The South Wales Star

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THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND IN WALES. The subject of the week has undoubtedly been the past, present, and future of -the Church of England in Wales. To the English- man who knows nothing of the conditions of Welsh life or of the real position of the Church, it must be confusing to read the conflicting arguments of the supporters and the opponents of the establishment. Last week at Newcastle Mr. John Morley, in the ablest speech that has been delivered during the recess, based the demand for Welsh Disestablishment on the general Liberal principle of opposition to privilege. This week in his inaugural address as ex-President of the Church Congress at Rhyl, the Bishop of St. Asaph said that "among the many forces at work in our modern life, none seems more powerful or constant than that strong current setting in against all undeserved privileges, a current swelled by the sympathy of every true Churchman." He went on to deny that the Established Church possessed any of these undeserved privileges," and said that Churchmen only ask that the Church in Wales should be fairly weighed in the balance." At Newcastle we have Welsh representatives declaring that the Church in Wales is an "alien Church"; while at Rhyl the Archbishop of Canterbury insists that there is not a shadow of truth in the catch- word alien Church. Truer, historically, would it be to speak of the Church of Wales in England than of the Church of England in Wales." In the course of the same speech the Archbishop seemed to doubt that there was any progress made by the Nonconformist bodies in Wales. He did not say that," he said, in a spirit of self-satisfaction. Far be it from him to disparage the religious work of religious men, but that form of religious work had began to fade and wane" while the Calvinistic Methodist Assembly, in their official reply to the Bishop of St. Asaph's celebrated speech at Truro, say that during the twenty years from 18G9 to 1889 the number of our communicants increased 41,791, and according to the recently published statistics for 1890 our communicants number 136,051, an increase of 1,812 on the number for the preceding year." In 181;7 the total colleotioni amounted to £ 103,583, in 1890 they amounted to £ 202,707. This increase," the newly published reply goes on to state, "alike in communicants and in I funds appears the more remarkable when it is borne in mind that the population of rural Wales, where our connexion has relatively the strongest hold on the people, has been steadily de- l, y creasing during the period covered by our figures." The Archbishop further alluded to the spiritual and material progress of the Church in Wales, and continued as follows :—" There are those who know whence it had its roots how-not only in the promotion of good morals, of tem- perance, and of education, but in the diffusion of sounder knowledge of many subjects and of the history and facts of their own Church and country, in the extension of missions and the multiplying of Welsh services—the clergy or the Church had been striving to elevate, to purify, and to enlighten." This is the root of the Church's success, according to the Arch- bishop far different is its root according to Nonconformists. Mr. Lloyd George, in his im- passioned speech at Newcastle, asked, Why is it that there are so few clergy of the Welsh Church working with the temperance cause ? The reason is that they are afraid of alienating their best friends, the publicans. That which the sword did for the religion of Mahomet, the pewter pot does for the Church in Wales." The Methodists, in their "official reply," adduce other reasons. We can neither be blind nor silent with respect to the fact that once-deserted churches are now beginning to fill by a process of insidious proselytising. On many estates undue preference is given to Churchmen in the letting of farms, and in other districts work, custom, and promotion are the rewards of con- formity to the Established religion. We are further reminded of the number of churches built or restored in the Principality during late years. Very few, if any, of these edifices have been built or restored at the expense of the people the work has been done by the great landlords and wealthy gentry, most of whom are not Welshmen." In controverting Mr. Gladstone's statement that the Noncon- formists are not contented," the Bishop of St. Asaph, in his inaugural speech, said, There are two classes of Nonconformists in Wales chose for whom politics come first and Chris- tianity afterwards', who have set their hands to the perilous task of transforming spiritual into political energy," and those whose attitude to the Church is not one of hostility or bitter- ness and who are anxious that the Church should not be weakened or injured." This is the reply of the Methodists to the charge Politics pure and simple are never discussed or even mentioned at any of our religious meetings. It is true that, us a body, we do demand the Disestablishment and Disendowment of the Church of England in Wales, not from a feeling of hostility towards any section of the great Church Catholic, but from a conviction of the injustice involved in the maintenance of the church of the few and the wealthy at the expense of the whole popu- lation, and because we believe that the con- nection of the Church and State is a grevious wrong and an injury to the religion of Christ." The Bishop of St. Asaph dreads Disestablish- ment, as it will inevitably introduce the volun- tary system. It is the inherent weakness of the voluntary system," he says, that care for the poor is apt to be crowded out by other in- evitable and exigent claims. Never have I heard it said by friend or foe that the Church in Wales can be charged with neglect to the poor." On the other hand, the Methodists assert that there are thousands (members of their denomination) who have nothing to give, as they depend on the charity of their fellow Christians. We have not found the voluntary principle to fail us. We have made full proof of it during the last 150 years, and that in a land poor in its natural re3ources." The most tellihg portion of the Bishop of St. Asaph's protest against Distablishedment was his asser- tion that it was only by maintaining the estab- lishment that Wales would ever be united. A national entity without unity," he said, is in- conceivable. The influences that tend to unity in Wales are not too strong. The Princi- pality does not lend itself either to a linguistic or a geographical unity. I believe the unity which Wales most needs is religious unity, and that the one religious unity, and that the one religious body in Wales which strives and has striven to teach and preserve this unity will in the future, for the whole country and for every every part and division in it, be the home and centre of unity. For this influence we must look to the Church. It is for her to call forth and harmonise all the best elements in the character and life of Wales, and to make them more fruitful in promoting the true pro- gress of the Welsh people." The Methodists, on the other hand, assert that they have to support a church whose services we neither appre- ciate nor require. As we look round us we can- not help recognising the fact that many of the evils from which our country has suffered, and is still suffering, are the direct effects of that spiritual stupor and deadness, the invariable consequences of the subjection of the eternal to the temporal, of Christ to Ccesar." Nothing to our mind shows so plainly the evils of the establishment as the fact that it causes men, who we are confident are thoroughly earnest in their devotion to re- ligion and to their country, to be thus at variance. The Bishop of St. Asaph asserts that only a portion of the Nonconformists are in favour of Disestablishment, that it is the political Dissenter who cries aloud for it. But Churchmen will have to see, and that soon, that Disestablishment is not a political cry merely, but a religious one, and that the immense majority of Welshmen lcok upon the connection of the Church with the State as "a grievous wrong and injury to the religion of Christ." Religious unity is a glorious ideal, and Nonconformists share equally with Bishop Edwards the hope that it will soon be accom- plished. But religious unity is impossible with- out religions equality, and equality is "incon- ceivable as long as the Church is established. It would be idle to deny that the Church has during late years made great progress, but it should be remembered that its progress has been more marked in those parts of Wales which are most open to English in- fluences. It is the English Churches that are being filled, not the Welsh, and it is Englishmen or Anglicised Welshmen that are seen in our Churches. No one will accuse the Western Mail of hostility to the Church, but Idriswyn in that journal is constantly com- plaining that there are no Welsh services in the Churches of the Rhondda Valley. In fact the Church of England is an "alien Church." Historically the Church of England to-day may be the same as the old British Church, but it is true as a matter of fact that it is no longer the Church of the Welsh people. Welshmen may not now speak as bitterly of the Church as the old Welsh- woman, in Daniel Owen's great novel, Rhys Lewis," who thanked Heaven that she was brought up with religion ("gyda chref- ydd"), and not in the Church of England. Welshmen, as they become more educated and cultured, become more susceptible to the his- torical argument and as the emotional fervour of their fathers' religious convictions is dying away, they are becoming more reconciled to a fixed form of worship and to the beautiful liturgy of the Church. But it is significant that, notwithstanding this tolerant spirit, the most promising of those young Welshmen, who have received the benefit of higher education, are as true as ever their fathers were to the principles of Nonconformity. To our mind, there is but one great obstacle to religious unity in Wales, and that is the Church Estab- lishment. It is sad to think that one of the keenest intellects and the most patriotic spirit in Wales—men like Bishop Edwards and Dean Owen—should be shut out from the full national life of Wales by the necessity that is placed upon them to defend an Establishment which is hateful to the majority of their countrymen. We cannot believe, with Dean Owen, that the religious life of Wales for » considerable time would be crippled if the pro- posals now mooted were carried." We rather believe that the Establishment "is a grievous wrong and injury to the religion of Christ,' and that the Church will be purified and strengthened by the severance of the ties which hamper its progress.. The Church will be far more efficient when Churchmen will have sufficient courage and self-reliance to support their own religion, aud sufficient faith in the goodness of their cause to believe that it wiH succeed without the aid of the secular arm. DEATH. The dread monarch has been busy this week among our statesmen. First we hear that Mr. W. H. Smith, the most genial and best loved, if not the ablest leader the House of Commons has ever had, has passed away peaceably at his re- sidence at Walmer Castle. His devotion to his duty to his Queen and country," which provoked much good-natured fun in the past, undoubtedly hastened his death. He wished to give up the leadership of the House many months ago, but the exigencies of his party, who could find no ready substitute, prevented him from resigning his post for which he was not physically fitted. England is poorer to-day by the loss of a good man, a moderate politician, and an able man of business. It will be hard for the Conservatives to find a SUC. cessor to him the choice seems to rest between Mr. Balfour and Mr. G-cschen. If the news of Mr. Smith's death was a surprise,. the death of Mr. Parnell came as a painful shock to politicians of every creed. However much we deplore his later endeavours to destroy what he had had the honour to accomplish, no one will deny his undoubted ability and far- seeing shrewdness. Half a Yankee, half an Englishman, a Protestant, a landowner, and a gentleman, Mr. Parnell yet succeeded in be- coming the leader of the Irish nation, the trusted ally of the most devoted Catholics in the world, a reformer of the land laws, and the guide of a sturdy democracy, The announcement of the death of Sir John Pope Hennessy reminds us of the occasion of Mr. Parnell's fall. It was the Carlow election of last year that first heralded the downfall of Mr. Parnell's power in Ireland. HoW far Mr. Parnell's selfish ambition would have wrecked the cause which he had done so much to further, it is now impossible to say ? but, judging from recent events in Ire- land, it does not seem that his in" fluence would be very great. His death has, however, definitely removed the last block in the way of Home Rule. Let us at present en- deavour to forget his deviations from the code of political and social morality, and only remember the courage and the devotion with which he h!J,!J fought the Irish cause, and his successful efforts to unite a distracted nation.

LOCAL NOTES. In another column will be found a letter from Mr. J. A. Hughes, the Liberal registration agent for the Barry district, giving a detailed statement of the result of the recent revision of the list of voters. It will be seen from the letter that in oor district the Liberal gain is 113. This is most satisfactory. Anyone who knows the Barry dis- trict must be struck with the fact that the popula- tion is essentially Liberal. At the next general election Barry will be an important factor in the Southern Division of Glamorganshire, and there is no doubt as to which side the Barry votes will go- The recent Revision Court was the first ever held in this district, and we are very glad to notice that it was an evening sitting, so as to enable working- men to attend the Court if they wished to do so. The Local Board rate for the next half-year will be Is. in the £ From the figures produced at the Board meeting held last Tuesday it will be seen that a lOd. rate would meet all the expenses excepting the Free Library and a contribution to technical instruction. It is satisfactory to find that in spite of the large amount of public works now being carried out, and the necessary increase in the working expenses of the Board, thattheratØ is not increased excepting for the special subject of the Freoo^ibraries and the Art and Soienee Classes. lrxr The Local Board last Tuesday had the question I of allotments again before them. It seems that