The Washington herald., 1907-03-10
The Church of England
Discstabshment Vote of the Commons Largely
the Result of Ignorance of History.

or all the various denominations OF
Christendom there is probably none con-
corning which so much ignorance prevails
as the Established Church Of England.
This ignorance exists 10 an amazing de-
gree even in the United Kingdom, and
actually extends TO Parliament as may
be gathered from the fact that some ten
days ago the House Of Commons voted.
by 1873 % %, in favor Of "A resolution 70
disestabIiSh and disend1w the Church Of
England Ninety-nlne people out Of every
hundred, and possibly even a greater
percentage. are firmly imbued with the
idea that the Established Church is main
tanned at the expense OF the taxpayer,
and that. owing TO the fact Of its being
a state establishment. il is necessarily
dependent upon the 20 a0nal treasury ID
the same way -. the army. navy. and
civil service. This impression has been
strengthened by the foolish utterances Of
certain newspapers. which. whenever. at
loss for a theme, have delighted in hold
ing up the archbishops. the bishops. and
the deans as constituting "a burden upon
the exchcquer, and denouncing the
stipends which they receive as altogether
out Of proportion % the value OF the serv-
ices which they render TO the State.
/ To most people, therefore, II viii possibly
be matter of news that the hierarchy
Of the Church OF England does not cost a
penny piece 10 the taxpayer. and that its
/ benefced clergy do not draw a cent as
such from the government. No one in
England is forced To contribute anything,
either directly or indirectly. TO the Estab-
! lished Church Even the so-called parish
church rates, which are municipal rather
+ than national, are altogether optional
( Far. indeed from costing the imperial
treasury any money, the Church Of Eng
+ land may be said 20 relieve II Of many
expenses by the educational institutions
which It maintains.
/ The fact of the matter is that the sala-
( ries Of the hierarchy and clergy Of the
/ establishment are derived, not from the
state, but from huge endowment fund,
centuries old. and producing an annual
( revenue Of some S55.GJ00JC. which is al
most doubled each year by voluntary
/ contributions. In the early part Of the
nineteenth century the various endow-
.
: chapeis Of the Church Of England were
amalgamated into one great fund By leg
/ islative means, and the management and
/ control Of this fund was vested in a
! commission. consisting Of the TWO arch
+ bishops. Of Canterbury and Of York, OF
che thirty-four bishops. the deans Cd
+ Canterbury Of ST. PauTs, and Of West
Minister. Of the prime minister, the lord
+ high chancellor, the lord president of
+ the privy council the chancellor Of the
+ exchequer. the secretary OF state for the
home department the lord chief Justice
I Of the realm. the master OF the rolls. and
/ a certain number OF other lay commits
! sioners appointed by the crown. and by
/ the archbish0ps OF Canterbury and OF
/ York. The executive officers Of this COM
mission bear the title Of church estates,
+ commissioners, and treasurers. They are
all three OF them distinguished members
/ Of the bar. two OF them being IN Parlia-
ment. and while one Of them is ap-
pointed by the primate, the other two are
indebted for their nomination TO tins
4 crown. The ecclesiastical commission
which dates from 1896. has during thC
course Of its existence suppressed any
/ number OF sinecUre digHities has abolish
/ ed many useless benences. has done away
with churches where they We're no,
needed. and has built thousands iu places
E where there was q demand for them, has
+ equalized and regulated stipenGs, increas-
/ ing the incomes of those bishops and
I clergy who were inadequately paid, and
! cutting down the revenues which were
+ excessive, and, IN one word, has man
aged the property Of the Established
+ Church in such fashion that its value
7 each year Il would be difficult 70 find
anywhere a broader and more Hbera
/ spirit than that which prevails with re-
/ gard to the administration OF this fund
For although il represents entirely vol
untary gifts 10 the Church Of England
/ in ancient and modern times. yet tht
/ commission bears among its members
/ several adheTents OF a different deuOmi
nation Thus. at one moment IL included
I a processing Jew. IN the person Of The
. late Sir George Jessel. when master OF
I the rolls. and q deyOut Roman Catholic
I namely, the late Lord Russell. Of Kill
/ lOWeen. as lord chief justice. while al
/ least two of the lay members to-day arr
/ PresbyteriaEs. Both the cabinet anC
/ Parliament are represented on the com,
mission. But the latter renders no ac-
count 10 the national legislature. since
the revenues are. as I have pointed out
above neither voted by the House OF
/ Commons nor obtained through taxation
but derived from an endowment FUND
wholly independent Of the national ex
cheqUer.
Nearly forty years ago the late Mr
Gladstone brought about the disestab
l!shmeut OF the state church of Ireland
and there are some who regard il a.
constituting 4 precedent for the inaUgura
ton OF similar legislation with regard &,
the Church of England. But the tv,
cases are entirely different. In the frs
place, the Church of Ireland was II
every sense of the word an alien estab
lshment in the Emerald Isle, impose,
upon the Hibernian people by means o
oppression and without regard IN thei
religious beliefs. The people had beer
heavily taxed By the state for It's main
JenanCe. and subjected to cruel persecu
ton when they we're unwilling or unabl
to contribute 10 its support Such en-
dOwment as II possessed may be said t,
have been derived, not, SIS in the Churcl
of England. by voluntary contributions
but through eXtOrtiOn. Moreover. nearIl
90 per cent of the population belonged I,
other denominations, Roman Catholicism
being most largely represented anon.
them. in England. on the other hand. tn
vast majority Of the population belong {,
the Church of England. ] am unable I,
give any exact figures. and I do no
think they viii be found in any reliabl
work of reference, but some indication
Of the proportion of members of IN,
Church of England to those of othe
denominations I'm England may be gath
cred from the fact that Of the average
number Of marriages cele brated each yea
during the last decade more than 20 pc
cent were performed according 10 tn
rites OF the Established Church. Will
i..r