Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-27
THE
BRITISH
CRISIS

LONDON. July 16-That the demo-
cratic element in British society is
at enmity with the established church
as a political and state institution is
due not only to the fact that the church
possesses peculiar privileges denied to
other religious bodies. but also because of
the active and direct participation of the
church in party politics. Two archbishops
and twenty-four bishops sit in the house
OF lords as lords spiritual, and exercise
the rights and privileges of legislators.
In the dark days of political corruption
preceding the reform bill of 1882 the lords
spiritual We're at one with their fellows
the lords temporal in opposition to all
measures for reformation of politics.
When Earl Grey and his lord chancellor
Brougham, compelled King William "
to sign written pledge giving them au-
thority to create a sufficient number of
peers to pass the reform bill, the house
of lords forever lost control over the
personnel of the commons. Modern DO
litical history in Great Britain begins in
1882 1t is interesting to follow the his
tory of the church in parliament from
that time until the present
The bill to remove the political disa-
bilities of the Jews and to admit Jews to
membership in
Seven Times Rejected the house of
by House of Lords. nonnaa w was
times by the house of commons between
1888 and 1858. Seven times it was re-
jected by the house of lords. In this
action the lords followed the lead of the
bishops, of whom twenty voted against
and only three for the bill. The opposi-
ton to Jewish emancipation finally col
lapSed in 1853.
The first bill to admit Nonconformists-
that is Baptists. Methodists and all per-
sons not communicates of the Established
church-to the universities was passed by
the commons in 1884 1t was defeated
time and time again by the house of
That first bill was not liberal since,
while it gave NoncOnformiStS the right
to attend the universities, it provided
that they should remain confined in their
own halls. The record shows that twen-
ty-two bishops voted against the ad-
mission of dissenters to universities and
none was in favor of it. Under the. lead
of the bishops the house of lords delayed
this reform for thirty-seven years, deny
ing to persons not of the orthodox state
religion the advantages of higher educa-
ton, and all the time ostentatiously de-
spising the dissenters because of their
lack of culture.
In 1858 the commons passed a bill pro-
viding for the abolition of church rates
that is to say, abolishing the practice of
supporting the Anglican churches by
taxes levied upon every one, regardless
of individual religious belief. This bill
was defeated three times by the lords be-
fore their opposition collapsed in the face
of what amounted to a revolution in 1863
All of the bishops voted against this bill
all of the time.
The education bill of 1906 was defeated
in the house of lords on account of the
opposition of the church to its liberal and
democratic provisions. The bill did not
reach the final stage OF being put on it's
passage, SO that the vote was small But
on the final division, which practically
killed the bill, there We're nine bishops
present to vote against the measure
Within less than half an hour bill to
provide meals for poor unfed children
came up, and there remained but one
bishop in the house to support it.
The conflict between the church and
the dssenters is waged most fiercely about
he queS-
Nn,,Aiof Uyooad About ito, oe -,