El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-07-26
ENGLISH BISHOPS ARE
POLITICAL APPOINTEES
XXI.-THE BRITISH CRISIS.

ONDON. Eng. July 26.-One princi-
pal factor in the politics of Great
49, Britain, as Of every other Euro
pean country, is exceedingly difficult
for Americans TO appreciate OF under
stand. That factor is the relation Of
religion to politics as manifested in the
institution of a state church. The abs0-
lutte divorce of church and state in the
United States has removed the religious
factor from among he p0sibIe pclitIcaI
problems. In Great Britain the church
still is powerful in politics, and in the
present battle between the unprivileged
masses and the privileged classes it is
one of the chief bulwarkS of the aristo-
cracy. The Church of England is the
state church in Eng and; the Church of
Wales, separate institution Of the An
glican order, is the established church
of Wales and Monmouth; the Church
of Ireland, also Anglican, was diseStab
lished by the efforts of Mr.. Gladstone
in 1863; the Church of Scotland is Pres
byterian. The Church of England, how
ever, is the principal church of the
realm, and it exercises vast influence
in politics, and possesses a great deal
of direct political power.
Clergy of High Order.
About half of the people of England
are communicates Of the established
church. That the church lives up to it's
obligations as religious body cannot
be denied. There are no better men
among all the Christian workers of the
world than are to be found among the
clergy and the laity of the Church of
England. The church Is torn by dis
sensions because of differences in opin
ion concerning forms Of worship and
theological doctrines, but it is, taken as
q whole MIGHTY for good So
as it is a religious body, it merits no
adverse criticism. AS a political insti->
tuition, according to American standards
and democratic ideals, it is a survival
Of medieyalism without a redeeming
feature.
Is the Legal Church.
The establishment Of the church by
law means the Incorporation of the law
of the church into the law Of the land.
1t means that the church courts have
coercive Jurisdiction over ecclesiastical
matters which the civil power will en-
force. 1t means that the bishops of the
church sit in the house of lords as leg
islators for all the people. 1t means
that the church convocatfon, religious
legislature, is summoned by the crown
and can enact laws only by the assent
of the king. 1t means that the doc
trines and ceremonies OF the church
have the statutory authority OF acts Of
parliament to support them. 1t means
that a large number of benefices, or,
positions, ranging from curate to arch
bishop, are at the disposal of the per-
sons who hold important offices in the
government. 1t means that the machin-
cry Of the civil government may be
brought into operation to collect tithes
and assessments owed TO the church. 1t
means that all other religious bodies
are placed at a disadvantage, that they
are not the equal in power, position or
responsibility of the established church,
and that all persons outside the pale OF
the state church must labor under So
cial, political and even economic dis
advantages which are unjust, unfair
and un-Christian.
Political Appointees.
The heads of the church. the arch
bishops of Canterbury and York, and a
great number of the bishops. are ap-
pointed by the political leaders Of the
country. Now, despite what the English
say. political patronage in Great Bhit-
ain is not so very different from what
it is in the United States II the Eng
lish system were transferred to the
United States we should witness the
spectacle of the archbishop of Cincin-
natl Of the American church being NAM
ed by Frank H. Hitchcock as chairman
of the national Republican committee,
POSSIBLY upon the VI
Boss George 3. Cox In a Democratic
administration Charley Murphy and
Fingy Connors could designate the
bishops of Manhattan and Buffalo. The
cathedral OF Chicago would be under
tn ecclesiastical dominion of Hinky
Dink and Bathhouse John.
England VS.. America
As a matter of fact, the head of the
Anglican church may be named by
Jewish Disraeli, a Unitarian chamber
lain. an Agnostic Balfour, or Dis
senting Asquith. quite as often as by
an Anglican Gladstone. But this is not
half In the rural districts, and to some
extent in the cities, the churches are
the private property of the landlord
upon whose land they are situated In
such cases the landlord has the abso-
lutte disposal of the patronage or the
church, called a living" A living
means a life appointment as rector Of
the church without any regard TO the
wishes of the congregation. and with
out any regard to the efficien-
cy of the incument. or his conduct
in office. These livings are sold When
an Englishman hears that municipal
political boss in an American city has