Papurau Newydd Cymru
Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru
7 erthygl ar y dudalen hon
Y0RAI, welcomE
[By OUR OWN REPORTER. J The annual two days' Conference for the of Chester was opened in Birkenh-ead Town Hall on Thursday morning. The Lord Bishop of the Diocese presided over a large attendance of clergy and lay representatives, while from the gallery surrounding the spacious room of the lown Hall a considerable number of ladies followed the proceedings with marked interest^ Wimn, Canon Gore and the Rev. C. Hylton Stewart wrote expressing their inability to be present ow- iag to '»-h«»^ welcomE The Mayor of Birkenhead (Mr. A. E. Gnoe) cor- i-ii3 kind welcome, and for the many arrangements that had been made in the interests of the Con- ference proceedings. They echoed the hope that, by the blessing of God, their deliberation# would be really fruitful and useful. (Applause.) THE BISHOP'S ADDRESS. The Lord Bishop, who had his customary hearty reception, opened his address enoe to the centenary of the Bible which he said, Churchmen could not but keep a warm place in their hearts. Turning at once to the education problem, to which he greater part of his address, he said, at theheartof the problem should, of course, stand the child To the children and to their welfare our highest reverence was due and yet, in the din and smoke of controversy, their central, supreme interests *nd claims were too often obscured and forgotten. The diverse claims, rights interests which met on the floor of the school and were zealous to have their share, and sometimes more than their share, in training the young life, and equipping it, body, mind, character, and spirit, for the duties and destinies that lay before it, were chiefly. the fol- lowing: The State, now keenly alive to the para- mount importance of its future citizens being thoroughly and suitably educated. Then the re- ligious bodies, and prominent among them, the National Church, which was awake and hard at work while the State was still asleep. Certain re- ligious bodies represented what Dr. Martmeau termed The Denominational Conscience," and he (Dr. Martineau) expressed his weighty opinion that there could be no sound solution of the educa- tion problem till the just claims of both the de- nominational and undenominational conscience had been frankly and equitably recognised. The denominational oonsoience had conspicuously shewn its faith and its sincerity by its works. It had spent many millions of money on the educa- tion of the children of the people. It had placed a huge property in school buildings at the disposal of the State, to the great relief of the burdened ratepayer; and it could not be expected to do all this except on reasonable terms. Then came the taxpayer and the ratepayer, whose voice in edu- cation must obviously be dominant. But the tax- payer and the ratepayer themselves had con- sciences, and the consciences of Churchmen, Roman Catholics, Jews, and certain Noncon- formists of the older school, were neither less numerous nor less worthy of consideration than the allied consciences of undenominational and secu- larist ratepayers and taxpayers. Again, the teachers very reasonably claimed a hearing. Trust deeds could not be lightly over-ridden. Last, but by no means least, parents could claim, and should be encouraged to claim, a potent voice with re- spect to the education, and especially the moral and religious education, of their own children. "Here, then," continued his Lordship, "we have in outline the problem; or, rather, the thorniest part of the problem, with which Parliament had to deal. These eager interests, these righteous and irrepressible principles, had to be recognised, and, if possible, harmonised. To every- body in all respects was plainly beyond the wit and' power even of Parliament; but THE ACT OF 1902, was an honest, oourageous, and broad-minded en- deavour to place the elementary and secondary education of England and Wales upon a sound, equitable, elastic, and expansive basis, and the spirit in which the large majority of education authorities have settled down to their new and onerous duties is full of promise, and it may be confidently asserted that the opinion of those who are best qualified to speak upon matters of educa- tion has been and is decisively in favour of the system established by the Act. Of course I do not speak as though perfection or finality had been reached. There may well be room for re- adjustment and modification at various points. But the first thing is to let the working of the Act have a really fair chance. Experience will, in due time, correct mistaken tendencies, and shew where amendment is really needed. For example, & few of the local education authorities seem to be at present in what may be termed the polyprag- matical or meddlesome stage. In the natural ebullience of their youthful zeal there is nothing they are not eager to touch, and what they touoh. they do not always adorn. But this immature mood will soon pass away. Experience is already shewing that the weightier matters, the essentials. the main lines of administration and control, will fully tax the time and energies of the education authorities, and details will be more and more delegated to subordinate committees, and to those tried and indispensable friends of elementary edu- cation, the school managers. But, excellent as is the attitude of local education authorities and of the country in general, there are, unfortunately, certain quarters in which opposition to the Act has taken an extravagantly aggressive and even anar- chial form." The Bishop here quoted the Arch- bishop of Canterbury's letter to Lord Ashcombe, and said the Archbishop was anxious to deal fairly and considerately with opponents; but egregious misrepresentations could not be left uncorrected, and when the Church of England was being avowedly assailed under cover of the Education Acts, it was surely high time to organise defen- sive measures. Another weapon that was being I used against the Act was "PASSIVE RESISTANCE." After quoting Mr. Justice Wills and Lord Lindley on the illegality of the tactics, his Lordship said "The most glaring anarchical policy was that adopted by some of the Welsh County Councils, who had oonspired together to levy—two counties were actually levying—rates under powers given bv the Education Act, and were then, in defiance of that very Act, refusing to give to non-provided schools and share of the rates. The Board of Education, by postponing the appointed day, had checked in their recalcitrant career those of the Welsh Councils who, though they had resolved to follow the anarchical example of Carmarther- jshire and Montgomeryshire, had not yet secured the powers they meant to misuse. The severest censure of this policy came from the chairman of the Education Committee of Carmarthenshire, 10 himself a Congregational minister, who charac- terised the course recommended by Mr. Lloyd George and his confederates as 'unjust, unchris- tian, immoral, and cowardly.' No responsible and self-respecting Government, of whatever political colour, could possibly allow such things to ride rough-shod over the law of the land. Was the policy of the Welsh County Councils likely to make or keep Wales 'a nation of honest men?' In a recent letter correspondence of Church schools in the diocese, he wrote:—'It must be our endeavour to make the distinctively religious part of the school curriculum as suitable, sound, attrac- tive, nutritious, and fruitful as it can be made. With this object our whole system of diocesan in- spection, including the syllabus of religious in- struction. and the special case of pupil teaohers, is being carefully- considered.' The Bishop, in passing, paid a high tribute to the work of the late Mr. Fairclough, by whose death, he said, the dio- cese had lost an admirable chief inspector. The late Mr. Fairclough felt with. him (the speaker) that the time was ripe for a painstaking revision of their methods. His successor, the Rev. J. M. New, brought to the diocesan inspectorship varied and well-digested experience, and a spirit closely akin to the spirit which made Mr. Fairclough so welcome and so helpful in their schools. It would be the steady and open-minded' aim of Mr. New and his assistants to make inspection more and more a visit of sympathy, encouragement, and friendly consultation. "Before leaving the subject of re- ligious education," continued his Lordship, "let me lay most earnest stress upon three points. First, whatever truth there may, or may not, have been in the past in the statement frequently I made, that too many of the clergy take no real interest in their schools, seldom visit, seldom teach in them, let there be absolutely no ground for such a statement in the future. The door of PRICELESS OPPORTUNITY, of bounden duty, is,still wide open to the clergy. If it is ever to be shut let the calamity be due to no fault, no neglect, no indiscretion of ours. Secondly, let the interest of the clergy and of Churchmen generally in education, be as broad! as is the nature. as are the interests, of the children wHo have to be educated. There is nothing that affects their welfare which has not a claim upon our sympathy and co-operation. 'Secular' educa- tion must for us have a profoundly religious char- acter and value, for it is the training of faculties given by God for the tasks which God has allotted. Thirdly, let us be chivalrously, tenderly con- siderate towards the consciences of those who differ from us. As we are steadfast in maintain- ing the rights of conscience on our own side, so let us be spontaneous in recognising and provid- ing for the conscientious feeling of others. Where the Church school is the only accessible school we should be particularly considerate, put- ting ourselves in the place of the parents and child- ren who are not of our persuasion. I hope, be- fore long, to issue some practical suggestions un- der this head which may be useful to managers. This brings me to 'The Common Fund,' which including the Aid Grant) has already reaohed the very encouraging amount of NEARLY 210,000. This is the result of only a few weeks' work, and systematic canvassing has hardly be I am heartily grateful to the liberal contributors who responded so promptly to the appeal, 'and I must also thank those who. in the different rural dean- i eries, are spreading information, dissipating Mis- conceptions, exorcising the narrow and short- sighted spirit of parochialism, and bringing schools into membership on the terms laid down in the scheme. The progress made thus far has been most satisfactory, and there is every reason, to hope that the fund will become a financial and moral citadel to the associated schools." Referring to a notice of motion on the agenda paper, relat- ing to the adaptation of the book of Common Prayer to present conditions of present life and thought he said this was, of course, a "burning" proposal, full of delicacy and difficulty; but could they, ought they to, shirk it? Was there not a good and growing cause for such an enquiry as was suggested? When they remembered the length of time that had elapsed since the Prayer Book took its present shape, must they not admit the reasonableness of such a proposal as that which would lucidly and in the best spirit of moderation and eonsiderateness be brought before them? If the Church, through, for example, the representa- tive council, which had been set on foot. could reach harmonious conclusions, they need! not despair of Parliament. But a divided Church must, of course, expect to encounter an impos- sible Parliament. LETTER FROM DR. SALMON. He had been honoured with a letter from Dr. Salmon, the illustrious Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, which explained how the Church of Ire- land was guided through the perils of Prayer-book revision in the dark and tempestuous days of dis- establishment and disendowment. The letter read I resisted shoottng the rapids as long as I oould; but, when I found the current altogether too strong for me, I turned my boat round, and tried to help to steer it down as safely as we could, and we have got to the bottom without any serious damage. Moderate reform is often the most con- servative policy, but it is not so easy to keep it moderate. When the movement for revising our formularies became irresistible, each critic picking out the least defensible parts; and motions were made at our Synod for alterations on this point and that, I shocked many of my eonserva- tive friends by taking the line, Not bit by bit re- form; let us boldly face the whole thing, and then we shall know where we are." This policy suc- ceeded. The whole question was threshed out people learned a good deal more about the Prayer- book than they nad known before; and the result was that so little change was made, that it would require some attention for a hearer to find out we were not using the English Prayer-book. And, though so little was done. I don't think anyone now wants a new revision." If Irish Churchmen in hot blood and with exasperated spiritscould reason- ably and conservatively solve their problem of re- vision, should not. English Churchmen, a less per- fervid race, and working under oooler conditions, be able to discuss the question ef adaptation with- out biting and devouring one another very raven- ously? (Applause.) DIVISION OF UIOCESES. The next business on the agenda was a resolu- tion with reference to the division of the diocesee of Rochester and Worcester. The Bishop moved—"That this conference ex- presses warm sympathy with the efforts which are being made for the sub-division of the dioceses of Rochester and Worcester, by constituting dioceses I 01 Southwark and Birmingham. The Confer- ence would base its message of sympathy on the results of the division of this diooese by the erec- tion of the diocese of Liverpool in 1880. Not only did the Church life manifest itself at once with remarkable vigour in the new diocese of Liver- pool, concentrating its vast energies to supply the overwhelming necessities of that vast population, but, furthermore, it then became possible for the first time to attend adequately to the require- ments of the remaining diocese within the county of Chester. Considering the importance of the great city of Birmingham and of the masses of people crowded together in South London, this Conference is of opinion that the oreation of the new dioceses is among the most urgent necessities of the Churoh in this day." (Applause.) Colonel Lasoelles seconded, and the resolution was carried unanimously. Considerable time was afterwards taken up by the consideration of the rules for the constitution wW conduct of future conferences. BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. SHOULD IT BE REVISED? SHORTENED SERVICES ADVOCATED. THE ATHANASIAN CREED CRITICISED. The Rev. W. L. Paige Cox had given notice of the following resolution: -"That in the opinion of this Conference it is desirable that the question of the better adaptation of the Book of Common Prayer to the use of the Church under present con- ditions of life and thought should receive early consideration; and this Conference respectfully requests the Lord Bishop to forward copies of this resolution to their Graces the Archbishops of Canterbury and York." Upon this a letter was received from Canon Gore, who wrote that he had been eagerly looking forward to hear what might be said on the Prayer- book. It was a happy thought to consult the Provost of Trinity, Dublin, and he was sure the Provost was wise in hinting that they should not haggle over this or that minute particular, but that they should look at things largely. Many days would come and go before actual revision was possible, and these days were given to them that they might ascertain by friendly discussion what it was that they collectively needed or de- sired. Nothing would be done until there was a "mind of the Church," and a mind of the Church must be arrived at deliberately. But some things they did know. They knew that the arrangement of their services might be improved. They knew they would be better for a larger measure of liberty in some directions, and they knew, too, that in proportion as the Prayer-book was being more intelligently used, there was a growing rest- lessness where the expression of the mind of the Church admirably suited to the 16th and 17th cen- turies, was not equally adapted to the 20th. How could it be? And worst of all, they knew that the penalty for sloth and inertness might be the alienation of their worshippers. Happily in the new Church body they would hear the voice of the Ic whole body-lay and clerical—a voice so repre- sentative that it would never be possible to regard the decision arrived at as anything else than what the Church recommended for the Church. (Ap- plause.) Mr. Paige Cox, in bringing forward his resolu- tion, altered it so as to read that the question of the adaptation of the Book of Common Prayer should receive early consideration by the proposed National Church Council, when formed. He said he would content himself by saying at the outset that they all loved the Prayer-book as they loved no book but the Bible, and although it was in parts old-fashioned they loved it all the more for the hallowed memories that clung to it. More- over, they were proud to know that the Prayer- book was one of the glories of English literature, and he was sure they all very earnestly desired that, whatever was done to it in the future, its literary excellencies should remain unimpaired. Nevertheless, the Prayer-book had practically re- mained untouched for a period of at least 240 years, during which period momentous changes of various kinds had .taken place. It was a scien- tifio law that adaptation to changing circumstances was a condition of healthy life. No doubt we were able by a devout exercise of the imagination, which, of course, was an important ingredient in true worship, to make the Prayer-book, as it is, very much what they wanted it to be—in other words, to give the fulness of modern reference to forms of prayer and praise that were compiled words, to give the fulness of modern reference to forms of prayer and praise that were compiled long ago. Nevertheless, the Church, as the Church of this nation, had serious problems as well as great possibilities and opportunities before it, and it was surely important that she should face the future with all her equipments as perfect as she could make them, and it was eminently de- sirable that our Prayer-book should be brought up to date in every good and proper sense. He had no doubt that many of us had been thinking upon this subject for a long time, but it seemed to be very far off from the range of practical politics. It was, however, coming nearer to that range, because, as they knew, the National Church Council was actually in process of formation, and there was no subject that it could more profitably take up at the very outset. (Hear, hear.) Of course, it was premature to conjecture yet what powers this Council might have to give effect to I its deliberations. Nevertheless, it was quite cer- tain that no revision of the Prayer-book could take place until some such representative body had pronounced upon it, but meanwhile it was desirable the subject should be well ventilated in the Church at large. Evidently there would have to be a very great deal of interchange of opinion before the Church had made up its mind what needed to be altered in the Prayer-book and how it should be altered. There were several things to be kept in view in approaching this task. For example, the constitution of the country had been modified during the last 240 years. There had been a large increase in the power of the people, a large development of the duties of citizenship, and surely our State prayers should be modified accordingly. Our State prayers at present were almost exclusively associated with the person of the King. "You pray too often for the Sover- eign," said the late Prince Consort. "Mark me," he added, "I don't say that you can pray too much for the Sovereign, but you pray too often." If we took the morning prayer and the Holy Com- munion together, which was a very common thing, we mentioned the King no fewer than four times. Surely it would be sufficient to have one prayer for the State referring to the King, and all in authority under him, at any one gathering of a congregation. (Applause.) Then it had to be re- membered that our nation had of late years be- come an empire. (Hear, hear.) We had been brought into rapid communication with the most, distant parts of the world, and there had been a large development of missionary enterprise. (Ap- plause.) The thoughts of men had thus been widened, and surely our public prayers should keep pace with them. (Hear, hear.) Then again, we were busier and more rapid than our fathers were—we could not listen to the long sermons that delighted them. (Laughter and applause.) We did our thinking more quickly than people used to do, even if more superficially; we were certainly more critical; we were more impatient of what was obscure and conventional and tedious, and therefore it seemed desirable that our forms of devotion should be somewhat condensed, and should be relieved of repetition. It might be that it was quite possible to go too far in this direc- tion, and yet we had it on the highest authority that there was no especial virtue in .long prayers as such. or in vain repetition. Surely the practical question was how to adapt our services, as regarded their length and their arrangement, to the power of the sustained attention of an ordinary devout worshipper, and that was a question of very grave, practical importance, because when the attention had been excessively strained it ceased to follow the words, and then began formalism, a thing which, according to our Lord's warning, was, above all things, to be deprecated in divine wor- ship. (Applause.) He made bold to say that we had TOO MANY PSALMS on Sundays—(hear, hear, applause, and "No, no") —and some of these Psalms were not suited to modern worship. (Hear, hear.) The Church of England stood alone in Christendom in requiring that the Psalms should be read through once a month indiscriminately, in the order in which they oamo in the Bible. The old Jewish custom in the Second Temple was to use selections of Psalms, and that was the only custom which could be called primitive, strictly speaking. Now we found that our American fellow-Churchpeople had reverted to the primitive practice; they had added to the selection of Psalms for fasts and festivals, and had also supplied additional selections for or- dinary Sundays, and that was an example which, he submitted, we might do well to follow. (Ap- plause ) Passing to the question of the Athan- asian Creed, he was sure he would carry all thoughtful and well-instructed Churchpeople with him when he said that that Creed was of great value for the defence of the faith—(applause)—with all its definitions, memorialists. errors, which had arisen in the past, which might rise again, and which tended to pervert or to impoverish the divine nature, but there was also a great and growing feeling that the so-oalled damnatory clauses of the Creed, if they expressed a truth, as he believed unquestionably they did, expressed it in an unfortunate manner, because without due qualification, and they seemed to breathe a spirit which was that of a law rather than of the Gospel. He need not remind the Conference that the Creed at first was used only as a help to teaching, but it did not seem to have been intended as a form of confession to be put in the mouth of an entire congregation. He thought he was right in saying again that the Church of England stood alone in requiring that this Creed should be read on cer- tain occasions at her public services. It seemed to be the opinion of some that it was desirable that this rule should be maintained in the interests of orthodoxy; it was the strong opinion of others that the rule itself was. if anythting, rather in- jurious to orthodoxy, and tended to create a breach against the faith whioh was guarded by those clauses. He did not think it would be maintained that they in the Church of England, in consequence of their uss of that Creed, had a monopoly of orthodoxy, as compared with the Greek Church. or the Church of Rome. or the Church of Ireland, or the Church of America. There was surely no particular lack of fidelity to the Catholic faith, or sound Ohurchmanship, in our American fellow-Churchmen, and yet they had entirely abolished the Creed from their Prayer-book. A better plan for us to adopt, in th& judgment of a good many, would be to remove the Creed from its present place, and put it at the end of the Prayer-book with the 39 articles, and thus refer it, in accordance with original use, for reference in teaching for purposes of instruction, but not for recitation. Turning to THE COMMUNION, he would mention one point connected with the rule which required that the words of administra- tion should be said to every Communicant. The Americans, again, had deleted the phrase to "everyone" from that rule. allowing a certain dis- cretion to the priest, and he proposed that we should use that. We had in our churches hun- dreds of thousands of Communicants at our great festivals. There ought to be hundreds, at any rate, of Communicants in some of our churches almost every Sunday—(applause)—but he believed that this rubric, as it stood, was a hindrance to them. There were certain persons, as all his clerioal brethren knew, who, in spite of how we might exhort them to the contrary, only came to the Communion at the great festivals, and thus the service was so long and so tedious, through the operation of this rule, that they got into the way of regarding it as a rather trying, if solemn, duty to go to Communion at all. The result was that they communicated very seldom. Whatever reasonable objection there might be to making this rule more elastic, he could not imagine how it could weigh against the obvious gain of making those chief services of the church less tedious, and therefore more edifying, and so encouraging the primitive practice of frequent Communion. (Applause.) He asked the members of the Con- ference to remark that none of the changes he had recommended had been in the nature of doctrinal changes; such changes, it seemed to him, hardly fell within the scope of their resolutions. Men's circumstances and modes of thought might change, but our Church principles—the Scriptural, primi- tive, truly Catholic principles of our purified branch of the Catholic Churoh—did not change, and he was quite sure that upon the whole there would be a desire not to tamper with the doctrinal utterances in the Prayer-book. (Hear, hear.) They had been drawn from various sources, they most wonderfully co-ordinated different sides or parts of the truth, and they were the safeguard of the Churoh's comprehensiveness. (Hear, hear.) When he introduced this subject recently he was asked why he made no allusion to the burning question of the ordinance rule. His answer was then as now, that it hardly seemed germane to the resolution, and, moreover, a discussion on that subject might easily swamp a discussion on other subjects. (Laughter.) He was sure they would all wish to see that matter settled. There was no doubt that the ordinance rubric ought to be re- written in such terms that he who ran might read it. But nevertheless a discussion on that subject might very well be prepared for by a discussion of the adaptation of the Prayer-book to changes that had taken place during the last 240 years, and the discussion that would be instituted that afternoon was likely to prepare them for dealing with the other question in the right spirit and temper. A very great and difficult work lay before them in making their Prayer-book in every particular what they should like it, but there were most useful lessons they would learn in carrying out the work —lessons of open-mindedness. of enlightened toler- anoo. of patient wisdom, and of good sense. The discipline of the work would, he believed, be in- valuable for the whole Church, and if they only entered upon it, as no doubt they would, with earnest prayer throughout for the guidance and help of the Holy Spirit, it was certain that the work would in various ways tend to the glory of God. (Loud applause.) A VARIETY OF OPINIONS. Mr. T. W. Sidebotham seconded the resolution. There was, he said, nothing in the Prayer Book which proved' such a stumbling block to some Church people as the Athanasian Creed. In many churches it was recited on every occasion when the Rubric commanded that it should be re- cited. In other churches it was not recited from one year's end to the other. Many Churchmen would not go to church on what was called Athanasian Creed Sunday, while it was very much against Nonconformists, for it practically con- signed to perdition all those who did not see eye to eye with them. There was no doubt the sen- tences to which exception was taken might be de- leted. Was it wise to retain this creed as a part of the ordinary Church service? He did not think it was wise The Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed contained all they wanted for Church ser- vices. (Applause.) The Communion service, too, might be shortened. It was the long sermons and services that kept people away from both church and chapel. It was not a case of prejudice against religion at all. (Applause.) An instructive discussion followed. The Rev. L. Smith (Macclesfield) contended that the present modern service—the Litany and Holy Communion—was as it stood obviously too long. Mr. T. C. Horsfall thought they should give far more thought to the impression produced by words in the Prayer Book upon the mind's of per- sons of imperfect education, but which to persona of higher education were harmless, and very often helpful. The Rev. F. S. Guy Warman pointed to the fact that many who went through the marriage service were unable to repeat the words contained in that service, as they did not properly under- stand them. The Rev. J. H. Thorpe (Stalybridge) urged that the clergy should take less trouble to preach eloquent sermons, and more trouble to explain the Prayer Book to their people. The habits of the people of England had greatly changed since the last revision of the Hook of Uommon Prayer. In those earlier days people attended principally the morning service on Sundays. This was now reversed in the mornings their congregations were thin almost to vanishing point, -while the congrega- tioDS at the evening service were at any rate more encouraging. A large number of people as a con- sequence never heard the Ten Commandments read in church. He thought that facilities should be provided for the reading of the Commandments on Sunday evenings. (Hear, hear.) The Rev. F. Milnes Griffiths (from India) con- tended for a shorter service. He complained that there was nothing in the public prayers of the English Prayer Book about the missions in India. For instance he never heard Bishop Cotton's prayer in England. The Bishop said he had recommended the use of that prayer. Bishop Cotton, it would be remem- bered, was a Cheshire man. The Rev. P. A. Miller (Tilstone Foarnall) pointed out that the Athanasian Creed was not a Creed but a Psalm, which required a most liberal theological education to follow. He suggested that it should be used on Trinity Sunday alone. The Rev. Stapleton Cotton said on one occasion when he was in America he received great comfort and help from the service for the visitation of the sick, as it was in the American Prayer Book. He thought it would be a great pity if in curtailing the service they omitted the Lord's prayer. (Hear, hear.) Had they not in the prayer for all sorts and conditions of men a prayer for missionaries ? The Rev. T. H. May (Heswall) pointed out that they did not yet know what the composition of the National Church Council would be, and he would not vote for the submission of a question of this vital importance to a body which had not yet earned the confidence of the English Churoh. He suggested that they might submit the reform of certain sentences in the Athanasia.n Creed to those who had the authority. He should d'epreoate its being merely said on one Sunday in the year, or its being simply put at the end of the Prayer- book. Mr. Leadley Brown said so far as he could a&- certain the main reason why this ohange was wanted was to shorten the service, but if the ser- vice was shortened in the various directions which had been proposed, he wanted- to know how much of the service would be left. (Laughter.) He should be very. sorry to see the use of the Athana- sian Creed in our churches stopped. He thought it was a most important creed, and one which helped both clergy and laity. They were enter- ing upon rather a dangerous course, and would it not be better to leave the Prayer-book as they had it, and not be in too muoh huriy to throw it into a hotch-potch, and hook out what little bits they oould manage to save? (Hear, hear.) The Rev. J. G. Elstob (secretary to the con- ference) suggested an appendix with forms for children's services, flower services, etc. The Rev. O. E. Rice said that all the clergy when ordained undertook solidly to use the Book of Common Prayer, neither more nor less. The terms of his amendment, if accepted, would be these-that they should defer the consideration of this question for twelve months, and make a solemn resolution there to go back to their parishes and use the poor, dear, abused, old Prayer-book for another twelve months. (Laughter and applause.) The Rev. A. G. Childs seconded. A STUMBLING BLOCK. The Bishop, in summing it up, said ho did not think they need be at all afraid, even if the reso- lution were passed, of the Prayer-book being too radically or two readily revised. It was quite plain that even if the Church of England were to delegate the revision of the Prayer-book to the Chester Diocesan Conference they would end by a very conservative treatment of it. With regard to some of the points that had been raised, the first two in which he had a very keen and earnest interest were points which he had already dealt with to the best of his ability. In 1896 he had dealt in a visitation charge with the question of the Athanasian Creed, and he said with the most profound conviction of earnestMM that every year as it went by convinced him that the Athanasian Creed in its present form was an absolute stumbling block in the way of faith. (Applause.) The Lord Bishop quoted the opinions of various eminent authorities on the question of the Athanasian Creed, including Bishop Jacobson, who at York in 1872 said:—"If I may carry my criticism a little further I am not unwilling to part with what are called the admonitory, the caution- ary, or less correctly damnatory clauses." He was certain that it would be a grievous mistake on the part of the Church if they did not fairly and frankly face this question. (Applause.) With regard to the sentences of administration, what he (the Bishop) had said in the Upper House of the Convocation of York was practically very much what Mr. Mills Griffiths said was done in Bombay Cathedral, with the approvals the Bishop:—" I,should myself strongly hold to the retaining of both parts of the words of administration as we now have them, but I do not see at.aD,,why,. on occasions when the communicants are very numerous indeed and the clergy very few, the whole address should not be read, and then those simple and very primitive words should be used to eacn communicant." He did not think it would be a mistake if suitably brief words were used in the administering to each communicant. He was sure that on great festivals the clergy were very sorely tempted to take the law into their own hands, and was that a really satisfactory state of things? (" No.") The whole question was one not to be so easily solved, and he intended to do all that in him lay to press the two points he had mentioned. (Applause.) He believed that if the time ever did come to bring our Prayer-book under the process of either adaptation or revision, that the result would be exactly what Dr. Salmon stated: we would find that the result was highly conservative, and very far indeed from reflecting all those difficult criticisms which we were likely to make, but which, when we came to look them in the face, were less inclined to carry through. (Applause.) The amendment was defeated by an overwhelm- ing majority, and the resolution passed. The Conference then adjourned.
EVENING MEETING.
EVENING MEETING. GOD'S PROVIDENCE. An enthusiastic meeting for men was held in the evening. When the Bishop took the chair. accompanied on the platform, by the Bishop of Liverpool, the Bishop of Maokenzie River, the Mayor of Birkenhead, Archdeacon Woosnam, Dr. Cogswell, etc., the audience rose to a man and gave them a rousing reception. The meeting was perfectly unanimous, and there was no disturb- ance of any kind. The Bishop of Liverpool first addressed the meeting, and said he was bound as the Bishop of the daughter diocese to obey the summons of the mother diocese, when she bade him in any way come to serve her. Liverpool some twenty-three years ago was cut out of Chester, and Liverpool still looked to Chester for inspiration and guid- ance. He wanted to talk to them about a subject; which lay very near his own heart, and which he had found peculiarly helpful to himself in the years that had gone. On one of their old Chester houses was the inscription "God's providence is my inheritance. His Lordship proceeded to shew out of three great books-the book of Scripture, the book of Nature, and the book of History- the truth of the inscription on the old Chester house that God's providence is our inheritance. He urged them to imitate God as well as trust Him, and try to be good to others. A man who kept his religion to himself did not deserve the name of Christian. A true Christian was one who tried to make his home, his workshop, Kis office, and his place of business more happy, more holy, and more heavenly. (Applause.) The Chairman then introduced the Bishop of Mackenzie River, who, he explained, had been labouring in the north-west of Canada for 35 years, during which time he had been home only three times. The Bishop of Mackenzie River then gave an interesting address on his experiences in north- west Canada, and shewed how wonderfully God had blessed the work there in spite of the difficulty of climate, of travel, of language, and of food. Inci- dentally he mentioned that he had had the honour of ordaining the first native clergyman within the arctic o:rcle. The Chairman, in proposing a vote of thanks to the speakers said the Bishop of Liverpool had spoken of God's Providence, and he thought, in connection with that. of a Welph miner's charge to his mates, "Whatever you do. take care not to cloud the character of God." There was one thing which he felt most strongly against the Athana- s)))Ti Creed, and that was that in certain clauses it did the greatest possible harm to all religion; it did not keep the oharacter of God clear. The Mayor seconded, and the vote was adopted with great enthusiasm. WOMEN'S MEETING. On Thursday evening also, a women's meeting was held in the Queen's Hall, Claughton-road, Birkenhead, there being a large attendance. The Archdeacon of Chester presided, and was sup- ported on the platform by Mrs. Keith Douglas (Chester), the Rev. George J. Howson, several members of the Ladies' Committee of the Con- ference, and others. Capital addresses, dealing with social problems, sensational literature of the day in newspapers, books, and magazines, non- attendance of men at church, home life, the in- creasing employment of women, increasing drunkenness and gambling among women, ideals in common everyday life, and other matters formed the groundwork for remarks by Mrs. Keith Douglas, the Rev. George J. Howson, and Mr. Stonex. At the conclusion the speakers were heartily thanked on the proposition of the chair- man. STUPID DEMONSTRATION. KENSIT FOLLOWERS' FROTH. As soon as it became known that the Diocesan Conference was to be held at Birkenhead,the local followers of Kensit decided to have what they were pleased to call a 'Bishop's night." Some weeks ago, it will be remembered, the Bishop of Chester addressed a meeting at Birkenhead, when, it is alleged, he gave some offence to extreme Protestants. A demonstration was organised on Thursday t, night during the progress of the meeting at the Town Hall "to pretest against the assistance being given to Ritualists and insults to Protestants by the Bishop of Chester." At eight o'clock some few thousand's persons assembled in the Haymarket, when addresses were delivered from several platforms, the subject dealt with at each being "Shall the Bishops cause all the Reforma- tion to be undone?" Eventually, some half- dozen instrumental bands appeared ou the scene, and a torchlight procession was formed. The Chief Constable (Mr. W. S. Davies) was fully oog- nisant of all the movements of the demonstrators, and formed his plags accordingly. In addition to the police force of Birkenhead, he had a detach- ment of a hundred officers and men from Liver- pool, and every precaution for the Bishop's safety was taken. A large body of police were on duty in the vicinity of the Town Hall. During the meeting the demonstrators surrounded' the build- ing and displayed their protest by hooting and shouting. At one time things appeared to be taking a serious turn, but the police were ready for any emergency. Presently the procession moved off again. About 10.20 the Bishop, acoom- panied by half-a-dozen gentlemen and the Chief Constable, left the Town Hall and walked to Woodside Station, where he entrained for Cheater.
FRIDAY'S PROCEEDINGS.
FRIDAY'S PROCEEDINGS. THE RURAL EXODUS. SUGGESTED REMEDIES. The conference resumed its deliberations on Friday, the Lord Bishop again presiding. The Rev. G. W. Armitstead. R.D. of Congleton, moved the following resolution:—" That, in the opinion of this conference, the migration of lads and young men from the country to the towns calls for practical consideration at the hands of landowners and parochial clergy, in its bearings (1) upon agriculture, and (2) upon the national physique and character." He thought that all who knew and loved the country were aware of the habit of boys leaving the country at a certain age and obtaining employment in the towns. In his neighbourhood the boys went to Manchester at the age of 13 or 14, and became 'bus conductors, cabdrivers, etc. The more intellectual of the boys sought higher occupations and obtained clerk- ships. Personally, he did not think boys in the country should remain quite so long at school as they did. When they left school at the age of 14 boys were too old and too self-esteemed to un- dertake farm work. Two temptations for the rush of lads to the towns were that work in the towns was much less laborious than farm work, and town life had many attractions in the way of amusements. The effect of the rural exodus was to deteriorate the physique, and farmers could not get the stalwart men wno used to be bred in the country. At the same time. he did not entirely absolve the farmers from blame for the rural de- population, because when they got good men in their service they did not keep them all the year round. Farmers relied a great deal on Irish labour. As a remedy for the difficulty he sug- gested that landowners should build good cot- tapes--(hear, hear)—and give a nice bit of garden, not more than a quarter of an acre, with each— just enough to occupy the labourer's spare hours during the spring and summer months. Colonel George Dixon (chairman of the Cheshire County Council), in a letter expressing his inability to be present, stated that he thoroughly sympa- thised with this resolution, and added, "I think good cottages and more of them than we have in country districts at present, with a nice garden, not too big, are one of the things needed, and would help to keep the labouring class in the country." Mr. Armitstead proceeded to read a letter which he had received from Mr. C. E. Linaker, Frod- sham. Mr. Linaker stated that the rural exodus was not only a matter which called for the con- sideration of the landowners and clergy, but of the nation at large. (Hear, hear.) The migration of our male population to the towns was becoming a very serious matter. The old love of country life, and the pursuit of the oldest and largest industry-that of agriculture—seemed to be dying out among our young population. He could not help thinking that the nature of the education now given, with the restriction against the useful em- ployment of children under certain ages, was in some measure responsible for this state of things. Why should children, irrespective of their mental capabilities, be compelled to attend school until the age of fourteen? They were crammed with an amount of so-called learning which was never likely to be of the least use to them in after life. Anyone going into an elementary school at the present day, and watching closely the system of teaching a class of children, all speaking like parrots the same words with the view of impress- ing them on their memories, without any attempt to make them really understand the meaning of what was being said. must be struck with the fact that a great deal of this "showy" education was only for the surface. How many children two years after leaving school could pass even the fourth standard? He ventured to say that a small proportion of the rudiments or first principles of education were not sufficiently relied upon to furnish the child with the true key to his future prospect in life. How much of the 6th or 7th standard could be made useful to the boy or girl whose only means of earning an honest living was by the sweat of his or her brow? How far was the hand and eye training to be of use to a child in choosing his walk of life? Practically none; and our present system was showy, and, though it might please Government inspectors, it was of little use to the majority of the youngsters. How many boys who had passed the 7th standard and were seeking a place in an office would be able to spell or write correctly? These points were almost looked upon as a minor consideration. It was not, however, so much correct spelling and good penmanship that he had in his mind. The present system did nothing to direct the mind of the pupil to the great fact that it was necessary for eacn child to fulfil an honourable, if humble, position in life. That, he thought, was sadly at fault. On educational matters we had been legis- lated for on a system which kept children at school at an age when they should be taught to cultivate and follow some useful occupation. Was it that a boy of twelve was too young and too weak to do any manual labour? In the great majority of cases certainly not. He might smoke cheap cigarettes until he was as white as a ghost —(laughter)—and might break every bone in his body in playing football, but he must not be em- ployed in anything useful! We were constantly hearing that the educational system of other nations was superior to ours. Then why not follow on the lines which we thought to be so much better? In America boys and girls were all taught to do some work as part of their educa- tion, and the sooner our Government realised that our system was not calculated to promote the well- being of our future citizens, the better it would be for all concerned. In his opinion, religious in- struction, together with moral training, was abso- lutely necessary to raise a nation of men and women who would recognise their true responsi- bilities in life, their duty to their God, their country and themselves. (Hear, hear.) Mr. Hatt Cook (Hartford), in seconding the reso- lution, said it was their business to see that the country was made as attractive as the town. He believed that was quite possible, if not quite easy. He often wondered why it was that many land- owners—there were others who did—did not see that it was a good investment, speaking from a purely commercial point of view, to have a well- equipped school and church on their estates. These two things, to his mind, where they were kept up, would always be a great attraction in the country. He had found over and over again that people who left the villages would do anything to get back to them, and that the provision of well. equipped schools and church were two great factors in bringing them back again. It appeared to him that many landowners entered upon their estate imagining that it was going to take care of itself. A man succeeding to a prosperous business knew or soon found out that that business must have his individual care and attention if it was to be maintained in the condition in which it had passed on to him. Why should there be any difference between prosperous businesses and pros- perous estates? If landowners were not prepared to give their undivided attention and helo to the management of their estates, some of the evils which Mr. Armitstead had deplored were sure to occur. If they would shew him an estate where the landlord resided constantlv. where he did not cripple his agent in unreasonable demands to keep up the estate, where he took an interest in the welfare of his cottage tenants, and did not allow ill-ventilated and insanitary cottages, and where he was personaly acquainted with his tenants, he (the speaker) undertook to say that that estate had attractions which were at least equal to the attractions of the town. Boys and girls could be taken from the towns to the country and taught to observe the beauty and value of plants, flowers and trees, and this faculty of observation needed to be developed to attract and to keep the children in the country. He suggested that they should impress upon the landowners that it was within their power by living on their estates, and by taking an active personal interest in the welfare of their tenants, to do away with a great deal they had now to deplore. He did not think, how. ever. that the whole blame should be laid on the landowner. In many country places there were small freeholders who owned a row of cottages and who had to live on the rents. It was a matter of absolute necessity from the freeholder's point of view that he should get his rents in full, and the tenants were unable to get anything done in the way of repairs. They found there was a cottage with only one door and a whole family living there. They could get nothing done, and the con- ditions were such as to drive away the children ditions were such as to drive away the children from the village as soon as they could look after themselves. Their duty was to see if they could not abolish these abominations. The speaker advocated that the landowners should seek repre- sentation on the various district councils, and see that such matters as the insanitary conditions of houses had proper attention, and that the recom- mendations of medical officers were carried out The Bishop: What about the comparative attractions in point of wages? Mr. Hatt Cook said he was coming to that. If the landowner would put his money, his ability and his time into the development of his own estate, and deal with it as he would with a busi- ness, the land now out of cultivation would come into cultivation, and there would be a greater demand for labourers and wages would increase. Much of the work in the country was done by women. There was in the diocese in many vil- lages the greatest difficulty in getting the work done-work that would be well paid for. In many casos estates were changing hands and pass- ing to those who did not seem to appreciate country life. In other cases there was a large staff of gamekeepers to maintain, and the interests of the farmer were a secondary consideration. There were farms which formerly let at Li an acre which were now let at only 7s. Mr. Hargreaves said they ought to consider whether they could not give a man (if he was to be kept in the country) some better inducement and some better opportunity than the workhouse in his old age. He asserted that the land question was intimately bound up with this problem. Mr. G. A. Solly said their duty as the Church of the land was not to despair because their educa- tion at the moment did not fit the case. Their duty was to try to bring out and develop every faculty God had given to the children around them. The Rev. H. Moore pointed out that the great attraction to the towns was the higher wages. A man would not submit to do dirty jobs for 16s. a week when he could get 22s. 6d. a week for putting mud into a cart. (Laughter and hear, hear.) He did not agree with Mr. Hatt Cook that it was an easy matter to make wages as attractive in the country as in the town. Dealing with the ques- tion of physical degeneration, the sepaker said they could not do better than pass a resolution against juvenile smoking. (Hear, hear.) The Rev. Charles Wray (Aston-by-Sutton) was of opinion that it was quite possible to make the country extremely attractive if only they were allowed by the landowners, agents and farmers to do so. (Hear, hear.) Whenever anyone under- took any measure to improve the social condition of country people, he waa always met with every kind of opposition. In his village, for example, they could not get a small piece of ground for the recreation of the villagers. It would be a great advantage if powers were obtained by local autho- rities to compulsorily acquire land for recreation purposes in villages. He happened to be in a country place which was entirely under the con- trol of one, landlord, and consequently they were entirely at his mercy. The Rev. J. Grant Bird (Stalybridge) did not think we might look for exactly the same sort of country life as Goldsmith saw in his days, but he thought there were very hopeful signs that our population might in future live under healthy conditions. The increased facilities for communi- cation given by the electric tramways must lead town workers to transfer their residence to coun- try places under more healthy conditions, and the towns would thus necessarily become far less con- gested. Manufacturers had shewn a ndency to obtain a new class of labour by placing their fac- tories in the country, and that he regarded as a very hopeful sign. He was of opinion that if the agricultural interest was to prosper, they must adopt the same means as in Denmark by intro- ducing more of the factory system and improving methods. Steps had been taken in this direction in the diocese of Chester, and the County Council had done its best by the provision of such institu- tions as the Agricultural School at Holmes Chapel and the Dairy Institute at. Worleston, at the former of which a practical education was given to farmers' sons, as one of the best means of keeping the young men upon the land. With the earnest- ness of town industry the country had been made eomewhat of a plaything, and looked upon as a place where people resorted after making their fortune in towns. If people applied to the agri- cultural industry the same principles which they applied to the industries of towns, it would be at- tended with greater prosperity and farm labourers would receive increased wages. The Rev. J. G. Elstob (Capesthorne) urged that the agricultural problem would be solved if they provided a reading and recreation room in every village, gave the right education in the schools, limited the working hours of the labourer, and gave him a Sunday to himself. The Rev. R. A. Corbett (Astbury) thought the exodus of labourers from the country was purely a matter of business. The question was, did agn- oulture pay at the present time? He thought it did not. and it was a question as to what a farmer could afford to pay his labourers. He did not think the attractions and amusements of towns were responsible in any degree for the rush of labourers from the country. He hoped that agri- culture would be treated seriously as a great com- mercial interest, and that- when the nation awoke to its importance, some Fiscal arrangement would be made to inaugurate a more prosperous era. The Bishop, in, closing the discussion, pointed out that Cheshire contained perhaps more varied industries and interests than almost any other county in England. He reminded the Conference that they would not find any royal road to the solution of the agricultural difficulty, because it was largely an economic question. They had not the slightest intention of standing in the way of the agricultural labourer with regard to his pros- pects in life, but they were not sure that he always did the best in the long run by migrating to the towns. By all means the labourer should be allowed a perfectly free hand to choose for himself, and he (the Bishop) took it that the only object in view by this discussion was to do all in their power to make the country as attractive as possible to him from every point of view. As Mr. Bird had pointed out, there was an encouraging sign in the back-current from the town which was set- ting in in a variety of ways, notably in the rise of garden cities and garden surroundings for manu- facturing life. Alluding to juvenile smoking, his lordship said they must by all means discourage the vice of premature cigarette smoking, which seemed to be recognised by all competent autho- rities as a distinctly bad habit for young people. (Hear, hear.) The resolution was then put and carried; and a committee of representative landowners in the county was appointed to consider what should be done to prevent the rush to the towns by young men. TEMPERANCE ORGANISATION. A resolution appeared on the agenda in the name of the Rev. G. M. V. Hickey, urging that no parish was complete without some form of tem- perance organisation in connection with the C.E.T.S. Owing to the shortness of time, how- ever, it was agreed to postpone the discussion in this resolution till a later date. DEAF AND DUMB MISSION. The Rev. J. H. Thorpe (Stookport) submitted a report on the Church's work in the diocese in connection with the deaf and dumb. He reported that a local committee had been formed in Stock- port, funds had been collected, and they had in the bank a sum of JB46 towards the stipend of a missioner, who would be appointed as soon as the committee were able to guarantee his salary. FOREIGN MISSIONS. DIOCESAN COMMITTEE'S REPORT. The following report of the Diocesan Commit- tee on Foreign Missions was submitted: —Since the issue of their last report to the Diocesan Confer- ence in 1901, your committee have held their cus- tomary meetings, and have had under further consideration various points in connection with foreign missions, which have already been brought to the notice of the Conference. With reference to the observance of a day of intercession for foreign missions, a sub-committee was appointed, which endeavoured to "arrange for combined ser- vices of intercession at suitable centres in the diocese on or about St. Andrew's Day." Such services have for some years been held at Chester in the Cathedral, at which the attendance has varied considerably, but it was felt that in other large towns the opportunity might with advan- tage be offered to all interested in foreign mis- eions to meet together in God's house and unite in a common act of prayer and thanksgiving. It is well known that such services have been attended with remarkable results, when held in St. Paul's Cathedral, and have succeeded in drawing to- gether for this purpose men of different views. The sub-committee will continue to labour in this direction, in the hope that the object which they have in view may in due time be attained. In a large number of parishes such combination will not be possible, but your committee venture to hope that in all some opportunity will be given to the parishioners to unite in prayer to Almighty God for His blessing on the work of the Church abroad. At such a time our alms may well be given to the Diocesan Mission Scholar Association, which helps to support students at some of our missionary colleges. An attempt has also been made to urge the duty of supporting foreign mis- sions upon those parishes, where, according to "the Official Year Book of the Church," no united opportunity of contributing to them seems to be offered to the parishioners as a body. A letter of enquiry was issued, and answers were received from 23 out of the 30 parishes to which it was sent, and these were in all cases of a favourable nature. In 14 of them contributions had actually been raised either for one of the great missionary societies or for some special one; and in nine steps were being taken, either by boxes or collec- tions, to raise funds for the purpose. "Parochial Associations," when properly organised, have been productive of excellent results, and there, are some notablo instances in the diocese in proof of this assertion. Your committee therefore endeavoured to promote their formation by publishing in the "Diocesan Gazette" of March, 1902. some sugges- tions which might be helpful. A conference, organised by the committee of the United Pro- vim ial Boards of Missions, took place at the Church House, Westminster, on November 24th. 1903, and was attended by representatives from your committee, and from 31 other dioceses. The Bishop of St. Albans presided in the morning, and Bishop Johnson. a former Archdeacon of Chester, in the afternoon. A scheme for estab- lishing definite relations between the United Pro- vincial Boards of Missions and Diocesan Boards (or committees) was considered, and after full dis- cussion unanimously adopted, and now awaits con- firmation by the United Boards at their January meetftig. When the arrangements under this scheme are completed the Church of England will possess in her Provincial and Diocesan Boards of Missions a means of quickening the missionary vocation, and of bringing the Church's influence to bear upon the duty that lies upon all to in- tercede for and support the missionary work of the Church. The coming centenary of the British and Foreign Bible Society naturally suggests the re- flection that missionary enterprise is under deep obligation to that society for the assistance which has bepn rendered in so many lands by its trans- lations of the Holy Scriptures; and your commit- tee can but express the hope that the observance of tho centenary may be blessed in a more care- ful and widespread! study, and in a deeper appre- ciation of God's word both at home and abroad. Since this report was drafted your committee have lost by death two valued members, the Rev. R. J. Fairclough and the Ven. A. Goldwyer-Lewis. The former was for many years secretary for Chester of our oldest missionary society, the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge; the latter brought to the assistance of your committee the experience he had gained in India as Arch- deacon of Bombay, and a warm interest in the cause of foreign missions —Edward Barber (chair- man!. The report was adopted.—The Bishop referred Ito the great loss the diocese had sustained by the death of Archdeacon Goldvwer-Lewis, and a vote of condolence was paMed with the bereaved family.
KENSIT LEADER'S COMPLAINT.
KENSIT LEADER'S COMPLAINT. VICAR OF TRANMERE SUMMONED. In connection with the public meeting in the Town Hall on Thursday evening a, summons has been served upon the Rev. Howard S. Chesshire, vicar of St. Catherine's, Tranmere, for assault. In view of possible disturbances by the Kensitites, the Conference Committee issued tickets, which were distributed through the local clergy. The tickets had to be signed by the clergyman who issued them, and were not transferable. Mr. T. Major Thompson, who is the leader in Birken- head of the Kensit Crusade succeeded in getting a ticket for the men's meeting at the Town Hall; but upon his entering the hall the Rev. H. B. Ceesshire, who was one of the stewards and a member of the Conference Committee, stopped him. and pointed out to him that his ticket had not been issued to him-it having been issued by the Rev. G. White, vicar of St. Luke's, Tran- mere, who identified it as one which he gave to one of his Sunday school teachers—and also that it was marked "not transferable," and did not admit him to the meeting. Mtr. Chesshire then asked Mr. Thompson to leave tfhe hall, and Mr. Thompson alleges that Mr. Chesafaira gave him a slight push. PULPIT PROTEST. CONDITION OF ANARCHY AND LAWLESSNESS." Referring to the matter in his sermon on Sun- day evening, the Rev. H. S. Chesshire, vicar of St. Catharine's, Tranmere, after speaking about the success of the conference, said: -It is true there was one matter of regret in connection with the conference—namely, the action and oandueti of some misguided and foolish people who made an effort, fortunately without success, to interfere with one, at least, of the meetings-namely, the men's meeting. The action on the part of the people who call themselves the Kensit Grusade was indeed a most pitiable affair, and end in a complete fiasco. I find, however, that I am to be called to account over a matter connected; with the attempt on the part vf this Kensit Crusade to oause a breach of the peace. For several weeks past the leaders of this organisation have been openly declaring their intention to disturb the meetings, their object being to insult and, ifpos- sible, assault the Bishop of Chester. Mr. Ghes- shire then described the incident at the Town Hall in connection with which a summons has been a 3 issued ag inst- him, and, continuing, said:—It is a matter of common notoriety that Birkenhead has during the- past eight or nine months been the theatre of scenes and incidents which have brought great discredit upon the town. This body—the Kensit Crusade—has invaded churches- during divine service, and disturbed congregations engaged in (what is the oommon. right of every man) the worship of God according to the form and order which he approves. The actions of the Crusaders during-, the earlier part of the move- ment were of, i& most disgraceful oharacter. We beard of their knocking down churchwardens, rushing like a wild mob into churoh, jumping on and over pews, ta&ing and shouting, and even smoking in ohurch, terrifying ladies and children, and generally behaving in a manner worthy only of a lunatic asylum- This state of things was un- fortunately allowed to go on with little or no efforts on the part of the authorities to check it, so that a condition of absolute anarchy and law- lessness prevailed in certain parts of the town. Then, there was the-meeting held at the Associa- tion Hall some few weeks back, when a disgrace- ful attack was made upon the Bishop, and when what should have been a quiet, orderly meeting for religion was converted into a veritable pande- monium, and it was touch and go whether the Bishop would escape being assaulted. These things, I say, have been going on for a long time. Practically no efforts were made (at least at first) by the authorities whose duty it was to preserve order. We were going to hold the Diocesan Con- ference. These same men who had been causing the disorders openly threatened to renew their disturbances, and to carry them on with increased violence.
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NORTH AND SOUTH WALES BANK. LIMITED. —- A PROSPEROUS CONCERN. The 68th annual meeting of the shareholders of the North and South Wales Bank, Ltd., was held in Liverpool on Tuesday. Mr. Thos. Brockle- bank, chairman of the board of directors, presided over a numerous attendance. The report of the directors shewed that the gross profits, including a balance of £ 24,022 Os. 5d. from last account, after deducting interest duo to depositors, rebate on bills not due, and making provision for losses, were 2291,129 Is. 3d. Deducting the total expenditure of the head office, seventy-seven branches, and nineteen sub-branohes, including salaries, directors' fees, rent, taxes, and other expenses, amounting to £ 121,361 14s. 8d., a sum was left of £ 169,767 6s. 7d. Dividends paid to propnetors at 10 per cent, per annum for half- year ended June 30th, 1903, £ 37.500; bonus at 4 per cent, £ 15,000; dividend at 10 per cent. per annum for half-year ended December 31st, £ 37,500; bonus at 8 per cent., £ 30,000; income tax paid by bank, 28,906 17s. 7d.; written off bank premises, £ 2,000; officers' pension fund, £ 2,000; appropriated in respect of depreciation in railway and other investments. 215,000; total, 2147,906 17s. 7d., leaving 921,860 9s. to be car- ried to next account. The Chairman said: It is now my duty to move the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, which have already been circulated among the shareholders, and I am very glad to have the pleasure, after my absence last year, of presiding again. There have been forces at work in the financial world that have engaged the attention of bankers, but may have been passed over by the casual observer, which have tended to make money dearer than it was during the previous year. This is shewn by the Bank of England rate of dis- count having stood at B3 15s. per cent., instead of an average of jB3 6s. 7d. for the year 1902. This had had the effect of enhancing the earning power of the bank, and, coupled with the fact that our business is in a sound and healthy, I may say expanding, condition, has made our gross profits, as you will see from the balance-sheet, very satis- factory indeed, quite the largest that have ever been recorded, thus enabling us to keep up our dividend to the handsome figure of 16 per cent. I feel sure I am only echoing your feelings when I say that all the shareholders will be satisfied with the result. I would specially draw your attention to our continued immunity from bad debts. The fall in the value of first-class securities is the only unsatisfactory feature in the year's working, and we, in common with other banks, have been obliged to provide for this depreciation. Your directors have therefore faced the position, and have done so, as you see, by transferring £25,000 from reserve fund, to write down Consuls to 871, and out of the profits of the year, which can well afford it, have allotted 215,000 to meet the fall in railway and other securities. Our investments consequently now stand in our books well below the market prices of the day. I need hardly re- mind you that the income derived from our invest- ments is in no way affected by this change in capital value, which latter, we hope, is only of a temporary nature, and will adjust itself when the large issues of Government stocks consequent on the war expenditure and the extensive borrowings by municipal and other public bodies have been absorbed by investors. We have opened new branches at Llangefni and Ludlow, and Prestatyn has been created a full branch. The branch at Ludlow, which was opened for business on Mon- day morning, is in the middle of a rich district, and we have every hope that it will add materially to our already established connections in Shrop- shire. Your directors continue to be backed by the staff in a most efficient manner; our general manager and his subordinates are untiring in their zeal and energy for the welfare of the bank, some- times, I fear, at the risk of their health. Our staff now numbers 494, of whom 128 are appren- tices. To shew that the service has lost nothing of its popularity, I may say that 23 apprentices have this year signed their indentures, having passed both the educational and medical examina- tions in a satisfactory manner. Now, I think this is a fitting opportunity of expressing our sympathy with those farmers in the Principality who have suffered from the bad harvest of last year, and I am certain you will join with me in expressing the hope that the coming season may be more propitious and that their losses may be recouped. (Applause.) It will be your directors' policy in the future, as it has been in the past, to strengthen our reserves, even at the expense of the dividend if need be. though we hope this may not be neces- sary, and in this I am sure we shall have the sup- port of every shareholder in this room and else- where. (Applause.) The motion, adopting the report and balance- sheet, was unanimously carried.
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DATE OF THE BOAT RACE. The Presi- dents of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Clubs have definitely fixed on Wednesday, March 30. for the annual boat race. DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE AND OON- CERT.-A dramatic performance and concert kindly promoted by Miss Gertrude Thompson (Netherleigh) in aid of the funds of the Men's Institute, was successfully given in the Hand- bridge Schools. Miss Royle gave two violin solos with much ability, and Mrs. Owen a pianoforte solo, "Chansom Paroles" (Tschikowsky). Mr. A. Dryland contributed with splendid effect "The Postillion" and "The Veteran." Mr. M. Lyle Smyth was very funny in his song, "If no one ever marries me." Mr. Hallmark, an old favour- ite in Handbridge, gave two items, "The Village Wedding" being given in a way that provoked unrestrained laughter. All the foregoing items were enthusiastically encored. Miss D. Broad- bent and Miss Tobin also gave a duologue, en- titled "Geese," which was much appreciated. The second part of the programme consisted of the one-act operetta, "Castle Bang," by G. Grossmith, the following being the cast:—Scene the Parlour at the Red Bull. Baron Bang, Mr. Max Lyle Smyth; Joe Vat. Mr. J. G. Tayior; Bob Shocker, Mr. Gunther; Mrs. Ibbins, Miss N. Lyle Smyth, Myra Myrtle, Miss Gertrude Thompson.
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