The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-05-30
A Great Religious Society.

There was lately published. "with the
approval Of his Grace the Archbishop of
Canterbury,"u balance-shret of the revenues
and expenditures Of the Church of England.
This document, tested by other returns re.
latng to the Established church of England.
presents several instructive points for anaiv-
sis and comparison. Ii SHOULD he promised
that there are in England about 1900 pL-
rlshcs, besides 200 separate fields OF clerical
labor known a. eXtrl-parOchiai. StaIi>tCan.
estimate that IN 1871 there were in England
and Wales about l2.10o. 900 people "claim.
ing membership with the Established
Church. which would leave about .00O,-
900 for all the other religious crceds OF the
country. This i. obviously very high e>ti
mate. and were the membership OF the Eng.
fish Church to be tested, Is il is among our.
selves. Ivy the number. Of commandments.
half this number would probabl, be- nearer
the truth
But let us give the Church of England
credit for mnistering to the spiritual wants
of 12,000,000 of people, and see ut what cost
and with what amount Of force the work l.
done. The average annual receipts of the
Church are over $4,000, 900. These are de-
rived from the following sources: I. En-
dowments- i. e.. titbcs. rental OF lands, and
interest of money acquired since the Re-
formation for the tcnctit of the Church
81 .00O,OuO. ;. State aid i'm the shape of the
education grant. S2,JO0.0D0 ). Pdrochiii'
collections and >ubScriptio n>, SlG00O,00
4. Miscellaneous contributions and receipts
$l0,500, 900 The mourv thus obtained i,
spent for the following objects: l. Main
| tenauce of the Clergy, 81, 5000 ;. Edu.
cation pt the poor, SIl.UQ0, 900. :. thurch
institution. poor, relief. tureisn missions.
church-buildiu", &c. Sl4 .jOU,0VD.
Coming down 10 details, we observe that
under the head of clerical maintenance the
two archbishops, twcnty-SiX bishops, and
seventy archdcacOn> of the Church receive
annual salaries amounting in all to SG99, 100.
Again, there urc thirty deans, TT clnou>,
| l20 minor clnOns, 600 singers, and other lay
officers and servants, who arc Jumped to-
gefhcr rs accounting for IN annual outlay of
II ,OSO,023: The working force Of the Church
Is comprised Of 1904 rectors and yicarS
and o,.OG curate>, and their annual salaries
amount to Sl5.T3o,a5j, or an average Of
about SS4QaI,ircc. Considering that salaries
OF $4,000 Il year are not unknown among
tnEI'.,i rcr!urS, it can easily he !'rn@lled
that The illruIc" Of culatcs anu Others WiIr
re left IN the ENJOYMENT OF bc@9ar!y >aIaric-
must I've very large.
The ecclesiastical body which in the
United States comes nearest to the Church
of England III point of income and working
force is the Methodist Episcopll Church
North. Here are S0lnc points of cOmplri
son Between the two: The English Church
has II, 100 churches and chapel<, and, divided
among these, its annual income gives al
average of about $4,000 to each. The
Methodist Episcopal Church sustains 13,4i0
churches. and its annual income only allow.
for each an average Of 81 $50. The total
number of the Church OF England clergy of
all orders is l9,l22; while the total number
OF tue bishops and preachers OF the
Methodist Episcopal Church is 2l,OJ9. On
<aIr.i.~ the English Church spends 81, 5Oo,
0tlO year; while the Methods; EII>copI
Church spends only SS,l9o,ooO. Thai is I"
say, the @;cs average Of salaries III the o"e
casc j. OF II 1000 Il year, while III the Other
the average !: about 1890 for every minister
of the Church. There may easily be clergy
mcn in the Church OF England who are con-
-idcraby orcrpaid; there capnot but tie
very many preachers in our Methodist, as IN
other cnmnunioll>, who ale grossly under
ptid. OF course the comparison BECOMES
rather misleading when pushed into details,
a. numerous allowances require 10 be- Elatie
for the different character Of the Two caun-
tries and the different qualifications, qujrcd
Tor clerical position in the two Churches.
As 10 the practical results in the shape Of
church member ship. the relative position OF
the two bodies can only be guessed al. The
NJ. L. Church (North) clanlS total Ia.
membership of about ,50n.OOO. Assuming
that the communicates of the Established
Church Of England reach the somewhat i'm
probable total OF 100000, the working cX-
pcnscs of these two great ecclesiastical Or
gunizatiuns becomes somewhat cuIalzed.
For, against the annual income oi S50,0o0,.
900, gold, of the Church Of England, the N.
T.. Church presents Il total OF annual conlr-
buttons an0untin" to 81 $4,000 currency.
Here again, however, the vast and in II large
ullnIlier vi r,tsc' thlnly populated territory
70 be covered in the United states must be
taken into account when any comparison l.
Instituted with Il small aud dcn-c'y pJpu-
lated country like England.- -Nrm YORK.