Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1882-11-01
ARCHBISHOP TAFT.

Society at the moment is distressed
about the Archbishop OF Canter
bury's illness. The aged prelate is
sick unto death, and, probably before
fthis letter can reach your readers,
will have been gathered to his fathers
DR.. TAFT, like all successful church
men in England, is not a mere theo.
logian. He is also firstclass ad-
ministrator, q man of the world in
the best sense of the word, and, of
necessity, more or less a courtier. In
the earlier portion of his career he
was school master, and at one time
Officiated as Head Master of Rugby,
one OF the great public schools of
England. Since his accession to the
Primacy he has been distinguished
chiefly for his great tact in dealing
with the various parties and sets
which are found within the Church
of England itself
1t is not too much to say that these
contending factions hate each other
quite as much as they hate sin.
There is, first of all, the High Church
faction, one of whose chief expon-
ents (Rev. Mr. Green) has been in
prison now for more than a year for
disobeying the ''rubrics." Then
there is the Low Church party"
which sympathizes with dissent and
Presbyterianism, and which has Il
strong following among the English
middle classes. Next there is the
Broad Church" school, which is
popular chiefly in London and the
larger provincial towns, and to which
most of the scientific men who 90 to
church at all belong. Between these
contending factions, all ready to fly
in each others faces, it was no easy
matter to keep the peace and avoid
the occurrence of scandals. The
Archbishop, however, managed to
do so with cousummate skill. He
was a personal friend of the Queen,
to whom he in great measure owed
his promotion. Should he not recov
er, it will fall to Mr.. Gladstone to ap-
point his successor.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is
the first subject in the realm. He
ranks above all the great temporal
lords. and even the Lord Chancellor.
The appointment is worth in money,
$75, 600 year, with . magnificent
palace at Lambeth, and country
house not Far from the Crystal Pal.
ace. He has also patronage, that is,
the right of appointing clergymen to
cures, which represents an aggregate
value of 100000. 1t will be thus
seen that the Archbishop of Canter-
bury is most august parsonage. No
public servant is paid in anything
like the same proportion, save the
Queen herself. His salary is about
treble that of Prime Minister, and
more than half as much again as that
of the Lord Chancellor or comman.
der-in-chief of the army. He can
make or mar the career Of any ben
eficed clergyman. He is placed
above the ordinary common law of
the country, tor he has his own &C.
clesiastical jurisdiction at Lambeth,
and his own courts which, in all
matters touching the church, are su-
preme He can confer degrees in
medicine and music, and civil law;
can appoint to canOnries, and, by his
special license, can enable marriages
to be celebrated in back drawing
rooms at any hour of the day or night.
There is probably no Office in En-
gland which retains so much of its
feudal pomp and power as that of
the Primacy. 1t is pretty much to-
day, in name at least, what 1t was
when Cardinal Wolsey or Archbish-
op Crammer held 1t. The pride aud
pomp of wealth and titles still re-
main with it, though the Office has
been shorn of great deal of its an
cient power, whether for good or
evil