The New York herald., 1872-12-15
Disestablishmcnt or the Church OF
England.

England.
The English press is now engaged in dis
cussing the question as to whether the Estab-
lished Church has the right to be considered
the Church of the people, or, at least, the
Church of majority of the people The Non
conformists comprising nearly all those who
are not in communion with the Episcopal
Church, hold, on principle, that there should
be no union between Church and State and
are now showing that for the same reasons
that disestablishment took place in Ireland
similar course should be followed in England
and Wales. The denominations that agitate
this matter are the Congregationalists, Bap-
fists, Independents and Methodists, who num-
ber seven or eight millions of the most earnest
Christians in the Empire. Their leader is
Mr.. Mall, q member of Parliament, who at its
last session proposed resolution looking to-
wards disestablishment and who intends to
bring the subject again before the House of
Commons after the recess. The Roman
Catholics, Presbyterians and Universalists
have not yet declared against national
Church, but the broad, equitable and intelli-
gent principle that the civil law shall make no
distinction between one citizen and another
and that all should be regarded alike, finds
among the masses of the people sympathy
and support.
The immense revenues Of the Church of
England are enjoyed by Bishops and Arch
bishops. and thousands Of well-provided-for
clergymen, who, as matter Of course, set
their faces against such . proposition, which
they regard almost as sacrilegious. The tory
party upholds their views and denounces the
Dissenters, who are preparing for grand
assault on this cherished institution The
Dissenters, on the other hand, argue that dis
establishment, SO far from being an injury to
the Church, would be direct benefit to it It
would have to change it's name and abolish
it's relations to the State, and thereby throw
off the chains that impede its usefulness, and
march on to higher results The Establish
ment does not see the matter in that light at
all Defence associations have been formed,
congresses held, and meetings Of the clergy
convened to resist the designs of Mr.. Mall and
the Nonconformists It was freely asserted
by them that dissent was waning while the
Church was gaining strength; that the latter
had passed its lowest point and was advancing
at such rate that it must soon become in
reality, as well as in name, the Church Of the
nation.
| This bold statement brought the Nonconfor-
mist, the leading organ of the Dissenters to
the front. It set to work to prepare statistics
of the churches and sittings in the principal
cities, and has already published several tables
that tell different story. It appears that no
enumeration Of the religious professions of the
people was taken in the census Of 1860, the
only official figures being those gathered ten
years before that date. When the PROPOSE
ton was made in Parliament to obtain the re-
spective number belonging to each denomina-
ton in 1860, it was opposed and defeated by
the tories, who no doubt feared that it would
show the Establishment to be in the minority.
The Nonconformist, aided by Mr.. Mall, first
| commenced with fourteen Cities each with q
population of one hundred thousand and up
wards, to ascertain the number of places of
worship and their accommodations. Twelve
years before, as stated an opportunity arose
OF setting the matter at rest, but, as far as the
Dissenters are concerned, better late than
never, for the tables now published show an
astonishing progress Of free churches in Eng
land and Wales. In fourteen years following
1851 the Congregationalists alone expended in
| London one million eight hundred thou
sand dollars in chapel building. 1t is also
demonstrated that the Establishment is retro
grading and must be prepared to abandon or
at least part with its pre-eminence.
In six cities of the fourteen referred to the
number Of sittings provided by the Dissenters
exceed that provided for by the Church by
1854; and in the eight others the Estab
lishment falls behind, instead Of gaining
ground, and the general result is that the
Church only provides thirty-three per cent Of
accommodation instead of forty-two, as in
1850. The second table, issued on the 9th
instant, embraces statistics Of twenty cities,
having population Of $4,000 and less than
100, 900 and having an aggregate population Of
1,440,O00 The relative accommodation of
these twenty cities is as folio VS.: Established
Church-places of worship, 292 sittings,
222 87S. Non established churches-places
of worship, 500; sittings 443,665 In favor
of Non-established churches-places of wor-
ship, SIT; sittings, 220,6S7.
These results prove that the Church of
England, with its immense revenues, onlv
provides for one-third of the population, and
that two-thirds, who are not in communion
with the Establishment fund, provide minis
ters and churches for themselves. So far as
the statistics, carefully gathered during the
present month, show the Establishment is
responsible for thirty-seven per cent in a
population of A, 345, OOO-about one-fifth of the
entire population. These inquiries are to be
pursued further by the Non-conformists, the
object being to place beyond doubt that their