The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-09-27
cHURcHEs FOR THE RICH.
what a Bishop says About the Evils Of sur
Church Pew system.

nom a sermon ~ Bshop Potter reported IN ne Tirns'
The erection Of free chapels In connec-
lon with parish churches which. we're not
system Of eipedients lie should not under
lake to trace the rise ana growth OF what was
balled tho pew system beyond their own shores,
or to explain its origin amid Of her surroundings.
II was enough to say that In England, where "
nsd been kn9Tn ior many seh hnd sh 10
maturity, II had always existed With qualinca-
tons largely unknown aInore us, and that to-
day. In the Church OF England, IL was as verify
decayng and vanishing usage us Is the use OF
the whipping post or the Imprisonment OF men
Unfortunately, however, this could not be
said " II in the United States, where the tend
ency, n It is marked enough to be detected II,
any particular direction, IL In the direction OF
tho wider prevalence " the pew system. lie
knew that this was not the case In their own
church, where las he believed was true IN Min
nesuta) there were whole dioceses where there
was no church or chapel which was not free.
But in communions outside the church. as
among the Methodiste, the pew system had GER
tanly gained ground In cities, while at the other
eoclesiastical extreme. the Church OF the Roman
obedience had many Of them pews which were
let or sublet to two or three series of tenants.
And among themselves, while there had been
progress. that progress had not been rapid, and
the growth OF sounder sentiment IN the church
at large had. on the whole, been painfully slow.
As It shOuld he In all great reforms, the clergy
had been In tho advance, and too much honor
could not lie given 10 men who had committed
tnoinnsSilves W snv liee CnuISn nioNeueht, IN a
noble disregard OF every personal consideration
OF comfort or security. but the clergy had not
been largely followed by the latty, nor was II,
perhaps. greatly surprising.
The success OF the free church movement in
England had been achieved, 1t should be re-
memberod under different conditions and amid
very different surroundings from their own.
English society was a society substantially Of
fixed classes and Of sharply defined social lines
Men mold their place in It mainly by virtue Of
hereditary considerations quite outside OF any
purchased prece dence In the bouse OF God. In
decd, so hrully liked were those lines, and 40
potent In separating classes, that when men
came to the house Of God they were anxious
the loftiest often even more than the lowliest-
10 forget aud obliterate those lines by every
means In their power.
A friend Of the preacher visiting a crowded
churcn IN the East End OF London, which was
the Five Points neRhborhood Of that great city,
reached over the shoulder Of some near hm
In the throng which gathered IN the porch. aud
In accordance with vicious custom not yet
wholly extinct In England dropped shilling In
the hand Of some one whom he had observed
with his back To him, busily seating strangers.
The supposed verger turned at oDce:and faced
him, ana he recognized IN him one oil the first
Dobemen IN England. In other words u man
Of high rank me to the services, mainly that
40 might ne the servant Of the lowliest stranger
shat sought entrance.
But with US the condition Of things was very
different. In America there were no favored
,lasses. but there In every generation a large
vlsss VINO we're struggling for social precedence,
and VINO were willing to buy II at any cost. And
been specially contrived. 70 buy place In a
conspicuous church and have that place itself
Us conspicuous rs might be-this was title to
q certain recognition which. however hozy and
indefinite IL might he when one undertook to
nnalNZe ". was not lnutnnlte IN Its actual re-
suits. And SO n came to pass that many churches
were composed .mn st exclusively Of persons Of
one class, or. at all events. of those of ample
means, II not OF great wealth. lie knew that II
might be answered that even IN such churches
there wak abundant hospitality to strangers,
and that that hospitality was exercised
generously from one years end to another.
Tie presumed there were many churches
in New YORK IN which there were no free
sittings, and yet ia which, as In tn t to
which 1t was his privilege TO minis
ter, the strangers who were welcomed to Its
Dews might re counted by hundreds. But lie
was speaking OF the general working OF a sys-
TEN, and as TO the results Of that system, II
seemed to him that no candid mind could
really be in doubt.
II the facts which could be cited hud any
meaning they meant that the present system OF
pewed churches was a mistake, ana that n II
had any seeming warrant in the exigencies of
other days. IL must sooner or later give way be-
fore the powcr-might We not truly say-the
stronger exigencies OF our own. He knew that
there were many pewed churches that were still
thronged and prosperous. H. for instance, he
were content not to look beyond the walls OF
the edince In which he ministered. he n ight
sasiiy dismiss all anxiety for the welfare of the
church at large. But few churches. occupying
central position, and with means and ample
accommodation. were no criterion OF the vast
majority that were otherwise citcuins;anced
The preacher admitted that the reform to which
his discourse pointed would not be the work Of
day, nor OF year