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THE BISHOP OF I ST. ASAPH.I

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THE BISHOP OF ST. ASAPH. THERE is something about the Bishop of ST. ASAPH that arouses our sym- pathy. He is an ecclesiastic, but his humanity is much stronger than his ecclesiasticism, and rf he is a political Conservative, he can never- theless see the national dangers that lie smouldering at the back of the poverty and hopelessness of the masses of the people. Mr. BALFOUR has defined what is called tariff reformi, and his definition in- cludes a tax on bread. There can be no doubt about that. The BISHOP says that he thinks an assurance should be given to working people of the country that there is not the slightest danger in anything that is proposed of increasing the cost of the food of the people. That assurance has not been given. The tariff reformers, if they have the chance, intend to put a tax on wheat. This means that every child and every pauper and every working man, how- ever poor, will be Torced to eat taxed food. The poor may do without tea;, or sugar, or tobacco, or beer, but they cannot do without bread. The writer of this article has eaten taxed bread in a home of the poor and knows its bitterness. He has also lived on very little more than a pound a week, and knows what it means. The BISHOP says Assume, for instance, I am a working man earning one pound a week, and have got a family of little children. Someone has said if you want to know what a pound a week try and liv.e on it.' Very true. I think if I were in that position I should be anxious), rightly anxious, "as a father and husband, to know that the bread that supported those children was not going to be made -dearer for me in the future. I should like to have that point made perfectly clear by those who are proposing certain changes in our fiscal system." We are anxious, very, anxious, for the sake of the poor to whom we belong, and not for any political reason, that the bread and any other of the neces- saries of life should not be taxed. We believe if they had been taxed during the past few years, when the price of wheat went up owing to ordinary con- ditions, the tax would have been blamed and there would have been acute danger of revolution. It is of vital consequence to the safety of the monarchy that the poor in their severe daily struggle for existence should feel that at any rate the necessaries of life are not taxed, and that all the materials of industries are free from fiscal burdens. tariff reformers often say. and we presume they believe what they say, that under a system of tariff reform wages would be higher and that there- fore if bread was dearer the working m,an would be better off. Let us put this case from our point of view to the BISHOP. Suppose that trade im- proved under tariff reform,* or without tariff reform, as it is improving now, wages would not necessarily rise. Wages are not now rising. There are plenty of additional workers to be had at the same rates of wages and all that would happen would be that fewjer people would emigrate. Now, suppose that the number of workers increased by a hundred thousand, or a million), the other workers would be no better off because of their increased number, but they would be worse off in proportion as food was taxed. How is a person who has a thousand pounds a year to understand what an extra charge of a shilling a week meians on food? The rich people of the country have no idea how the indus- trial population manage to live on a far less sum per head than the indoor paupers in workhouses can be main- tained. Mr. BALFOUR, in his recent speech, played the part of political leader with all the great skill he un- doubtedly possesses. He does not want to tax 'food, and he probably realises that food will not be taxed, as tariff reform means suffering and scantier living for every poor person in the country. The Conservative party is in a tight corner, and the corner will become tighter* and tighter as the masses of the people become better acquainted with the results in other countries of taxes on food. — r The Bus Hon, referring to the Estab-I lished Church, said We are at a -critical point in the history of the I Church. I myself always felt it was best to speak qiiite plainly when the "time came, and I think the time has come to speak plainly now. I do not think any reflective person could take a survey of the situation as .it 'is to-day' without feeling that t" as far as the Church is concerned is a very grave out!ook that is U "before her—not because the merits "or demerits of the Church are to be 4 weighed separately and independ- | 'er}tly» hut because they are mixed up 4 vwith a number of other things, j Disestablishment and disendowment v has become a part of the programme "of a political party." We have no reIing- whatever against the Church of England, but we do not think that the BISHOP is right is his profound con- viction there is not one cry in England to-day which will stir the "working- men of England to the depths so much as the defence of the "'■•Church." The Church of England is hopelessly antiquated, and its State connection is a great and, growing danger, not only to the country, but to-itself. In England the people's atti- tude towards the Church of England is not the fierce attitude of the people of Wales, but it will either become that attitude or will lapse into sheer indiffer- ence. The government and policy of the Church of England are based on conditions that existed five or six hundred years ago. The Church of England clergyman is a sort of Little Pope. Well, in these davs the peoole will not stand a Pope, big- or littte, either of Rome or anywhere else. They will not even stand a Pope in the form of a life-long deacon. The Church Establishment is a political and unjust relationship, and if anvone wanted to strike a iatal blow at Welsh Noncon- formity as a political force the surest way would be to disestablish the Church of England in Wales. There is no possible justification for the State recognition of a form of religion which is not the religion of the bulk of the people. There was a time when the religion of the Church. of England might with some show of reason have claimed to be the religion of the whole people, but this is not so now, and it is monstrous that the wealth which wa!s supposed to be devoted to the religious requirements of the whole people should be monopolised by one denomination. Disestablishment yvilll come. It is sure to come, but the danger is that before it comes greater evils wtll have been brought into exist- ence than those which the Church Establishment embodies. There are millions of the people who do not care two straws about establishment or disestablishment, but they care in vague ways about the denominational .strife which exasits, a strife which tends to become more intense and embittered. The story of national life through all the ag-es is the story of people in the attitude of tariff reformers against the poverty-stricken masses, and the story of bishops and priests against the oppressed multitudes who did not be- lieve in the religion which was forced upon them. fin some slow], vague way the people have always won against priests and politicans., and they will win now. We are not going to prophesy, but there is no doubt in our mind that the rank and file of the people who live from hand to mouth and do not really carfe what happens to them in this world or the next will revolt if their burdena are increased, and then nothing on earth can prevent disaster. We do not expect the Bishop of ST. ASAPH to agrese with us. but we are convinced that the Church of England is fiar more a political force that a re- ligious influence, and the connection with the State is fatal to its usefulness and to its spiritual growth. The present outlook is not particularly bright, but religion will continue to exist) whatever may become of the churches, Conformist or Noncon- formist. Churches have died time after time, but nfeligion has always lived and will continue to live as long as life is full of mystery. Two thousand years lago, one now held in high esteem in the religious world' pro- tested against the religion of hjs day and was put to death. The same sort of protest is still necessary, and we think that the Bishop of S"r. ASAPH, if he were not a bishop, would; have strong things to say against political religionists. How hard it would be for the Bishop of ST. ASAPH to abandon his high place and to walk to some modern CalVarvi while he was being spat upon by the hooting crowds We are sorry for the Bishop of ST. ASAPH who sees down ways which he perhaps, not strong enough to travel. He is not atone in this weak-I ness. We all see crowns of thorns and crosses and have tasted hyssop, but we evade them T

MUNICIPAL ELECTION.

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