. Now this 
 meagre income has been in turn withdrawn, and an
 
 66 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 attempt is being made to unite four or five parishes under 
 one priest, that he may have sufficient to keep body and 
 soul together. 
 
 What mark has the impoverishment of religion left on 
 the character of French citizens as a whole ? Has it helped 
 to build up the qualities which make for national great- 
 ness, for patriotism, for expansion ? The Franco-German 
 War iu 1870 gave a terrible illustration of the depths 
 to which corruption, bribery, self-seeking, may reduce a 
 gallant army where religious ideals have lost their hold on 
 those responsible. Brave men went to certain death by 
 thousands, because a large percentage of each regiment 
 existed only on paper. 
 
 Within the last few years the gambling spirit has 
 permeated all classes with its baneful influence. Hard- 
 earned savings are squandered on lotteries in the hope of 
 large returns, even by the peasants ; commercial morality 
 has sunk to so low an ebb as seriously to affect business 
 relations with other countries ; divorce is increasing to an 
 alarming extent ; while the diminishing birth-rate gives 
 ' cause for grave anxiety. 
 
 The banishment of religion from the schools brought, as 
 we have seen, swift retribution in an appalling increase of 
 juvenile crime. Atheism is openly taught, the name of 
 the Deity has been erased from the school-books, and 
 officials fear to allow their boys to sing in the choir or 
 serve at the altar, lest it should cost them their posts. 
 With such proofs before us, is it possible to maintain that 
 the State can afford to do without religion / Whj' should 
 we expect to escape evils which are deplored by the elite 
 of the French nation if, with our eyes open, we acquiesce 
 in the same retrograde legislation to which these evils owe 
 their origin ? 
 
 We have so far considered the spiritual and moral effects 
 on the body politic of breaking up the special relation 
 between Church and State which typifies the official 
 recognition by the State of the Sovereignty of the Most 
 High as represented by the National Church. Let us now 
 briefly study the results where there has been no breaking
 
 The Lessons of Experience 67 
 
 up of old traditions, but where the Voluntary system has 
 practically prevailed from the outset. For if it were 
 proved that such a system best fulfilled the Christian 
 ideal ; if under it the nation grew purer, more unselfish, 
 more spiritual than under a National Church ; then indeed 
 it would behove us to reconsider our position, and to be 
 prepared even to sacrifice our traditions, our cherished 
 customs endeared to us by centuries, so as the better to 
 fulfil the behests of our Master. 
 
 But is this the case ? We may learn by the example of 
 America some salutary lessons. Her experience is specially 
 illuminating because of her kinship with ourselves. We 
 are of the same race, the same language, nurtured in the 
 same traditions, with a common past, which has built up 
 ill both countries the same qualities of dogged Anglo-Saxon 
 perseverance, and a moral sense which owes its endurance 
 primarily to ages of religious training. Here, therefore, 
 we may study the voluntary system untrammelled by 
 interference from the State, under the most favourable 
 conditions. For to achieve it, there has been no secularisa- 
 tion of ancient endowments, no spoliation of a religious 
 body for partisan purposes, nothing to leave an indelible 
 stain, an intolerable sense of injustice in its wake. The 
 Churches of America are free, democratic, voluntary. 
 What of her civic and political morality ; her family life ; 
 the sense of responsibility among the wealthy ; above all, 
 the spirituality of the religious bodies to whom she looks 
 for guidance ? 
 
 We ask the question in no spirit of criticism — we our- 
 selves have too much to deplore on all these heads to sit 
 in judgment on others ; but we dare not ignore the writing 
 on the wall, which blazons forth in letters of fire how 
 overwhelmingly the difficulty of maintaining standards is 
 increased where there is no National Church to focus the 
 moral sense of the nation, and to maintain in the midst of 
 a materialising ago the pure ideals of primitive Chris- 
 tianity. Churches whose pastors are mainly dependent on 
 the offerings of their flocks cannot fail to be hampered by 
 pecuniary considerations ; and it is inevitable that, without
 
 68 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 the parochial system, ministry to the poor becomes trebly 
 difficult. 
 
 How shall we account for the appalling growth of 
 "graft" — of bribery in civic and political life/ "What 
 of the colossal trusts which have spelt ruin to thousands ; 
 the millionaire extravagance, expressed in freak dinners, 
 squandering in one night a sum which would have dowered 
 several families for years ? And side by side with this, the 
 woeful, grinding poverty which is egging on the dreary 
 toilers to revolt ? Or, turning to the race, what of the 
 disregard of human life, proved by the high percentage 
 of deaths from violence ; the grievous degradation of the 
 family through the laxity of the marriage laws ; the light- 
 ness with which in a certain section of society this tie, 
 whose sacredness lies at the very foundation of human 
 progress, is assumed and discarded ? What of the divorce 
 hotel established in a State where the law is of exceptional 
 laxity — where discontented couples qualify by residence 
 for the right to break the most solemn vows ? What of 
 the balls given to celebrate the pronouncement of the 
 decree nisi, to which the elite of society flocks to con- 
 gratulate the successful petitioner ? Or, turning to the 
 Churches, who can do otherwise than deplore the grow- 
 ing sensationalism in the pulpit which competition has 
 engendered in place of the reverent exposition of the 
 Divine ideal / 
 
 We may not gloze over these pregnant signs. How 
 shall we account for a state of atfairs deplored by the 
 most spiritually minded in all the Churches of America ? 
 Is it that character or devotion or ability are less with 
 them than with us .' We know that the very reverse is 
 the case, for, to the Anglo-Saxon qualities we possess in 
 common, our American brethren add the special vigour 
 and verve of a younger civilisation, together with a 
 freedom from convention which should tend to greater 
 power. No, the cause is to be sought elsewhere. If so 
 far we have escaped in whole or in part some of the evils 
 from which they are suffering so bitterly, is it not because 
 we possess what they lack — namely, the rallying-point 
 of an historic National Church — whose age-long dignitj'
 
 The Lessons of Experience 69 
 
 enables her to voice the moral sense of the nation, in no 
 uncertain tones, on matters affecting the spiritual and 
 ethical welfare of her citizens ? Yet it is this very rally ing- 
 point, this witness for the Highest in our midst, which we 
 are asked to cripple for generations to come. 
 
 This is no exaggerated expression. An integral part 
 of the scheme proposed is the dismemberment of our 
 historic Church in absolute disregard of the wishes of 
 the great body of Church-people both in England and 
 Wales. Could tyranny go farther ? Here is a blessed 
 company of faithful people which believes it can best 
 fulfil its Divine mission for the good of the nation under 
 the same conditions, by the same methods, in the same 
 close union one with another as have existed for centuries. 
 The beneficent influence of this Society is not disputed. 
 Its members are upright, law-abiding, progressive in a 
 singular degree ; upholding the institutions which have 
 made England great— yet, against its will, it is to be 
 arbitrarily dismembered. 
 
 Do the great Nonconformist bodies who promote this 
 dismemberment believe in dissociating Wales from Eng- 
 land in their own case ? No ; the question of a separate 
 Free Church Council for Wales was debated four years 
 ago, and after exhaustive discussion it was decided that 
 such an arrangement would not be for the religious 
 welfare of the people of Wales. The Wesleyans in 
 Wales and England are controlled by one Conference, 
 and there is a " Congregational Union of England and 
 Wales." They believe, as we do, that " Union is Strength." 
 
 In their case we hear nothing of offence to the Welsh 
 national spirit, and we of the Church would cry shame on 
 outsiders who sought to dictate to Nonconfoi'mists the 
 methods by which they should be governed in matters of 
 religion. Then by what right do they claim to dictate to 
 us / to say, " This and that diocese shall be cut off, whether 
 you will or no ; we know better what is good for you than 
 you do yourselves ; your methods are unwise ; leave it to 
 us, and you will find when we have relieved you of an arm and 
 a leg you will really be stronger than you were before !" 
 
 10
 
 ^o The Menace of Secularism 
 
 We call upon members of other religious bodies to deal 
 with us as they would have us deal with them. If they 
 value their own methods, no less do we ; if they value 
 their traditions — what of ours, rooted in the strength of 
 centuries ? Shall the children rise up against the Mother 
 to whom they owe their very life, their Bible, their know- 
 ledge of God, the guardianship of truths which else had 
 been lost ? 
 
 Picture the outcry if the treatment proposed for our 
 historic Church were meted out to our fellow-subjects 
 in India — if the measure applied to Mahommedanism or 
 Hinduism ! In both cases, leave to worship after their 
 ancient fashion, undisturbed in the possession of funds 
 accumulated through the ages, untrammelled as regards 
 the governance of their adherents, is conceded without 
 question. Why is it to be denied to us ] 
 
 The value of religious influence to the State is so 
 clearly realised in most European countries that in many 
 cases the stipends of the clergy actually form part of the 
 Annual Budget. Within the limits at disposal, this aspect 
 can only be hinted at, but the point amply repays study, 
 and is dealt with exhaustively in Lord Selborne's valuable 
 work.* The example of Switzerland is specially illumi- 
 nating, for when, some thirty years ago, " the abrogation 
 of the budget of worship" was decreed by the great 
 Council of Geneva, the minority demanded a referendum, 
 with the result that the project was rejected by over- 
 whelming numbers. 
 
 Great opportunities demand great ideals. The due ful- 
 filment of an imperial destiny demands the strengthening 
 in our midst of eyvery force which makes for righteousness. 
 Christians of all denominations must combine against the 
 materialism and paganism which threatens the spread of 
 the Divine kingdom. For we see our calling : 
 
 " The bugles clarion ' Forward !' we are coming every one, 
 The muster roll is filling up, the banners are unfurled. 
 Our ancient ardour kindles as we greet the rising sun 
 Of an Empire, GoD-commissioned, to regenerate the world." 
 
 * " A Defence of the Church f England against Diaestablish- 
 ment and Disendowment. "
 
 VII 
 
 H)isen&owment in Males 
 
 WHAT IT MEANS TO WALES- 
 ARREST 
 
 IMPOVERISHMENT 
 CONFUSION 
 WHAT IT MEANS TO ENGLAND 
 • WHO BENEFITS BY IT ? 
 
 Collect 
 
 O God, merciful Fathhr, that despisest not the sighing of a 
 contrite heart, nor the desire of such as be sorrowful ; Mercifidly 
 accept our prayers that ive make before Thee in all our troubles 
 and adversities, whensoever they distress us; and graciously 
 hear tcs, that those evils, which the craft and subtilty of the 
 devil or man worketh against us, may be brought to nought ; 
 and by the providence of Thy goodness they may be dispersed ; 
 that we Thy servants, being hurt by no persecutions, may ever- 
 viore give thanks unto Thee in Thy Holy Church; through 
 Jf.sus Christ our Lord. 
 
 O Lord, arise, help us, and deliver us for Thine honour.
 
 VII 
 
 DIsenDowmcnt in Males 
 
 The effect on religion in Wales of confiscating a large 
 proportion of the funds hitherto consecrated to the 
 service of God claims careful study. But before enter- 
 ing on this practical aspect it will be well to dwell briefly 
 on the effect of Disestahlishment, as this is held by some 
 people to be comparatively unimportant. There are those 
 who appear desirous to shut out from the councils of 
 the State those men who are specially set apart and 
 consecrated to God for the leadership of His Church. 
 They resent the presence of a selected number of 
 Bishops in the House of Lords, though it is difficult to 
 enter into their point of view, for these same objectors 
 welcome with open arms the presence of Nonconformist 
 ministers in the Lower House. Now as the Law stands 
 at present, the clergy of the Church of England are 
 prohibited from becoming membei's of the House of 
 Commons, while the Bishops, according to seniority, take it 
 in turn to represent the spiritual point of view in the 
 House of Lords. This has been the custom since the 
 beginning of the Constitution, and should surely not 
 lightly be cast aside. 
 
 It is obviously undesirable that a parish priest should 
 be withdrawn from his sacred trust for the greater 
 part of the year, and be thrown into the vortex of 
 political controversy. Such a position would be quite 
 inconsistent with his ordination vow, which places the 
 care of his parish and of the souls of his flock before every 
 other claim. Nonconformists are recognising the deterior- 
 ating effect on their denominations of mixing up party 
 politics and religion. But the position as regards the 
 House of Lords is on another footing. That body fulfils 
 quite different functions from the House of Commons. Its 
 duty in the past has been calmly to weigh the measures 
 which come before it ; to correct blemishes overlooked 
 72
 
 Disendowment in Wales 73 
 
 previously ; to bring its ripe experience to bear on schemes 
 which have not been sufficiently matured, and where the 
 considered opinion of the electors had not been taken to 
 refer bills back to the judgment of the people. Its 
 functions and constitution in the future have yet to be 
 defined. No great Power dreams of carrying on constitu- 
 tional government without the salutary check on haphazard 
 legislation which a second chamber alone can give. 
 
 Is it possible that in Christian England we shall decide 
 that the leaders of the Church are to be shut out from the 
 great council of the State '! Should we not in these days 
 of secularisation and materialism seek rather to strengthen 
 the spiritual element in our national life, to lift all the 
 great questions of education, social problems, the well- 
 being of the community at home, of our kin in Greater 
 Britain, and our relations with Foreign Powers, on to a 
 higher plane ? And with this end in view, should we not 
 call to our councils, not Bishops of our own Church alone, 
 but the leaders of all great recognised religious bodies 
 who acknowledge the sovereignty of the Most High, so 
 that together they may strive for higher ideals in every 
 relation of life 1 We need in the government of our 
 beloved country not less religion, but more. We need to 
 bring our projects for national welfare to the test of the 
 Divine law ; and who so helpful in such an endeavour as 
 the recognised leaders of the spiritual life of the people ? 
 
 Again, Disestablishment means this, that where there is 
 no National Church, the great moments of public life pass 
 without the uplifting influence of religious ceremonial. 
 We can hardly imagine our coronations, our State funerals, 
 and public thanksgivings shorn of the stately ritual 
 customary for centuries. Yet this has already happened 
 in Ireland. The Archbishop of Armagh recently recalled 
 the fact that in 1869 he attended a great religious service 
 and ceremony for the investiture of King Edward, then 
 Prince of Wales, with the Order of St. Patrick, in 
 St. Patrick's National Cathedral. Since Disestablishment, 
 the Order of St. Patrick has become purely secular. Is it 
 no loss to the nation that the splendid old ideals of knightly 
 chivalry should be severed from their religious origin ?
 
 74 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 As regards the present scheme, we are told much of the 
 benefits it will bring to the Church and religion generally, 
 as though it were a new experiment. Its promoters 
 appear to forget that should the Bill pass, it will not be 
 the first experience Wales has passed through of the kind, 
 and the results of this experience are not alluded to for 
 obvious reasons. We may well recall a chapter of historj^ 
 too often forgotten by those who advocate the advantages 
 of Disestablishment and Disendowment. 
 
 In the year 1643 the Long Parliament "abolished" 
 episcopacy, and Vavaseur Powell was sent down to Wales 
 to evict all clergy who would not swear to root it out, 
 thus breaking their Ordination pledge. In 1650 the " Act 
 for the Propagation and Preaching of the Gospel in 
 Wales " was passed. Powell confesses that all but two or 
 three congregations in Wales adhered to the Church. He 
 brought down 100 dragoons, and Walter Cradock 200 more, 
 to force Presbyterianism upon Wales and turn out all 
 clergy who would not adopt it. It was illegal to use the 
 Prayer-Book even in private, to hold a Christmas service, 
 or to tell people to bi'ing their children to Confirmation. 
 It was malignancy to preach on any part of Psalm Ixxix. ; 
 and of the profanities, blasphemies, and worse, by which 
 the churches were desecrated, it is too painful to speak. 
 
 How loyal the clergy were to their Church is proved by 
 the fact that by 1654 only 127 of the old incumbents 
 remained out of the 975 parishes of Wales ; the rest had 
 preferred to be starved out rather than abjure their faith. 
 The Nonconformist Calamy pictures for us the result : 
 '■ Parliament had set up a few itinerant preachers, who 
 were, for number, incompetent for so great a charge, there 
 being but one to many of these wide parishes ; so that the 
 people, having a sermon but once in many weeks, and 
 nothing else in the meantime, were ready to turn Papists 
 or anything else." 
 
 Commissioners were appointed to carry out the behests 
 of Parliament. They exacted tithes with great severity, 
 and Dr. Rees describes those who demurred to paying them 
 as '■ irreligious multitudes." Possibly the reason is not far 
 to seek. For in 1651. Walter Jenkins "exhibited articles "
 
 Disendowment in Wales 75 
 
 against the six Commissioners for South Wales, charging 
 them with defrauding the State of £100,000, and they 
 were summarily turned out "for their miscarriages and 
 undue proceedings." 
 
 The diocese of St. David's lost permanently the equiva- 
 lent of £36,000 a year, and what the spiritual destitution 
 of the people must have been is proved by Dr. Erasmus 
 Saunders' account of the position in St. David's sixtj^ years 
 later. He reports that excise officers were better paid 
 than incumbents, and common sailors than curates. 
 " How can they appear in gowns and cassocks when their 
 mean salaries will scarce afford them shoes and stockings ?" 
 
 May we not take warning by his summary of the inevit- 
 able results — pluralism and consequent absenteeism ; 
 poorly educated clergy ; slovenly, defective, and hurried 
 services. And he urges, " Nor is it reasonable to expect 
 they should be better served while the stipend allowed for 
 the services of them is so small that a poor curate must 
 sometimes serve three or four churches for £10 or £12 
 a year, and that, perhaps, when they are so manj' miles 
 distant from each other. Having so little time and so 
 many places to attend on, how precipitately and as if out 
 of breath are they obliged to read the prayers, or to 
 shorten or abridge ! And what time have thej^ or their 
 congregation to compose themselves for their devotion 
 while thus forced to a kind of perpetual motion, and, like 
 hasty itinerants, to hurry about from place to place ? 
 There is no time fixed for going to church so it be on 
 Sunday, so that the poor man must begin at any time with 
 as many as are at hand, sooner or later, as he can perform 
 his round. He then abruptly huddles over as many praj^ers 
 as may be in half an hour's time, and returns to his road, 
 fasting ; for, however so earnestly his appetite may call 
 for it, it is seldom that he has time for, or that the 
 impropriate's farmer can afford to give him dinner." We 
 are told much of the blessedness of poverty. But can any 
 be found to aver that " huddled prayers " and breathless 
 rushing from one service to another are conducive to 
 reverent worship and the beauty of holiness ? 
 
 What, then, does this Bill mean to Wales .' It means,
 
 7^ The Menace of Secularism 
 
 fii'st, arrest of the activities of the Church. It means that 
 instead of the minds of our leaders being fixed on possi- 
 bilities of expansion in every direction, on providing new 
 churches for growing mining and shipping centres, on 
 training up a Larger number of ordination candidates to 
 minister to the increased popukition, they must be ham- 
 pered on every side with sordid questions of finance. 
 What this burden is for Bishops and Archdeacons and 
 Rural Deans, our Colonies, who have experienced it, can 
 tell us. It is heart-breaking to see opportunity after 
 opportunity go by, and whole communities relapsing into 
 Paganism because it is impossible to find bare subsistence 
 for a clergyman. Yet what else can result ? For many 
 years to come (should this Bill pass), possibly for genera- 
 tions, all the energy of Welsh Church-people will be con- 
 centrated on providing for work already undertaken, for 
 building up funds which shall secure some stipend for a 
 clergyman when the present incumbent dies. Already 
 these stipends are pitiably small, as we have seen. What 
 will they be when of that pittance all but six shillings and 
 eightpence in the pound is taken away ? 
 
 In one quarter of the parishes in Wales there will be no 
 endowments left at all ; in many others a sum which 
 would provide only a few shillings a week. How, under 
 these circumstances, is it possible to attempt to cope 
 with fresh problems ? Yet experience proves that unless 
 Church expansion keeps pace in some degree with 
 population, secularism and materialism increase to an 
 alarming extent. All the Nonconformist bodies put 
 together have not the resources to cover the gi'ound, and 
 plague-spots rapidly arise which prove a source of infec- 
 tion to a wide circle. It is strange indeed that at the very 
 time when superhuman efforts are being made at the public 
 expense to guard our citizens from phijaical disease — 
 hospitals are provided, medical benefits are conferred, 
 patients are isolated, sanatoriums established, that the 
 health of the nation may be improved — a Bill should be 
 evolved which will gravely diminish the doctors of the 
 soul, while it indefinitely multiplies the risk of moral 
 infection. For if, as is now universally recognised, it is of
 
 Disendowment in Wales 77 
 
 paramount importance to take preventive measures in the 
 case of epidemics, to safeguard our citizens bj^ removing 
 the causes of disease, tainted water, unsanitary conditions, 
 and the like, how much more should this principle rule in 
 the things of the soul ! We know how terribly insidious 
 is the influence of evil, how one after the other may 
 be corrupted by a single criminal, and yet we are asked to 
 weaken the very forces which on the spiritual side are 
 doing the work of sanitary inspectors, doctors, and nurses 
 on the physical side — at this moment when unrest, class- 
 hatred, moral decadence, and selfishness of all kinds are 
 assuming proportions which give all thinking people pause. 
 
 It is as though in face of an outbreak of smallpox or 
 plague, the Government were to decree that some of the 
 hospitals should be closed, and the nurses and doctors 
 dispensed with. 
 
 The impoverishment of the clergy and the Church 
 cannot but re-act disastrously on the wage-earners. 
 Hitherto in many villages the custom of the Vicar and his 
 family has brought to their poorer neighbours many a 
 little added luxury. A market at their door is everything 
 to those in isolated spots, eliminating, as it does, middle- 
 men's profits and cost of transit. And what of the alms 
 Avhich have been so freely given by those who could too 
 often ill afford it ? Now in many an instance this must 
 cease. Provision for those of his own household, even on 
 the most modest scale, will for the vicar of the future 
 absorb every penny. What will take its place I Are the 
 self-respecting poor to bare their carefully shielded want 
 to the eyes of public bodies, with all that must be entailed 
 in the way of inspection and inquisition if imposture is to 
 be detected ? So often the wise and judicious sympathy 
 of one who lives among them may afford just the help 
 that is needed in some heart-breaking crisis — help which, 
 given by a loving friend, leaves no sting behind. Why 
 are these possibilities of redressing the adverse balance of 
 circumstance to be withdrawn from those who need it most ? 
 Of what use will a national museum or a library in one of 
 the big towns be to these dwellers on remote hillsides ? 
 
 11
 
 78 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 It is on them the loss will fall most heavil}-, for they will 
 be bereft not only of the spiritual privileges they deeply 
 value, but also of a counseller and of a centre of refinement 
 and education in their midst "vvhich they can ill spare. 
 The disastrous result on such organisations as the Mothers' 
 Union and Girls' Friendly Society, to which the woman- 
 hood of Wales owes so much, can hardly be overrated ; 
 for in many parishes the only possible associate is the 
 vicar's wife, and if she is withdrawn the work will languish 
 and lapse for want of leadership. 
 
 The confusion created by the Bill in all Church organisa- 
 tions is incalculable. It is hard to say whether the parish, 
 the rural deanery, or the diocese would suffer most. 
 The structure which has been painfully reared century by 
 century is to become a prey to sacrilegious hands, who, 
 pulling down a brick here, a buttress there, an arch, a 
 pillar, calmly aver that the stability of the whole will not 
 suffer. We are anxious to avoid every semblance of want 
 of charity. But the fact that the whole of the Diocesan 
 funds are to be confiscated points to a desire to repeat 
 the tactics of 1642, and once more (so far as the State can 
 do it) to "abolish episcopacy." How can believers in the 
 Pauline ideals for the Early Church reconcile this with 
 their consciences ? The Bishops then, as now, were found 
 essential to the good government of the Church. 
 
 But confusion does not end with Wales. What is to be 
 the relation of the four Welsh dioceses to the Province of 
 Canterbury ? Why are their clergy to be placed on a 
 different footing from those of the rest of the province, 
 and theii' Bishops turned out of the House of Lords ? At 
 present all four are called to the Council of the State. 
 How can their exclusion possibly minister in any respect 
 to the welfare of Wales ? 
 
 So far we have considered what the Bill means to Wales. 
 What does it mean to England 1 First, dismemberment of 
 the historic Church, interference with Convocation, with 
 the jurisdiction of the Primate, and with the general 
 governance of an age-long institution. Four of her 
 poorest dioceses, including one English counLy, are to be 
 violently wrenched from her against the wishes of Church-
 
 Disendowment in Wales 79 
 
 people in England and Wales. But it means more than 
 this. Have we considered who is to make up the sum of 
 £180,000 a year which the Church will ultimately lose ? 
 The Welsh are already contributing most generously to 
 supplement the quite inadequate endowments. For the 
 majority are wage-earners, who, whatever their devotion, 
 can do little more than at present. Then what is to be our 
 attitude ? 
 
 Can we possibly desert our fellow-Churchmen ? Can 
 we look on unmoved while parish after parish is deprived 
 of the means of grace and sinks back into Paganism ? 
 or while one devoted clergyman after another faints and 
 falls in the unequal fight / Shall we not rather, in order to 
 make up this £180,000 a year, be forced to postpone in- 
 definitely all our own projects of expansion, Church ex- 
 tension, the raising of the stipends of our clergy, the 
 training of candidates for holy orders ? And for the 
 great Missionary Societies who see before them at this 
 moment open doors in every direction — in India, in China, 
 in South Africa, in Canada — must not their urgent claims 
 yield to the overwhelming necessities of persecuted Wales, 
 lest, in our desire to convert black heathendom, we connive 
 at the assured creation of what is even worse — white 
 heathendom in our very midst ? 
 
 Tlie Bill means for the Church in England dismember- 
 ment, paralysis of development, disruption of beneficent 
 activities in every direction. But that is not all — it has 
 been clearly stated that this Bill before us is only a fore- 
 taste of what we may ourselves expect in due course. Once 
 tamper with endowments, and the principle is conceded. 
 
 Who benefits by it ? 
 
 Does the Church, or the clergyman, or the pari.sh ? No I 
 all three stand to lose in activity, in development ; above 
 all, in the knowledge of God, in ability to spread the 
 Kingdom of our Blessed Lord, Jesus Christ. 
 
 Then does national character gain by it ? No ! We have 
 seen that character, to stand in the hour of temptation, 
 must be founded deep and strong on vital religion. Do 
 the tithe-payers gain by it ? No ! for tithe will still have 
 to be paid as heretofore, to the County Council instead of
 
 8o The Menace of Secularism 
 
 the Church. Possiblj' experience may once more repeat 
 itself, and in place of the lenient consideration of a 
 neighbour, the tithe-payers may find themselves face to 
 face, as in Cromwellian times, with the " unexampled 
 severity " of public officials. Do the Nonconformists 
 benefit by it ? No ! the pitiable salaries of their ministers 
 will not be increased by a single shilling. 
 
 Who, then, stands to gain ? Volumes may be added to a 
 national library, specimens to a national museum, out of 
 the confiscated funds. But the real gainers, by the weaken- 
 ing of the forces which make for righteousness, will be 
 materialism and secularism, the gaunt spectres, fore- 
 runners of national decadence, which already stalk un- 
 ashamed in our midst. 
 
 Vice, sin, class hatred strain at the leash. For many, 
 alas 1 the underlying motive is a mean desire " to level all 
 and leave an equal baseness," and, to quote a leading 
 Nonconformist, in face of this peril, " it would be a disaster 
 to the whole of religion if any denomination were crippled 
 in its resources." 
 
 It is because we believe as a bed-rock fact, not as a mere 
 pious opinion, that "to be carnally minded is chcih" — 
 death here and now — and that " to be spiritually minded is 
 life and peace," not in a far distant future, but every 
 moment of our existence — that v/e can never consent to this 
 wondrous gift being withheld from those who need it most. 
 It has been well said that you cannot make a nation sober 
 by Act of Parliament ; but you can, and may, take away 
 from thousands of the poor and unlearned an opportunity 
 to which they are as fully entitled as the highest in the 
 land, by an ill-judged and ill-considered measure ; and for 
 the sake of the past, the present, the inspiring future, for 
 our homes, our Church ; yes, and for those Nonconformists 
 whom we pray God may bring out of error to the Light of 
 His truth, we must guard if need be to the death the 
 heritage committed to our trust. The eyes of the whole 
 civilised world are upon us. Let not the legend across 
 our generation be : " Tekel : Weighed in the balance, found 
 wanting." We can do all things through Christ which 
 strengtheneth us !
 
 VIII 
 
 Ubc 2)ut^ ot Cburcb^people in tbis Cdsts 
 
 WHAT CAN WE DO? 
 WHAT WILL WE DO? 
 
 Ipragcr 
 
 O Ahnighty God, -who hast knit together Thine elect in one 
 cominnnion and felloxaship, in the 7nystical Body of Thy So.v 
 Christ our Lord,- Grant us grace so to follow Thy blessed 
 Saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we viay come to 
 those unspeakable joys, which Thou hast prepared for them that 
 unfeignedly love Thee. O God, of whose only gift it cometh, 
 that Thy faithful peopledo unto Thee true and laudable service ; 
 Grant, we beseech Thee, that we may so faithfully serve Thee in 
 this life, that we fail not finally to attain Thy heavenly promises ; 
 through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord.
 
 VIII 
 
 Xlbe H)ut\> of Cburcb^people in tbis 
 Crisis 
 
 Obedience to the call of duty has ever been a distinguish- 
 ing feature of our national character. It has stood in the 
 history of our country and our race for many a lofty ideal, 
 and, prosaic as the word sounds, it has embodied heroic 
 qualities worthy possibly of a greater name. We remem- 
 ber how at Waterloo the British infantry were posted on 
 the ridge in reserve. They were an all too easy mark for 
 the enemy's cannon, and one battalion in particular suf- 
 fered severely. Time after time the guns mowed great 
 gaps in their ranks. Time after time the brave men 
 closed up, taking the place of their dead comrades. At 
 last even the Iron Duke thought they must give way, but 
 as he sorrowfully scanned their diminished numbers, sud- 
 denly a cry went up from these heroes, as the cannon 
 spoke once more : " Never mind, sir ; we know our duty 1" 
 And so they went to their deaths, but British steadfast- 
 ness won the day, and broke the power of one of the 
 greatest generals the world has ever seen, delivering 
 Europe from an unbearable tyranny. 
 
 Every day of our lives we have instances before us of 
 what this devotion to duty may accomplish. We find it 
 in all classes, from the highest to the lowest ; in palace, 
 hall, public office, vicarage, workshop, cottage home, dwell 
 those who, year in and year out, without ostentation, 
 are trying quietly and earnestly to fulfil God's purpose 
 for husband and children and friends, and for the wider 
 82
 
 The Duty of Church-people in this Crisis 83 
 
 circle, not only of their fellow-Church-people and fellow- 
 Christians, but also of those who need them most, because 
 for them the Gospel of our Loud is a scaled book. It is 
 on such duteous pursuit of humble responsibilities, often 
 unrecognised by the world, that our national character 
 is built up. So true are Keble's lines : 
 
 " Oft in life's stillest shade reclining, 
 In desolation unrepining, 
 Without a hope on earth to find 
 A mirror in our answering mind ; 
 Meek souls there are who little deem 
 Their daily strife an Angel's theme." 
 
 But there are times when from every member of the 
 Church, however narrow their circumstances, however 
 lowly their opportunities, something more than this 
 strenuous attention to the details of domesticity is re- 
 quired. Some of us are in the position of one who 
 elaborately stamps out sparks on the hearth-rug when all 
 the time the house is on fire. It is useless to take the 
 line that that is not our business, and someone else must 
 put it out. When the children's lives are in jeopardy, 
 no sensible mother will shelter herself behind such an 
 excuse. She knows that it is her responsibility to save 
 her children in overwhelming danger, even more than in 
 the trivial accidents of everyday life, and in nine cases 
 out of ten she rises to the emergency nobly. But when 
 the danger is not physical, but spiritual, when it threatens, 
 not the bodies of our citizens, but their souls, then it is 
 more difficult for the average woman to realise that her 
 time has come, that she is called to the colours, and if she 
 is to be true to the trust committed equally to every 
 member of the Church, she must postpone for the moment 
 non-essentials in order to do her share in an unexampled 
 crisis. 
 
 It must never 1 e forgotten that the commission in the 
 Upper Room, "Preach the Gospel to every creature," was 
 given to women as well as men, and that our Church 
 makes no distinction between sons and daughters, but laj's 
 on both alike the inspiring pledge, " iiianftdly to fight
 
 §4 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 under Christ's banner against sin, the world, and the 
 devil." 
 
 There is a juncture when failure to recognise a crisis is 
 criminal. Before such a crisis as is indicated by the burn- 
 ing words of the poet we now stand : 
 
 " Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide, 
 In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side. 
 Some great cause Heaven's new Messiah, echoing each the 
 
 bloom or blight, 
 Parts the goats upon the left hand, from the sheep upon the 
 
 right ; 
 And the choice goes by for ever 'twixt that darkness and that 
 
 hght." 
 
 It lies with us whether we preserve for posterity the 
 glorious heritage handed down to us by our ancestors 
 or whether we are so absorbed in the thousand and one 
 claims of the moment that, through supineness, indolence, 
 indifference, the decision goes by default. 
 
 We have made a step in the right direction by concen- 
 trating our thoughts on the various aspects of Disestab- 
 lishment and Disendowment, for it is of the greatest 
 importance that we should understand the question our- 
 selves in the first instance. By so doing we have fulfilled 
 the first part of our duty, which is to reverence the past 
 and appreciate all that those who have gone before did 
 and suffered that the worship of God might be handed on 
 to us. But this knowledge we have acquired carries with 
 it special responsibility. That which we have made our 
 own we are bound to pass on to others who are at present 
 in ignorance or, worse still, misinformed. 
 
 There are those who meet such a suggestion with the 
 selfish rejoinder, " Why should I trouble about this Bill ? 
 It does not touch us in England ; it will be time enough 
 to bestir myself when ice are attacked." Such an attitude 
 Avould be absolutely unworthy of anyone enlisted under 
 the banner of the Church, and utterly foreign to the 
 teaching of our Blessed Lord and of His Apostles. "Am 
 I my brother's keeper ?" was the cry of the first murderer. 
 The Gospel ideal handed down through wellnigh two
 
 The Duty of Church-people in this Crisis 85 
 
 thousand years is this : The weaker members are the 
 special care of the strong ; the sorrows of one are the 
 sorrows of all, even as the joys of one are the joys of all. 
 '* Whether one inember suffer, all the members suffer with 
 it, or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice 
 with it." Now is the time to prove that our Churchman- 
 ship, our membership of the Body, is not a visionary pre- 
 tence, but a living, breathing reality ; that because of 
 Christ our Head, those who seek to oppress and injure 
 our weaker brethren must reckon with us. We will not 
 be dissociated from them : their cause is our cause, their 
 griefs are our griefs, their peril is our peril. We are 
 bound to them by the indissoluble links of centuries. We 
 have struggled and endured together in the past ; we have 
 earnestly contended for the faith once delivered unto the 
 saints, that it may be handed on unimpaired to future 
 generations through the unbroken line of ministers and 
 stewards of the mysteries, duly consecrated for this 
 special jiurpose. Ay, and in God's own good time we 
 will conquer together, for 
 
 " We are not divided. 
 All one body we, 
 One in faith and doctrine. 
 One in charity." 
 
 In this matter there is no room for compromise. We 
 cannot give away what is not ours, but God's. We of 
 this generation are only trustees for those who come after 
 us. Shall we be less faithful than those who went before ? 
 For them loyalty meant often the sacrifice of all that men 
 hold most dear — goods and worldly advancement, even 
 life itself. But did they flinch ? No. They thought of 
 us, their descendants. They believed their cause was 
 sacred, and in their hour of trial the voice of the Master 
 rang in their ears : "'Blessed are they which are persecuted 
 for righteousness' sake. Blessed are ye when men shall 
 revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of 
 evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be 
 exceeding glad, for great is your reward in Heaven." Now 
 
 12
 
 86 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 our time is come — to endure hardness as good soldiers of 
 Jesus Christ. The clergy and the Church in Wales 
 generally have experienced the very trials prophesied by 
 our Lord. The campaign of slander, vituperation, and 
 misrepresentation in the Welsh press has been unexampled. 
 No accusation has been too vile, no imputation too gross, to 
 be levelled at men whose only crime was (as even the 
 more fair-minded among their enemies have been forced 
 to admit) that they were staunch to their Bishops, their 
 Church and their parishioners, and the faith in which they 
 believe. And how have they stood the test ? They have 
 resolved that the purity of their cause should not be 
 sullied by reprisals ; they have not met railing with rail- 
 ing, but have humbly striven to follow in the steps of 
 Him " who when He was reviled, reviled not again ; when 
 He suffered, threatened not, but committed Himself to 
 Him that judgeth righteously." 
 
 Could any one of us be so craven as to desert such men 
 as these 1 Nay, more ; could we in England be content to 
 enjoy Sunday by Sunday, day by day, all the ministrations 
 we so dearly prize — our services, our addresses, above all, 
 our Communions, knowing that in too many cases our 
 fellow-Churchmen were deprived of privileges to which 
 they are as fully entitled as ourselves ? Would not the 
 stern reproach of the Most High pierce through the 
 moments of our most sacred uplifting : " Where is Abel, 
 thy brother 2" 
 
 Obviously, we cannot be deaf to their appeal. Then 
 what can we do to help ? There are those among us who, 
 like Naaman of old, might rise to some supreme effort ; 
 but the humble agency of the River Jordan seems so 
 much beneath the dignity of the occasion that they turn 
 away in contempt from the means suggested. These are 
 the natures who, when the country is in peril through some 
 great war, heroically volunteer for the front, where they 
 are not needed, but decline to pick lint for the wounded 
 or assist in equipping a field hospital. 
 
 There are others who take the opposite line, and shelter 
 themselves behind the unimportance of their position.
 
 The Duty of Church-people in this Crisis 87 
 
 They say in effect, "I am not a person of influence. 1 
 keep myself to myself. Besides, I have already as much 
 to do as I can possibly accomplish. I pray thee have me 
 excused." 
 
 There is a third class which, though taking advantage 
 of all that the Church can offer at the crucial moments of 
 life — received into her loving arms at baptism, strengthened 
 by the special gifts of confirmation, consecrated in the most 
 human of relations at mai-riage, relying on the ministra- 
 tions of her ministers both for themselves and for those 
 dear to them — is content to leave on others the whole 
 responsibility of meeting the present emergency. 
 
 Could ingratitude go farther ? The Church of our 
 fathers — that Church to which they profess to belong — is 
 threatened with a loss which must grievously impair her 
 opportunities of influence for generations, their fellow- 
 Churchmen are sore beset, and appeal for their help ; but 
 they are buying and selling, dancing and dinin?, entertain- 
 ing and being entertained, absolutely regardless of the 
 disaster impending — a disaster which, should it beiconsum- 
 mated through their supineness, will assuredly lie at their 
 doors. 
 
 Contrast with the attitude of these triflers and laggards 
 that of the great baudiof Church-people, who, realising the 
 overwhelming urgency of the need, and the vital issues at 
 stake, are postponing for the moment all other claims to 
 safeguard the precious heritage committed to them. Note 
 the efforts made by those with few advantages, few oppor- 
 tunities, to whom anything like publicity is abhorrent, 
 who out of their poverty give money, out of their busy 
 lives make time — sacrificing quiet, leisure, even health, that 
 they may not be traitors to their sacred trust ! 
 
 What is their object ? It is this — that so far as in them 
 lies the issue shall not go by default. They realise that 
 the great danger is the appalling ignorance on the whole 
 subject of the Church which still prevails. This ignorance 
 is at the bottom of the phenomenal apathy in certain 
 quarters ; for once ignorance is dispelled, apathy vanishes. 
 Misstatements — to call them by no harsher name — are
 
 88 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 being circulated in every direction. Too many educated 
 Church-people are not even aware how false they are ; and 
 they frequently acquiesce in some statement which is 
 absolutely contrary to fact. Yet knowledge is available, 
 and it is their bounden duty to know. Have we anything 
 but contempt for the woman who stands calmly by while 
 some scandalous tale is recounted about her dearest friend, 
 and does not indignantly deny it ! Yet this is precisely 
 what is done over and over again by so-called Church- 
 people as regards their Church. They cannot repudiate 
 falsehood because they are wilfully ignorant. When 
 knowledge is within reach ignorance is a crime. 
 
 How can this state of aifaiis be remedied ? First, by 
 every member of the Church rising to a sense of personal 
 responsibility in the matter. Now is the time to be true 
 to our baptismal vow, which was not that we would expect 
 someone else — the Bishop, or the vicar, or the president of 
 the Church committee — manfully to fight and to continue 
 Christ's faithful soldier and servant till the end of life, 
 but that we would do so onrselces. " Pay that which thou 
 hast vowed ! Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, 
 than that thou shouldest vow and not pay." 
 
 Secondly, having realised our responsibility, we must 
 first thoroughly inform ourselves by reading, attending 
 courses of addresses, discussion meetings, and the like, and 
 then we must, in Emerson's words, " Beware of too much 
 good staying in our hand," and pass on to those with fewer 
 opportunities what we have ourselves acquired. We must 
 think over our circle of acquaintance, and consider what 
 the best method would be of reaching each one. We must 
 ascertain what others are doing, and support their efforts. 
 If no meetings are being held, we must not fold our hands 
 and say it is someone else's business ; we must consult with 
 others and take action. There are few parishes, for 
 instance, where, if some of the Church-workers went to 
 the vicar and begged him to give them the course of eight 
 addi-esses for which the syllabus may be had from the 
 Central Church Committee — so that they might in turn 
 teach others — it would be refused.
 
 The Duty of Church-people in this Crisis 89 
 
 A course for working-class mothers is most important. 
 Experience proves that the subject is one which interests 
 them profoundly. Often their husbands and sons, who, 
 after all, will eventually decide this momentous' question, 
 have neither leism-e nor inclination to go to the root of the 
 matter ; but the women will do so, and will pass their 
 knowledge on. There is still an immense field to be 
 covered in this direction. In many parishes nothing has 
 been done to enlighten the uneducated womanhood as 
 regards the future of the Church ; yet it is on them and 
 on their children that the blow to religion would tell most 
 disastrously. 
 
 Tradesmen's wives and domestic servants must not be 
 overlooked. Special gatherings arranged for hours when 
 their duties permit them to attend are warmly appreciated, 
 and during the summer, garden meetings for all classes are 
 found most helpful. There should also be a systematic 
 distribution of leaflets from house to house, organised by 
 the Secretary of the Central Church Committee in the 
 parish, if it exists, or if not a special committee should be 
 formed for this purpose, and also to further the arrange- 
 ment of meetings and the signing of petitions. But above 
 all we must be instant in prayer. Already from many a 
 home the daily intercession (of which copies may be had 
 from the Central Church Committee) is going up, and 
 workers in district after district have proved that 
 "efEectual, fervent prayer availeth much." Invalids, 
 busy working mothers, the aged, can, and do, strengthen 
 the hands of their more active fellows immeasurably 
 by this means. But " let him ask in faith, nothing 
 wavering." 
 
 Here is what we ccai do. What are we prepared to do ? 
 It is the opportunity of our lives. Not to every generation 
 comes the chance of heroic action. So long as our 
 cherished heritage was safe, our part was to go on humbly, 
 perseveringly, obediently, fulfilling our daily duties, keep- 
 ing our Sundays, faithful to our worship, our Church, our 
 Communions. Now the inspiring call has come to stand 
 for what we know to be right, to be loyal to our persecuted
 
 90 The Menace of Secularism 
 
 fellow-Churchmen in Wales, to save our beloved country 
 from an indeliljle stain — ay, and to restrain Christians 
 of other religious bodies from committing a grievous 
 wrong. 
 
 How shall we respond ? What is our attitude to be ? 
 Our cause is a great, a just, a holy one. Let us beware 
 lest we permit it to be smirched by one unworthy action, 
 one uncharitable word of ours. Let us be patient under 
 provocation, calm in debate, persuasive, tolerant, willing 
 to credit those who differ from us with such justification 
 as we may. But while we strive to be temperate and 
 moderate in every respect, none the less shall we be 
 absolutely inflexible as regards our trust. With this there 
 is no paltering. No specious arguments about spoliation 
 in the past must weigh with us. Because a colossal wrong 
 was committed several hundred j'ears ago, from which 
 many a parish has suffered ever since, that does not justify 
 a yet greater wrong being perpetrated by those who have 
 had neaiiy four centuries more of Christianity to teach 
 them what is right. We dare not betray the interests of 
 those who come after us. And if it means persecution 
 such as some of those who stand fii'm have already 
 experienced, then " if any man suffer as a Christian, 
 let him not be ashamed, but glorify God on this behalf." 
 
 The eyes of Christendom are upon us. By our stead- 
 fastness in this hour of bitter trial, many a one in far-away 
 lands will be strengthened to endure when his own time 
 comes. Nay, more ; the great host of those who have 
 gone before, who wrestled and agonised and counted their 
 lives well lost for the preservation of the faith, watches 
 over our struggle. We are compassed about by a great 
 cloud of witnesses. How can Ave faint or be discouraged 
 while down the ages rings the triumphant assurance, the 
 p«an of victory, of unit}-, embodied in our creed and 
 theirs — the outcome of devotion to our Blessed Lokd, of 
 determination that in all things He should have the pre- 
 eminence, " I believe in the Communion of saints, the Holy 
 Catholic Church 1" 
 
 Strong in faith — joyful tlu-ough hope — rooted in charity
 
 The Duty of Church-people in this Crisis 91 
 
 — find out God's will for you in this matter, and then go 
 forth to do it ! 
 
 " Radiant with ardour Divine, 
 
 Beacons of hope, ye appear ! 
 
 Languor is not in your heart ! 
 
 Weakness is not in your word ! 
 
 Weariness not on your brow ! 
 
 Ye move through the ranks, recall 
 
 The stragglers, refresh the outworn, 
 
 Praise, re-inspire the brave ! 
 
 Order, courage return, 
 
 Eyes rekindling, and prayers 
 
 Follow your steps as you go ! 
 
 Ye fill up the gaps in our files, 
 
 Strengthen the wavering line, 
 
 Stablish, continue our march ; 
 
 On to the bound of the waste, 
 
 On to the City of God 1" 
 
 WELLS GARDNER, DARTON AND CO., LTD., LONDON
 
 LIST OF BOOKS EECOMMENDED 
 
 The Welsh Disestablishment Bill. What it Means. 
 
 Bishop of St. David's ... ... ' ... ... Id. 
 
 Earlier History of the Church in Wales. Waterhouse ... Id, 
 Church I'rojierty and Revenues. P.V.Smith ... Id. 
 
 Modern History of the Church in AVales. Waterhouse ... Id. 
 The Church in Wales. Royal Commission. Bishop 
 
 of St. David's ... ... ... ... ... Id. 
 
 Present Position of the Church in Wales. Bishop of 
 
 St. David's ... ... ... ... ... Id. 
 
 Our Duty against Disestablishment in Wales. St. 
 
 David's Conference ... ... ... ... Id. 
 
 The Indictment and Defence of the Church in Wales. 
 
 Rev. H. T. Clayton ... ... ... ... Id. 
 
 Notes by Rev. J. Thorpe. Specially recommended ... Bd. 
 
 For those who desire further information : 
 
 The Case against Welsh Disestablishment. By a Non 
 
 conformist Minister 
 Defence of the Church of England against Disestablish 
 
 ment and Disendowments. Earl of Selborne 
 The Church's Title to her Endowments 
 Nonconformist Endowments. Rev. T. Clayton 
 Welsh Disestablishment and Disendowment. Hon. W 
 
 Ormsby Gore, M.P, 
 
 All the above may be had of 
 
 The Secretary, 
 
 Central Church Committee, 
 Church House, 
 Dean's Yard, 
 
 Westminster. 
 
 Is. 
 
 Is. 
 2d. 
 2d. 
 
 6rf. 
 
 Diocesan Histories : 
 
 Bangor ... ... ... ... ... 2s. Qd. 
 
 Llandair ... ... ... ... .. 3s. Od. 
 
 St. David's ... ... ... ... 2s. Qd. 
 
 St. Asaph ... ... ... ... ... 2s. Od. 
 
 May be had of 
 
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